PROPERTY NEWS August 5, 2010 £50M TO FUND AFFORDABLE HOUSING The Mayor of London and London Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) have approved the funding for 16 schemes aimed at providing 518 affordable homes. The schemes’ future was uncertain after the election but have now received a guarantee of a £50m cash injection. Nine new-build projects that will receive some [...]
SELLING August 5, 2010 HEAD DESIGNER, APD INTERIORS Q.Dear Andrew, my hallway seems to have become a general dumping ground – how can I make it more welcoming? A.The appearance and design of the hallway is often overlooked since you often just walk straight through it. But it is also the first room that you (and others) enter so [...]
History, beauty and luxury on the Iberian peninsula August 5, 2010 THE credit crunch kicked the bottom out of the Spanish property market. But if you’re looking for somewhere to bask in the sun this time next year, that simply means Spain is a more affordable place to buy than ever. The problem is location. You’ll need to avoid the obvious areas that have been clogged [...]
Get shirty with the tailor August 5, 2010 THE difference between an off-the-peg suit and one that’s been properly tailored is usually pretty easy to spot – the latter will have a better fit, smarter hang and finer structure at the very least. It’ll also be more comfortable for the wearer, and should contribute to their confidence and poise – a tailor would [...]
Black and white style August 5, 2010 TO go with that bespoke shirt, look for cufflinks that are crisp and understated, like these stylish two-tone examples. AUSTIN REED £25 www.austinreed.co.uk BROOKS BROTHERS £109 www.brooksbrothers.com HACKETT £40 www.hackett.com SONIA SPENCER £35 www.soniaspencer.co.uk SIMON CARTER £39 www.simoncarter.net THOMAS SABO £129 www.thomassabo.com
The star power of Cruise and Diaz can’t save this action flop August 5, 2010 Film review Knight and Day Cert: 12A Rhys Griffiths THIS action-comedy proves that no amount of star power can make up for a lazy script, lazier direction, a total lack of depth and a seriously bad pun of a title. Centered around the whereabouts of the enigmatic “Zephyr”, a top-secret battery gizmo with perpetual power, [...]
Head gear for the holidays August 4, 2010 DENON AH-C560R £99.99 www.denon.co.uk It would take some particularly good in-ear buds to make me pick them instead of over-head headphones – normally I find them uncomfortable, I fret about what damage they’re doing to my hearing, and they fall out. But Denon’s new AH-C560R phones (catchy name, guys) have come as close as any [...]
NICK BOOTHTECH TALK August 4, 2010 I’VE seen the future of British youth – it’s half man, half desk. Why? They can’t relate to anything unless it’s writ large on a glowing screen at chair level. But now the school PCs and whiteboards have been powered off, could we entice our next generation humans into the garden of real-life high definition? [...]
OUT OF OFFICE August 4, 2010 LAST CHANCE: AFTER THE DANCE Anyone who’s been riveted by Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance in the BBC’s updated version of Sherlock Holmes should check out his tremendous starring role in After the Dance at the National Theatre, which ends next week. In the revival of Terence Rattigan’s 1939 play, Cumberbatch plays a rich, dissolute, part-time historian [...]
Safe & sound August 3, 2010 DRIVING along in the new Volvo S60, I am so engrossed in conversation with my passenger that I’ve completely taken my eyes off the road. This is why I don’t see a pedestrian in front of me. Fortunately, a sensing system at the front of the car automatically brings the car to a sudden stop [...]