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MARYLEBONE JOURNAL
ISSUE NO.109
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE HOWARD DE WALDEN ESTATE AND THE PORTMAN ESTATE
Published April 2025
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HAPPENINGS IN MARYLEBONE
Events, exhibitions, film, music, shopping, talks, theatre and walks
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Q&A: EDGAR LAGUINIA
The director of The Brown Collection on pairing Glenn Brown’s works w ith those of the artists who inspired him
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IN PROFILE: LARRY KING
The influential hairstylist on his new salon, why community is everything, and how his grandma’s blow dries inspired his product line 24
READING THE ROOM
A visit to Veranda Books, a haven of translated fiction, spontaneous conversation and very personal book recommendations
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THE DIFFERENCE MAKERS
Charlotte Locks-Moro, director of fundraising at St John’s Hospice
Food, style, home, wellbeing a nd healthcare
Q&A: LUKE AHEARNE
The head chef of Lita on pairing exceptional food with a buzzing atmosphere, and gaining a Michelin star within mont hs of opening
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Q&A: KATIA BARROS
The founder of FARM Rio on the colours of Brazil, the creative power of collaboration, and the journey from market stall to global brand
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ANATOMY OF A DESIGN
José Antonio Santos of eba on creating an elegant solution to a perennial kitchen storage problem
Cover: Katia Barros of FARM Rio, by Leandro Fonseca
HAPPENINGS IN MARYLEBONE EVENTS
EXHIBITIONS FILM MUSIC SHOPPING TALKS THEATRE WALKS
1. Wigmore Soloists, Wigmore Hall
EXHIBITION
UNTIL 17 APRIL
PAREIDOLIA
Mandy Zhang Art
16 Seymour Place, W1H 7NG mandyzhang.art
This group show, featuring works by Margarita Galandina, Lo Cheuk Yiu and Mengmeng Zhang, presents a diverse series of paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs, all of which respond in their own way to the artists’ personal experiences of migration and memory.
EVENT
19 APRIL, 11am – 4pm
108 EASTER EGG HUNT
108 Brasserie
108 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2QE 108brasserie.com
108 Brasserie’s Easter Egg Hunt challenges participants to seek out 108 eggs hidden in Marylebone’s shops, streets and green spaces. Each egg unlocks a prize, including a night in The Marylebone Hotel’s Terrace Suite. Tickets cost £5, with proceeds going to the Elephant Family charity.
Wigmore Soloists, a flexible ensemble led by Michael Collins, unlocks the devilish drama of The Soldier’s Tale, Stravinsky’s groundbreaking theatrical work of 1918, a cautionary parable about the dangers of selling one’s soul for the promise of untold riches.
Moco London 1-4 Marble Arch, W1H 7EJ mocomuseum.com
Moco London’s first temporary exhibition brings together 12 works from Marina Abramovic’s long-running series Transitory Objects for Human. Chairs, beds and benches adorned with the artist’s signature crystals invite public interaction.
THEATRE 24 – 26 APRIL
THE TEMPEST: THIS ISLAND
The Cockpit Gateforth Street, NW8 8EH thecockpit.org.uk
Brave Mirror, a theatre and production company that helps emerging creatives develop their craft, presents a brand-new adaptation of Shakespeare’s final masterpiece, developed collaboratively, in part via workshops with students and young people.
2. The Silent Dress by Lo Cheuk Yiu, Pareidolia, Mandy Zhang Art
MUSIC
MUSIC
29 APRIL – 2 MAY
MUSIC BY NUMBERS
Royal Academy of Music Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk
The Academy composition department presents a four-day festival inspired by the fascinating, complex and playful relationships between numbers and music. Improvisation and virtuosity converge through a wide range of experimental new pieces.
THEATRE
1 – 3 MAY, 7.30pm
POETRY PLAYS
The Cockpit Gateforth Street, NW8 8EH thecockpit.org.uk
Presented by The Pomegranate London, a biannual art and literature magazine, this three-day festival returns to The Cockpit for a second year, bringing together original, interdisciplinary shows all of which feature or are inspired by poetry.
EXHIBITION
24 APRIL – 5 MAY
CATRIONA WOOD
67 York Street Gallery
67a York Street, W1H 1QB 67yorkstreetgallery.com
Catriona Wood is a Londonbased contemporary artist who draws her inspiration from the natural world. This collection of her latest works, including new paintings fresh from the studio, depicts seas, oceans, flowers and foliage in an energetic, playful and often impressionistic style.
MUSIC
20 MAY, 7.30pm
TRASIMENO MUSIC FESTIVAL 20TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT
Wigmore Hall
36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk
Founded in Perugia by pianist Angela Hewitt, the Trasimeno Music Festival brings together like-minded artists every summer for a week-long banquet of chamber concerts and solo recitals. This 20th anniversary celebration offers a taste of its compelling programming.
3. MUSIC
29 MAY, 6pm
WIGMORE SESSIONS: GABRIEL ADÉDÈJÌ
Wigmore Hall
36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk
Wigmore Sessions, which offer a platform for early career musicians, are informal, intimate performances. Acclaimed Nigerian composer and pianist Gabriel Adédèjì draws inspiration from the rich heritage of Yorùbá folklore.
