AIR_April'2012

ISSUE ELEVEN | APRIL

2012

FR ANK SINATRA

Produced in International Media Production Zone

Blue How Ol’ R at is h d n a Ey e s ned Pa ck d e fi d e s ca e d r fo cool

SNAKE HIGHS Looking back on half a century of the hugely stylish AC Cobra

CAMERON DIAZ Why there’s just something about Hollywood’s angel

GLOBAL GOURMET Where to go for the best traditional fare in the world’s culinary hotspots

AL PACINO AIR meets the acting idol forty years on from The Godfather

EvEry rolEx is madE for grEatnEss. thE gmt-mastEr, introduCEd in 1955, wa s d E v Elo p Ed i n Co l l a b o r at i o n w i th pa n a m to m EE t thE nEEds of thEir intErnational pilots. thE gmt-mastEr ii has provEn to bE EvEn morE invaluablE as it fE aturEs a rotatablE

24 -hour g r a d uatEd b E z El th at a l lo w s tho s E w ho tr av El thE world to rE ad thrEE diffErEnt timE zonE s. t wo simultanEously.

t he gmt-master ii

CONTENTS / FE ATURES

Managing Director Victoria Thatcher Editorial Director John Thatcher Advertisement Director Chris Capstick chris@hotmediapublishing.com

Thirty Two

Al Pacino

Group Editor Laura Binder laura@hotmediapublishing.com

Al Pacino turns 72 this month, but he’s still got that rebellious glint in his eye. AIR chats ambition, Shakespeare and his resistance to fame.

Sub Editor Hazel Plush hazel@hotmediapublishing.com Designers Adam Sneade Sarah Boland

Thirty Eight

Cameron Diaz On diva behaviour, pennypinching and marrying for money – Hollywood’s brightest starlet talks love, life, and laughter.

Production Manager Haneef Abdul Senior Advertisement Manager Stefanie Morgner stefanie@hotmediapublishing.com

Forty Four

Jokers in the Pack

Advertisement Manager Sukaina Hussein sukaina@hotmediapublishing.com

Legends of ’60s stage and screen, The Ratpack set hearts ablaze the world over – AIR checks in to the Sands Hotel, where it all began.

Agency Sales Manager Jad Hatem jad@hotmediapublishing.com

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BinHendi Jewellery The Dubai Mall, Tel: 04 4341421 Mall of the Emirates, Tel: 04 3410711 Mirdiff City Centre, Tel: 04 2843640

CONTENTS / REGUL ARS

Fifty Two

Motoring AIR learns how to charm the fiesty AC Cobra, and puts AMG’s meaty SUV flagship through its paces.

Fourteen

Fifty Eight

What’s on and what’s new this month – and what it’ll cost you to book the entire Four Seasons Bora Bora.

Tracking the world’s greatest tastes, and Chef Pino Lavarra on cooking dinner for Dalí.

Twenty Two

Sixty Three

Hublot unveils its most precious watch ever – with a whopping 1,282 diamonds.

São Paulo’s hottest courses, Majors-inspired footwear, and the rarest of golf balls.

Twenty Six

Sixty Four

Signature stripes at Missoni, haute cuisine dinnerware at Versace, and France’s most sumptuous bed linens.

Cultural awakenings in Cartagena, head-turning design in Helsinki, and Lisbon’s love affair with bullfighting.

Twenty Eight

Seventy Six

The hottest films, shows, artwork and reads – and a pop-punk rebellion taking over the LA stage.

Captain Ed Olver shares his pearls of wisdom, from hosting world-class events to life and death decisions.

Radar

Timepieces

Interiors

Critique Tel: 00971 4 364 2876 Fax: 00971 4 369 7494 Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from HOT Media Publishing is strictly prohibited. All prices mentioned are correct at time of press but may change. HOT Media Publishing does not accept liability for omissions or errors in AIR.

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Gastronomy

Golf

Travel

What I Know Now

GAMA AVIATION

April 2012

WELCOME ONBOARD

I’m delighted to welcome you to the April edition of AIR – Gama’s in-flight magazine. I hope you’ll enjoy learning more about our global business aviation group and the services we provide as you browse through the pages.

Gama is one of the world’s largest business jet operators – we have nearly 80 business jets operating all around the globe. Established in the United Kingdom in 1983, we’ve grown to have bases throughout the Middle East, Europe and North & South America as well as operating licences issued by the UAE, UK, US and Bermudan Authorities. As well as providing aircraft management and charter services, the group also provides aircraft maintenance, avionics design and installation, aviation software, aircraft cleaning and leasing services to a wide range of clients.

Gama’s expansion in the Middle East continues to progress well, our regional fleet has grown significantly over the past twelve months with the arrival of a number of aircraft including the Bombardier Global XRS and the Airbus A318, along with the continued development of our regional footprint and services.

Business aviation remains one of the best tools available to corporations and individuals who want to make time for themselves and it’s been pleasing to see a resurgence in charter flights in 2011 – the world is travelling for business again and developing much needed revenue for the global economy.

Thank you for choosing Gama – welcome onboard.

Dave Edwards Managing Director Gama Aviation

Contact details: charter.mena@gamagroup.com gamagroup.com

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GAMA AVIATION NEWS GAMA AVIATION ANNOUNCES EXPANSION INTO SAUDI ARABIA

Jeddah will be Gama’s second Middle East base

Gama Group MENA FZE, part of the Gama Group, the global business aviation services company, announced during the Dubai Air Show 2011 that it is to expand its services into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With Imitiaz Company for Aviation Services LLC as a strategic partner in Saudi Arabia, the new joint venture company, to be known as Gama Aviation, plans to be operational in 2012 from Jeddah, Saudi’s second largest city and a vital centre for commerce and tourism.

The Imitiaz Company, headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is headed by some of the Kingdom’s most experienced aviation professionals.

This is an expansion in the Middle East for the Gama Group, a long established aircraft charter, management and maintenance business company now in its 29th year, which set up in Sharjah and Dubai three years ago. The company will specialise in aircraft management and aims to operate charter services under its own Saudi GACA Part 135 Air Carrier certificate. The next step will be to add aircraft maintenance and consultancy services, replicating the company’s expertise in Europe, USA and the Middle East. Gama’s first base will be at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport where it will employ around five people in the start up phase. Gama Aviation in Saudi Arabia will be overseen by Gama’s Regional Managing Director, Dave Edwards.

“This is a significant announcement for Gama and is the culmination of a substantial period of planning and negotiation,” said Gama CEO Marwan Abdel Khalek.

“We are delighted to have Imitiaz LLC as our strategic partner in this venture, which will bring to Gama many years of experience in the Kingdom. Breaking into the important Saudi market, the biggest market for business aviation in the Middle East, is a huge achievement and a long held wish of Gama. This milestone reflects a considerable amount of hard work by the team at Gama and our ability to demonstrate how the Gama culture and business model could be adopted in Saudi. ” Gama Aviation obtained its UAE GCAA Air Operator’s Certificate in February 2010 and now supports 25 staff and five managed aircraft at both Sharjah International and Dubai International Airports, including an Airbus ACJ318 which joined the fleet last month. Gama is on track to obtain its UAE GCAA CAR 145 maintenance approval and is working to develop a new 12,000 sqm hangar facility at Sharjah which will provide hangarage and maintenance facilities for business jet aircraft in the region. It will also be home to a new Fixed Based Operation.

Asia firmly in Gama Group’s sights for 2012 Gama Group is planning to establish its next base in Asia, CEO Marwan Khalek confirmed at the National Business Aviation Association tradeshow in Las Vegas. “We are building the foundations now with a view to getting established in Hong Kong in the first half of 2012,” he said. The intention is simply to replicate Gama’s successful business model in the region and mirror the quality, ethos and service offering of the international network currently centered in Europe, the Middle East and the USA. Hong Kong will be the company’s fourth continental/ regional base complementing operations in Europe, North America and the Middle East.

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Gama Aviation’s Middle Eastern fleet grows with the addition of the airbus ACJ318 Gama Aviation FZC, the business aviation charter and management company, has added a new business aircraft type to its UAE-based fleet – its first Airbus. The Airbus ACJ318 was added to its UAE operator’s certificate in October. Configured with a 14 seat VIP configuration, the ACJ becomes the largest aircraft in the company’s Middle East fleet and for Gama globally, its 11th manufacturer type. The new aircraft is being operated and managed by Gama on behalf of a private owner, based out of Sharjah International Airport.

“We welcome the increasing involvement of experienced companies such as Gama Aviation with the growing fleet of Airbus corporate jets, which are the new top-end of the market because they deliver the widest and tallest cabin of any business jet,” says Airbus Corporate Jets Vice President Francois Chazelle.

Gama Aviation obtained its UAE GCAA Air Operator’s Certificate in February 2010 and now manages five aircraft on behalf of Middle East based clients at both Sharjah International and Dubai International Airports.

Gama Aviation is on track to obtain its UAE GCAA CAR 145 maintenance approval and is working to complete its new 12,000 sqm hangar facility at Sharjah which will provide hangarage and maintenance facilities for business jet aircraft in the region.

500,000 Hours 200,000 Flights 28 Years

Gama Aviation Limited Business Aviation Centre Farnborough Airport Farnborough Hampshire GU14 6XA United Kingdom Tel: +44 1252 553000 Email: charter.eu@gamagroup.com Gama Aviation FZC Building 6EB Office 550 PO Box 54912 Dubai Airport Freezone Dubai United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 609 1688 Email: charter.mena@gamagroup.com Gama Aviation, Inc. Airport Business Center 611 Access Road Stratford

www.gamagroup.com

CT 06615

Business Aircraft Management, Charter,

United States

Maintenance, Design and Installation,

Tel: +1 800 468 1110

FBO Services, Valeting and Aviation Software.

Email: charter.usa@gamagroup.com

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GAMA AVIATION NEWS GAMA AVIATION OPENS NEW SHARJAH FBO FOR EXECUTIVE AIRCRAFT HANDLING

Gama Aviation, the global business aviation and services company in association with the Sharjah Department of Civil Aviation announced today the next phase of their close partnership aimed at encouraging and facilitating the growth of business aviation traffic at Sharjah International Airport.

Effective, 23 January 2012, Gama Aviation will be the sole provider for all executive aircraft handling at Sharjah International Airport. Gama Aviation’s dedicated Sharjah team is on-hand to provide a 24/7/365 service to facilitate the arrival and departure of all business aviation traffic.

Gama has been a Sharjahbased operator since 2004 and during that time it has built a strong business development partnership with the Sharjah International Airport management team with respect to the development of Executive Aircraft handling services.

Sharjah celebrates 80 years as the leader of aviation activities in the UAE, with the start-up of operations in 1932.

Throughout its long history it has seen continued expansion and on-going investment resulting in today’s Sharjah

Gama recruits air traffic specialist and advises: “book early” for Olympics

International being one of the most efficient and easy to use airports in the region. Landing to chocks on time at Sharjah is a remarkable and enviable average of just 6 minutes!

As well as providing excellent links to Sharjah itself one of the key benefits for business aviation is that it is situated very close to Dubai (just a 5 minute helicopter transfer) and is nearer to the business centre of Dubai than the new World Central Airport (51 kms, 43 minutes) which it has been announced will become Dubai’s main business airport during the course of 2012. As such, Sharjah International Airport will become a very practical alternative for visitors to Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

“We are delighted to partner with the Sharjah International Airport management team’s aspiration to establish the Gama operated Sharjah FBO as the first choice for business aviation operators in the region’’ said Dave Edwards, Managing Director of Gama Aviation FZE. ‘’Sharjah offers less capacity restraints and no slot restrictions which responds perfectly to the demands of business aviation.’’

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Gama Aviation is preparing for the forthcoming 2012 Olympics and the anticipated increase in business aviation traffic with the recruitment of its own dedicated air traffic specialist.

Consultant Martin Hill brings 30 years’ experience as an air traffic controller and supervisor at the London Air Traffic Control centre to Gama. He is now in situ at the company’s Farnborough Airport HQ and is advising Gama’s operations and charter teams as they communicate to clients about their air travel to London coinciding with next year’s big event.

Gama’s Director of Client Relations Trevor Jones participated as a panellist at BGAD 2011’s Practicalities of the Olympics Panel at Cambridge Airport. “We are advising our customers and charter brokers to book their slots early in order to avoid disappointment. For international clients coming to London between 21 July and 15 August we urge them to contact us as soon as possible so we can make the slot applications accordingly. This is because there will be capacity constraints in the airspace over the London area, affecting a total of 40 airports in the South of the UK.” Slots will be required for all flights arriving or departing the London area during the period from 21st July to 15th August 2012, inclusive.

