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CULTURE
TRAVEL
CULTURE
BEST FOR CULTURE
Multiply this by 100 if you aren’t a drinker but have the apparently unreasonable desire to spend your downtime away from what I must diplomatically describe as “the distinctive sound of children having fun”. Your kids are great, and I really look forward to them wiping my bottom when I’m in a retirement home, but there are times when their natural exuberance could be toned down a little, and by a little I mean completely. That time is most of my weekend, and I know there are many parents who would also like to spend some time in the mystical Neverland where nobody is shrieking, fighting or making toilet in their underpants.
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ven after several centuries, Shakespeare’s plays continue to impress and entertain audiences worldwide with his works translated into more than 75 languages. This year though, attention will be firmly focused on his birthplace Stratford-upon-Avon, marking the 400th anniversary of his death on April 23 with a series of new openings and special exhibitions. Learn about Shakespeare’s personal life through artefacts on display at a re-imagining of his former family home, New Place, where he lived for the last 19 years of his life and wrote 26 major works. The new attraction has been billed as the single most significant project to commemorate the playwright’s legacy.
one eye on their squabbling offspring. Motivation from the man in the mirror You can also feel free to eat whatever you want, as another benefit of enjoying your own company is that you have plenty of time to burn off the calories by becoming an antisocial fitness obsessive. Tea, sport is a great way to meet other people, but it doesn’t really deliver the intense results of going to the gym any time the mood strikes you, and silently lifting weights like a ripped serial killer. If you don’t feel like looking at yourself in a mirror for hours then the gym might not be for you, so perhaps you can get yourself an expensive bicycle and drink deep on the lovely endorphins that your body will manufacture after five hours of climbing hills on your own, in the dark.
HANG SOLO WORDS Grant Runyon ILLUSTRATION Hermione Benest
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) will be staging productions throughout the year, along with a new discovery tour, Page To Stage, giving a behind the scenes look at the famous playhouse and an opportunity to look inside the RSC’s store of 30,000 costumes. Visit: www.shakespeares-england.co.uk/ shakespeare-2016 for more information.
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t was in September last year, when driving past the ‘Jungle’ on his way back to the Calais ferry terminal from a European assignment, that Phil decided out of plain nosiness he wanted to find out more about this infamous camp, based on sand dunes in an area about three-quarters of a kilometre long and half a kilometre wide.
WORDS | Les Able
IN THE
Every new year brings a host of reasons to choose a destination. Here’s some ideas for you to consider...
JUNGLE
BEST FOR SAFARI BOTSWANA
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xcellent wildlife sightings, a commitment to conservation and a good range of luxury accommodation options make Botswana a top safari destination. Next year, on September 30, the country will celebrate 50 years of independence, prompting Lonely Planet to declare it the number one destination to visit in 2016.
BEST FOR ADVENTURE PERU
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eru has always been a bestseller in South America, and bookings are set to further soar when British Airways launch a new direct flight from Gatwick to Lima on May 4, from £561 return.
Discover the Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, from the comfort of the newly renovated 12 tent Belmond Eagle Island Lodge, where activities include game drives and boat trips through the ever-changing waterways. The Okavango’s unusual topography has resulted in various animal adaptations, such as swimming lions. Stay at private concession Duba Plains, where film-makers Dereck and Beverly Joubert famously documented the resident pride who hunt buffalo in broad daylight.
Capital city Lima has a lively gourmet scene and boasts some of the continent’s top restaurants; experiment with flavours at award winning Central (centralrestaurante. com.pe/en/), where the menu is based on ingredients foraged from Peru’s different altitudes, or sample national dish ceviche (raw fish cured in citrus juice) at lunch only restaurant Chez Wong (facebook.com/ ChezJavierWong).
Botswana also has one of the highest populations of endangered wild dog and Belmond’s Khwai River Lodge, on the border of the Moremi Wildlife Reserve, is currently a good place to track them.
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Africa specialist, The Ultimate Travel Company (www. theultimatetravelcompany.co.uk; 020 3051 8098) tailor-make a one-week luxury safari from £7,515pp, with three nights at Duba Plains, followed by two nights at Khwai River Lodge and two nights at Eagle Island River Lodge. Includes meals, activities, transfers and flights from London.
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“I’ve been told I’m a Left Winger because I am helping migrants, but there is nothing political or religious in my motivation, I just wanted to know more, it’s as simple as that.”
Then delve further into his past by visiting Shakespeare’s Schoolroom & Guildhall at King Edward VI School, where the Bard honed his writing skills. Following a major restoration, the 15th century building is open to the public for the first time.
