In the snow in British Columbia November 6, 2011 RUNNING through Vancouver in bright ski gear, carrying boots, boards and skis is an experience in itself. Before hitting the steep and deep slopes of Whistler Blackcomb – British Columbia’s powder playground – we decided to find our ski legs at Vancouver’s nearby family resorts of Cypress, Seymour and Grouse Mountains. The local resorts are [...]
DINING IN STYLE | GOURMET AND WINE AT THE RITZ MADRID November 6, 2011 Tired after a day of museums and walking in the magnificent, enormous Parc Retiro where the Madrileños relax, talk and play, we entered the cool and peaceful Ritz Madrid. We received a warm welcome from the doormen who swept our bags inside and led us to the reception. The location could not be better. Positioned [...]
In which I star in my very own video game November 6, 2011 Being inside your own video-game sounds like fun. Unless that game is Tetris; then you’d be locked inside an endless cycle of rotating blocks, falling towards you at ever increasing speeds. I had a dream about it once. The Tetris music still brings me out in a cold sweat. So when I was asked to [...]
Making a house a home with a few key pieces November 3, 2011 DINING ROOM Philippe Starck Masters Chair, £122.99, www.scp.co.uk Emma Bridgewater Splatter Plate, £19.50, www.liberty.co.uk Zaha Hadid End of Line Cravasse Vase, www.scp.co.uk STUDY Rankin Black and White Lampshade, National Treasures, £120, www.liberty.co.uk Enzo Mari for Danese Wastepaper Basket, £32.70, twentytwentyone.com Smythson Brown Mara Collection Stationery Rack, £370, www.smythson.com Flos, Miss KT Table Lamp, £172, www.selfridges.com [...]
FOCUS ON: BRENTWOOD, ESSEX November 3, 2011 LANGTONS, SOUTH WEALD Price: £2.8m This listed eight-bedroom country house has 11 acres of gardens and paddocks. It is situated opposite Weald Country Park. It has four reception rooms, three bathrooms, a heated swimming pool, tennis court and stables. Contact: Savills on 01245 293 233 or go to www.savills.co.uk KENDALL COURT, THE GALLERIES Price: £440,000 [...]
PROPERTY NEWS November 3, 2011 APARTMENTS FOR FAR EASTERN INVESTORS Weston Homes has just launched a new development in Cambridge. The company is marketing the homes exclusively to investors in the Far East. 120 apartments and townhouses are available. The prices range from £230,000 to £450,000. Contact: Weston Homes on 01279 873300 or go to www.weston-homes.com GALLERY SHOW HOMES Linden [...]
PROPERTY NEWS November 3, 2011 JACKSON-STOPS & STAFF IS OFFERING NEW HOMES IN OXTED A new development in Wyckham, Oxted containing 14 apartments has been launched by Jackson-Stops & Staff. It is 40 minutes from London by train. Contact: Jackson-Stops & Staff on 0845 771 1711 or go to www.jackson-stops.co.uk A new site close to the city has also launched. [...]
BUY November 3, 2011 DIRECTOR OF ESTATE AGENT DOUGLAS & GORDON Q.We’ve been offered a flat but the lease is less than 80 years. Should we avoid buying a short lease? A.The explosion in flat conversions sold off on 99-year leases in the 1980s has meant many of these flats now have leases approaching or below 80 years. In London, [...]
Miami vice: $60m for ultimate pad November 3, 2011 AN almost comically opulent property in Miami’s private Indian Creek Village is soon to come to market. The home, 3 Indian Creek, neatly shows that when it wants to be, America still means bigger and better. Courageously out of sync with high unemployment and a fresh wave of economic woe, this house is an unapologetic [...]
Machine Gun shoots, badly misfires November 3, 2011 Film MACHINE GUN PREACHER Cert: 15 THE true story of a drug-dealing criminal who is moved to help kidnapped children in war-ravaged Sudan, Machine Gun Preacher has explosions, sermons, and Gerard Butler in the lead role of Sam Childers. The real-life Childers found God in 1992 after years of violent crime and travelled to Sudan [...]