CITY A.M. BIG HITTERS TEE UP TO MAKE GOLF DAY GO WITH A SWING April 18, 2011 THE first City A.M. Golf Day took place at Kingswood Golf & Country Club in Surrey, designer James Braid’s “finest parkland golf course in England”. Braid, the five-times British Open champion who is famous for his golf courses at Carnoustie, Gleneagles and Hankley Common, built Kingswood in the 1920s during the same building boom as [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS April 18, 2011 FRY-UP FLAVOUR EASTER EGGS The roars of delight that went up in the City A.M. offices on hearing of breakfast-themed Artisan du Chocolat easter eggs (see pic below) were probably heard across the City. Bacon, mushroom and tomato may not sound like the most enticing trio of chocolate flavours to normal people, but to us [...]
Stuck for Easter? Try out an old Paris classic April 17, 2011 NOT everyone who visits Paris has a Carrie Bradshaw moment. That is to say, when fizzing with excitement to have touched down in the City of Light, you fling open the shutters of your Parisian hotel room on to a glittering view of the Eiffel Tower. In my experience, even in a decent three-star, the [...]
STOCK EXCHANGE VET TO STAGE WEST END MUSICAL COMEBACK April 14, 2011 THE Stock Exchange Veterans dinner last night had the largest turnout in its 15-year history, with 470 brokers out in force at The Brewery. The event’s organiser Bill Sharp, head of institutional sales at Alexander David, was delighted to “see so many old friends”, including Ron Martin, chairman of Southend United FC, Brian Winterflood of [...]
HENDON, LONDON April 14, 2011 DOWNAGE, NEAR PARSON STREET Price: £1.35m This five-bedroomed detached family home stretches across 3,030 sq ft and three floors. It has a landscaped garden, two separate garages and a long driveway with space for more than one car. Contact: Aston Chase on 020 8455 3538 or go to www.astonchase.com TENTERDEN GROVE Price: £699,950 This mews [...]
The Swiss town that’s emerging from the shadows April 14, 2011 ANDERMATT – a sleeping beauty of a village, nestled in the Urseren valley in central Switzerland – is set to be awoken from its slumber and transformed into one of the Alps’ major year-round holiday destinations. The prince in question here is the self-described “town-developer” Samir Sawiris. He plans to revolutionise the town’s tourism industry [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS April 11, 2011 BISTRO DU VIN OPENS… It’s all happening in Clerkenwell. Hot on the heels of last week’s Zetter Townhouse launch – a hotel which happens to include an apothecary-style cocktail bar from the 69 Colebroke Row crew – comes a slick new eatery on St John Street (surely London’s foodiest thoroughfare) in the space vacated by [...]
A spa for all seasons, particularly summer April 11, 2011 WHEN a Four Seasons opens, you can count on a bit of fanfare – some state-of-the-art design, some standard-setting opulence. When it reopens in London after a refurb costing £100m, your expectations can be even higher. Rooms, foyer, bar, restaurant and spa all have their own horns to toot. In the case of the Four [...]
In deep water: learning to dive off the coast of Malta April 10, 2011 AS I floated through the open hatchway into the ship’s galley, the scene appeared frozen in time. Seaweed waved gracefully about the cupboards and a spotted fish darted in and out of the abandoned cooker. A stream of bubbles poured from my dive buddy’s regulator as he laughingly grabbed the ship’s wheel and gave a [...]
M&S poaches top man from Wm Morrison April 7, 2011 MARKS & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland has poached one of his former Wm Morrison colleagues, Christopher Taylor, to take charge of his convenience stores . Taylor, who was leading Morrisons’ expansion into smaller convenience stores, is the first of Bolland’s former executives to be hired by M&S since Bolland was himself poached as chief [...]