(This covers the Olympic Games only, there are no extra slot restrictions for the Paralympic Games.) Flights will also be subjected to security screening, even at small airports/airfields.

Martin Hill explains: “Slots will be issued on a first come, first served basis and where the requested slot time is not available, the closest match will be offered as an alternative. Airports will be charging a non-refundable fee for the booking of the slots, which will be added to the cost of the flight, and in some cases, requiring payment of landing and handling fees in advance.”

Gama is advising its clients and charter brokers that once a slot is issued, changing the time of the flight will invalidate that original slot. There will be no guarantee that a slot will be available for the revised time, on the day concerned. If the slot is not adhered to the flight will not be able to depart until a new slot time is granted, which could be many hours away.

The slot system is now operational to take bookings at Farnborough Airport, and will soon become active at other London area airports.

RADAR

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All yours for $1 million How’s this for a way to impress your friends if you’re looking to throw a party: the magnificent Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora is now available to rent in its entirety, at a cost of $1million. That buys you every one of the 107 villas – 100 of which stand on stilts in the transparent waters of the South Pacific – and use of four restaurants, the full-service spa, the resort’s entire maritime fleet and, to aid you while there, the 250-strong staff of the hotel – all for seven glorious days. fourseasons. com/borabora

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RADAR Life Through A Lens As one of the most famous photographers in Hollywood, the late Bob Willoughby captured iconic images of the silver screen’s sirens. But were you to have asked him if one stood out from the celebrated crowd, the name Audrey Kathleen Ruston – better known as Audrey Hepburn – would have been spoken at you without a moment’s hestiation. A new book documents his best shots of the legendary actress, behind, in front of, and away from the film camera. taschen.com

> To celebrate 20 years as the doyen of footwear design, Christian Louboutin has launched 20 individual shoe designs; one for every year that his iconic label has been in business, and each as flamboyant as the next. Until now the shoes were only available at London’s Selfridges – on sale at the store’s fabulous Wonder Room in a space designed by Louboutin himself – but from April 1 they will go on general sale at stores worldwide.

All styles are new versions of what are arguably the most famous Louboutin shoes ever created, so expect to join a stampede for them.

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The Musician’s Penthouse The seven exceptional two-storey penthouses at Corinthia Hotel London offer the highest level of elegant and spacious accommodation – up to 5,000 sq ft / 465 sq m.

The Musician’s Penthouse, a bold, grand space, features the classic Steinway Model O piano and an expansive terrace with views towards The London Eye, St. Paul’s and the City.

COrinTHia HOTEL LOndOn, WHiTEHaLL PLaCE, LOndOn SW1a 2Bd +44 (0)20 7321 3000 | PEnTHOuSES.LOndOn@COrinTHia.COM | corinthia.com /london

RADAR

> In the first of a series of artist-conceived restaurants at the venue, Turner Prize winning artist Martin Creed has reworked the Gallery restaurant at London’s sketch, home to celebrated chef Pierre Gagnaire.

Creed’s playful approach means every single piece of cutlery, glass, chair and table used for service will be different, while Gagnaire’s accompanying menu is no less creative, having been directly influenced by Creed – anyone for Guinnesspoached salmon?

Francis Ford Coppola’s Italian Masterpiece A lovingly-restored 9th-century Italian villa is the home of film director Francis Ford Coppola’s newest hotel resort. Palazzo Margherita, which stands in the Basilicata region of Southern Italy, was built back in 1892, and embodies Italian elegance. “I never initially dreamed of opening a resort in Italy, let alone in the town of my grandfather Agostino Coppola,” said Coppola. “Yet when I purchased the Palazzo I knew I needed to extend the property to my guests as well.” Here you’ll find seven, fresco-ceilinged suites and two stunning garden rooms, while a horse’s head on your pillow is of course optional. coppolaresorts.com

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> As a nod to the forthcoming Olympic Games to be held in the city, London’s V&A Museum will this month launch its major spring exhibition, dedicated to the country’s finest designs from the year 1948 – the last time the games were staged in the UK’s capital (then dubbed the ‘austerity games’, funnily enough) – to the present day. Over three galleries, the exhibition will showcase a wealth of diverse, well-

known materials from artists born, raised, or trained in Britain, from the God Save the Queen Sex Pistols poster, to the Children Crossing road sign and an evening gown designed by the late, maverick designer

Alexander McQueen. But our pick of what’s on show is this timeless classic, a pillarbox-red Jaguar E-Type automobile, designed in 1961 and coveted by many a car aficionado ever since. vam.ac.uk

Timeless Gems Suzanne Belperron was one of the most revered jewellery designers to grace the 20th century, creating sought-after jewels from the 1930s to the 1970s, which went on to grace the hands, wrists and décolletages of royalty, aristocrats and Hollywood stars, as well as the elegant models of Vogue. Sotheby’s pending auction – Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels, May 14 – will comprise over 60 lots, showcasing Belperron’s private collection. Among them are her iconic brooches, like the yellow-diamond set Fleur ($40,000-$50,00) and, for gentlemen, a collection of precious cufflinks no doubt created for her husband Jean Belperron. sothebys.com - 19 -

RADAR Licence to Thrill To mark the 50th anniversary of James Bond’s first appearance on cinema screens, London’s Barbican Theatre is staging an exhibition which celebrates the spy’s inimitable style.

Among the sharp suits, absurd gadgets and, of course, cool cars, are examples of how the whole concept of the suave secret service agent came together, providing fascinating insight for fans of fashion and film alike. barbican.org.uk

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TIMEPIECES > Based on a watch designed in 1942 for the Italian navy, the U-42 premiered in 2010 and this, the U-42 GMT, is its third model since. Limited to 300 pieces – a plaque signifying the number of the specific watch is located at the head of the handcrafted strap – it’s a mammoth 53mm in size and incorporates many of the design quirks that have helped make this brand increasingly popular with fans of statement watches. These include a uniquely crafted crown positioned on the left of the case, which folds out and down before clipping in again, and chunky, brass hands set on a striking, matt black dial.

Watches at Auction The Event Important Watches The Location Sotheby’s Geneva The Date May 15 Abraham Louis Breguet, watchmaker to European monarchs of his time, designed exceptional timepieces for the likes of King Louis XVI, Queen Marie-Antoinette, Napoléon and Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, for whom he famously conceived the world’s first wristwatch in 1810. His works, including more than 50 antique pocket watches, will comprise an entire section of this much-anticipated sale in Geneva on May 15, when they’re expected to elicit furious bidding – Sotheby’s established a world auction record for a timepiece by Breguet when selling one in New York for $5.77 million back in 1999, and last year achieved $124,745 for an open-faced pocket chronometer by Breguet, nine times the estimate.

Particular pieces to look for include a yellow gold pendant watch (Breguet no.

2791), sold to the Duke of Berwick in 1818 and, thereafter, re-sold to Monsieur Anthony De Rothschild, and a yellow gold à tact watch (Breguet no. 3561) bought by Count Bathyany in 1821.

Outside of the Brequet section, there are also some fine Patek Philippe timepieces to bid for, among them a highly important grande complication clock watch from 1990, which is expected to fetch in the region of $550,000-$875,000.

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TIMEPIECES

Bond ambitions It’s 50 years since James Bond debuted on the silver screen, and by way of celebration Omega has released updated versions (41mm and 36.25mm) of his favoured timepiece – the Seamaster Diver 300m. It has been worn

by Bond in every 007 film since Goldeneye, and both new versions reference the suave spy in subtle ways – the 36.25mm version has a diamond index at the 7 o’ clock position, while the 41mm version is limited to 11,007 pieces.

> 1,282 diamonds totalling over 100 carats, and graded A VVS in clarity and Top Wesselton in colour, comprise what Hublot say is its most precious watch ever. Where it’s usual for haute joaillerie pieces to be designed around the chosen stones, with this watch Hublot did the reverse; the selected stones having to be cut to fit the watch design. In all, it took seven months for master cutters to perfect the stones, which help price the watch at $5 million.

> New from Chopard is this updated version of the much-loved L.U.C Lunar One model, boasting entirely redesigned satin-brushed lugs, a voluptuous 43mmdiameter case, hours now displayed as Roman numerals and, unusually, moon phases that rotate around the small seconds axis.

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INTERIORS

SARA COSGROVE

Ask the head of design at Harrods about luxe linens and she’ll spill the industry’s ‘best-kept secret’ – D. Porthault…

The luxury French linen house D. Porthault is a real couturier of bed linen, with an incredible understanding of quality. I love the enchanting new spring/summer collections, particularly the Tropical Store and Egaltine ranges, with their dreamy handpainted botanicalinspired designs.

D. Porthault offer a bespoke service through which we create unique pieces for each client, choosing from a large selection of silk threads to make something truly personal. This works brilliantly along with the brand’s stunning signature collections.

It’s no surprise, then, that – since it was established in the 1920s – D. Porthault has attracted the world’s rich and famous; those with a desire for beautifully-produced linens. To date, you’ll find over 15,000 different designs in their archives, including the Feuilles de Provence – made specially for former Vogue editor Diana Vreeland – and Oeillets, a carnation print commissioned by the Duchess of Windsor for her Parisian residence.

To this day, D. Porthault’s linen is handmade by a number of artisans in Normandy, on the west coast of France, and in Cambrai in the north – both of which are historic sites of France’s textile industry. Some call their linens ‘best kept secrets’ – so now you’re in the know too… thestudioharrods.com

Missoni at Home Those with a soft spot for Missoni’s signature stripes would do well to pay a visit to Dubai’s Harvey Nichols, where the Italian design house has revealed its new homeware collection. From dressing gowns and towels to bath mats, cushions and rugs, there is something for almost every room. But, each piece has one thing in common: an interwoven display of Missoni’s unmistakable prints and colour palette. harveynichols.com

Art Masters Whether you’re an art aficionado or not this hardback tome will take you through the story of modern art – and is perfect displayed on coffee or side tables.

The tale begins 150 years ago in Paris and takes you through a time when impressionists shook up the established art world. It’s a colourful account that’s depicted not only through essays but, best of all, through 187 artists’ portraits (among them famed Pop Art of pin-up Marilyn Monroe) and 44 original photos of the artists in their studios. taschen.com

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A vertical chimney is not only comfortable when you come to rest your lips but unites and consolidates your tipple’s bouquet, just as it hits your palate…

A closed-in angle does more than add to the glass’s aesthetics; rather it condenses the wine’s matter and fills the glass with your nectar’s natural aroma.

A rounded, concave bottom and a wide base means you can swirl your grape without it rising up the inner glass – and preserves aroma and smoothness.

Top of the Glass There are few better glasses from which to sup than Chateau Baccarat’s crystal ware. Which is why we’re reaching for its new collection – said to ‘revolutionise’ the way you drink. But how? We go from the top to the bottom of its revered wine glass…

Precious Plates Twenty plates for 20 years: Versace’s just-released limited edition marks a 20-year-long collaboration with Rosenthal. The design brands have graced table places with fine dinnerware since their union in 1992 – under the guidance of the ill-fated Gianni Versace. “Versace

is a lifestyle and it should be an all-embracing decision for those who choose to adopt it,” he said. Now under Donatella’s artful eye, plates adopt a fresh take on Rosenthal-meets-Versace’s most iconic prints and motifs (the Medusa among them). Available at The Dubai Mall.

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CRITIQUE

Film

The Raven

James McTeigue When a serial killer goes on a rampage inspired by Edgar Allen Poe’s most brutal of murder stories, a young Baltimore detective joins forces with the writer to stop the carnage. A string of macabre twists follow, climaxing in a threat to Poe’s beloved. A chilling tale against a Gothic backdrop of 19th-century America.

AT BEST: “Enjoyable period thriller that plays like a Gothic version of Se7en and succeeds thanks to a literate script, atmospheric direction, and some suitably grisly murder sequences” ViewLondon AT WORST: “Dull, tedious thriller that says nothing interesting or new about Poe.” Little White Lies

The Hunger Games

Gary Ross Adapted from the novel

by Suzanne Collins, this fast-paced flick tells of a futuristic America where teens are forced to compete in the brutal ‘Hunger Games’. Twelve contestants are pitched against each other in a series of deadly televised tasks – and the competition only ends when a lone survivor remains.

