FOCUS ON: BRAINTREE, ESSEX September 17, 2009 HORSESHOES, CRESSING, CM77 8PQPrice: £825,000Formerly an ale house and dating back to the 1400s, this Grade II-listed property is set in a village three miles from Braintree – one hour from Liverpool Street by train. The five-bedroom house has retained its period features but has been updated to make a modern home. Stables and a [...]
Great getaways for those who are bored of London September 17, 2009 DOCTOR Johnson was of the opinion that those who are tired of London are tired of life. But he didn’t have to deal with packed commuter trains, paying four quid for a pint of lager or being mown down by cycle couriers every time he crossed Fleet Street. For many modern inhabitants of the capital, [...]
How to wear the 80s to work September 17, 2009 LONDON FashionWeek begins today and with it, the unofficial start to autumn and autumnal dressing.Yes, the catwalks will be full of next season’s spring/summer clothes, but they can still serve as an inspiration for making sure you’ve got all your clothes in place for the next few months. Harriet Apple, a designer and graduate of [...]
A true chalet paradise in the Alps September 16, 2009 ACTIVE Ski Retreats is not your average ski holiday resort. It’s not just that Sting has stayed in the chalet– it provides exceptional all-inclusive service, from the provision of the perfect ski boot, to delicious aperitifs to four course dinners, with an efficiency and enthusiasm that you’d be hard pressed to find elsewhere. All wood [...]
Brown is back, with silly plots, codes and terrible prose back September 16, 2009 THE LOST SYMBOLBY DAN BROWNBantam Press, £18.99 WITH AN initial print run of a million copies in the UK alone, and 6.5m worldwide, there is no doubt that Dan Brown’s latest – the follow-up, as you will know, to the Da Vinci Code – will be a publishing phenomenon. Robert Langdon, professor of symbology at [...]
OUT OF OFFICE September 16, 2009 BOOK NOW: AN INSPECTOR CALLSStephen Daldry’s award-winning production of JB Priestly’s The Inspector Calls is back in the West End of a limited eight-week run. The parable, which takes the form of a police investigation into the death of a young girl, explores the conflict between selfish individualism and social responsibility, is riveting and a [...]
Enjoy the beautiful game this autumn September 16, 2009 NOW that we’re a month into the season, things really start to get exciting for those who love their meat to be hearty, hunted wild and peppered with the odd shotgun pellet. For the first month it’s all about grouse, hunted from 12 August onwards, but as the weeks go by, other animals creep onto [...]
A QUEST FOR FINE WINES September 16, 2009 JEFF GALVINWe follow the Galvin brothers as they count down to the opening of their new City restaurant SOME parts of opening a restaurant are arduous, but others are pure fun. One of the most important things about our new restaurant La Chapelle will be the wine. Our quest for the best wine we can [...]
Even a saloon can be sexy when it’s made by Porsche September 15, 2009 IT was with surprise that we learnt that Porsche was going to build a four-door car. Porsche has always made two-door sportscars, why would it want to sink its teeth into the saloon market? But the same question was asked when they went into 4×4 territory with the Cayenne. There are enough manufacturers out there [...]
Keep it stylish to keep dry September 14, 2009 WITH autumnal showers looming, a natty raincoat is an essential part of every self-respecting gent’s wardrobe – and it’s an item as British as a Savile Row suit. Burberry first managed the leap from functional to stylish with its WWI invention of the trench coat – a piece of military-wear so snazzy it remains a [...]