FIVE OF THE BEST OUTDOOR POOLS July 12, 2010 HAMPSTEAD HEATH SWIMMING PONDS, NW5 1QR Unlike anything else in London, the Hampstead Heath ponds are three distinct oases of nature and calm just a few kilometres from the centre of the world’s largest cities. Swim amid the lilies, willows and assorted plant life in one of three ponds that date back to 1860: one [...]
CELLULITE-BUSTERS: WE REVIEW TWO July 12, 2010 CELLUTOX AROMA SPA OCEAN WRAP After booking a last minute summer break, I had one week to get myself bikini-ready. Although I upped my gym-going, I quickly realised that nature would need a hand. A buff, a scrub and a seaweed wrap were called for, so the Cellutox sounded fantastic. After the buffing, a delicious [...]
A superb Ambassadeur’s reception July 12, 2010 The Milroy 5 Hamilton Place, W1J 7ED, Tel: 020 7317 6108 Cost per person without wine: £40 THOSE accustomed to the opulence of Les Ambassadeurs, the exclusive London casino, may not be blown away by the Milroy, its in-house restaurant. But now that it has opened to the public for lunch, those of us for [...]
TASTING NOTES July 12, 2010 IN his current book describing London’s early Victorian gambling scene, Gentlemen & Blackguards, author Nicholas Foulkes points out that Crockford’s, then the most famous and exclusive gaming club in town, was as known for its fine food as it was for relieving aristos or their fortunes. As with The Milroy (see above), that’s still the [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS July 12, 2010 LARDER OF LONDON REOPENS For a foodie city, one thing London is shamefully short of is quality food markets. Anyone who’s had enough of fighting their way through the Borough Market hoards can now instead fight their way through the West End hoards each Saturday at the newly-launched Foodlovers Market in Soho, once reputed as [...]
A new port of call far north of the Algarve July 11, 2010 IF you’re thinking of getting away to Portugal this summer, chances are it’s the Algarve you’re considering, for a bit of sea, sardines or the swing of a golf club. Well fine, the country’s southern region does all those things extremely well. However, British holidaymakers tend to forget what the rest of the country has [...]
Treats in store at Lisbon’s glam Ritz July 11, 2010 IF you are going to visit Lisbon, you should stay at the Ritz Four Seasons, an enchanting, marble-clad property from one of the world’s best hotel operators. Its location and positioning is ideal; the hotel offers vistas of Eduardo VII Park, St. George’s Moorish castle, the Old Town and the Tagus River from atop one [...]
Spreading success, little by little July 11, 2010 WILSON Moleni is on his first trip to the UK. And what a first visit it is: he is dining with royalty, meeting dignitaries and briefing journalists. Not bad for a man who grew up among Malawi’s poorest, and who (most of the time) had just enough food to continue to go to school. Moleni, [...]
CASE STUDIES: OPPORTUNITY BANK SUCCESS STORIES July 11, 2010 ANNA, NKHATA BAY DISTRICT Anna’s daughter-in-law died just days after giving birth. The child was just seven days old. Anna collected the baby from the hospital but couldn’t find any money to buy milk. She turned to the Opportunity Bank for help. She took out a loan of MK 5,000 which meant that she could [...]
Go back to school… this time in style July 8, 2010 ESTATE agents love taking on “conversions” – it allows them to market the “authenticity” of a property. But what does a conversion actually offer buyers? One of the advantages, says Anup Pankhania of Jaspar Group, a property conversions business, is that “you’ve got a spectacular spaces you’d never get anywhere else”. He’s referring to features [...]