AT BEST: “Effective entertainment, and Jennifer Lawrence is strong and convincing in the central role.” Chicago Sun-Times AT WORST: “There’s no time to get to know anybody, or watch a relationship unfold, or ride the dramatic rise and swell of a compelling narrative.”

MSN Movies

The Cabin in the Woods

Drew Goddard When five friends take a trip to a spooky cabin in the forest, it’s never going to end prettily. This is real edge-of-the-seat stuff, with bucketloads of gore, but you won’t find your typical horror plot here – this fiesty film has its tongue firmly in-cheek.

AT BEST: “Strong production values, dynamic performances, a clever and witty script and a playful determination to turn the horror genre on its head.”

Screen Daily AT WORST: “Falters in the final reel, when things get too bizarrely excessive and the budget can’t quite keep up with the ideas.” SFX magazine

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Damsels in Distress

Whit Stilman This coming-of-age romp follows three beautiful girls as they embark on studies at an American university.

Their quest to improve campus life extends to the Suicide Prevention Center, where they hand out doughnuts to cheer up the patients. Expect love triangles, emotional tangles and plenty of teen angst.

AT BEST: “Innocence deserted teen movies ages ago, but it makes a comeback, revived and romanticized, in this joyous anachronism.” TIME AT WORST: “An often toxic and obnoxious fantasia about a brittle clique of arrogant women at a fictional college.” Time Out New York

Books Launched in English in March after appearing in French a couple of years ago, French filmmaker and intellectual Claude Lanzmann’s autobiography The Patagonian Hare has brought coos of delight from anglophone book reviewers across the world. It blends personal and world history over the course of 70 years, and tells the story of a man whose life was a whirlwind of intrigue and achievement from a young age. As a teenager he fought bravely in the French Resistance, and after the war he met Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir on Paris’s Left Bank – he started editing Sartre’s journal Les Temps Modernes, and began a love affair with de Beauvoir, all before turning 30. Writing in Le Figaro Littéraire, Max Gallo said that “You’ll follow the adventures of Claude Lanzmann like you’d read a novel

by London, Hemingway or Kessel.”

Andrew Hussey of the Independent agrees it’s a great read: “The real value of this book is... its humanity,” he says.

“For all his reading of Hegel or Marx, conversations with Philippe Sollers or Sartre, Lanzmann wears his learning lightly. He is always interested in a meal, a journey, a drink or a woman’s scent as well as a dialectical critique...”

The hot new novel du jour, meanwhile, is Grace McCleen’s The Land of Decoration. Chris Cleave, writing in the Financial Times, describes it as “loveable, unique and thrillingly uncategorisable”.

The basic story is that of a bullied fundamentalist Christian schoolgirl who retreats into her own imaginary world, which starts to come true around her. The real thrill comes in the style: as Cleave says, “This book is an allegory disguised as a sermon, the simulation of a partial autobiography, an impersonation of a heart-breaking psychological analysis of loneliness standing in for a useful self-help book, all the while posing as a brilliant page-turning story.” Nicola Barr of the Observer agrees: “Surprising,

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affecting, thoughtful and complex, McCleen’s novel grows in power the more time you spend with it, and marks her out as a writer to watch”, she says.

When it comes to contemporary politics and history, Ashraf Khalil’s Liberation Square, a newly-published account of the uprising in Egypt, has been well received by the critics.

Writing in The National, Noori Passela says that “Liberation Square turns out to be one of the more accessible examples of ‘Spring-lit’ to have emerged so far, thanks to Khalil’s focus on the humane aspects of the uprising and his apolitical stance amid the successive waves of Egyptian parties readying themselves for potential leadership.” Steve Weinberg of the CS Monitor says that the reason for the author’s success is that as a Cairo resident he has long been rooted in the country. “An account from Khalil is certain to top anything coming from the traditional Western foreign correspondent who parachutes into a hot spot without the appropriate language training or knowledge about the context”, he writes. “It is difficult to imagine a better guide to the Egyptian portion of the so-called Arab Spring than... Liberation Square.”

CRITIQUE

Art Don’t get me started on the labels: surely there are limits to the number of synonyms curators may use for ‘soft’, ‘glow’ and ‘light’.”

Finally, New York’s MoMA has a Cindy Sherman retrospective which is garnering great praise almost across the board. For the uninitiated, Sherman is a photographic artist who has used herself as the model in her shots for the past 30 years. “With an arsenal of wigs, costumes, makeup, prosthetics, and props,” says MoMA, “Sherman has deftly altered her physique and surroundings to create a myriad of intriguing tableaus and characters, from screen siren to clown to aging socialite.” Howard Halle of Time Out New York is convinced, saying it’s “the best show I’ve seen [at MoMA] since the Gerhard Richter survey, and probably the best exhibit I’ve seen anywhere in a while.”

Defining this lavish spread of 170 images, Halle writes that “Sherman uses glamour and horror to send up and celebrate the feminine mystique, including her own. She quantifies and categorizes the notion of one’s appearance, which fashion also does.

But unlike Anna Wintour, Sherman isn’t in the business of marketing the cultural; she’s in the business of laying it bare.”

Images: In the Light of Claude, The National Gallery

Down Under in Sydney, artist Janet Laurence has received plaudits for her show After Eden at the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation. The theme of the show is the creatures of lost and endangered worlds, and the exhibition delves into the threats to the environment and to biodiversity.

“This is a museum crossed with a casualty ward” says Joyce Morgan of the Sydney Morning Herald.

“Flimsy veils redolent of curtains drawn around a patient’s hospital bed encircle various ‘exhibits’, which include a stuffed dingo, quoll, possum, owls, tiny coloured birds and glass jars of marsupial embryos.” It sounds more like a natural history documentary than an art show, but Laurence insists to Morgan that this is not the case. “I’m not making a documentary, it’s not a documentary show – you can’t do that in art”, she says. “It’s an evocation. It’s what engages me. All artists work with what they are engaged with.’’

On the other side of the globe, London’s National Gallery has just opened an exhibition entitled Turner Inspired: In the Light of Claude which explores the link between the Turner and French landscape painter Claude Lorrain, with works from both artists lining the walls. Turner was apparently once brought to tears by one of Lorrain’s paintings and took inspiration from his use of light in his own works. The early reviews are in, and while they make it clear that the paintings themselves are well worth a visit – “the curators have borrowed some wonderful pictures to hang alongside much-loved warhorses from the National Gallery and Tate” says Richard Dorment of The Daily Telegraph – the linkage between the two artists is, it seems, overplayed.

As Dorment puts it, “in the catalogue essays, art historians are given carte blanche to waffle on for page after page explaining ideas that could be written on the back of a postcard.

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Images: American Idiot, Ahmanson Theatre

Theatre

The Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles is home to new musical American Idiot, based around the songs of Green Day from their album of the same name. Charles McNulty of the Los Angeles Times says that “Whether American Idiot represents a new wave of musical theatre or a surprising development in music video, there’s no denying the moody kinetic thrills of this rabble-rousing pop-punk show”. The story which ties together the songs is a little bit nebulous at times, but the choreography and music make it all work. As McNulty writes, “the expertly performed songs cast a spell that had young, old and middle-aged audience members headbanging together at the Ahmanson.

Now that alone is one incredible feat even if this merging of Broadway and VH1 styles is only a pit-stop on the way to the musical’s 21st century future.”

In London’s Southwark Playhouse, new production Shivered, by Philip Ridley, is bringing down the house.

It follow the fortunes of a family in Essex in England, which decline when the father loses his job at the local car plant and one of his sons is kidnapped and killed while serving in the British army. “Polymath Philip Ridley is British theatre’s prince of imaginative writing” says Aleks Sierz of The Arts Desk, and he “has taken this epic tale – which spans some 20 years in the lives of two families – and puts it through the mincer, carving it up into meaty lumps, which he rearranges into a series of bright and oozing fragments.” Neil Dowden of The Stage was also wowed, writing that “Shivered shows Ridley at his imaginative best in what is arguably his most moving and accessible adult play to date”. The play “touches on topical issues of the ‘war against terrorism’ and post-industrial decline [and] focuses on the Ridleyan themes of fractured relationships, ‘monsters’ within and without, and storytelling

as both escapist deception and therapeutic release.”

In Boston, meanwhile, a playmusical hybrid has been taking to the stage at the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion. Next to Normal is the story of a suburban family trying to deal with the onset of mental illness in Diana, the mother of the family. In one of its previous incarnations, it won three Tony Awards and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Don Aucoin of the Boston Globe called it a “powerfully moving” piece about “a woman riding the seesaw of mental illness, determined to somehow find a

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way to hold on, and her family, which is trying to stay together through it all.” But there is a lighter side – as Revonda Pokrzywa of the Boston Events Insider writes, “The music in Next to Normal is phenomenal. It flits [from] cabaret to rock opera, creating an atmosphere that made me feel immediately sympathetic to Diana.

In addition to setting the mood, the lyrics are incredibly witty and catchy.

You may find yourself singing lines from My Psychopharmacologist and I even after leaving the theatre.” One to remember next time you’re in Bean Town.

Words: Tina Solano

The Godfather will see you now Forty years on from his captivating performance in The Godfather, AL PACINO remains as vital as ever. AIR meets the cinematic legend

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A

l Pacino turns 72 this month (April 25th) yet remains the godfather of cool, at the top of the A List. He doesn’t need to scrabble to find good work and the future holds no fears for him. “If I’m not acting or directing,” he says, “I am just sitting there, waiting to act, or direct, again. Directing has definitely reignited my passion for work. Being a movie star was exciting but having control as a director has proved to be far more exciting. And then there’s stage work.

“I’m still fixated by Shakespeare and the stage. I still tackle each role I do like a novice and just wish I had more talent.”

With his clandestine good looks, Pacino is slightly shorter than his Italianate colleague Robert De Niro and four years older. Between them they have split the American-Italian film roles in half (co-starring only once, in Heat) but Pacino is the one who doesn’t speak Italian.

Often described as “the male Greta Garbo” for his long disappearances to do unpublicised readings and workshops and somewhat plagued by his reputation for elusiveness, he is relentlessly self-critical. And he has cut a swathe through the classics while managing to keep on the top of the romantic leading man list. “In Shakespeare I found perspective and working on stage I discovered a kind of explosiveness in me I hadn’t known was there so I’m not going to give that up now,” he says.

‘I started acting, I suppose, to amuse my grandmother’ Perusing the Pacino clipping file, one quote comes up over and over again on his philosophy of acting and the life it brings to him. “There was a tight-rope walking act about 50 years ago called The Flying Wallendas, who had a tragic accident in which someone was killed.

“Soon after the accident, the father went up and started walking the wire again. Someone said to him: ‘Are you crazy? How can you go up there again after what happened?’ He said: ‘How can I not? Real life is on the wire, the rest of it is just waiting around.’ That’s how I feel about what I do.”

In person Pacino is very pleasant, this a man who has spent a lifetime specialising in crooks and killers: he’s relaxed, friendly and surprisingly jokey. He has become the Grand Old Man of cinema actors and has not lost his allure.

Born Alfredo Pacino in Harlem, New York, he grew up in South Bronx. When he was two his father left home and he was held in a sort of kind but repressive familial protective custody, “living in three rooms with a bunch of Sicilians”.

Only third-generation Italian, the lifestyle, however, was strictly traditional and he wasn’t allowed to leave the house on his own until he started school at six.

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“I grew up in a very mixed neighbourhood. It was the definition of the melting pot. The floor we lived on had every different nationality, although at home my grandparents spoke Italian all the time. I know that Italian is in me, just waiting to burst out.

“My early training was on stage, essentially classical, and I am only too aware how so often the classics don’t catch the audience. I did my time touring colleges with Shakespeare in the late ’70s and seeing how resistant the students were when they heard I was going to read Shakespeare. But at the end of the day people who are actors are people through their material and Shakespeare is the ultimate for all of us. He gets you to a place in yourself that is a sort of land of freedom. That frees me to go back into doing work on film.”

“I always wanted to be a baseball player,” he tells me in his husky voice. “I was very young, still very small, but then suddenly I decided I wanted to be an actor. My mother took me to the movies at a very young age. The first film I ever saw was Ray Milland in Lost Weekend (1945), a film basically about an alcoholic. I can still hear my mother saying: ‘See, if you act badly that’s how you’ll end up’ (Laughs.) And that’s what happened to me, I guess!

The acting, not the alcoholism. Although I have had a time when a pattern of drinking put me on a downward spiral and made me reach a point where I was enjoying being out of work more than working.

“I started acting, I suppose, to amuse my grandmother.