WHERE TO GO IN 2016
“Your kids are great, and I really Businesses are in a tricky position, in that it makes better economic look forward to them wiping my sense to cater to the captive bottom when I’m in a retirement family market, and regardless of your position on the younger home, but there are times when No need to restrict yourself to local hills generation I think we can all either; one of the greatest benefits of their natural exuberance could be having agree that people who can keep total control over your free time toned down a little, and by a little I is that you aren’t restricted to staying children entertained deserve to be rewarded for the social benefit in the Island if you don’t feel like it. mean completely” they provide. The problem is You definitely have fewer weekend that the Island is so small that commitments, and probably have a there isn’t much room left to cater to Master pizza for one higher disposable income, so why not independently-minded people, or if you’re Cooking, oddly enough, is an activity that wander around somewhere new? Even if describing me behind my back, “the creepy really benefits from extended periods of hotels are out of your budget, you are still antisocial loner market”. The solution is solitude. This is useful if you live alone more easily accommodated by friends to take some advice which is, ironically, but like to eat well, because there’s only who can afford a couch rather than a spare most often handed out to bored youngsters so many dinner parties you can host, and bedroom, so travel the world as a couch by people who are tired of entertaining eating solo at fancy restaurants can be a bit surfer, or at the very least visit people them. Like grandad said, you have to make depressing. The lone gourmet might have who live in a part of the UK where fewer your own fun, and learn to enjoy your own nobody to share their culinary creations strangers turn out to be a blood relative. company - but where to start? with at first, but stick to it and you’ll soon realise that this grants you the freedom You might not actually have friends abroad, Take up a hobby that requires to experiment in ways that you might which is perfectly fine, as you will simply extended concentration not consider if you had to worry about have more time available to hang out There are inspiring, dedicated people out not appalling or poisoning your dinner with interesting strangers. You can have there who manage to maintain a complex guests. You can cook weird things, and it long conversations about all the things hobby despite the demands of a family, but won’t matter how many times you botch you’ve learned in your unusual amount of for the most part getting properly stuck into complicated pastries. You will learn the free time, and show off the skills you’ve a hobby is something that is best enjoyed exact science of preparing small portions, mastered along the way. You might even if you have a very low level of interpersonal and the economy of leftovers. You can find that you find a set of strangers so commitments. The list is of things that savour each meal in quiet, meditative interesting that you don’t feel like coming are better when you don’t have to include contemplation, mindfully sampling each back, and as sole master of your destiny other people is extremely broad: writing, taste and texture like a zen master, or that decision is your to make. The only jigsaws, painting, jogging, video games, alternatively stuff yourself like a carefree guidelines are that you should probably sculpture, dressing your cat up as a character piggy. By the time you decide you feel like avoid joining a cult, an army, or a group of from a Jane Austen novel. What they all unleashing your culinary skills on other cannibals you met on the internet. There are have in common is that they blossom in people, you will have learned things that are many places I will go to to avoid a Sunday those extended periods of silence where probably beyond the majority of cooks who afternoon full of children screaming, but you are happily cut off from the world. need to keep one eye on a bubbling pot and Guantanamo Bay isn’t one of them. Yet.
THE BENEFITS O F E NJ OY ING YO UR OW N CO M PANY
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You don’t even need to spend your time actively creating anything, because you can rediscover the pleasure of learning about the world, quietly, from books, instead of having facts fired into your brain at a velocity great enough to break through the background noise of everyday life. There is a reason that so many scientific and artistic discoveries were made by intense, antisocial people, and if you have time to yourself you should relish the possibility that inspiration might fall onto your head from above. At the very least you might end up like me - devoid of real talent but having achieved a rare virtuosity in the field of toasted cheese sandwiches.
PHOTOGRAPHS (SHOT IN FILM) | Phil Kneen
STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, WARWICKSHIRE
People with children often tell me how much they struggle to keep the whole family entertained. If you don’t want to vegetate together in front of a TV screen it can be nearimpossible to agree an alternative that will satisfy young and old alike. I do feel sorry for them, but what parents forget is that the Island is hardly overflowing with activities to satisfy the growing segment of society who don’t have kids or a partner to tag along this demographic might earn enough money to pay for themselves, but if you’re not in the mood for booze, sport or going on the pull your options can be severely limited.
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Inca citadel Machu Picchu is undoubtedly one of Peru’s highlights, ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE
BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS
FEATURED PROPERTY
PHIL KNEEN’S “FANTASTIC” CHRISTMAS DAY COURTESY OF THE ‘JUNGLE’S’ AFGHAN KITCHEN
with passes for the popular Inca Trail selling out months in advance. Tourists now have more comfortable options for a stay in the Sacred Valley, allowing them time to acclimatise to higher altitudes and enjoy the scenery. Last year, Inkaterra opened the Hacienda Urubamba and in August Explora will launch new property Valle Sagrado on the site of an ancient corn plantation. Both can be reached by road from Cusco.
