Premier League Ballon burst by Fifa nominations October 26, 2010 THE NOMINATIONS for this year’s Fifa Ballon d’Or award, announced yesterday, provided more ammunition for those critics who claim the Premier League’s stock is on the slide. Of the 23 players nominated for the prestigious title – which has now merged with the Fifa World Player of the Year award – only three came from [...]
Brave Brentford’s cup run over after penalty heartache October 26, 2010 BIRMINGHAM’S veteran striker Kevin Phillips prevented League One Brentford from claiming another sizeable Premier League scalp in the Carling Cup. Andy Scott’s Bees, who edged out Everton in the previous round, were moments away from causing another upset before 37-year-old Phillips pounced in injury time to cancel out Sam Wood’s 68th minute effort. The sides [...]
William Asprey: the luxury king’s baby turns 10 October 26, 2010 IN a world in which global luxury giants like LMVH-owned Louis Vuitton have to close shop an hour early to preserve stock – so great is demand – it’s hard to imagine how a single family-owned shop in Mayfair can keep its head above water. And yet, thanks to the intuition and hard work of [...]
OUT OF OFFICE: HALLOWEEEEEEEN October 26, 2010 SPOOKY CINEMA POP-UP IN RICHMOND Join the Lexi Cinema at a Zippos Circus tent at the Old Deer Park in Richmond for a showing of Edward Scissorhands. Beware of the super-spooky infestations of creatures on top of the tent, and gruesome-looking cast of characters hanging about, including ghouls at the bar. An Edward Allen Poe [...]
The Dorchester comes to Berkshire October 26, 2010 PARK Lane is the anchor of the Dorchester Collection, which has outposts in Beverly Hills, Milan, New York and Paris. The Collection has steadfastly represented the epitome of city centre luxury, proudly urban. Until now. The opening of Coworth Park is the group’s first foray into the countryside, and where better than the rolling polo [...]
A home away from home in Poland’s loveliest city October 26, 2010 IT is a pity that ancient and beautiful Krakow is no longer the capital of Poland – sometime towards the 19th century Polish kings veered towards Warsaw for business but they always asked to return to Krakow for their final resting place, as did many famous Polish saints, poets and bishops. These days, Krakow is [...]
Like a regular Mini – except bigger October 26, 2010 Despite the name, it’s clear the new Mini Countryman is targeted at city drivers rather than country folk. Why? Well, to start with, it doesn’t have a badge anywhere on the car that says “Countryman”. It seems unlikely that Mini’s owners BMW forgot to add it – more likely that it didn’t want to discourage [...]
Manassero as good as Seve October 26, 2010 HE has balls of steel, a wonderful action and now has a first European Tour title under his belt: this week the only man worth talking about is Matteo Manassero. I watched every minute at the weekend as the 17-year-old made history by winning the Castello Masters, and he was absolutely magnificent. His hero is [...]
CAR TALK October 26, 2010 REBUILDING SAAB’S BRAND This is Saab’s new 9-4X, its new crossover car that will be shown at November’s Los Angeles Auto Show. Size-wise, it will sit between the existing 9-3 and 9-5 saloons and it’s an important car for Saab as it rebuilds its brand. With a turbocharged 2.8-litre V6 petrol engine and four-wheel drive, [...]
Defective directive October 26, 2010 As controversial EU rules on alternative funds were finally agreed in Brussels yesterday, fears are mounting that they will cripple the private equity industry THE private equity industry yesterday railed against an EU directive which will subject alternative investment funds to draconian new rules. While the compromise deal won’t be as bad for hedge funds [...]