I used to repeat all the film roles I’d seen. I also lived a year with two aunts, one was deaf, and it was around then

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‘As an actor he was one of the most complex of his generation, the most obsessed with his craft with near fanatical commitment’

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Images: Getty / Gallo Images; Corbis / Arabian Eye

I started acting for real, inspired, I guess, by being able to connect with my deaf aunt.”

By the time he was 11 or 12 he was so confident of his acting destiny that neighbourhood kids took to calling him The Actor and he’d sign autographs under the name Sonny Scott. Why Scott? It was still a time, he explains, that if your name ended in a vowel you always thought of changing it if you were going into the movies.

As a teenager he was accepted at the High School of Performing Arts, but dropped out at 16 and moved to Greenwich Village to work as-and-when. His lack of formal education was made up for by the acting which he calls “education on wheels”, travelling the world working.

En route he picked up a passion for Method acting and, as is his wont, overdosed on it to the point that his methodological purism began to exasperate even the Great Teacher of Method, the late Lee Strasberg, his spiritual godfather and the light behind the famed Actors Studio, home of Method. “Some actors only play characters.

Al Pacino becomes them”, said Strasberg of him.

Pacino more or less struggled until at 31 he hooked up with an equally struggling director who was trying to raise money for a film about the Mafia. The director, of course, was Francis Ford Coppola; the film, The Godfather; the role, Michael Corleone. With The Godfather, Pacino became an enthusiastic actor but reluctant idol with a rocky relationship with fame, which he seems to have always resisted.

As an actor he was one of the most complex of his generation, the most obsessed with his craft with near fanatical commitment, the most serious about doing his homework, the most private of the lot.

His attraction for women is as famous as his refusal to talk about them or his romantic relationships with actresses Marthe Keller, Diane Keaton, Tuesday Weld, Jill Clayburgh. While he has never married, he has three children. The first, Julie Marie (born 1989), is his daughter with acting coach Jan Tarrant. He also has twins, Anton and Olivia (born January 25, 2001), with ex-girlfriend actress Beverly D’Angelo, whom he dated for several years and shares custody with for the twins. “I’ve always felt that part of my life is private, and I just don’t discuss it,” he says.

He lives in New York, both in Manhattan and upstate near Sneddens Landing and seems to enjoy a quiet but calmly complete life. Balance is something Pacino has mastered well on screen and, if tentatively, in his own “exceptionally enjoyable” life.

With seven Oscar nominations and one Oscar (for Scent of a Woman) behind him he doesn’t see himself as a Hollywood rebel any more. “But there must be some of it there in me. Maybe it’s just a streak, but it’s sort of there still, I guess. I think.”

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The paparazzi outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills are awaiting the arrival of a luxury car, anxious to get a good photo.

Almost in unison they raise their long range lenses, aiming as with a gun, scoping out the perfect target each time a Mercedes Benz or a Porsche drives by.

The really funny part?

They don’t realise that seated in a simple Toyota Prius is... CAMERON DIAZ. She just drives right on by with her famous smile, the most beautiful smile in Hollywood

Words: Eduardo Misisco

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Is humour really important for you, in real life? What makes you laugh?

Everything. I think that is the beauty of life. You have to find humour in everything. Because if you don’t you’d kill yourself.

Even in a drama situation?

Yes all the time. If you have to, laugh at it.

Working, too?

Oh, anything.

How do you behave in the middle of a movie studio, without letting your stardom get in the way?

Well, I feel like it is a partnership.

Making a movie is a massive collaboration, not only with the actors and director, but with everybody. All of our props guys, the guys who set the lights, everybody.

It is like a team effort. I don’t have a job if they don’t do their job and vice versa. The thing you know as the lead actor, that you do sort of have the responsibility for, is to set the tone on the set as to how much fun people are going to have.

Do you try to avoid being a classic diva?

I just love having a good time.

And there is no reason for everyone on the set not to be having a great time. And, for everybody to feel that they can contribute and be there to have a laugh – and everyone does contribute. Everyone. I’m also so grateful for the other actors who are there, because they are so brilliant and so talented... to get to work with them, and be with them, and have them give their talent to this film is a total blessing. And, I can’t be a diva, I feel I’m in debt to them.

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already proved to myself that I don’t need to marry for money. So, why not go ahead and do it. Right? I’m tired.

I’m tired and I want somebody else to support me. (More laughs)

‘I’ve already made my own money.

I know that I have my own money.

But I want somebody who is richer than I am’

It won’t be easy to find someone who earns more money than you.

That is true. Because I’m a stingy, staunchy, money grubbing – I hold on to every penny I’ve ever made in my life.

Would you change anything for a man?

I think that is part of life. When you enter in a relationship with men and women, the point of that relationship is to change one another. It’s to be able to grow with one another and learn something new about yourself and make changes in your life and your behaviour. So I do think that it is important, that is the point of relationships...to grow with one another.

Don’t you miss anything from a regular life, without fame?

Images: Getty / Gallo Images; Corbis / Arabian Eye, Tag Heuer

I love to work, I’ve always loved to work... I love to be busy, I love to have a purpose. I love being around other people. I love to work hard. That is gratifying for me.

So, was there a time where you did a movie thinking about the money first and the artistic side later?

No. It is actually the opposite. I have never, ever. I can honestly, honestly, say this – that I’ve never done a job for the money. Period. Ever. Never.

And it is a rule. Money does not motivate me whatsoever. That is not why I do it. And I’ve been really lucky to make a lot of money, but I think it is also because I just really don’t care about it.

When was the last time you had to save some money to buy something you loved?

I’m saving money right now to buy something, believe me. (Laughs)

Seriously, before all the million dollars in Hollywood, in the beginning was there a time where you needed to save money to buy something you really liked?

When I was modeling. Back in the days when I used to model, there was a time where I went: “Should I pay my taxes, should I pay my rent, or should I buy this Alaia dress?”

And what did you finally do?

I bought the Alaia dress. And I went, “Shit. I should have paid my rent.”

So, what do you think about women who only go out with rich men?

I’ve prided myself all of my life as the woman that I am, that I have not gotten married for money. What I’ve decided in the latter half of my life is: that I’m definitely marrying for money. (Laughs) I’ve already made my own money. I know that I have my own money. But I want somebody who is richer than I am, so I am definitely getting married for money... I’ve

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Do you ever think about getting married for real?

Getting married? Marriage is an interesting thing. I think that every relationship is like a marriage. You commit yourself, your lives are joined at some point – whether or not you go walk down the aisle to the alter and say, “Yes I do.” I think that when you are in a relationship you’ve already said that, in respect to the fact that you’ve combined your lives. So, I’ve been married four or five times. (laughter) But thank God, I don’t have to get divorced. You just, sort of, say, “Okay cool. See you later. Got my house…” Now that I’m thinking about it, I should go ask Justin Timberlake if he sold my golf clubs by any chance.

Would you consider changing anything about your body, with plastic surgery?

I would never. It is my body.

I’m very much aware of my body.

And so, the choices that I make for my body are for me. If the guy likes that, then awesome.

Jokers in the Pack

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Words: Rob Orchard

As the 60th anniversary of the launch of the iconic Sands Hotel approaches, AIR delves into the legend of its most famous act: the outrageous, epoch-defining Rat Pack - 45 -

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Dean Martin – Maybe Frank – Maybe Sammy” read the newly-unveiled sign on the Sands Hotel in late 1960. It was enough to book out every room of the resort for years on end (in one month, the Sands received 18,000 reservation requests for its 200 rooms) and draw thousands of highrollers and hangers-on, fans and fellow stars, groupies, journalists and music geeks to the Las Vegas strip. Some punters, unable to snag a place to stay, camped out in their cars in nearby parking lots.

They were happy to sleep hunched over the handbrake for a chance to see Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr sing – and they knew that if those guys were on stage, there was every chance that Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop would show up too. These five sharpsuited crooners exerted a magnetic pull on the world’s imagination, stamping their authority as kings of cool on the early sixties. They became totemic for two generations, representing a slick, sharp-witted, sharp-suited masculinity which put pleasure first: and no matter how hard they had been partying, they always gave the impression that they were still having more fun than everyone else.

They were known across the globe as The Rat Pack, and they were the very first super group. As Max Rudin writes in Las Vegas: An Unconventional History, “The Rat Pack announced that a new generation was laying claim to American tradition and to the right to define American Cool: one black, one Jew, two Italians, and one feckless Hollywoodised Brit, three of them second-generation immigrants, four raised during the Depression in ethnic city neighborhoods. The Rat Pack were more than entertainers... [it was] more than a stage act. It was a giddy version of multi-ethnic American democracy in which class was replaced by ‘class’.”

Naturally, the Pack spawned hundreds of imitators and sub-genres: without them we might never have had the Brat Pack, the Frat Pack, the Brit Pack or the Splat Pack (for the uninitiated, that’s a group of recent horror movie directors). They’ve been immortalised in songs, books, film and TV. Their style still dominates a whole swathe of men’s fashion: as recently as November 2011, Esquire magazine ran a Rat Pack-esque cover shoot with Taylor Lautner.

And yet, strangely enough, they never called

themselves the Rat Pack, rejecting it, as Sinatra said, as “that stupid phrase”. They referred to their gang as The Clan or The Summit. It was journalists who persisted with their rodent sobriquet, and dubbed the group of high profile women who surrounded them – including the likes of Shirley MacLaine, Angie Dickinson and Marilyn Monroe – the “Rat Pack Mascots”.

I

t was in 1960 that the Pack first properly formed. This was the year that the original version of classic heist movie Ocean’s 11, which featured the quintet of singers, went into production. During filming, the guys were also starring in the Copa Room of the Sands Hotel, in performances which became known as the ‘Summit at the Sands’. They were captured on film in all their strutting, brash glory, and became household names in the States almost overnight. Various members of the group had appeared in film together before, as far back as 1947. But Ocean’s 11 marked the turning point: after this they were constantly in demand, and appeared in many movies together: notable hits included Sergeants 3, Robin and the Seven Hoods and Texas Across the River.

But it all started at the Sands, and the fortunes of the resort and the Pack were inextricably linked. Launched in 1952 – this year marks the 60th anniversary of its birth – the Sands was just the seventh resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip (today you’ll find well over 200). It was knocked down in the ’90s, and a new property, The Venetian, was built on the site. Its roster of former performers reads like a who’s who of classic entertainers – Louis Armstrong, Wayne Newton, Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Jimmy Durante, Bobby Darin... It was here, notoriously, that Elvis Presley first saw Hound Dog performed (by Freddie Bell and the Bell Boys) and decided to make it his own.

The thing that really boosted the Sands’ popularity, however, was its policy of bringing performers into the lounge after shows, to mix with the audience. It was also, intriguingly, briefly in the vanguard of the civil rights movement, allowing back performers to defy segregation and stay at the hotel and use the casino after their shows: Nat King Cole benefited from this policy in the ’50s, and later Sammy Davis Jr pushed the resort to liberalise its policies further.

Its owners were as colourful as its entertainers. Perhaps the strangest was maverick

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entrepreneur, daredevil pilot and, latterly, urinestoring eccentric Howard Hughes. Hughes added the iconic circular tower which would become one of the most recognisable symbols of the Strip. Sinatra himself had a nine per cent share in the place’s profits for a while, gifted to him for helping make it so successful.

T

he core members of the Rat Pack were Sinatra, Martin and Davis Jr and they were all major stars in their own right. Ed Walters, former pit boss at The Sands, spent a lot of time with the boys in the ’60s and sums them up memorably in his memoirs, Rare Exception.

Sinatra “practically invented swagger and attitude... He was the first solo superstar singer in popular music, inventing the phenomenon of enthusiastic, screaming fans.” Martin, meanwhile, was “a man so smooth he must have been born packed in grease... Dino was without a doubt, one of the most naturally funny men to ever walk on to a stage... He had what Frank called ‘gorgeous indifference’, an attribute that made everything seem to come so easy to him.”

And Sammy Davis Jr? “One of the most versatile performers in the history of show business. He could act, dance and sing. Man oh man, could that cat sing”.

Davis Jr (nicknamed ‘Smokey’ – he was an 80-a-day man his whole adult life) was also the Packer with the nattiest dress sense. While Martin (nicknamed Dag) and Sinatra always looked immaculately turned out in tuxedos or three piece suits accessorised with cocked trilby and just-lit Kent cigarette, Davis Jr took things to the next level. As Lisa Eisner of Vanity Fair writes, David Jr “wore the craziest tuxedo shirts you have ever seen – buttercup yellow, no pleats, a gargantuan button-down collar that hugged the neck, single French cuffs with one side that peeked out from the jacket sleeve, a lace-trimmed placket, and, best of all, ‘Sammy Jr’ embroidered in script on the breast.”

