Model citizens can get the best deals May 13, 2010 THE turmoil of the past two years has been unforgiving for first time buyers. In the boom times they were falling over themselves to snap up properties before prices shot up further, fuelled by a plethora of mortgages that offered 100 per cent borrowing and sometimes even more than that (thank you, Northern Rock). By [...]
HOMES BELOW THE STAMP DUTY THRESHOLD May 13, 2010 OCTAVIA HOUSE, IMPERIAL WHARF From £182,700 Residents of Hammersmith and Fulham can get a 30 per cent discount on studios if they earn under £60,000. Call St George on 020 7610 9693 www.imperialwharf.com EDGEHILL HOUSE, HARROW ON THE HILL £249,99 A bijou two-bedroom flat in a smart mansion block near South Harrow Underground station. Call [...]
The doyenne of British fashion talks Ascot style May 13, 2010 GOD knows how I’ll manage to be in heels for Ascot,” says Amanda Wakeley, OBE for services to British fashion, savvy businesswoman and recent recipient of knee surgery following daredevil skiing. Something tells me that she’ll rock flats just fine. After all, her clothing line – which she learned to design the old fashioned way [...]
Watches to wear in Monaco this weekend May 13, 2010 THE worlds of motor racing and stylish watches have always been a natural fit. Glamour and prestige, advanced engineering and pinpoint timing are their shared values, not to mention the fact that speed dials offer cool style inspiration to watch designers. In advance of this weekend’s Monte Carlo Grand Prix, we offer the pick of [...]
No men in tights: Russell Crowe shows the gritty side of a legend May 13, 2010 Film ROBIN HOOD Cert: 12A *** ROBIN HOOD is the fourth collaboration between Russell Crowe and director Ridley Scott, and comes a decade after their first outing, the majestic Ancient Rome saga Gladiator. It shares that film’s muscular swordplay, gritty historical vision and interest in ancient politics, but lacks its pile-driving sense of excitement. Whether [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND May 13, 2010 FILM AMERICAN: THE BILL HICKS STORY Documentary about the controversial late stand-up comic. EYES WIDE OPEN Powerful Israeli drama about an Orthodox Jewish father who falls for a male student. VINCERE Italian film telling the story of Benito Mussolini’s controversial first marriage. DVD IT’S COMPLICATED Inspired romantic comedy starring Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin. WHERE [...]
NOW SHOWING | SIX OF THE BEST May 13, 2010 THEATRE Peter Pan At the Barbican Theatre, this fantastical new version of JM Barrie’s classic tale is a thrilling experience for all ages, produced by the National Theatre of Scotland to mark the 150th anniversary of Barrie’s birth. FILM Four Lions Arch provocateur Chris Morris’s subversive comedy about incompetent British suicide bombers is very clever, very [...]
A fraught journey through exile, family and religion May 12, 2010 NOMAD BY AYAAN HIRSI ALI Simon & Schuster, £12.99 **** AYAAN Hirsi Ali is one of the political world’s most direct speakers – if not its most direct. Even the most controversial commentators balk at using her kind of polarising terminology and crystalline rhetoric. In part this is because 40-year old Ali, who works at [...]
VEXED IN THE CITY May 12, 2010 Can I ask my colleague about his home life? DEAR VEXED: There’s a colleague I work really closely with on a number of projects. We get along well, but our relationship is strictly professional. Recently I’ve noticed him being really distracted, and I overheard him having a bitter argument with his wife on the phone. [...]
A blooming good way to eat for springtime May 12, 2010 LOTS of us have aspirations of turning our gardens into allotments and impressing dinner party guests with all manner of home-grown delicacies. Since that requires time, effort, good soil, advantageous sunlight and – at the very least – a garden, not many of us actually manage it. But a form of garden produce requiring a [...]