The king of scent and his powers of perfume picking June 28, 2010 WHEN we meet, Roja Dove is wearing a billowing turquoise silk shirt tucked into trousers held up by a diamante belt with a skull clasp, and has skin so dewy it could be that of a 20 year-old boy. Such remarkable self-presentation, not to mention his mellifluous voice, is immediately suggestive of the fact that [...]
Fishy feet may be the best June 28, 2010 THE hot weather will be a mixed blessing for anyone for whom sandal wearing means feet resembling parched deserts cracked with jagged canyons. There are all the usual ways of dealing with this – creams, sanding down with pumice, going for a full-on pedicure – but sticking your tootsies in a tank full of flesh-eating [...]
FIT IN THE CITY June 28, 2010 GET PEDDLING: Gridlocked traffic, the rising cost of fuel and temperatures on the underground reaching 40 degrees this summer should make this one a no-brainer (better still, invest in some good running shoes and pound the pavements Forrest Gump-style). BACK AWAY FROM THE REMOTE: With the rising cost of energy, there’s never been a better [...]
Where safari meets heavenly white beaches June 27, 2010 TANZANIA combines the thrill of safari through the vast plains of the Serengeti with relaxation on the tropical beaches of the exotic Spice island of Zanzibar. Serengeti We draw the curtains of our room in Kempinski’s Bilila Lodge to find a welcome committee of seven elephants, obligingly gathered at a watering hole just steps away [...]
TRAVEL NOTES: BUDGET-FRIENDLY STAYCATIONS June 27, 2010 Mid Week Food Lovers Boutique hotel Fishmore Hall, on the edge of the foodie hotspot of Ludlow, is ideal for a foodie staycation. Go midweek (Sunday to Thursday) and you’ll receive a 50 per cent discount on room rates, plus dinner for two from the a la carte menu. When you’re not eating all the [...]
Let the travelling by boat take the stress out of commuting June 24, 2010 IN warm weather those living near the river in London have a big advantage. It’s not just the views or access to riverside beer gardens – it’s the fact that they don’t have to jam themselves into sweat-drenched Tube carriages and buses when they can drift merrily to work by boat instead. When commuting comes [...]
Q&A CURRENCY June 24, 2010 CAMILLA DELL MANAGING PARTNER AT BLACK BRICK Q.Dear Camilla, I am a London property developer and in light of this week’s Budget, what will the week’s announcements mean for the capital’s housing market? A.Well, the rise in capital gains tax (CGT) was far, far less than everybody expected, which is a great relief for those [...]
How Osborne’s budget affects the housing market June 24, 2010 THERE are not many ways to make a 10 per cent tax hike look business-friendly, but Chancellor George Osborne pulled off a neat trick this week by doing just that. Expectations of a massive capital gains tax (CGT) rise had been building since the Liberal Democrats, who had promised to raise CGT to close to [...]
There’s nothing that says well done me quite like a bodacious one-man palace June 24, 2010 YOU’VE given your life to work – and you’ve made a mint in return. It’s high time you rewarded yourself with a show-stopper of a home.?Don’t beat around the property bush – buy yourself a bachelor pad with all the bells and whistles, a home you love so much you’d be happy to live in [...]
Brand keeps living the rock star dream in Hollywood June 24, 2010 Film Get Him To The Greek Cert: 15 As recent comedies have gone, 2008’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall was a neatly plotted break-up movie that managed to produce a fair amount of laughs, most of them care of Russell Brand. The comedian’s turn as rock star Aldous Snow made him a star in America, with the [...]