The squalid, unsanitary surroundings of the Calais ‘Jungle’, home to around 7,000 refugees and economic migrants, desperate to make it to Britain, would not be a location where most of us would choose to spend Christmas. But for Isle of Man-based documentary photographer Phil Kneen it proved to be the most memorable, although perhaps not the best festive experience!
The Ultimate Travel Company (www. theultimatetravelcompany.co.uk; 020 3051 8098) offers a 10-day private Highlights Of Peru tour visiting Lima, Cusco and the Sacred Valley from £3,125pp - saving £1,540 per couple if booked by February 29. Includes direct BA flights from London.
“As I drove past I couldn’t believe just how busy it was, some 200 people are continuing to arrive there each day, I wanted to know more,” said Phil. “I’m just stimulated by the whole migrant/refugee debate. I’ve been told I’m a Left Winger because I am helping migrants, but there is nothing political or religious in my motivation, I just wanted to know more, it’s as simple as that.” He added: “People say it’s mainly refugees in the camp, but it’s not, most are economic migrants who want to get to the UK to work with many admitting they want to get there for the ‘benefits’. Because of tightened security at the ferry port, however, it’s virtually impossible for them to now reach the UK.” On December 11 he arrived at the ‘Jungle’, along with a load of warm winter clothes for those living in the camp, donated locally as a result of an appeal once he had made up his mind to spend Christmas amid the inhospitable shacks and tents of the camp. He had, however, told his teenage daughter and two sons what he was planning for Christmas and if they weren’t happy he wouldn’t go but stay at home. “The reaction from all three was ‘you’ve got to go’.” Phil took as his assistant Geneva-based Calum Stewart who, after seeing Phil’s blog on what he was planning to do, asked if he could help him out at the ‘Jungle’. Their base was Phil’s motor home and all its mod cons of shower and toilet, parked on the outskirts of the camp, with mud making it impossible to take it any further. “It’s the best piece of equipment I’ve ever bought, saved me a fortune,” said Phil.
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MOTORING NEWS RICHMOND HOUSE | 15 RICHMOND GROVE | DOUGLAS | £POA
technology
PORSCHE HAS CONFIRMED THAT THE 2016 BOXSTER WILL, FOR THE FIRST TIME, BE MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE CAYMAN SISTER CAR, AS THE DUO RECEIVE A SIGNIFICANT MID-LIFE UPDATE AND NEW FOUR-CYLINDER TURBOCHARGED ENGINES
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he new ranges, dubbed 718 versus the outgoing model’s 918 designation, will be realigned to mirror the 911’s, where convertible models are more expensive by default. Previously, the more performance-focused Cayman was the pricier.
The Worlds Tech firms have high hopes for 2016 MERCEDES HAS KILLED OFF THE MUCH-LIKED SLK MODEL AND REPLACED IT WITH A REVISED CAR THE SLC.
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As part of the Stuttgart-based firm’s new naming structure, the SLC aligns with the C-Class in terms of size and architecture.
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his impressive 3/5 bedrooms, high quality property, has been lovingly renovated by the current owner. The property is located in a quite end of cul-de-sac position with private off road parking.
What’s more, the fabulous V8-powered SLK 55 AMG is no more, having been replaced with a bi-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 with the name SLC 43.
The property is for-sale-by-owner, call (01624) 661992 to arrange a viewing.