If Davis Jr was the biggest dandy, Martin was notionally the biggest tippler. Sinatra famously denied this suggestion, saying “I spill more than he drinks”, but it was true that Martin was rarely seen on stage without a glass of Scotch in his hand. Or so it seemed until an autobiogaphy by his son Ricci revealed that this was just for show, and the tumbler was full of apple juice. Martin was the mellowest of the group, so laidback he was practically horizontal, and with an attitude to showbiz that Variety defined as “somebody wrote this song so I might as well sing it.”

He’d had a hardscrabble upbringing as the son

‘The special element which turned the Rat Pack from a group of talented singers into megastars was their on-stage chemistry’

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of Italian immigrants (his real name was Dino Paul Crocetti), working in the steel mills from the age of 16, boxing under the name of Kid Crochet and being a croupier in a speakeasy, before reinventing himself as a sweet-voiced heartthrob.

Sinatra – variously nicknamed Chairman of the Board, the Voice, ol’ Blue Eyes, Moonlight Sinatra, Swoonatra and the Croon Prince of Swing – was the leader, and the fieriest of the group. Legend has it that in summer of 1967 he grew so incensed at having his $400,000 line of credit at the Sands casino cut off that he picked a fight with a casino executive twice his size, who smashed two of the caps off his teeth.

He was the most ambitious of the Pack, and as well as releasing records prolifically (as early as 1946 he was putting out a record a month with Columbia), he dabbled in politics.

During the run-up to the Democratic National Convention in 1960, he helped build support for John F. Kennedy, whose campaign song, High Hopes, he recorded. Kennedy, nicknamed Chicky Baby by the Pack, repaid the favour by turning up to watch Sinatra in action at the Sands, which was rapidly becoming a magnet for the country’s most glamorous inhabitants. As Walters says, “The press ate it up. They hadn’t seen so many stars in one place in some time. All in a lounge just off the casino. I can’t imagine that happening today. Just think of this small casino, eight crap tables and 14 blackjack games and a small lounge to the side and walking around the casino [were] Monroe, Kennedy, [Gregory] Peck, and so many others.”

JFK was Peter Lawford’s brother in law and in typically hot-headed style, Sinatra later fell out with Lawford over an episode with the thenpresident of the US. In 1963 Lawford suggested to Sinatra that he should welcome Kennedy to his home in Palm Springs. Sinatra agreed and even had a helipad built specially for his arrival – but then Kennedy was advised by the Attorney

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General to avoid Sinatra because of his perceived association with elements within the mafia. The trip was cancelled, Kennedy stayed with Bing Crosby instead and an incensed Sinatra unfairly blamed Lawford, and never properly forgave him.

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he special element which turned the Rat Pack from a group of talented singers into megastars was their on-stage chemistry. They joked with each other, teased one another, pretended to be tipsy: and the audience lapped it up. On a typical night in 1963, Dean Martin sauntered on first, gargled with his Scotch (or, as we now know, his fruit juice), made a grab for the microphone stand, missed it, sang two noteperfect lines of the first song – and then turned to the bandmaster and asked “how long have I been on?”

A couple of songs in, Davis Jr appeared and introduced Sinatra, who did a Jimmy Cagney impression before Martin dragged him off, pratfalling in the process. Then Martin did a rambling impression of Carey Grant and Sinatra bopped David Jr on the head. “Ha ha

As Sinatra said, “We’re not setting out to make Hamlet or Gone with the Wind. The idea is to hang out together, find fun with the broads, and have a great time. We gotta make pictures that people enjoy. Entertainment, period.”

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adly the fun couldn’t last forever. Marilyn Monroe died, Kennedy was assassinated, the Vietnam War escalated and the anything-goes, hedonistic style of the Rat Pack gradually started to seem out of kilter with the zeitgeist. The boys went their separate ways, throwing themselves into solo projects with varying degrees of success. Lawford died in 1984 and, spurred into action by the loss of their old comrade, Sinatra, Martin and Davis Jr announced a reunion tour in 1987. Though the tour was a commercial success, Martin pulled out of it just four nights into a 29 night run and was replaced by Liza Minelli. The boys never sang together again: Davis Jr died of throat cancer two years later, and was buried with a gold pocket watch that Sinatra had given him. Martin died five years later in 1995, and the Chairman of the Board checked out in 1998, aged 82.

‘The Rat Pack became totemic for two generations, representing a slick, sharp-witted, sharp-suited masculinity which put pleasure first’ that’s a funny joke”, Davis Jr retorted. “Who writes your material, General Walker?” (an ultra-conservative, strait-laced soldier). Sinatra paused for a couple of beats and then shook his head and replied, “Hiram Walker” (a whisky maker). Davis Jr launched into the first line of a song. “I’m not much to look at” he sang. Behind him, Sinatra intoned “you’re goddam right”.

“I’ve got a woman who’s crazy for me” continued Davis Jr “She’s nuts, Sam” growled Sinatra.

It was anarchic, surreal, brotherly and hilarious – and the songs were superb too.

The boys would croon their way through the likes of Volare, Mr Bojangles, New York, New York, Me and My Shadow and Everybody Loves Somebody and the audience would melt. The best part, though, was that the boys were so obviously enjoying themselves. It was this same principle that led to their movies being such fun.

When Joey Bishop passed away in 2007, the last of the Rat Pack was gone: but the power of their legacy is hard to beat. As Walters, the old Sands’ pit boss writes. “Is there anyone out there who possesses the genuine cool and swagger that can act as a beacon for us to follow, or are all the rest of ’em just a bunch of hapless clydes?... While the Pack had attitude enough to spare, they came from an era where entertainers didn’t solely rely on attitude to carry their act. Today, far too many entertainers lean on an ‘image’ to get their message across...

With most of them, when you look past the slick, prefabricated veneer, you find a suprisingly shallow act underneath the surface. And shallow isn’t the word that comes to mind when you hear Frank sing.”

It certainly isn’t. Viva ol’ Blue Eyes, Viva the Sands and, of course, Viva Las Vegas.

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MOTORING

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SNAKE CHARMER This year marks the 50th anniversary of the AC Cobra – a small, lightweight two-seater with enough power and top speed to dominate motorsport

T

he story of the AC Cobra is said to have started with a letter, written by former American racing driver Carroll Shelby.

In 1959, Shelby retired from the track due to health reasons, but it hadn’t stopped him dreaming about fast cars. He had an idea for a racer that was small in size and big on power, and had spotted an opportunity with a twoseater roadster called the Ace, made by AC Cars in the UK. Shelby airmailed AC a letter, asking if they could build him a version with a V8 engine, and the company agreed, provided a suitable engine could be found. Luckily, Ford back in the States had just created a scaled-down V8 that would prove the perfect fit, and in bringing these elements together the AC Cobra was born.

It was 1962 that saw this Anglo-American creation take to British roads for testing – with the track of choice in those days being the M1 motorway at 4am. Any driver jumping behind the wheel would have noticed right away that the AC Cobra was no ordinary car. “It would have been a bit of a beast,” says Gary Axon at Goodwood racetrack, currently organising a series of events to celebrate the car’s 50th anniversary. “In its day, it earned notoriety

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MOTORING

because it was kind of undriveable. But it quickly gained a cult following, which it still has today.

It’s just an exciting car to see racing.”

The Ace had been built fusing aluminium panels to a steel tube, so it was already a very light car, but by placing the high-powered V8 inside, the results were incredible – the AC Cobra became responsible for much of the drama and excitement associated with motor racing during the early ’60s, leaving names like Corvette and Ferrari in its wake.

Ford also began importing AC Cobras from the UK for sale to the public, where it became known as the Shelby Cobra after the racer behind it. Shelby, meanwhile, continued to tweak and evolve the car – a more powerful engine, wider

fenders and a large radiator opening resulted in the launch of the AC 427 Cobra in 1965, and in that same year for the World Sports Car Championship he developed a purpose-built GT racer with designer Peter Brock, the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, just to beat Ferrari, which it did. And 50 years on, the Cobra’s racing heritage is something not easily forgotten.

“There were so many standout races, starting in 1963 with privateers beating the Chevy Corvettes at all the US circuits straight out of the box,” says Andy Shepherd of the AC Owners’ Club, citing the Cobra Coupe’s performance in 1965 as another highlight. “The Cobra was a tale of David and Goliath, where the underdog got up and fought hard.”

The car possessed a certain character – one that not only helped it win races, but that also lured the buying public. “The Cobra is confidence inspiring,” Shepherd continues, “and can be driven by a relative novice, but it unleashes the kind of raw horsepower that distorts reality.

It can be like grabbing hold of the scenery, and pulling it towards you at the most ridiculous rate.”

That legendary speed is something to be aware of. In 1964, a Cobra Coupe hit the headlines when it was stopped by police doing 186mph

Images: Supplied Text: Chris Anderson

‘The Cobra can be driven by a novice, but it unleashes the kind of horse power that distorts reality’

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Text: Chris Anderson.

during one of its tests on the M1, in preparation for the Le Mans 24-hour Race. This resulted in the UK government announcing a 70mph speed limit on all motorways, although many insist an increase in road deaths was the main cause, with the Cobra merely highlighting the need. “It’s the product of a different era,” says Goodwood’s Gary Axon, “before all the rules and regulations there are today.”

But while the car experienced much success during the early ’60s, by 1967 it was a different story, as Ford stopped importing Cobras to the States and Shelby turned his attention to other vehicles – including the GT40. AC continued to make a version of the car for the European market into the ’70s,but the Cobra has a legacy that is hard to ignore.

While the original may have ceased production, in more recent times it has influenced a huge number of kit car enthusiasts to create their own Cobra variants, and for a period in the ’80s Shelby himself even authorised a company in Las Vegas to make a modern car based on the original AC body.

These, known as ‘continuation cars’, were also produced by AC Cars until 2006, but these days the company looks to the future rather than the past, as the excitement around the AC 378 Zagato GT at the recent Geneva Motor Show proves. Yet people still long for the Cobra, and are able to buy something that at least resembles its original looks and performance.

With all of these derivatives, it may seem there are many AC Cobras on the roads – but only a handful are the real deal. There will be a chance to see them at events the world over during the 50th anniversary – the Goodwood Speed Revival in September, for example, is organising a onemarque race featuring 30 Cobras, each of them with links to the car’s motorsport heritage. “Most of the original racing Cobras are in the States,” says organiser Gary Axon, “so we announced plans for the event earlier than usual to get the owners to bring them over. Drivers are still being organised, but one will be Dan Guerney, in the same Cobra Coupe he drove in 1965.”

The fact that such races are still remembered so fondly is a measure of the impression the AC Cobra has made on the world of motoring.

Gary Axon sums it up when asked why people should visit the Revival event. “The roar of all those V8s hurtling off the line,” he says. “It’s exciting to see.”

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MOTORING

HARDER, BETTER, FASTER, STRONGER Two turbos, a new V8, more power and performance for AMG’s SUV flagship. What more could you want?

M

ichael Connelly’s fictional detective hero Harry Bosch drives a Mercedes-Benz ML, the sort of vehicle you buy to get you out of a ‘situation’. The tuned AMG version gets you out of those situations a lot more quickly.

“If you’re in a ‘situation’, it does deliver,” says Ola Källenius, AMG’s chairman. I’m trying to imagine the sort of situation that might call for

a 2.3-ton sport utility vehicle with a 5.5-litre V8 that delivers 525bhp (557bhp with the Performance Pack, which reduces the 0-100kph time by 0.1sec). As a poster child for global warming, the ML 63 AMG would be unwelcome in a few places. Yet some people don’t seem to mind appearing on the environmentalists’ Wanted: Dead or Alive fliers, quite a few in fact, as in its 13 years of existence this

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ludicrously overpowered SUV has proved itself one of the bestselling AMG models, selling more than 24,000 in that time.

Then again, where is it written that sports cars have to be low and sleek? Why shouldn’t you have a highriding, four-wheel-drive monster as a sports machine?

I’m thinking about this as I throw the latest version of the AMG ML

Images:Supplied Text: Andrew English / The Daily Telegraph / The Interview People

through a series of tight bends, the steering shuddering in my hands as the front tyres scrape off the road surface in terminal understeer, the body bucking and heaving as the MercedesBenz PR clings on for life in the back seat. Perhaps there is a reason after all; this is more like situation comedy than situation normal.

