Elephant trekking, luxury and great Thai food September 29, 2013 This luxury beach resort was devastated by the 2005 tsunami. Now it’s back and better than ever THE PERFECT way to end an unforgettable afternoon spent trekking through the jungle trails of Khao Sok National Park in Phuket, Thailand is to give a leathery, old elephant a sunset bath. With Bauthong (lotus flower) repeatedly submerging [...]
Focus on… Hammersmith: It’s Hammersmith time in London September 26, 2013 HOMES in Hammersmith are increasing in value as young professionals and families compete for properties in the area. Bordered by Shepherd’s Bush in the north and Fulham in the south, the west London area has found its housing stock in short supply in recent years, leading to an average of six applicants per property and [...]
Restaurant review: Boulestin September 24, 2013 RESTAURANT 5 St James’s Street, SW1A 1EF Tel: 020 7930 2030 FOOD Three Stars VALUE Three Stars ATMOSPHERE One Star Cost for two with drinks: £140 An occupational hazard of being a restaurant critic is that people often ask you where they should go for dinner, or for recommendations of who does the best ostrich [...]
Tea expert who’s found a new blend September 23, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks to Mike Brehme, who is transforming hot drinks for the second time WHAT do you do when you’ve already transformed that most British of pastimes – drinking tea? That was the conundrum facing Mike Brehme – co-founder of Clipper Teas, whose newest venture FruitBroo has recently come onto the shelves at Sainsbury’s [...]
Should we all just stay in bed? September 23, 2013 NASA is paying guinea pigs to work from their bed – but how productive can we be outside of the office? Melissa York investigates the pros and cons of homeworking THIS week, US space agency NASA announced it was looking for regular guys like you and me to join a special project. Hold on before [...]
Turning up the heat: Former trader taking on the Big Six September 22, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks tariffs and talent with Stephen Fitzpatrick, who switched the City for the Cotswolds to found energy company Ovo EXPERTS are predicting another gloomy winter for Britain, with power firms expected to raise tariffs in November and December by up to 10 per cent – pushing annual average bills to over £1,500 for [...]
App, app and away: the best going out apps September 18, 2013 Barchick barchick.com The logo may not suggest this is the most sophisticated app in the world but it’s actually pretty comprehensive. Those barchicks certainly get around. The search tool asks you to sort by area, then by what kind of boozer you’re after (options include “killer cocktails”, music, gay & lesbian and people watching, among [...]
Restaurant review: 1701 September 17, 2013 RESTAURANT Bevis Marks Synagogue, EC3A 5DQ Tel: 020 7621 1701 FOOD Four stars VALUE Three stars ATMOSPHERE Four stars Cost for two with matched wine: £115 I GOT back from my holiday last week to another of life’s crushing milestones: I can no longer fit into my work suit. It’s all downhill from here. And [...]
Mix it up: Insect cocktails: it’s just not crickets… Or is it? September 17, 2013 @philip_salter Throughout my childhood I had more pets than you could shake a stick at – dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, rats and even chinchillas. But one clearly stands out from the menagerie. At the tender age of 12 I excitedly dragged my parents to an exotic pet shop to buy an iguana: I [...]
The business built to help customers outsource their chores September 15, 2013 Annabel Palmer meets Raj Singh, co-founder of the online marketplace Sooqini, who shunned job security for a career as an entrepreneur ACCORDING to Raj Singh, founder of online marketplace Sooqini, we are now living in a “gig economy”. His theory, albeit paraphrased from Michael Lewis’s The New New Thing, goes that people no longer want [...]