Faulks takes aim at London, the City and Dickens September 2, 2009 A WEEK IN DECEMBERBY SEBASTIAN FAULKSHutchinson, £18.99 WITH HIS interest in the historical past and his solid, straightforward prose, Sebastian Faulks is the bard of Middle England. His most famous books – Birdsong, Charlotte Gray et al – are set in the world wars, times sure to interest your middlebrow reader. So he is taking [...]
Not Fiat for purpose September 1, 2009 I WAS driving another car altogether recently with a motoring pal and we got on to the subject of the Fiat 500. We naturally progressed on to this high-performance version of the car. Fiat has taken the much-loved 500 and let loose Abarth, the designer which is to Fiat what AMG is to Mercedes-Benz. It [...]
Mezze with chic that won’t break the bank August 31, 2009 Le Comptoir Libanais65 Wigmore Street, W1U 1PZ, Tel: 020 7935 1110Cost per person without wine: £16 THINK of affordable Middle Eastern food in London and you probably think of lowest common denominator chains like Tas, dishing out hummus-by-numbers in tired, tatty surroundings. But by incorporating a bit of French pizzazz into its title, Le Comptoir [...]
OTHER MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANTS August 31, 2009 FAKHRELDINEA high-end Piccadilly favourite, with a dining room overlooking Green Park, a long list of smart dishes and grand mezze platters, and a stylish bar and lounge too. 85 Piccadilly, W1J 7NB, www.fakhreldine.co.uk LEVANTLevant is a more traditional and ornate immersion in Middle Eastern atmosphere, with incense, candles and belly-dancing. You can even smoke shisha [...]
FOCUS ON: CRAWLEY, WEST SUSSEX August 20, 2009 BADGERS BANK, OLD BRIGHTON ROAD NORTH, PEASE POTTAGE, RH11 9AJPrice: £1.15mThis modern five-bedroom property is located in a quiet cul-de-sac in a village just outside Crawley, which is just under an hour from London by train. There is a large master bedroom suite which includes a dressing area and a bathroom with a jacuzzi bath. [...]
You don’t have to sacrifice style when going small August 20, 2009 ACCORDING to research published last week by Cabe – the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, if you please – almost half the people who live in new-build housing in and around London say reckon they don’t have enough space in their homes. The fact is, London life can all too often feel like [...]
Not Quent’s most glorious moment August 20, 2009 FilmINGLOURIOUS BASTERDSCert: 18 THE LONG opening sequence of Quentin Tarantino’s latest film is a piece of scintillating cinematic bravado that must rank alongside the café scene that opens Reservoir Dogs and the “watch up the ass” passage from Pulp Fiction for virtuoso brilliance. In it, an urbane, superficially-charming Gestapo official – who relishes his nickname [...]
NOW SHOWING SIX OF THE BEST August 20, 2009 THEATRE Arcadia Tom Stoppard’s brilliantly inventive drama, starring Samantha Bond (left) ART Richard Long Tate Britain’s retrospective of the influential land artist. FILM Sin Nombre Searing immigration drama. ART Serpentine Pavillion This year’s Hyde Park architectural project is a sensuous aluminium construction by Japan’s Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa. FILM Les Demoiselles de Rochefort At [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS August 20, 2009 FILMI LOVE YOU BETH COOPER Low-watt high school romance bobbins with Hayden Panettiere. SCARFACE Re-release time for Al Pacino’s crime lord and his “leedle friend”. CHIKO German drama set in Hamburg’s dark and violent underbelly. DVDIN THE LOOP Armando Iannucci’s hilarious political satire, starring Peter Capaldi. I LOVE YOU, MAN Half-baked “bro-mance” with Paul Rudd [...]
Down to earth style August 20, 2009 WHAT a coincidence. Two weeks after the Trade Union Congress declared high heels a menace to health in the workplace, flat shoes have surged to the fore as the must-have fashion accessory for fall. Comfort and style in one – who knew? “Every season, brogues for women come back with more vengeance,” says a spokeswoman [...]