Yet for the most part, the AMG specialists have done a remarkable job in calming the ML’s wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension.

On air springs with adjustable dampers, it rides remarkably well, even on the optional 21in wheels and correspondingly low-profile tyres. The steering feels inert, naturally, but it’s accurate, if a little low-geared when pressing on, when you find you’re twirling away at the rim like a whirling dervish.

The body control is remarkable, resisting roll and still maintaining a smooth demeanour. Like most of these monster SUVs, its optimum pace is some way south of maximum attack, although it will do it, if you are determined. As Källenius says, “You could take it to the track, but you wouldn’t.”

What’s more, this is a more economical vehicle than its predecessor, by almost 30 per cent, according to AMG. There’s a good reason for that, however. The old model was fitted with a motorsportderived, naturally aspirated, 503bhp, 6.2-litre V8, which lives on in the Mercedes SLS supercar. The new production-based biturbo V8 is cheaper and cleaner and while it isn’t quite as special, it has still felt the loving touch of Affalterbach’s engineers. New crank, cracked racing con rods, Mahle racing pistons, ported and polished, with a new cooling system, the boost goes up from one to 1.3 Bar and there’s a revised directinjection strategy that allows you to unleash a whole new world of blur if you open her up.

What you don’t get, even with the Performance Pack, is the kind of

‘There’s a direct-injection strategy that allows you to unleash a whole new world of blur if you open her up’ thump-in-the-spine acceleration you might expect from 525bhp. It feels fast, but not über fast, which its predecessor did. Comparing new with old, the top speed is limited to 155mph on both, but 0-62mph acceleration is 4.8sec for the new car, 5.0sec for the old. But it’s more than just a numbers racket. That naturally aspirated V8 had an instant response that made it insanely quick, as well as a wave of torque as big as anything you’ll find in Hawaii.

What doesn’t help this productionbased biturbo V8 is the seven-speed transmission, which is slow to react to the steering-wheel paddles and shunts on partial throttle openings, but in a straight line it slurs changes with a soundtrack straight off a Nascar oval as the car charges towards the horizon.

The brakes, with enormous six-piston calipers at the front, are staggering, almost impossible to fade and very powerful with a highly sensitive pedal.

This car is also quite a looker, with a sloping roofline that sets it apart from other big SUVs and a glassy rear, which

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gives plenty of headroom and space in the back seats and also maintains a visual lightness on bodywork that could have ended up quite sinister and thuggish.

In the cabin there’s a sharpness to the design that surpasses the old model. AMG’s designers have primped the details, with aluminium surrounds, special trim on the steering wheel, floor mats and sill plates. It’s tasteful and subtle.

The sports seats are sumptuously leathery, and comfortable, but also hold you upright in the corners. The boot is spacious (690 litres) with an additional compartment underneath the load bed, while the rear seats split and fold in the unlikely event you want to carry furniture.

In all, if you really feel you need a rocket ship SUV, then AMG produces a very good one.

Price Guide: $140,000 Power: 525bhp Top speed: 250kph 0-100 kph: 4.8sec

GASTRONOMY

The World’s Fare Laura Binder sniffs out gourmet hubs across the globe, and where best to savour each country’s native cuisine

Copenhagen, Noma Repeatedly topping the world’s best restaurant list, Noma has pipped even Spain’s El Bulli to the winner’s post, a fact staff claim brought in 100,000 booking requests overnight (no small feat for an eatery that seats just 42). Much of the Michelin-startoting restaurant’s success lies with its revered chef, René Redzepi, a man who takes a near-fanatical approach to sourcing seasonal ingredients from Scandinavian soil and sea. And it shows; each bite virtually carries you to a different corner of Norway, from the cod roe to the hay to the homemade butter and even pine needles (yes, really).

But, you’ll be pleased to know that there’s more to sink your teeth into than a lowly pine needle (Icelandic skyr curd and Greenland musk ox, for starters). To start, a simple entrée of vegetables shows off Redzepi’s food philosophy to a tee – a small terracotta pot filled with soilâ (made from malt), its surface broken by crisp asparagus tips and rosy-red radishes.

Also of note is the sea-buckthorn, a shrub whose berries even birds leave untouched transformed into a seabuckthorn leather with pickled rose hip. “We comb the countryside for berries and herbs that others would not bother with”, an introduction to Noma reads, and it’s delicious.

Move on to the mains and a taste of Norway’s sea and sand is clear – the shrimp manages to be both creamy and meaty and arrives amid a rockpool of pebbles and scattering of sand (fashioned from ground starfish).

If it all sounds a far cry from the usual Michelin-star city haunts, it is.

Not least its venue which, rather than claiming the hippest address in town, sets up home in a quayside warehouse – one that previously stored dead whales. Get past that fact and it’s effortlessly cool; soothing grey hues pervade throughout, while natural wooden furniture forms a modest pew on which to savour Redzepi’s inspired fare. noma.dk

London, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal Few chefs were so quick to climb the ladder to gastronomic notoriety as Heston Blumenthal, thanks to his innovative, molecular gastronomy techniques (lest we forget snail porridge?) In 2012, though, it seems Blumenthal has left more overt displays of food wizardry behind in favour of (no less tasty) good, old-fashioned British grub. His latest venture, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in London’s famous Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park hotel, is the place to savour it firsthand.

Dinner serves up the classic and the contemporary, as much evident

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in the decor as the cuisine: porcelain wall sconces in antique jelly moulds adorn walls, while the lounge displays recipes from centuries-old cookbooks.

Blumenthal’s take on British classics, meanwhile, includes savoury porridge – served here with cod palette, smoked beetroot, garlic and parsley – while main courses celebrate English hunting traditions with game-based dishes, like the spiced pigeon with ale and artichokes (a plump delight).

Thankfully, though, his trademark twists pop up too – roast halibut, for example, comes with a cockle ketchup, while classic bread and butter pudding is reinvented as Blumenthal’s brown bread ice cream.

For the best seat in the house, make sure to reserve Dinner’s private dining room (space for up to 10), and tuck in beneath wood-beamed ceilings, amid rust-hued leather-dressed walls and seated on grand cobalt blue chairs. dinnerbyheston.com

Tokyo, Nodaiwa Sushi, soba noodles and tempura may spring to mind when deliberating Japanese cuisine, but at Nodaiwa, just one age-old speciality dominates

As for the question on everyone’s lips, what does it taste like? “Tender, grilled and almost caramelised”, say the resident chefs. But perhaps what makes Nodaiwa’s the best in town is the fact that its snake-like fishes are plucked from wild rivers, not farmed, and prepared the ancestral way, opened at the back.

At Nodaiwa, you’ll eat the humble eel at a walnut table, which line the eatery in regimental form against rich red-coloured walls. For a full-scale feast of eel, its private rooms are the pick of those in-the-know. Reach them by a stately staircase and treat your tastebuds to shirayaki (lightlysteamed, then grilled, eel topped with caviar) – best savoured with a cool, crisp glass of Koshu. nodaiwa.com

San Sebastian, Spain, Restaurant Martin Berasategui San Sebastian may not be the first Spanish city on your radar, but the northern region, on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, should certainly top the hit list for discerning foodies: despite its small size, it bears a higher ratio of Michelin stars per capita than Paris.

Martin Berasategui’s flagship, three Michelin-starred eatery is well worth

‘Unagi is one of the Tokyo’s unsung pleasures, and nowhere serves it better than Nodaiwa...’ the menu: unagi, aka freshwater eel. Before your nose wrinkles with disdain, try it. This is one of Tokyo’s unsung pleasures, and nowhere serves it better than Nodaiwa’s chef-comeowner, Noda Iwajiro.

Trace ungai through the history books and you’ll find it in Manyo-shu 313-759, Japan’s oldest collection of poems where gamayaki (“grilled eel pierced with a reed branch”), is cited. The Edo era’s nobility were next to show an appreciation for the cylindrical fish, while Chef Iwajiro brings a whole new frisson of recipes into modern times.

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seeking out (not least for its views which stretch out across Gipuzkoa’s pea-green countryside). Though Berasategui received some criticism for taking his Basque cooking style across the globe (an outlet in Shanghai, among others), the man behind the magic still takes up pride of place in the kitchens here. Which means you’re in for a treat from the man himself.

The menu is a marvel of tender jellies, mouthwatering foams, wonderfully spherical balls and, as you see on arrival, explosions of colour. While modern, each dish (there

GASTRONOMY are 20 to choose from) takes a leaf out of the country’s traditional cooking book, with even Spain’s legendary tripe making an appearance in the form of tripe stew in traditional style. Also look out for pig’s trotter, a historic delicacy that, here at least, comes filled with quince, cabbage and Artequeso manchego.

But being so close to the coast, the fish is a must-try with imaginative dishes like roast red mullet with crystals of soft scales and juice of white chocolate with seaweeds. And if when sat amid crisp white linens, inky blue seating and with the ripe region unravelling before the windows, you don’t want to bother yourself with such tricky decisions as to what to order, opt for the 11-dish tasting menu. martinberasategui.com

New York, Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare It’s away from New York’s glitzier regions that ‘the’ place to be currently resides – Brooklyn Fare in, you guessed it, Brooklyn. As a neighbourhood grocers dreamt up

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‘Land the hottest seat in town and you’ll be privy to over 20 small tasting plates...’ by local man Moe Issa, it’s an unlikely place to draw Michelin stars, but draw them it did – all three of them.

To sample this grocer-comerestaurant’s revered fare, you’ll need to bag a sought-after spot at Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare. Set up in the venue’s kitchen, you’ll perch on a metal stool, with brass pans overhead, and eat at a pristine, steel work counter. It’s a set-up that sent more than a few critics’ eyebrows skyward upon review. Nonetheless, the eatery proved that a Michelin-star haunt needn’t serve luxurious surrounds with its stellar cuisine.

For a slice of the Big Apple, then, it doesn’t get much better. The community feel of this establishment alone makes you feel like a true New Yorker: “our goal is to be a centerpiece

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being soupe à l’oignon (French onion soup) and foie gras (staff receive 80 orders a night for the former and use 90 kilos of the latter per week). But it would be shameful not to indulge in the aphrodisiacal oyster while here in the city of love, and at Bofinger you can take your pick from six slurpworthy types, all of which stand on a stall outside, ripe for selection.

Whatever you plump for, the French see brasseries not just as simple eateries but as a statement of history as important as a museum, which is why Bofinger is worth loosening your belt for. bofingerparis.com 6.

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Unagi, Nodaiwa Halver Hahn, Vendôme Fresh oysters, Bofinger Meatfruit, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal 5. Noma 6. Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare 7. Gemüsekronkant, Vendôme 7.

of the Brooklyn community and your 21st-century Neighborhood Grocer”, says its Chef Cesar Ramirez. But you’ll need to be quick off the mark to land one of its 18 seats – reservations are made week by week for two to four people only and phonelines open on Mondays at 10.30am sharp.

Land the hottest seat in town and you’ll be privy to a set meal of over 20 small plates. Best savoured with a spontaneous attitude: “the menu is constructed daily in keeping with the season”. So much so, that Ramirez couldn’t reveal a sample menu (“he likes customers to discover when they arrive”, we were told), though we hear fresh seafood graces almost every dish. You’ll have to chance your arm at the rest... brooklynfare.com

Paris, Brasserie Bofinger If it’s a true taste of Paris you’re after, then it’s to a brasserie you must go.

While Michelin-starred eateries

dot the streets, it’s the traditional bistro that’s ingrained in the capital’s history, and none more so than Bofinger. At the ripe old age of 134, it’s the oldest in town and has played host to presidents and prime ministers.

Diners will find it nestled on a narrow lane, just off the Place de Bastille, and inside, it’s every inch the classic bistro, from its gleaming brass finishes to its crisp white table clothes and oversized gold ‘B’ brandishing red awnings. But the eatery’s pièce de résistance has to be its domed, stainglass ceiling, a work that’s been there since 1909 and remains the most indemand spot beneath which to dine.

With 300 seats and a staff of over 100, the atmosphere is positively buzzing – and its Parisian waiters, who whoosh round with oversized trays, project none of the ‘pomp’ they’re famed for. Dishes, meanwhile, are unashamedly plucked from a brasserie bible, with the most popular

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Germany, Vendôme New German cuisine, is what threeMichelin-starred chef Joachim Wissler presents to diners at Vendôme, Cologne’s former baroque castleturned-hotel, Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg. And, as you arrive up its long, winding driveway to a grandiose white façade, you have the distinct feeling you’re in for something special.

