Tequila’s birthplace gives the drink a whole new spin… July 4, 2010 I’M drinking Tequila for the first time in years, as fingers of blazing Mexican sun poke down between the swaying branches of a shady tree. I can’t quite believe that I’m sipping firewater on the lawn outside a picture postcard 150 year-old hacienda – a Mexican manor house – as I eat a splendid lunch [...]
Experience Paris and all that jazz July 4, 2010 I DON’T think you ever need an excuse to spend a weekend in Paris but how about a weekend of live jazz in the city’s beautiful Parc Floral? Every weekend until 1 August the park is hosting the Paris Jazz Festival, a series of free outdoor concerts at its stage beneath the trees. Promising emerging [...]
TRAVEL NOTES July 4, 2010 Macau Mandarin opens For a different spin on Hong Kong, head to the island of Macau, just 45 minutes by ferry from central HK, where a brand new, super-luxe Mandarin Oriental has just opened. For those who fancy an idyll away from the intense gaming of the former Portuguese colony, there is no casino in the [...]
Surrey is still the homeliest home county July 1, 2010 IF you are looking for a family home, Surrey is a good place to start. Unlike some of the suburbs closer to London, Surrey has villages with character and history, fine pubs and some wonderful schools. Many of Surrey’s best spots also have a direct connection to Waterloo, an easy hop from the City. The [...]
Keep it real in the Caribbean, just the place for sun, sand and security July 1, 2010 THE appeal of white sand, turquoise sea and a developed infrastructure all in one is too strong to be destroyed by an economic downturn, even this one. While prices sank by 20-25 per cent in two of the British Caribbean’s hottest spots, Barbados and St Lucia, the market has far from stalled. In fact, buyers [...]
Cotswolds classics are always in demand July 1, 2010 PICTURE the idyllic country home and the chances are you’ll conjure up some quaint, mullioned stone cottage in the Cotswolds. Far beyond a fad, the Cotswolds are home to what many consider England’s most appealing rural villages. They ooze a well-heeled ambiance but provide countryside and an equestrian community that is second to none, all [...]
It’s bargain time for Square Mile renters July 1, 2010 WITH prices still slightly down from their 2008 heights, now is the time to get into the London rental market if you or your company are looking for non-permanent living space in the capital. Traditionally, demand grows as the summer wears on and with the property market picking up, prices are only going to go [...]
Add some colour to your Summer July 1, 2010 vitra vegetal chair in brick red £284, see www.vitra.com for stockists glow coffee table £149 www.dwell.co.uk lighthouse oil lamp £16.95 www.dwell.co.uk Kanpazar Garden Light £580 www.gomodern.co.uk Frou Frou White Parasol £1,490 www.gomodern.co.uk HEALS DECKCHAIR £75 www.heals.co.uk MEDIUM ORCHID POTS £79 www.conranshop.co.uk
The great barbecue debate July 1, 2010 ACCORDING to anthropologists, in our hunter-gather days men only ever prepared food in two situations; at feasts for special occasions, or making quick, simple meals of meat cooked over open fires when they were out on hunting trips. In other words, they were either chefs, or they barbecued. Sound familiar? In this heat, nobody wants [...]
SELLING July 1, 2010 Russell Hunt MANAGING DIRECTOR AT PROPERTY HUNT Q. Dear Russell, has the abolition of home information packs (Hips) helped the London property market? A.I think that the removal of Hips has definitely been a positive thing because people just don’t like putting their hands in their pockets and paying for something up-front with no guarantee [...]