Where to take the family for a splendid Easter February 21, 2010 Sunny escape in the south of France Les Jardins de Saint Benoit is a beautiful riverside estate in the Languedoc region of the South of France, with vineyards, olive groves and renovated medieval gardens. This Easter break children aged four to 16 can enjoy the daily Kids Club, with activities that get them closer to [...]
OUT OF OFFICE February 21, 2010 HENRY MOORE AT TATE BRITAIN Opening this week, the Tate’s new retrospective revisits the legacy of one of the giants of British art in the twentieth century, and arguably the country’s greatest-ever sculptor. In the age of Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, it’s easy to forget the dramatic experimentation and poetic power of Moore’s strange, [...]
For cool, affordable city living, go east February 18, 2010 THE City may have a reputation for huge pay packets, but when you’re starting out the story’s somewhat different – most will begin their careers earning under £30,000. That makes getting onto the property market fiendishly difficult in a downturn. However, there are affordable options out there, especially in East London, the City’s nearest commuting [...]
FOCUS ON: WALTHAMSTOW, E17 February 18, 2010 VESTRY ROAD, E17 9NH Price: £725,000 This is a large mews conversion in the heart of the Walthamstow conservation area. It has three separate bedrooms but there is space for two further bedrooms on the mezzanine level. With a skylight spanning the whole length of the open-plan living area, the property is both airy and [...]
Q&A: renting February 18, 2010 James Davis MANAGING DIRECTOR OF UPAD.CO.UK Q.Dear James, I need to move for a new job, but I can’t sell my house. I’m going to rent it out for now and see if the market picks up. A friend said I have to tell my mortgage lender. Is this true? Won’t they just make me [...]
Oh we do like to be beside the (British) seaside February 18, 2010 IF there’s one thing in property that never goes out of fashion, it’s a sea view. Coastal views – wherever you are in Europe – are in fierce demand and often, limited supply. “The National?Trust owns so much of our coastline in?Britain, that there’s always going to be a shortage,” says Jonathan Cunliffe, of Savills [...]
Bridges stakes his Oscar claim in a hoary old tale February 18, 2010 Film CRAZY HEART WERE it not for Jeff Bridges’ dazzling central performance, Crazy Heart would be a hard sell, particularly in this country. The story of a washed-up, hard-living country music star finding redemption in the arms of a pretty young gal has all the formulaic, tug-the-heartstrings predictability of a made-for-TV movie. So even with [...]
Why the City’s women are going bespoke February 18, 2010 SAVILE Row is a male-dominated environment, but women are increasingly alive to the joys of getting something that fits them – and only them ?– rather than making do with off-the-peg clothes. There’s a very physical reason for this – as any fuller-chested woman will tell you, there is one thing that makes the female [...]
HOW TO TAKE TEN YEARS OFF February 18, 2010 I HAD a very pleasant shopping experience yesterday. On my way to check out the new spring businesswear, Claire on the Clinique counter sidetracked me by offering me a “lip consultation”. Well, this was a first and I was intrigued, especially as the cold weather has rendered my lips a little on the dry side. [...]
A brilliant tale about the feminist revolution, the 1970s and today February 17, 2010 The baited breath that awaits each new book from our most polarising, arguably brilliant living writer, is palpable. Yet in recent years that breath has been let out in a deflated sigh rather than a sharp exhalation of excitement, following the publication of his more recent political writings and quasi-novels. But The Pregnant Widow is [...]