PERFORMANCE
29 MAY
THE RING
The Hellenic Centre 16-18 Paddington Street, W1U 5AS helleniccentre.org
Performance storyteller Anna Conomos-Wedlock presents her new work, The Ring – a tale of bravery, sacrifice and the unbreakable spirit of a child messenger who risked everything for freedom during the Cretan Resistance against Nazi forces.
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The work of multidisciplinary artist Tunga, one of the most important Brazilian artists of his generation, appears at Lisson Gallery for the first time: 10 precisely constructed sculptures from 2004-2014, the late stages of his evolution as an artist before his death in 2016.
4 APRIL – 17 MAY
2. 5.
Q&A: EDGAR LAGUINIA
The director of The Brown Collection and husband of the painter and sculptor Glenn Brown on an exhibition that pairs Glenn’s works with those of the artists who inspired him
Interview: Mark Riddaway
Q: What will people find in your current exhibition, The Laughing Stock of the Hea rtless Stars?
A: This is an old term, but Glenn is what you might call an ‘appropriation artist’. That means he takes other people’s work, mixes other artists and other influences into the mix, plays with colour, form, distortion or scale, and then creates something quite extraordinarily different from the starting point, something distinctly his own. The exhibition brings together works that we’ve collected that have informed Glenn’s own, plus some of Glenn’s paintings and sculptures in culmination, juxtaposing the things that have been made with the things that directly inspired them. There are about 60 works in total, 14 of which are Glenn’s. The others cover 500 years of history, from earlier etchings to contemporary works by artists like Phoebe Cummings.
Q: How is the exhibition organised?
A: We wanted to set it out in a way that’s accessible to lots of people and addresses what they already know of art. So, you get a basement of sculptures, a ground floor for still life, a first floor of portraits, and a second floor of landscapes. Within those very generic categories of art, you can see the subtleties of our curation. Still life is about beauty, but also putridness a nd the smell of decay. Portraiture can be happy or sad, or mysterious a nd abstract. The landscapes explore the world as we know it, but also the otherworldly fantasies of artists. We want to make it easy for people to come in, but at the same time we’re challenging t heir idea of what these simple categories mean.
Q: Are there any common threads that run through the different works that inspire Glenn?
A: I’m a graphic designer and product designer, so to me it’s always
important how attractive things are. But in Glenn’s mind, good artists try to find a bit of imbalance, a bit of grotesqueness. If you stay solely on the beautiful, it all becomes rather easy. This is the duality of his work: the push and the pull, the attractiveness and the repellency. He loves art that has that. There are also particular works he openly rejects – things created from what he calls “the hand of God”, where an artist has let colours flow in their own gravity. He wants the artist to have full control. He wants to see a very definite intentionality of line and colour and composition.
Q: Is he drawn to the lives of the artists and their place in art history as well as to their work?
A: Absolutely. He likes discovering artists that aren’t so popular –he gets obsessed with them and won’t let go. His current obsession is Stanley William Hayter, a British artist who Glenn admires, especially for his print making. Hayter went to America, where it’s estimated that about 200 American artists made their prints in his shop, with him guiding them through the production. Sadly, he didn’t have a great archive, so we don’t know who all these artists were. Glenn’s researching his work and who he influenced, and we’re going to buy more prints – but that’s all for the future.
Q: Glenn is also known for appropriating the titles of his works from other sources. Where did the exhibition’s na me come from?
A: From Marcel Duchamp quoting a poet, as Glenn remembers it. Duchamp had a hard time finding the name of the poet who he quoted, and now Glenn is having a hard time finding where he found the quotation about Marcel Duchamp. So, it’s probably not exactly as it was written, but Glenn likes that! It’s also the title of one of the works on the
first floor: a painting of two faces, based on Tiepolo. At the time he made it, the world was going through chaos – we didn’t think it could get any worse, but it somehow has! That quote suddenly jumped out at him. We want the world to be predictable and beautiful, but it isn’t, because there’s a darkness in destiny that muddles things and makes them complicated for us.
Q: You’ve started running events at the gallery. Tell u s about that.
A: We always wanted to have some form of outreach – a way of inviting people in. We now have a life drawing class every month. We’ve had two already, and they were so successful that we might have to run them over two floors to have enough space. We’re also putting on talks and discussions. We showed the Gillian Wearing film, and we had a great discussion afterwards about it. We have an artist, Philip Ackermann, coming from the Netherlands to talk about his work. There’s lots in the pipeline.
Q: You’re clearly people who see value in conversation s about art.
A: A lot of artists and curators shy away from discussions about the meaning of an artwork. We don’t. These are just our impressions, it’s not a full truth, but we think it’s good to explore what an artist intended. Art is there for a discussion. When we have time, we often bring visitors around the gallery, show them the works and discuss what they’ve seen. What does it mean? What does it look like? How does it make you feel? It’s quite intensive. Some people are initially sceptical of the intimacy we provide, but by the end of it, I think they’re amazed that they’ve experienced something new.
