Barsham Barns review: These luxury cottages in North Norfolk raise the bar for self-catering getaways June 4, 2018 When it comes to travelling with my entourage of beautiful friends, I’m finished with hotels. I’m done with hanging around near a cheese plant in the lobby as the last stragglers check in. I’m tired of resorting to £6 cocktails in empty hotel bars, and of “let’s freshen up and meet downstairs in 15 minutes”. [...]
These are the seven best fish and chips in London, and I’ll hear no more on the matter June 1, 2018 1. Golden Union 38 Poland St, London W1F 7LY Fish are basically the potatoes of the ocean. And potatoes are just a kind of fish that lives in the dirt. When these two edible stewards of the underworld come together we call it fish and chips, and nowhere is the pairing better exemplified than [...]
Irvine Welsh interview: Growing old disgracefully May 3, 2018 The image of a former enfant terrible growing up, moving to a big house by the ocean and living a life of manicured leisure is hardly novel. Even so, hearing Irvine Welsh – former heroin addict, guitarist with punk band The Pubic Lice, and author of Trainspotting – talk about his Miami pilates regime is [...]
Ferrari Portofino review: The replacement for the California T is a special and surprisingly easy drive March 26, 2018 Ferrari would never admit its California was a car marketed at women. Back when it was launched in 2008, just four per cent of the Italian manufacturer’s customers were female. With the California, a softer sports car with a folding metal roof and lower price tag, it said it intended to reach an audience it [...]
Interiors: Westfield London’s flagship John Lewis wants to usher the high street into the 21st century with ‘experiential’ shopping March 24, 2018 It’s been 10 years since Westfield shopping centre opened its doors to much fanfare in White City, and this week its £600m expansion opened a full six months early. Westfield London, as the west London outlet is called, is already the largest retail destination in Europe and it has more potential customers than ever as [...]
Feeling brave? Then try bob rafting on the slopes of La Plagne March 23, 2018 If you’re the kind of skier for whom speeding backwards down a black run in an ice storm no longer delivers the requisite adrenalin kick, you need to try bob rafting. Mooted as an amateur’s alternative to bob sledding or the luge — which really should only be attempted by those with a death wish [...]
Focus On Hackney: How the London Overground caused a price surge in E8 March 23, 2018 Though the area around Hackney Central is better known as hipster central, the property prices certainly don’t reflect the salaries of young, freelance creatives. The E8 postcode has seen some of the most dramatic house price rises in the whole of London, a trend that has survived the plateau-ing – and declines – of recent [...]
Focus On Hackney: How the London Overground caused a price surge in E8 March 23, 2018 Though the area around Hackney Central is better known as hipster central, the property prices certainly don’t reflect the salaries of young, freelance creatives. The E8 postcode has seen some of the most dramatic house price rises in the whole of London, a trend that has survived the plateau-ing – and declines – of recent [...]
Can Eco-Tourism Help Cape Town During Its Worst Ever Drought? March 19, 2018 You wouldn’t suspect there was anything odd about the bathrooms at the Cape Grace hotel. Until, that is, you looked inside the tub. There, dangling uselessly from the porcelain, you’ll see a neatly snipped-off inch of chain that once held a bath plug. This plug, along with every other in the hotel, has vanished. Clues [...]
Interiors: Boudoir, millennial or Scandi pink – it doesn’t matter what you call it, it’s the hot colour trend of 2018 March 16, 2018 Despite February’s snowdrops and a smattering of spring bulbs, winter wasn’t done with us this week. So let’s look on the bright side with the hot trend for 2018 – luscious, glamorous pink. We saw it emerge a couple of years ago with blush home accessories, but now interior designers have gone to town to [...]