SELL June 9, 2011 MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL LONDON ESTATE AGENCY, KAY & CO Q.I have £500,000 in cash to invest in a buy-to-let flat in central London. What should I buy? A.One-bedroom apartments are always in demand in central London which fits in well with your budget. I would recommend that you look for a property with a low [...]
Architectural landmark and family home June 9, 2011 WHOEVER ends up buying the White Cottage, on a quiet road at the south west corner of Wandsworth Common, will not only become owner of a supremely elegant family home, but custodian of a highly unusual piece of architectural history. The house, built in 1903 and on the market for £5m, is the work of [...]
City of London festival goes Down Under June 9, 2011 A TROOP of didgeridoos playing a live chorus for commuters set the tone for this year’s much-anticipated City of London Festival. On June 28th, the atmospheric instruments will serenade workers arriving on each of the City’s five main bridges (Blackfriars, Millennium, London, Southwark and Tower Bridge) as they head to work. This year, in case [...]
Film Review June 9, 2011 Cert: PG SOMETHING of a surprise megahit back in 2008, the original Kung Fu Panda film turned out to be one of the best animated films of the past decade. The mix of loveable animals, Oriental mythology and martial arts fun proved irresistible to kids – plenty of family households have reverberated to “hi-YA!” cries [...]
ALSO OUT THIS WEEK | FILM, MUSIC, GAMES June 9, 2011 FILM KABOOM Bizarre, eventually apocalyptic look at life, sex and the universe, from director Greg Araki. MOTHER’S DAY Remake of the Eighties horror flick, with Rebecca de Mornay as a psychotic mommy. POINT BLANK Not the legendary Lee Marvin film, but a run-of-the-mill French action caper. DVD 127 HOURS JAMES Franco stars in Danny Boyle’s [...]
Top hampers for summer picnics June 8, 2011 SUMMER is on its way and with that the promise of picnicking with friends, taking in concerts, tennis, festivals and Polo events outdoors (the vision, of course, never involves British rain.) Preparing for such affairs can be a kerfuffle, not least the task of arranging a good picnic and drinks, but thankfully London’s food purveyors [...]
A motoring show for Londoners June 7, 2011 As a car hack I have spent an awful lot of time at international motor shows over the years. Sure they can be hard work, they’re often very busy and can get too big to afford you a really good overview on what’s going on. Ideally, it’s good to see rival cars close together to [...]
CAR TALK: MORE FROM MOTOREXPO June 7, 2011 JAGUAR CONVOY If you’d spotted the convoy of 50 Jaguar E-types travelling through London on Monday you’d already have guessed Jaguar is exhibiting at Motorexpo. The company is showing the fastest production car it has ever produced – the 186 mph XKR-S – at the Canary Wharf show, plus its most efficient Jaguar yet – the [...]
Barbershop Quartet: Four slick groomers June 6, 2011 It stands to reason that if you’re going to sport one of the finest suits money can buy, you’ll want the rest of your appearance to be up to scratch as well. To that end, in a recent revamp of its No 1 Savile Row premises, tailoring giant Gieves & Hawkes has become host to [...]
Viva Wyndham Maya 4* June 6, 2011 The exclusive Viva Wyndham Maya places you right in the middle of Mexico’s Mayan Riviera. And what a perfect location that is. From diving the world’s second largest barrier reef to exploring the Mayan ruins, there’s a bundle of things to see and do. But that’s only if you can drag yourself away from this [...]