Q&A: BUYING May 14, 2009 Q. Dear Camilla, I’m looking to buy a property but have we reached the bottom of the market or do prices have further to fall? A. Prices have fallen between 15 and 20 percent since the peak of the market, which was March 2008 for London. At the beginning of this year most analysts were [...]
The places in town not to be seen May 13, 2009 ARE you happy in your job? Of course you are. You are hardworking and – most importantly – loyal. But imagine if somebody did come along and try to headhunt you. You would be stupid not to agree to a meeting, just to have a chat and see how the land lies. A little bit [...]
The places in town not to be seen May 13, 2009 The Mercer34 Threadneedle Street, EC2R 8AYDiscreet Seats: The counter at the bar-end of the room: only backs are visible and it would be almost impossible to hear what someone was ordering, let alone which bottle of vintage Bordeaux.Food and drink: Very solid new British cuisine, with everything sourced as locally as possible and an award-winning, [...]
Monica Ali’s Brick Lane follow-up never really reaches boiling point May 13, 2009 ALTHOUGH she published a book called Alentejo Clue in 2006, this is being seen as the follow-up to Ali’s much-trumpeted Brick Lane. Once again it tackles the prickly topic of immigrants in London, but this time the action centres round the unlikeable chef Gabriel Lightfoot who works at the Imperial Hotel (note the heavy whiff [...]
Monica Ali’s Brick Lane follow-up never really reaches boiling point May 13, 2009 THERE is something irresistible about a modern-day murder mystery set against the ancient sites of Greek mythology. Combine such a piquant setting with a cracking plot and a vividly colourful narrative and you’ve got The Taint of Midas, the second in the award-winning Mysteries of the Greek Detective series by the British-born, formerly Greek island-dwelling [...]
Monica Ali’s Brick Lane follow-up never really reaches boiling point May 13, 2009 ONE of the most famous books to come out of the boom of the Eighties was Barbarians at the Gate. In this book, it seems that the nerds have taken over from Conan and his chums. In fact, the subtitle of the book makes it clear that greed was to blame – politicians and central [...]
Working women have never had it so bad: discuss August 28, 2008 Mothers have a tough time juggling everything, but should we feel sorry for them? For decades, feminists have talked about working women’s “second shift”, the extra work they do in the home after they have finished their day’s work in the office. It seems that things are much the same now as they were in [...]
Crazy in lobe August 13, 2008 In the world of earrings, bigger and bolder is definitely better, says Zoe Strimpel Times are changing; we’re not quite the over-mortgaging, champagne slugging society we once were. And, odd as it may sound, earrings are as good a sign of the times as any. New figures from John Lewis show sales of jewellery are [...]
High Altitude Health August 12, 2008 Zoe Strimpel tells you how to keep sharp when you’re flying At this time of year, people are flying more than ever. If you are lucky, that’s because you are getting away on a well-earned holiday. If you are still taking business trips right now, well, you probably need to make sure you are arriving [...]
City crisis takes its toll on marriage August 6, 2008 Job-losses mean divorce rates are rocketing, finds Anusha Bradley When the credit crunch bit, it was clear that banks were going to suffer and that things would look grim for many businesses. What was less predictable was the effect that it would have on divorce rates. According to a survey commissioned by law firm Mishcon [...]