And you’d be right – Wissler earned the restaurant a Michelin star in its first year of opening and quickly established it as one of the country’s leading eateries.

Today, an interior overhaul seats you amid a show of wood and granite, upon a velvet pistachio-green seat.

Though elegant, its a look that’s surpassed by the quality of cuisine to emerge from the kitchen. How far you take his culinary experience though, is up to you: a ‘great expedition’, for example, takes you through a succession of eight to 20 dishes, whisked to your table for as long as you’re happy to receive them.

Said dishes pay deference to the elaborate and the humble, with ingredients ranging anywhere between Germany’s much-loved meat (deer, calf’s head, salmon) to the more nonsensical likes of dark chocolate with beetroot and popcorn foam. And for the wine connoisseurs among you, Vendôme’s menu catalogues over 900 varieties, which should serve you well... schlossbensberg.com

GASTRONOMY

GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER? Italian chef Pino Lavarra has treated restaurants across Europe and Asia to his inventive cuisine, before heading the kitchen of one of the most happening eateries on the Amalfi Coast – but who are his most-wanted diners?

Raymond Blanc

Pino Lavarra has previously been dubbed ‘one of the best chefs in the world’, and earned a Michelin star for his current restaurant, Rossellinis, at the fivestar Palazzo Sasso. Prior to this, his culinary CV notes Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons, Grissini at the Hyatt Carlton Tower of London, Knightsbridge’s Toto’s Restaurant and Malaysia’s Penang Mutiara Beach Resort.

Dan Brown

Madonna

Al Pacino

Salvador Dalí

Raymond is a fantastic chef who I’ve worked with – he opened my mind to approaching food.

What I’d Serve: Bassano white asparagus with buckwheat biscuits, truffle and sun dried tomato with burrata cheese, and a tiramisu soufflé with mascarpone ice cream.

The American writer really fascinated me with his recent books so it intrigues me to cook for him some crazy and uncommon dishes.

What I’d Serve: Cereal and seaweed bar served with giant red prawns, caviar and spiced crustacean broth, then a ravioli soufflé filled with crab pearl and lobster lacquer.

Madonna has been my first love in music from the age of 15. She really revolutionised pop music.

What I’d Serve: A john dory fillet coated with crunchy peppers flour and served on milky calamari, and my great lemon soufflé with raspberry and red beer sherbet.

This Italian-American star intrigues me for the way he can act in any role. I’ve seen all of his works and never get bored.

What I’d Serve: Basil spaghetti wrapped in swordfish paper, baby squid stew and black olive oil, and a traditional spumoni dessert – ice creams and whipped cream that goes from chocolate to pistachio to cherries. Fantastic.

Maybe he’s controversial, but I find his works to be the most uncommon and beautiful I’ve admired.

What I’d Serve: The doughnut of lobster with peach vinegar, air-dried eggplant and stracciatella cheese; paccheri filed with lamb stew and red onion savoury jam and kumquat.

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GOLF

HOW TO MASTER AWKWARD LIES Major attraction New from adidas Golf is a range of shoes individually numbered and inspired by golf’s four Majors.

Pictured is the first release, designed to reflect the colours, heritage and

traditions of Augusta National, home to the season-opening US Masters.

The first Samba shoe was created in 1950, a fact celebrated by there being only 1950 pairs of these Majors shoes available to buy.

Have you played here yet?

Fasano Boa Vista, Brazil

Amid the tranquilty of São Paulo’s stunning countryside stands not one but two 18-hole courses, one just opened and both in the grounds of the splendid Fasano Boa Vista hotel. The courses offer a credible challenge to the best of players, with the newest (designed by Arnold Palmer) being Latin America's first championship course. boavista.com.br > Christie's has pulled

together what it says is the most important collection of golf art and memorabilia ever assembled, a haul it will auction piece by piece in London on May 30. Prior to then, the collection will go on display at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai from April 15-18, where, among the showcased items, you'll find this extremely rare golf ball, which dates to 1839 and is reckoned to achieve $20-29k.

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LESSON#7 PLAYING AGGRESSIVELY Here’s the scenario; you’ve hit it right out the screws on the toughest par 4 on the course, attacked a tight left pin position with a soaring mid iron, which then takes an unfortunate bounce – completely short siding you.

You’re left with a horrible 15-yard pitch with only two or three paces of green to work with. Here’s my advice… be brave. Let’s face it, anything short of an aggressive shot will most likely result in a fluff anyway, so you might as well be bold and commit to something more daring.

Take your most lofted club in the bag, place the ball slightly more forward in the stance and open the face of the club slightly. From here, allow yourself to swing the club past the level of your waist, just enough for the wrists to gently break, and then hit down. Too many people try to ‘lift’ the ball up which results in the dreaded top across the green.

Committing to this all-ornothing approach will give you exactly that: all or nothing.

But sometimes indecisiveness can create poor performance – be bold and attack. George Kasparis, Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club.

TRAVEL

Arctic Ocean

Las Vegas

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Pacific Ocean

Udaipur Indian Ocean

Caught on film Recreate your favourite hotel movie moments in these stars of the silver screen

01. Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur Octopussy’s floating palace was a field of dreams for Roger Moore’s James Bond, and its charms are equally prevalent off screen. In place of Kamal Khan’s henchmen you’ll be relieved to find 83 ornate rooms and suites, a host of fabulous restaurants and intricate Rajasthani artwork at every turn.

02. The Bellagio Resort, Las Vegas If you think this Las Vegas icon looks

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familiar, that’s because it’s rarely out of the movies. Most notably, it starred alongside George Clooney and Brad Pitt in heist flicks Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen, where its slick interiors and famous fountains formed a suitably scenic backdrop for robbery.

03. Fontainebleau Suites, Miami Beach This beachside retreat has some eclectic credits to its name: Scarface, Goldfinger and Dreamgirls among

Switzerland Florence

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Miami Beach

Marrakech

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Atlantic Ocean

Southern Ocean

them, as well as ’90s classic The Bodyguard. A recent billion-dollar revamp will no doubt keep bringing the films crews back for more – after all, few can resist those azure pools and shady cabanas...

04. La Mamounia, Marrakech When Hitchcock used this Moroccan masterpiece as the setting for his 1956 remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much, audiences were captivated by its Moorish décor (charming, despite the film’s kidnap

plot). Winston Churchill described the digs as “the loveliest place on earth” – and if it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for us.

05. The Dolder Grand, Switzerland Renovated by starchitect Norman Foster and boasting no less than two Michelin stars, the Dolder Grand is a pin-up in its own right – but its part in the 2011 thriller Girl With the Dragon Tattoo cemented its celebrity status.

Check out its two-night film special

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which includes limousine transfers and a themed tour of the hotel.

06. Hotel Degli Orafi, Florence The romantic classic Room With a View thrust the fourth floor of this Florentine hotel into the limelight – and the setting of Lucy Honeychurch’s full-frontal frisson has been turned into a special swoonworthy suite. Twenty-five years after the film’s release, room 414 still attracts the most ardent – and amorous – of fans.

Helsinki

Images: Corbis / Arabian Eye; Photolibrary

The World Design Capital 2012 has designer style and artistic clout in abundance

Helsinki isn’t just Finland’s political capital – it’s the hub of all things creative, an image-conscious metropolis brimming with the finest of Nordic design. One glance at a guidebook and you’ll get the picture: museum heavyweights sit shoulder-toshoulder with quirky galleries; big name artists swap notes with up-and-coming ones. What’s more, 2012 is a landmark year: the city has been named a World Design Capital (wdchelsinki2012.fi). The recognition, bestowed by the International Council of Societies of International Design, is an auspicious nod to the city’s arts scene, and will be celebrated with a programme of over 300 events.

The most difficult question when touching down in Helsinki is where to start. For purely aesthetic reasons, make a beeline for Kiasma (kiasma.fi), whose big-budget architecture pulls out all the stops. The creation of American designer Steven Holl, the building’s zinc, aluminium and glass curves belie the sleek, forward-thinking works of the gallery within. Scratch the surface of the city’s contemporary scene at the forthcoming Camouflage exhibition (June-October), where themes of disguise and deception will be explored through installations and static pieces. The Eyeballing! exhibition (until September) examines the relationship between culture and identity through comic-style art; it’s a lighthearted celebration of Finland’s recent love affair with graphic novels.

To view classical works, make for the Cygnaeus gallery (nba.fi) – Finland’s oldest art museum. Open since 1882, this is a

traditionalist’s dream: its collection of 19thcentury paintings and sculptures grew from a private assortment compiled by founder Fredrik Cygnaeus, and it now totals over 450 pieces. Paintings by Werner Holmberg and Hjalmar Munsterhjelm hang next to Helene Schjerf beck and Aukusti Uotila in Cygnaeus’s villa.

If you’re in the market for your own masterpiece, look no further than the Design District (designdistrict.fi). A cluster of 25 streets in the city centre, the collective boasts over 200 shops – ranging from antique emporiums overflowing with dusty curios, to independent boutiques offering handmade bags and hats. The late night shopping events (every second Thursday of the month, until 9pm) make for an entertaining evening – take dinner in one of the intimate restaurants that dot the area, then snap up designs straight from the workshops and galleries.

Theatre-goers will be spoiled for choice at the Music Centre (musiikkitalo.fi), home of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Sibelius Academy, Finland’s only music university. Its impressive Concert Hall holds an audience of 1,700, and smaller spaces dot the complex for more low-key events too. Take a guided backstage tour for an informative introduction to this artistic hotbed, and on April 18 catch the Academy’s performance of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.

Finlandia Concert Hall (finlandiatalo. fi) offers a more modern repertoire; local a cappella legends Club For Five and opera singer Katri Helena take to the stage this month. Be sure to explore the foyer, too – its Italian Carrara marble and red beech trimmings are the epitome of contemporary interior design. Meanwhile, the Opera House (ooppera.fi) uses its lobby as an extra performance space; Saturday afternoons see regular free concerts, as well as sessions in which production teams discuss their work.

An average season includes 15 large-scale operas and nine ballets, so expect some real treats – recent shows include Marc Ribaud’s re-imagining of the classic ballet Coppélia, and the dark operatic tale Rusalka.

The biggest testament to the power of Helsinki’s performance scene, however, is the vast Cable Factory (kaapelitehdas.fi), a 53,000 sq m complex of three museums, 13 galleries, theatres and schools. The adjacent water-side Ruoholahti district is home to a number of cafés and restaurants, too, making for a real cultural hub.

With its zest for life and irrepressible rhythms, it’s no wonder this Colombian city has inspired countless cultural gems

“All of my books have loose threads of Cartagena in them,” admits Nobel Laureate Gabriel García Márquez in a Salvatore Basile documentary about the city. “And, with time, I always bring back an incident from Cartagena, a place in Cartagena, a character in Cartagena…” Indeed, it’s not quite clear which came first – Cartagena itself, or García Márquez’s all-pervasive ‘magical realism’. Around every corner of this charming South American city you’ll find real-life scenes from his novels: the deserted Parque de los Evangelios, sleepy under its bright blanket of bougainvillea, is the setting of Love in the Time of Cholera, and the house of Marquis de Valdehoyos was inspiration for the playful Chronicle of a Death Foretold. You can get a full hit of this literary fairydust with Las Rutas de García Márquez, a guide to Cartagena’s influence on García Márquez, available from the city’s Librería Nacional. And if that’s not enough, the international reaches of Hay literary festival (hayfestival.com) roll into town every January – 2012 saw the likes of celebrated writers Santiago Gamboa and Carmen Posadas tread the boards alongside Colombian actor John Leguízamo and musician Carlinhos Brown.

Theatre hounds should flock to Teatro Adolfo Mejia, the city’s uncharacteristically lavish performance space designed by Luis Felipe Jaspe (whose local credits also include the city’s canary-yellow

Images: Corbis / Arabian Eye; Photolibrary; Shutterstock

Cartagena

clock tower). Its chandeliered auditorium regularly plays host to touring operas, concerts and big name productions, and the interior is suitably dramatic: look out for that ceiling mural by celebrated Cartagena artist Enrique Grau. Meanwhile, those with a love of dance need salsa no further than the city’s bars, halls and squares – the scene of nightly impromptu and scheduled performances. Influences from folklore, storytelling and the city’s strong west African roots run through the Latin rhythms – head to Café Havana on Calle Media Luna for the hottest of them all. Bazurto Social Club on Avenida del Centenario is the place for reggae beats and bohemian live bands: leave your dancing inhibitions at the door. Want to track down those captivating rhythms? You’ll find all the music from the night before at the charming Jaime Musical in Bazurto – an afternoon’s vinyl hunting counts as a bonefide hobby round these parts.

