Valentine’s escapes for every taste February 2, 2010 Valentine’s Ball and Massage Lesson at Culloden Estate, Belfast First, an opulent Valentine’s Ball on Saturday, with drinks and dinner. Make a night of it and stay over – then, on Sunday, after a deluxe breakfast, learn the art of massage a deux. A personal masseuse will explain how it’s done, introduce you to a [...]
TRAVEL NOTES January 31, 2010 Venice for Valentine’s Still looking for a romantic getaway this Valentine’s Day? Kirker Holidays is offering four nights for the price of three at the four-star superior Liassidi Palace in Venice, a luxury boutique hotel a short walk from St Mark’s Square. Price from £528pp includes flights (London airports, with regional departures on request), hotel [...]
OUT OF OFFICE January 28, 2010 MOHI MATAL’S SPICE MASTERCLASS Learn to know your cumin from your garam masala at Holborn restaurant Moti Mahal’s spice-blending masterclasses, where you will be taught by head chef Anirudh Arora how to mix Indian spices. Afterwards, you get a three-course lunch and your own spice-blending starter kit. Courses are running on the last Saturday of [...]
A rose by any other name… can be better January 26, 2010 WHEN you hand your lady flowers on Valentine’s Day this year, she’ll be swooningly happy. But if you have been insufficiently creative, a little part of her will roll her eyes – roses are nice, but perhaps just a little bit too clichéd. Frankly, you can do better. Therefore we got florist to the stars, [...]
250-YEAR OLD BOOZER BREAKS TRADITION TO BRING IN EARLY BIRDS January 25, 2010 TIMES really are a-changin’, aren’t they? We’ve all noticed a shift in the financial community’s attitude to wining and dining over the past few years, with slick power breakfasts replacing boozy lunches as the City’s repast of choice. But surely the old guard of the banking world never dreamed they’d see the day when Simpson’s [...]
We’ll always have Paris January 24, 2010 NOBODY does romance better than the French. Paris might no longer be the centre of world when it comes to business or culture, but in terms of places to spend Valentine’s Day nothing comes close. The French capital has a huge spectrum of hotels for every budget and taste, but the knowledgeable people at the [...]
TRAVEL NOTES FOR VALENTINE’S DAY January 24, 2010 Fall in love in New York You and your partner can enjoy some top quality pampering and fabulous food, along with the best of the Big Apple, at New York’s famous slice of Upper East Side luxury, The Carlyle. In the swankiest city on Earth, it doesn’t get swankier than this Art Deco landmark on [...]
Violence, misogyny and computer hacking in a dark Swedish thriller September 30, 2009 THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NESTBY STIEG LARSSONQuercus, £18.99****THE THIRD in the Millennium trilogy, this is perhaps the only one of best-selling Swedish thriller writer Stieg Larsson’s books that cannot be fully enjoyed on its own. The fascinating heroine and the plot – it opens with Lisbeth Salander being rushed into hospital with bullets [...]
STANLEY FINK TO BRING ARK GALA DINNER GLITZ OUT OF HEDGIE SHELL July 5, 2009 WHAT a coup for former Man group boss Stanley Fink at the weekend, as he stepped into hedgie philanthropist Arki Busson’s shoes as the chairman of children’s charity Absolute Return for Kids (ARK). Busson is best known for his engagement to actress Uma Thurman and his hefty contribution to the hedge fund social circuit with [...]
In a flush on the fairway October 28, 2005 Card schools and golf clubs are big news for singles right now. Lorraine Adams holds the winning hand for a birdie Would you believe that the most sought-after events this year have been our poker nights and golf days? Even those who don’t know how to play poker or golf are desperate to buy up [...]