Sustainable living finally comes of age July 2, 2009 A PROPERTY developer called Morpheus recently revamped three super-luxury homes on Clareville Street in South Kensington, complete with all mod-cons. Even in this climate, they sold within days of going on the market in June, at an average price of £5m. A pretty normal story for the top end of London’s property market. But what [...]
FOCUS ON: PROPERTIES WITHIN ZONE ONE July 2, 2009 CANVAS HOUSE, QUEEN ELIZABETH ST, SE1 2NLPrice: £775,000A large two-bedroom apartment set in a warehouse conversion in the Shad Thames area, this property is within a few minutes walk of London Bridge station and the Hays Galleria shopping arcade. One of the bedrooms is en suite and there is also a spacious reception room and [...]
On the Spanish coast the price is right for a dream home in the sun July 2, 2009 SPAIN had it coming. The overdevelopment, the overpricing and the overexcitement were sure to lead to a property crisis. Which, of course, is good news for buyers who still fancy a gorgeous place in the sun. At last, the prices in Spain, particularly along the over-extended southern coast, are right. According to James Stewart, an [...]
Cricket’s divine comedy, from WG to pedalos July 1, 2009 AND GOD CREATED CRICKETBy Simon HughesDOUBLEDAY, £20WITH the Ashes series approaching, the minds of anybody who has ever enjoyed a sleepy afternoon listening to the thwack of leather on willow (or enjoyed the considerably more rowdy pleasures of the Western Terrace at Headingly) will be turning to cricketing matters. There’s no better accompaniment to a [...]
OUT OF OFFICE July 1, 2009 OPENING OF LIQUID NATION BARFresh on the scene is the communistic sounding “live music venue for the people”. Communism has its upsides: drinks are £2.50; there are two smoking terraces each with their own bar and live music and DJs every Thurs-Sat. More controversially, there are also big pictures in the windows of those involved [...]
Brighter SHADES July 1, 2009 WHEN aviator shades came back into fashion a few years ago, there was more than a whiff of retro about them. It was either about nailing that Donnie Brasco look from the Seventies, or the mirror-shaded naffness of Tom Cruise, Miami Vice and Milli Vanilli. Luckily, things have moved on a bit, and the aviator [...]
La Vie en Rose July 1, 2009 SOMETHING is up with rose wine. Its image as the cheap and cheerful, distinctly low-brow summer tipple is evaporating like water on a hot summer’s day. It’s gone from being the sort of thing you’d drink on holiday in Great Yarmouth or Blackpool while getting sunburned to the colour of a lobster to the drink [...]
ROSE WHAT TO DRINK THIS SUMMER July 1, 2009 Langlois Cremant de Loire Rose Brut (£12.99, Oddbins)This fizz is flying off the shelves – and justifiably so. It’s one of the best in France, being made by Bollinger, with stringent rules determining the quality of its production and grapes. The result is a champagne-standard bubbly, full of raspberry and blackcurrant but also with bite [...]
Automatic for the people? June 30, 2009 THE best high-performance cars come with a manual gearbox, right? Well, not according to Mercedes-Benz. On the evidence of this car, their stance appears to be that machines can change gear more efficiently than humans. But where’s the fun in that? Having driven this car in automatic form, I was yearning to feel how it [...]
Beach bombshells June 29, 2009 THIS season, sexy isn’t about thongs. It’s about celebrating and supporting your curves in unapologetic bombshell fashion, preferably in bright colours. Flying off the shelves is structured swimwear that snugly holds and controls curves without looking frumpy. As any man will tell you, there’s nothing unsexy about a big chest and wide hips, but the [...]