BUYING March 10, 2011 Managing partner at black brick Q. How do you think the rise in stamp duty, which will rise from 4 to 5 per cent for properties over £1m from 6 April, will affect house prices? A.The rise will definitely affect the market outside of London, which is already slow due to lack of mortgage supply. [...]
PROPERTY NEWS March 10, 2011 HAMPTON’S?COUNTRY?EXHIBITION Hamptons International’s next Town and Country Exhibition, which will showcase a new collection of country properties, takes place on 5 April from 5-8pm in the company’s head office in Grosvenor Square. Experts will give prospective buyers advice on relocating. Contact: 0207 963 0614. HARRODS client Harrods Estates has extended its Property Acquisition Service, which [...]
Even an alien apocalypses can be dull March 10, 2011 Film BATTLE: LOS ANGELES Cert: 12a Only in Steven Spielberg’s head do aliens ever come in peace. So here they are invading once again, superior to us in numbers, technology, firepower and tentacles. Just like Independence Day, War of the Worlds, District 9, last year’s terribly bad Skyline, last year’s terribly good Monsters and any [...]
ALSO OUT THIS WEEKEND March 10, 2011 FILM HALL PASS Extraordinarily lame post-Hangover comedy with Owen Wilson and, er, Stephen Merchant. THE RESIDENT Hilary Swank is a single woman with a rather scary landlord in this home invasion thriller. NORWEGIAN WOOD Beautifully-made Japanese drama, adapted from Marukami’s book. DVD SAW: the final chapter Dreadful franchise comes to a dreadful end. Hopefully. MARCHLANDS [...]
Vintage cars meet zorbing at the British Leisure Show March 9, 2011 WITH the economy seemingly stuck in the doldrums, we all need a break. If you are short of ideas then you could do worse than head along to the British Leisure Show, which will be held on 11-13 March at the Royal Windsor Race Course. Now in its second year, the show is the brainchild [...]
The three tips for chairing a great meeting March 9, 2011 CHAIRING a meeting can be a daunting experience, but one that sooner or later we all have to face. Professor Cliff Oswick is in charge of organisational theory at Cass business school in London, and also head of a faculty of 130 staff – and estimates (with a sigh)?that he chairs about 60 meetings a [...]
THE MAN BRINGING CHELTENHAM TO THE SQUARE MILE NEXT WEEK March 9, 2011 IN 18 months, Simon Parker Bowles’s Cornhill restaurant, Green’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar, has become a firm City favourite, mixing time-honoured qualities – simple but sumptuous food, clubby surroundings, a very well-stocked cellar – with a theme that reflects Parker Bowles’s own particular passion: horse racing. The Runner Bar takes its name from the sport, [...]
Gadgets for lovers of RETRO CHIC March 9, 2011 LEICA M9 German camera company Leica has set the whole aesthetic of its top range, M-series cameras around the sturdy look of old-fashioned snappers. Don’t let the dated look fool you: this is a spectacular piece of photographic kit, and a true luxury item, as its price suggests. £4,550, www.uk.leica-camera.co.uk FUJIFILM FINEPIX-X100 Due in shops [...]
WHAT’S NEW IN GADGETS AND TECHNOLOGY March 9, 2011 SPOTIFY HITS THE MILLION USERS MARK While Charlie Sheen has made tech headlines as well as tabloid ones for drumming up a million Twitter followers in just 24 hours, music streaming service Spotify has taken a bit longer to reach its own seven-figure landmark – a million paying subscribers. The company, which allows users to [...]
Gizmos that can make the commute a bit more fun March 9, 2011 Shouting into your mobile on the train during the morning commute may be frowned upon, but there’s nothing to say you can’t watch telly. AverMedia.com’s Hybrid Volar dongle will turn your laptop into a digital TV recorder, so you can watch 50 digital Freeview channels. Or listen to the cricket commentary on the radio. The [...]