When black bowler hats gave way to red braces October 26, 2011 THE BIG Bang set the City on a course of profound expansion, not just of wealth, but of people and culture and even location. Twenty-five years after deregulation, London’s financial and legal districts are full of the sort of people that would have made the bowler-hatted old boys of the post-war period shudder. Women, foreigners, [...]
All souped up in Soho: yet another super-cool food bar enters the fray October 24, 2011 DUCK SOUP 41 Dean Street, Soho, W1D 4PY www.ducksoupsoho.co.uk FOOD *** SERVICE *** ATMOSPHERE **** Cost per person without wine: £30 IT’s all part of the Soho experience – the perch at the bar, the swiveling stool, getting up close and personal with the waitress pushing past you. Duck Soup, which is staffed by alumni [...]
A-listers die in quick succession as Contagion’s terrifying virus spreads October 20, 2011 Film CONTAGION Cert: 12A IT’S unusual to watch an A-lister die from violent convulsions in the opening five minutes of a film, but director Steven Soderbergh promised ultra-realism and on the whole, Contagion does the job admirably. Set in the present, as the world is wracked by a killer virus, there are no exploding heads [...]
Learning to cook El Bulli-style October 19, 2011 The Family Meal: Home cooking with Ferran Adrià Ferran Adrià £19.95, Phaidon WHERE the allure of Jamie Oliver’s and Nigella’s books comes from the idea that you’ll cook like them, “The Family Meal” is less “cook like Ferran”, but “eat like Ferran”. The recipes are a fresh insight into the working life at the now [...]
Following Soho’s Norman invasion October 19, 2011 RUSSELL NORMAN was the former operations director at Caprice Holdings, where he launched concepts such as the Ivy Club with Mark Hix, chef director at the time. He left in 2008 to set up Polpo, a Venetian bacaro, which serves small Italian plates in an informal setting. Following Polpo’s success (which was recently named 25th [...]
MAYFAIR’S FINANCIERS HELP EAT ALL THE PIES October 18, 2011 PIES AND prosecco were yesterday on the menu at Dartmouth House at Mayfair’s answer to the long-running annual Gull’s Eggs lunch. Mayfair hedge fund managers met hotel brokers at the Macmillan Cancer Support fundraiser, including Jones Lang LaSalle’s Jonathan Goldman, who has a personal connection to the cause, having recently endured a 20-hour operation for [...]
Episode 32: Sleepless in the City – a day in the life with baby twins October 18, 2011 00.00 Gabriella doesn’t “do” nights. Seems it’s an opportunity for babies and parents to bond. So one day ends and another begins with Emma and me feeding the twins. 01.45 Ditto – after an hour’s sleep. 02.15 Harry has colic. I pace the darkened bedroom with him wailing into my shoulder. Emma sleeps soundly. 03.15 [...]
Make the most of half term and indulge your childish side as well October 17, 2011 THINGS TO DO LION KING 3D IMAX Everyone loves a bit of Lion King, and when it not only promises to be in 3D but also extra big on the IMAX screen, this offering is impossible to resist. 2-27 October, child ticket: £11, adult ticket: £16. LONDON ZOO Always a great place to take the [...]
A Bajan palace with Bali twist October 13, 2011 A BAJAN dream house – complete with home cinema, gym and several pavilions – would really be something to show your friends. Well – providing you have the dough ($27m) – your showstopper has arrived, in the form of Alang Alang Bay on the beachfront of St James (45 minutes from the airport), for sale [...]
America’s solar scandal is a warning: Bankrupt climate policies boost tax, not jobs October 11, 2011 IN SEPTEMBER 2009, the United States Department of Energy gave a $530m (£339m) loan guarantee to the solar company Solyndra. President Barack Obama said at the plant: “It’s here that companies like Solyndra are leading the way, towards a brighter and more prosperous future.” In September 2011, the company collapsed, the jobs which the Vice [...]