Words: Richard Evans
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expectations of eye-catching technologies can be ahead of reality. Even if virtual and augmented reality do not flop they will have trouble living up to expectations. High prices — the company has said the headset will cost “up to $400”, though a bigger cost will be buying a PC capable of running the software — a shortage of content and applications, and uncertain consumer adoption of such a different technology cloud short-term prospects. Companies such as Facebook have been doing their best to talk down expectations, but 2016 will at least bring the first real glimpse of a computing platform with profound implications for entertainment, social interaction and work. Another future computing platform is likely to see a burst of innovation after a disappointing first wave. “Wearables” such as smartwatches were meant to extend mobile computing beyond smartphones and tablets to other, even more convenient, products. However, the two flagship
wearables of 2015 have not lived up to the hype surrounding them. The performance of the Apple Watch has been cloaked in uncertainty as the company has not provided firm sales numbers and Google’s Glass has gone back to the drawing board. Both are likely to appear in their second iterations in 2016. Optimists will point to the fact that the iPod and iPhone had only modest sales before hitting their stride in year two. But wearables have yet to develop must-have apps and the advances are now needed in the uses to which they can be put rather than in developing the hardware itself. If delivering a breakthrough product is hard to plan, the technological forces that make them possible are easier to trace. In the same way that cheap sensors, powerefficient processors and higher-bandwidth mobile networks made the iPhone possible, a number of factors are pushing what is likely to be one of the defining technologies of 2016 and beyond: artificial intelligence. The largely invisible nature of AI
ON THE AGENDA
means predicting how it will affect popular consciousness is as much a sociological as a technological challenge. Two years ago, a wave of anxiety spread that intelligent machines would put humans out of work. The same concerns were rife in the 1960s, but AI technologies are now advancing quickly. Cloud computing power and new approaches to machine learning, with the “big data” that act as the raw material for AI systems to “learn” from, have combined to bring a leap forward in machine intelligence. Some of the planet’s richest, most ambitious companies have hired top academic talent — such as Facebook, which in 2013 hired Yann LeCun, a computer scientist who founded the Center for Data Science at New York University — signalling something of an AI race is under way. The results of this competition will be largely hidden from view. Many AI advances will come in the form of improved performance of existing systems or in
TECHNOLOGY
more effective man-machine interactions, rather than new products or services. Voice activation is likely to feature on more devices, along with more intelligent forms of interaction. Businesses that learn how to use the technology should create more effective advertising, enjoy a higher conversion of leads into sales, and have happier customers. However, the last thing most of these businesses will do is brag. Results will be seen in the gulf between the performance of companies that harness this technology and those that do not. The tendency with technology is to always look forward to the next big thing, so it is easy to forget the big thing that is already here. As we enter 2016 the smartphone age has reached a turning point. About 2bn of us have them, making these devices far more pervasive than personal computers ever were. Their popularity has put tablets and wearables in the shade. The smartphone revolution is likely to continue. Room for growth in the
developed world and China — which have driven expansion — is running out. The focus is moving to India and other developing markets, forcing a shift in the basis of competition. Low-cost handsets and subsidised data plans are becoming the norm, along with networking technologies to help businesses reach the next few billion customers. Google’s Project Loon — a necklace of highaltitude, globe-circling balloons acting as satellites — will be tested, with three mobile networks in Indonesia planning to use them for internet access. China’s slowing domestic economy, meanwhile, means its few leading internet companies could consider moving aggressively beyond their borders for the first time. These forces will make 2016 a year of changing international perspectives. In 12 months’ time, the technologies may still look familiar, but the markets for them and the providers of them may well be very different.
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There will be two turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol versions with 181bhp and 241bhp respectively, diesel fans a 2.1-litre 201bhp unit.
The property comprises… n Spacious, double fronted period townhouse over 4 floors n Completely renovated and modernised by current owner to a very high standard n Centrally located - minutes from town centre, schools, bus routes etc
Only the 181bhp SLC 200 will have a manual gearbox. The SLC 300, 250d and 43 AMG will use a nine-speed automatic as standard.
n Roof top sun terrace overlooking Douglas bay n Enclosed, gated rear yard with vehicular access
conservation initiative in Meru National Park, Kenya.
Mercedes has moved the SLC away from outright performance and sportiness to focus more on infotainment and safety. Automatic emergency braking has been introduced, with a five-mode LED headlight system optional. Mapping for the COMAND Online infotainment system is now topographical, while with a compatible smartphone connected it can access internet radio, online apps and more. Text messages can be read aloud and there are two USB ports for charging phones or connecting music devices. The electrically folding hard top roof can now be opened or closed at up to 25mph or so, and in a stroke of genius the boot
divider, which prevents the mechanism fouling any luggage and has always been a manually-operated chore, has now been automated. With the roof up there is an impressive 335 litres of boot space.
The Defender 2,000,000 has a number of distinctive features including an engraved map of Red Wharf Bay - where the design for the original Land Rover was first drawn in the sand, and a unique ‘no 2,000,000’ badge, with both elements repeated inside. A bespoke aluminium plaque, signed by everyone who helped to assemble the vehicle is fitted to the driver’s seat. It also wears S90 HUE registration plates, referencing the first ever pre-production Land Rover, registration ‘HUE 166’.
Prices are expected to be confirmed closer to spring, but will move upwards from the outgoing SLK’s current entry price of £33,020, which buys a diesel in base trim.
