The future’s bright March 1, 2010 1. KEF REFERENCE 201/2 The ultimate full range bookshelf loudspeaker from perhaps the most design-conscious audiophile manufacturer. It may not be big, but the sound is as vibrant and clear as the colour. And Kef has added 12 new coloured lacquer finishes to choose from for the Reference range. £2,999 www.kef.com. 2. BOSTON ACOUSTICS SOUNDWARE [...]
Choosing the right wine in a restaurant March 1, 2010 I never know what to do about wine ordering when entertaining clients. What advice can you give me? Jeffery, private wealth manager, 34 WHEN you’re entertaining guests at a restaurant, you’ve got three jobs: book it, choose the wine and pay the bill. One and three are easy, but there’s nowhere to hide when you’re [...]
OUT OF OFFICE March 1, 2010 PAUL NASH RETROSPECTIVE British painter Nash is most famous for his nightmarish depictions of the battlefields of both World Wars as dark, dystopian landscapes. Beyond this, a new retrospective shows he was also one of the greatest British artists of the modernist era. Until 9 May, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Gallery Road, SE21 7AD. www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk. JERRY [...]
Food to make central London blush March 1, 2010 The Artichoke 9 Market Square, Old Amersham, Bucks, HP7 ODF, tel: 01494 726611 Cost per person without wine: £40 For a Tuesday evening, it wasn’t the usual sort of place to meet for dinner. From Baker Street we boarded a Metropolitan Line train to Amersham and, 50 minutes later, hopped out into the fog and [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS March 1, 2010 ALICE COCKTAILS AT THE ARTESIAN The beautiful Artesian bar at the Langham Hotel is celebrating the release of the forthcoming?Alice in Wonderland film with a new cocktail, the White Rabbit. It’s jolly good, too ?– spiced berry sugar-crusted rim, G’Vine (wine flower flavoured gin), Cointreau, lemon juice and celery bitters. If that doesn’t appeal, try [...]
THREE OTHER TOP COMMUTER RESTAURANTS March 1, 2010 CHAPTER ONE, BROMLEY, KENT It may be in Bromley, but with a Michelin star and four AA rosettes, Chapter One is on the same plane as London’s Pied a Terre and Cambridge’s magnificent Midsummer House. It’s very nicely done French food with creative ingredients – if you live near Bromley, lucky you. Farnborough Common, Locksbottom, [...]
Luxury comes to Abu Dhabi’s glorious desert February 28, 2010 THE Liwa Desert is in the area known as the Empty Quarter, and is the largest uninterrupted stretch of desert in the world. This vast area, which extends into the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, was made famous through the adventures of the late British explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger who wrote about [...]
TRAVEL NOTES – UK EASTER BREAKS February 28, 2010 Cameron House, Loch Lomond Children can stay for free over Easter at Cameron House, one of the most splendid hotels in the British Isles. It occupies a grand 18th century country pile on the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, and you can go sailing and fishing on the loch, take a sea plane trip, [...]
Traders turning to stars for answers February 28, 2010 I’M sitting in an opulent suite at the Four Seasons Hampshire with about 20 other people, sipping tea and nibbling cakes. We’re here in deepest darkest Dogmersfield, a former hunting park of Henry VIII, to find out what the future holds – and what the chaotic present means – from one of the world’s most [...]
My colleagues are canoodling in the boardroom February 28, 2010 DEAR VEXED: A couple of colleagues have recently got into a relationship and they are being really indiscreet about it – I actually stumbled in on them snogging in the boardroom the other day when I went in to get something. It’s making everyone uncomfortable. Is there anything I can do or is this one [...]