For more live music, make for the International Cartagena Music Festival (cartagenamusicfestival.com) in January – a global stage for the world’s finest classical musos as well as upcoming local names.

A separate festival runs for children every March, perfect for budding musicians. The International Film Festival (ficcifestival. com) is another cultural gem; featuring films from more than 24 different countries, the 2013 event in February and March is set to be one of the biggest yet. Look out for low-key fantasy, fiction and non-fiction titles appearing among the blockbusters.

But for the pièce de résistance of Cartagenan culture, head to November’s raucous Barranquilla Carnival, an hour’s drive from the city. Here you’ll catch lively floats, dancing and a jubilant mix of local beats, as well as stalls stacked to the brim with local culinary treats. If you don’t have a driver in tow, regular transport runs to and from the event, available through all good local tour guides – and after a day’s festivities you’ll be glad of the lift home. But if you’re not in town in time, fear not: seek out the catchy rhythms that can be scratched out on cheesegraters by a conjunto vallenato band (usually found hanging around in Plaza Santo Domingo).

These ensembles are typically formed of four chaps with maracas, an accordion, percussion and said grater – and a promise of hooch will usually be enough to guarantee you a night-long serenade, whether you like it or not.

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T Ring Master Bullfighting might have been banned in Barcelona, but it is still part of life in Lisbon. Adrian Mourby meets the men behind this controversial spectacle

he lunch table is thick with smoke.

Daughters and nieces, fresh from school, sit on any available knee.

“I believe what happened in Catalonia was only a political issue,” says Antonio Ribeiro Telles. He is a commanding but quietly spoken man. “It is not really a statement against bullfighting, more against a symbol of Spain.”

Antonio Ribeiro Telles is unusually tall even when he sits at the table, nursing his glass.

Height could be a disadvantage if you’re fighting on the ground like in Spain, but a Portuguese toureiro fights on horseback. Jorge, my interpreter, explains to me that duelling with bulls was always an aristocratic sport on the Iberian peninsula, but when the Spanish king stopped his nobles taking part in the 18th century, the common people took over, fighting on foot and killing the bull in front of an arena of spectators.

In Portugal, the old ways still apply. Antonio Ribeiro Telles plunges steel-tipped banderillas (darts) into the bull’s hump with his right hand while controlling the horse with his left, but he has never killed a bull in the Portuguese ring.

“If he kills a bull, he goes to prison!” interjects Catarina, Antonio’s wife.

We don’t have the equivalent of bullfighters’ wives in the UK. Catarina is glamorous but in a casual way. She is no WAG. She has been to more than 1,000 of Antonio’s fights, in Portugal, Spain, France, Macau, Mexico, California and

‘Young, handsome, cocksure… he delighted non-aficionados by punching the air, making his horse rear on its hind legs’ Colombia. Recently, she and Antonia Mota Pereira, who is the local vet, found that a fan club for Antonio has started up on Facebook.

They joined just to keep an eye on what his women fans were up to.

Antonio tells me through Jorge that times are changing in Portugal. Women may be fighting bulls now but no allowance is made for them.

“Would you be happy for your daughter to become a toureira?” I ask.

“I would help her,” says Antonio.

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“I don’t believe him!” Catarina insists.

“Women, they bullfight us every day,” smiles Antonio.

I’ve been made very welcome by the family.

One of Antonio’s nephews, Henrique, has offered to take me to the next corrida de toiros, while another, also called Antonio, is keen to tell me about working as a bandarilheiro (toureiro’s assistant) when not training as a vet in Lisbon.

The daughters and nieces smile. The drinks flow. More cigarettes end up in the central ashtray. And Senhor Ribeiro Telles just sits there underneath the stuffed head of Gabarito, his favourite horse, smiling benignly and fielding my questions through Jorge. I feel like a friend.

It’s odd to think that this is just one of a number of options that the Four Seasons hotel offers on its interactive online city guide.

Yesterday, I toured Lisbon in the sidecar of a Russian army motorbike. Today, I am at lunch with the best cavaleiro (mounted bullfighter) in Portugal. Migel, my driver out to Herdade Torrinha, told me Antonio is the best, very calm in the ring as 670kg (1,500lb) of bull charges after him. Even Antonia the vet says Antonio is the best.

“He is classical,” she explains. “He does not go in for theatricals like some of them today. As a vet, I do not like what happens to the bull, but I admire what Antonio does with the horses.”

Horses are very much what the afternoon is about as Antonio drives us out across the 1,000 hectares his family owns along the river Tagus.

We cross a rough dry landscape of olive and cork trees and cattle and spend an hour or so looking at the mares. Antonio owns some dozen horses.

One of these may produce a foal that will grow up to be the next Gabarito, Antonio’s beloved horse in the dining room.

“A great horse can make a career,” he tells me through Jorge. “There are three essential elements to a good bullfight. The toureiro is important but not as important as the bull, the bull is very important, but neither is as important as the horse.”

On our way back to Herdade Torrinha we meet Antonio’s father. David Ribeiro Telles lost all the family’s land after the revolution in 1974.

He supported his 12 children as a cavaleiro, fighting on horseback until he was 70. He looks like a smaller version of his famous son, but what

he lacks in height he makes up for in muttonchop whiskers. Ribeiro Telles senior fathered three bullfighting sons, and now he can see two of his grandchildren following suit.

“In Catalonia, they have banned bull-fighting,” I say to make conversation as we sit outside the family’s training ring. “Do you see bull-fighting ever dying out in Portugal?” The old man puts down his grandchildren and turns his watery eyes on me.

“He says bull-fighting is in the Portuguese soul,” Jorge translates. “You must understand that after the revolution, the Communists wanted to outlaw bull-fighting, but the people wanted to keep it. Mr Ribeiro Telles’s land was taken from him, but the common people, they looked after his land and gave it back to him when he returned.”

This question of land is important. You have to be wealthy to be a Portuguese cavaleiro.

Antonio receives payment when he fights, but he has to train and provide horses and to pay his bandarilheiros and the “cowboys”, as Jorge calls them, who look after the animals. He teaches young men who come to him if he considers they have potential, but he does not receive payment for this. That is not the way in Portugal. No wonder he needs independent wealth.

“As a young man, I myself trained with Mr David Ribeiro Telles,” says Jorge. “I wanted to be a cavaleiro but I did not have the money. That is why I now teach dressage.”

“We haven’t seen any bulls,” I point out.

“Oh, Antonio has bulls but they are 100km to the north.” Yes, this is a rich family.

I see bulls the next night, although sadly I do not see Antonio, who is not booked to fight in Lisbon’s extraordinary bullring that evening.

It’s a brick structure with Moorish towers and a modern retractable roof.

As a member of the Ribeiro Telles family, Henrique gets to park where the cavaleiros and bandarilheiros leave their cars. He may be a Lisbon dentist by day, but tonight he is corrida royalty, the grandson of David, the nephew of Antonio and Joao, the cousin of Joao II and the brother of Manuel.

We enter the brightly lit arena just after 10.30pm as a Cinderella coach is crossing the yellow circle of sand. There are lots of musicians on horseback, young pages in white wigs and

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18th-century frock coats, and a master of ceremonies on his horse making obeisance to the box where the president of the games sits.

From out of the coach step six men, cavaleiros dressed in more frock coats, feathered hats, breeches and tall black boots. I get to know these men well over the next three hours.

First, the avuncular Joao Moura, oldest of the six and tending towards the portly. “Very nice man, but he is beginning to decline,” said Henrique. Then Joaquim Bastinhas, who is known to play to the crowds, again “very nice” in Henrique’s view but the family do not really approve. “He makes a lot of noise and his party trick is to put the reins into his waistband and take a small banderilla in each hand and charge at the bull with only his legs for control!” Next is Rui Salvador, who is known for being brave.

These three fill the first half of the evening.

The next three are Joaoa Salguerio, who has

The whole evening comprises six highly structured bouts: one bull versus one cavaleiro assisted by his two bandarilheiros (caped like Spanish matadors). The cavaleiro always changes horses after plunging in the first two long bandarilhas. The second horse is better suited to the close quarters work with the short blades.

I expected to be shocked by seeing an animal wounded in this way, but the cavaleiro attacks so quickly that you never catch the impact and your attention is then taken up by the enraged pursuit of rider and horse around the ring by a 670kg bull. These powerful creatures can out-run a horse on the flat so horse and rider need to know evasive tricks to get away. You can understand why this all began as cavalry practice. Horse and rider have to think as one.

After each bout the forcado team comes in.

This group of volunteers, in the dress of 18thcentury peasants, are there to calm the bull.

a bad time of it with the crowd whistling him for taking too long to make contact with the bull. Then Vitor Ribeiro, who was clearly more popular with the crowd than the president judged. This proves interesting. When a cavaleiro has been deemed to be doing well, the president awards him music. This is played by a brass band up in the gods. If the crowd believes a fighter deserves music and is not getting it, then they start to clap in unison until the president agrees, and with Ribeiro the president did not agree.

Nothing poor Ribeiro did seemed to please the president, and I saw the cavaleiro make a distinct ‘what on earth’ gesture at one point.

Last up is Francisco Palha, who is a Spanish cousin of Antonio’s. Young, handsome, cocksure and quite clear how to play the crowd, he delighted non-aficionados by punching the air, making his horse rear on its hind legs and getting so close to the bull that the horse was butted by its horns. For Henrique, this is bad behaviour. “Many people now do not understand the rules of the bullfight, so they do not know how bad it is if the bull touches your horse.”

Their leader advances across the ring, calling out until the bull charges him. The next thing you know, the young man has leapt on to the horns and is being carried across the ring with his colleagues grabbing on like a rugby scrum.

“When the bull cannot see to left or right he will stop,” says Henrique. On one occasion it takes three attempts. Imagine provoking a bull seven or eight times your own weight with a landspeed of nearly 40mph. They do it for the honour of their city. I didn’t want to imagine it.

Not even once.

And the bull? He survives, gets patched up and usually is sold for meat, which was what he was raised for. Henrique tells me that occasionally a “nice” bull will be selected to live out his days fathering new bulls.

We leave the arena at 1.30am. Henrique is wondering about going on to a disco. “But they only start to get good about three or four o’clock.” As for me, I want to sleep. Three hours have sped by. There is a lot to think about, but I know I want to see more.

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Images: Corbis / Arabian Eye, Photolibrary Text: Adrian Mourby / The Independent / Interview People

‘These powerful creatures can out-run a horse on the flat so horse and rider need to know evasive tricks to get away… horse and rider have to think as one’

LIFE LESSONS

WHAT I KNOW NOW

Captain Edward Olver

Adjutant of The Household Cavalry and CEO British Polo Day As a child at boarding school, I used to rush out of breakfast to get The Times newspaper. I loved reading obituaries to learn how people had lived their lives; it made it easy to daydream of an adventurous life. Since then I have been conscious of being on a path through successive chapters and believe there is much to learn from observing others’ journeys in life.

I spent my childhood in Australia, UAE, China, Thailand, Vietnam, USA, Italy and Switzerland, which created a dual sense of identity. Engaging with different cultures when I was young gave me broad horizons and an understanding of what is possible. I think this is a valuable lesson in life.

I was in The British Army for six years, leading troops on operations in Iraq and running state occasions as Adjutant of The Household Cavalry. The army is the most fantastic place to develop skills for dealing with high-pressure – you can’t afford mistakes or people die. I was taught to follow ‘OODA loop’: Observe, Orientate, Decide and Act. It’s an approach that can be carried into business – assimilate information quickly and act decisively.

I run The British Polo Day, an international event that has taken guests to some of the world’s most exquisite venues, from galas on The Great Wall of China to parties on top of palaces. The secret to a great event is to make it look effortless: to look like swans, calm and serene on the surface, even if you’re paddling like crazy underneath.

I have hosted seven different royal families but I believe it is equally important to have sound relationships with the diverse myriad of suppliers, partners and clients who enable us to create exceptional events – everyone counts.

In business I have learnt not to expect people to think like you: every one is a product of their experiences and so their values, outlook and behaviour are unique to them. Once I realised this, my negotiation skills improved, my capacity to motivate others improved and our business improved.

The key to a great business team is to assemble members who understand and complement one another. I’ve resisted the temptation to hire people like me and I have been delighted by what I have learnt from people skilled in different areas.

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