Porsche has set no date for the arrival of downsized engines but says they are definitely coming, with ‘equally powerful’ versions for both cars. The choice of 718 for the new car is linked to the success of the 718 from the late 1950s, which was a multiple racewinning four-cylinder machine that took the honours in two Targa Florio races, numerous hill climbs and even the Sebring 12-hour race in 1960. The German firm also makes reference to the current 919 Hybrid World Endurance Championship-winning car, which uses a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine. This technology, Porsche says, directly influenced the development of the 718 series. Both the Boxster and the Cayman are to be introduced through 2016, with a likely global début at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
n Solid oak kitchen with French doors to balcony n Luxury master bedroom and en-suite with double Jacuzzi bath and large shower
n Ideal for working from home with top floor studio/office space
n Oil fired central heating with Megaflo hot water system
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n Additional external storeroom (double garage sized)
n Quiet, end of cul-de-sac position with private, off road parking for up to 3 vehicles and residents permit parking on street as well
n Huge lower ground floor with double doors and natural light, suitable for games room, gym, workshop, storage etc
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UPFRONT Edito..........................................................................5 Wilkins Watch of The Month..............6 The Joy of self love............................10 What’s On................................................12 Hang SOLO.............................................14 News in Numbers................................16 Give.........................................................................17
THERE’S GOOD NEWS FOR ANYONE WHO LIKES THEIR CONVERTIBLE CARS WITH AN ADDED HELPING OF TINY, BECAUSE SMART HAS CONFIRMED AN OPEN-TOP FORTWO
For further information or to arrange a viewing please telephone (01624) 661992
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BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS
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he minuscule 2.69-metre ForTwo Cabrio is destined for showrooms anytime now, complete with a triplelayer fabric roof that can be electrically lowered or raised in 12 seconds, at any vehicle speed.
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It keeps the same amazing 6.95-metre turning circle thanks to thin tyres and a rearmounted engine, making it more manoeuvrable in town than a traffic warden on a bike.
ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE
APPETITE Recipes...............................................................40 Wine Talk..........................................................42 AGENDA.......................................................43
CULTURE PAPARAZZI Culture Vulture...........................................28 Are you in?...................................................102 Culture News................................................29
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Monthly Upload........................................30 Phil Kneen - In The Jungle.............34 My Name is.....................................................38
EVENTS 50th Birthday Party....................................24 PLACES..........................................................79 Jane Andrasi’s Wedding Day............25 HARDWARE Motoring News............................................96 TRAVEL Where to go in 2016..................................24 Gadgets..............................................................98
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THE BEST PLACE TO FIND A NEW PLACE IN THE ISLE OF MAN TO LET
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agenda BUSINESS NEWS, VIEWS AND COMMENTS
W E A LT H BUSINESS T E C H N O LO G Y
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O N T H E AG E N DA n N O 17 n F E B R UA RY 2016
WORLD NEWS - WHY GLOBAL ECONOMIC DISASTER IS A N U N L I K E LY EVENT
W E A LT H - H O W T O INVEST LIKE JD ROCKEFELLER, THE RICHEST MAN wHO EVER LIVED
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Sold to a bidder from Qatar, all proceeds from the sale are being donated to Land Rover charity partners, including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Born Free Foundation, who plan to use the funds to support the ‘Project Lion Rover’ wildlife
he special version, called ‘Defender 2,000,000’ was built in May 2015 by a number of brand ambassadors and notable people from the history of Land Rover, including Bear Grylls, Virginia McKenna OBE and Stephen and Nick Wilks, sons of the founders of Land Rover.
It is worth remembering that big technological leaps do not happen quickly. Nokia’s 9000 Communicator packed email, web browsing and fax into a phone in the mid-1990s, while the iPhone, launched in 2007, came after more than a decade of developments.
ith hindsight, such breakthroughs seem to have been inevitable. But false dawns abound — and 2016 is likely to have more than its fair share of them. In a period of abundant experimentation, the challenge will be telling which are harbingers of shifts in work and personal life and which are deadends in technology evolution. This year may begin with a bang, with the mass-market launch of a staple of science fiction, virtual reality (VR) headsets. Facebook’s Oculus Rift will finally hit the market in the first quarter, following Samsung’s introduction of its own VR headsets, also using Oculus technology, this year. Before the end of 2016, augmentedreality goggles from Magic Leap and Microsoft, which overlay virtual images on to a view of the real world, could also become available. The much-hyped arrival of 3D television three years ago is a reminder of how
It’s not clear yet whether the Boxster will simply become much more expensive or whether the two models will swap price points, with the Cayman becoming cheaper.
A UNIQUE VERSION OF THE ICONIC LAND ROVER DEFENDER, AND THE 2,000,000TH EXAMPLE EVER BUILT HAS SOLD AT AUCTION FOR £400,000
TECHNOLOGY - TEN DEVELOPMENTS I N D I G I TA L F I N A N C E
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