The tiny part that’s big news for Patek September 7, 2011 BEARING in mind that mechanical watches have followed the same engineering principles for centuries, horology may not seem like an area for frontline, this-is-the-future engineering. Wrong. Take, for instance, the Advanced Research Unit at Patek Philippe, which is doing very remarkable things indeed with very tiny components, using materials more commonly associated with cutting-edge medical [...]
Keep football safe from the stats bores September 7, 2011 FOOTBALL magazine FourFourTwo has launched Stats Zone, which will “change the way you watch football”. For the worst, if you ask me. I can’t stand the kind of “name tag and goody bag” corporate football fan who spends all game staring at his iPhone working out pass rates and possession percentages. If you think football [...]
The Man Booker Prize SHortlist September 7, 2011 THE SENSE OF AN ENDING, JULIAN BARNES (JONATHAN CAPE) The only novella on the list: but just because it’s small doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful. This is City AM’s pick of the bunch: British icon Barnes has dished up a book so terse in ideas, heavy in impressions and unrelenting in theme that you’ll be [...]
Oh my, Darling: the former chancellor aims for Brown September 7, 2011 BACK FROM THE BRINK BY ALISTAIR DARLING Atlantic, £19.99 by Marc Sidwell It’s not the economy, stupid. The reason to read Alistair Darling’s account of his time as chancellor of the exchequer is to see exactly how far in he chooses to stick the knife. Happily, his autopsy of the Gordon Brown years at times [...]
Rocking the Scouse in UK’s friendliest city September 6, 2011 LIKE many metropolis-dwellers, Londoners tend to think they’re the centre of the universe – and certainly of England – regardless of where they’re from. But if you’ve recently had your toe trod on at rush hour, been barked at by an angry commuter or ignored by a surly waiter – oh, and charged £10 for [...]
Fab rainwear September 6, 2011 1 Dry feet Boots are a key investment for Autumn Winter and are ideal footwear for wet weather days, but avoid suede. Flat knee high boots and ankle boots are easy to wear and can look just as chic as a block or stiletto heel. Look to brands such as Belstaff, Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti [...]
More efficiency, less sexiness September 6, 2011 THERE was a time when the only diesel Porsche you could buy was a tractor. But after Ferdinand Porsche’s tractor designs of the 1950s came the rather more striking and long-lasting 911 and Porsche became a sports car company. But now the best selling Porsche product is the Cayenne SUV, a vehicle that was widely [...]
CAR TALK September 6, 2011 VW’S ONE-SEATER VISION The future of commuting according to VW is travelling in cars that only seat one, as most daily commuters travel alone. Volkswagen’s unusual looking NILS concept is a single-seat EV which has two glass wing doors and free-standing wheels. It’s small – at just over 3m long and 1.2 metres tall – [...]
Salve your post-holiday skin with these soothers September 5, 2011 CHANCES are, you’re either fresh off the beach – skin still salty and a little tender – or you’re mourning the departure of your tan. The spectre of skin damage is probably also lingering somewhere. How to claw back the health of some of those damaged cells – and in the first instance, how to [...]
FIT IN THE CITY September 5, 2011 FITNESS & DIET EXPERT YOU know those lucky naturally thin people that eat loads? Well, they’ve won a genetic lottery of sorts. Researchers at Imperial College London and the University of Lausanne found that around one in 2,000 people have a duplicated gene making them many times more likely to be skinny (23 times more if [...]