THREE OTHER FINE FRENCH BISTROTS March 15, 2010 TERROIRS Charing Cross suddenly hit the foodie map with this proper French wine bar and restaurant full of charcuterie, terrines, cheeses, rich mains and clever little dishes such as Lincolnshire smoked eel and boudin noir with fried eggs. Wine is a magnificent selection of European winners with a French angle; much is biodynamic, too. 5 [...]
Food & booze news March 15, 2010 ST PATRICK’S DAY FEASTS Celebrate Ireland’s Saint’s day with a feast inspired by food from the Emerald Isle (such menus don’t appear every day). At the Ebury in Pimlico there’s Cashel Blue with Boxty potato pancakes; and corned beef with bacon, cabbage, Guinness sauce and prunes. Across town at Maida Vale’s The Waterway you’ll find [...]
Make the most of your World Cup holiday March 14, 2010 SO, we know now where England will be based for this summer’s World Cup in June and July. Fabio Capello’s guys will set up their training camp in the small town of Rustenburg, 70 miles from Johannesburg and 60 miles from Pretoria. Aside from being a football haven come June with four World Cup stadiums [...]
TRAVEL NOTES March 14, 2010 Plane Food’s healthy picnics Now the health-conscious jet-set can make sure they stay well fuelled on board. Stuart Gillies at Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food in Heathrow’s Terminal Five has created a picnic menu called Plane Beautiful that uses nutrient-loaded ingredients thought to “bring out beauty from within while airborne” – think lots of Omega-3 and [...]
Lions and luxury in SA’s top resort March 14, 2010 IF the job of a hotel is to make guests feel at home, then you can’t really beat the Pezula Resort Hotel & Spa. When the French football team arrive there this summer they will be greeted with a barrage of “bonjours” from the staff, who are all taking French lessons, just to ensure that [...]
You can only put your best foot forward if you care for your shoes March 14, 2010 THERE’S no point in splashing out on an expensive suit if the shoes you wear with it don’t look the business. In fact, while you can get away with an inexpensive suit and still look smart, accessories like your watch, cufflinks and shoes are the things you just can’t fake. Once you have your elegant [...]
OUT OF OFFICE March 14, 2010 KURSK RETURNS TO THE YOUNG VIC Having had a triumphant run at the Young Vic in 2009, the award-nominated show about fateful events onboard Russia’s doomed submarine, the Kursk, is making a welcome return to the theatre. Byron Lavery’s show is a nail-biting immersion in a submariner’s world – a promenade show, the audience is [...]
The sun is shining on property in the Med March 11, 2010 THIS year’s freezing winter may well have proved a tipping point in your decision to invest in a sunny property abroad – and it couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Possibly by the time the time London’s largest overseas property fair, A Place in the Sun (held at Earl’s Court) rolls around 26-28 Mar, [...]
CURRENT MORTGAGE DEALS March 11, 2010 LENDER FIXED/FLEXIBLE RATE UNTIL STANDARD RATE APR MAXIMUM LOAN (PER CENT) (PER CENT) (PER CENT)TO VALUE (PER CENT) First Direct Flexible 2.39 Term 3.69 2.9 65 Market Harborough BS Flexible 2.48 2 years 5.49 5.1 75 HSBC Special Flexible 2.49 Term 3.94 2.7 60 Yorkshire BS Flexible 2.49 To Mar 2012 4.99 4.7 75 Nationwide [...]
FOCUS ON: CROYDON, GREATER LONDON March 11, 2010 CHELLOWS, BIRCH HILL, SHIRLEY HILLS, CR0 5HT Price: £2.495m An extremely spacious five bedroom detached property, this house has a separate annexe and is located in a private road. There is a smart kitchen/breakfast room and a garden/music room with a bar. It comes with 1.3 acres of landscaped gardens and a heated swimming pool. [...]