The world’s in peril…again November 17, 2010 ZERO HOUR BY ANDY MCNAB Bantam £18.99 More aggressively masculine thriller-writing is hard to come by – McNab’s Nick Stone is the toughest of the tough (of British men), and his partners in crime operate in a world of violent political espionage and the most blood-letting, explosive of special ops. With Zero Hour, the prolific [...]
COSTA BOOK AWARDS | ANALYSIS November 17, 2010 SECOND in command to the Booker Prize, the Costa Awards (formerly the Whitbreads), still matter. They still shift books on a large scale and the “winner” sticker still counts for something in the Waterstones customer’s consciousness. Lest anyone mistake them for the Bookers’ subservient echo, this year the prize will disprove such an assertion – [...]
VEXED IN THE CITY November 17, 2010 Those cursed royals could ruin my wedding DEAR VEXED: My fiancée and I have been engaged for over a year, and four months ago decided on a July wedding. I have a horrible feeling the weekend we’ve plumped for is the favourite for Wills and Kate. The whole thing is going to be overshadowed by [...]
The food entrepreneur who’s hitting the MARC November 16, 2010 MARLON Abela fits the international It-Boy bill perfectly. Born in Lebanon, he grew up among the rich and famous of London and the south of France, raised by a father who owned one of the world’s top institutional and airline catering businesses and a slew of four and five star hotels. Recently valued at £400m, [...]
Two-wheel power November 16, 2010 So here I am, driving the first mass-produced Land Rover ever to be designed not to go off road – the Freelander 2 eD4 – and where I am driving it? Off-road. For a second I can’t help myself from thinking that Land Rover’s communications people have gone mad. Then I realise two things. First, [...]
CAR TALK November 16, 2010 THE CONTROVERSIAL RANGE ROVER EVOQUE If the new 2WD Freelander is contentious, it’s nothing on the controversy that surrounds the new Range Rover Evoque. This is the production five-door version, which is making its debut at the Los Angeles Motor Show today. The Evoque will be the smallest, lightest and most fuel-efficient Range Rover ever [...]
Learn He-Man’s recipe for great guns November 15, 2010 WHATEVER your feelings about the acting skills of Swedish action film star Dolph Lundgren, the man has guns. That is, insanely sculpted arms and a physique that suggests super-human strength. So when an opportunity arose to go and train with him while he was in London to promote his new film the Expendables, I couldn’t [...]
OUT OF OFFICE November 15, 2010 SCOTTISH ART AT FLEMINGS Mayfair’s most genteel Victorian hotel has teamed up with the Fleming Collection on Berkley Street to offer a first-rate Scottish Art Experience. You’ll take a private tour of the gallery with a guide discovering some of the finest Scottish artists of the 19th century, followed by tea in the Flemings Hotel’s [...]
More friendly, and just as tasty November 15, 2010 Sake No Hana 23 St James’s St, SW1A 1HA Tel: 020 7925 8988 FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £45 SAKE No Hana, formerly the only Japanese restaurant in London to make Nobu seem cosy and inviting, has undergone three big changes. One: the downstairs sushi bar has gone upstairs, and the upstairs [...]
THREE OTHER JAPANESE RESTAURANTS IN MAYFAIR November 15, 2010 SUMOSAN Less well publicised than nearby rivals Nobu,?Zuma and Umu, Sumosan has a particular type of high-octane glamour. Those in the know swear by the place for its delectible sushi, beautifully presented raw fish salads and impeccably cooked meat. The elegant interior and quiet service make for a discreet spot for business. 26 Albemarle St, [...]