UNTIL 2 AUGUST
THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE HEARTLESS STARS
The Brown Collection 1 Bentinck Mews, W1U 2AF glenn-brown.co.uk
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THEATRE
30 APRIL – 31 MAY FAYGELE
Marylebone Theatre 35 Park Road, NW1 6XT marylebonetheatre.com
At the age of 13, at his Bar Mitzvah celebration, Ari Freed’s father strikes him down with a single word: ‘faygele’, a Yiddish slang word for a homosexual man. Shimmy Braun’s new play, directed by Will Nunziata, explores the devastating aftermath of this moment.
OPERA
30 – 31 MAY DIDO & AENEAS | ACIS & GALATEA
The Cockpit Gateforth Street, NW8 8EH thecockpit.org.uk
Ensemble OrQuesta presents a double bill of Baroque opera, featuring an adaptation of Marcio da Silva’s 2016 minimalist interpretation of Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas and his similarly intimate 2018 production of Handel’s Acis & Galatea.
5. 1. The Brown Collection 2. The Brown Collection 3. Edgar Laguinia leading a tour of The Brown Collection
A life drawing class at The Brown Collection
Dido & Aeneas, The Cockpit
EXHIBITION
This exhibition brings together two of Scotland’s most accomplished painters: Mhairi McGregor, creator of highly abstracted, contemporary Colourist landscape and still life works, and Morag Muir, whose paintings are often inspired by the characterful environment of her Tayside studio.
21 MAY – 6 JUNE
MHAIRI MCGREGOR & MORAG MUIR
Thompson’s Gallery
3 Seymour Place, W1H 5AZ thompsonsgallery.co.uk
3. Wedding, 2006 by Tomoko Yoneda, courtesy the artist and ShugoArts, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
4. Mixed Roses by Mhairi McGregor, Thompson’s Gallery
5. Nine, Royal Academy of Music
MUSIC
11 – 13 JUNE
SUMMER PIANO FESTIVAL
Royal Academy of Music
Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk
The 11th annual Summer Piano Festival, curated by Joanna MacGregor and performed by the Academy’s piano students, includes Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues, the second edition of Schumann’s complete piano music, film music improvisation and multimedia.
MUSICAL THEATRE
10 MAY – 14 JUNE SHUCKED
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Regent’s Park, NW1 4NU openairtheatre.com
In Tony Award-winning musical comedy Shucked, the happiness of engaged couple Maizy and Beau is threatened by the sudden death of the corn that protects their small, insular community and the arrival in their lives of a malign actor from the big city.
MUSICAL THEATRE
12 – 15 JUNE
ROYAL ACADEMY MUSICAL THEATRE: NINE
Royal Academy of Music
Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk
Postgraduate musical theatre students perform Maury Yeston’s 1982 musical, based on Federico Fellini’s 8½, which tells the story of filmmaker Guido Contini’s grapples with writer’s block, a looming mid-life crisis and the women who have defined his life.
EXHIBITION
UNTIL 16 JUNE
TOMOKO YONEDA: FAULTLINES
Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation 13/14 Cornwall Terrace, NW1 4QP dajf.org.uk
This exhibition of photography by Tomoko Yoneda includes her series Scene, which revisits sites of historic conflict and trauma, and DMZ, in which she captures the quiet beauty of Korea’s demilitarised zone.
1. The Messengers by Morag Muir, Thompson’s Gallery
2. Fretwork, Wigmore Hall
1.
THEATRE
Three of the UK’s leading musical theatre choreographers re-imagine magical dream ballets from a trio of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals – Oklahoma!, Carousel and Allegro – accompanied by the Sinfonia Smith Square orchestra.
19 – 22 JUNE
RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S DREAM BALLETS: A TRIPLE BILL
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Regent’s Park, NW1 4NU openairtheatre.com
MUSIC
20 JUNE, 7.30pm
EDWARD GARDNER
CONDUCTS THE ACADEMY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Royal Academy of Music Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk
Edward Gardner, principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, leads a performance of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Refugee –extraordinary poetry set to powerful music – alongside Nielsen’s Symphony No 4.
OPERA
21 – 22 JUNE HANDEL: TESEO
The Cockpit Gateforth Street, NW8 8EH thecockpit.org.uk
In this new minimalist production, Ensemble OrQuesta performs Handel’s operatic retelling of the story of Athenian hero Teseo (Theseus) and the dramatic consequences of his relationships with a king, a princess and the vengeful sorceress Medea.
MUSIC
19 – 22 JUNE
MARYLEBONE MUSIC FESTIVAL
Manchester Square Gardens, W1U 3PL marylebonemusicfestival.com
Set in Manchester Square Gardens and inspired by Marylebone’s rich history as a home of pleasure gardens and musical performance, this annual four-day festival – returning for its 10th year – features an eclectic programme of music.
THEATRE
28 JUNE – 26 JULY NOUGHTS & CROSSES
Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
Regent’s Park, NW1 4NU openairtheatre.com
Malorie Blackman’s best-selling novel Noughts & Crosses, a bittersweet love story about life-long friends living on separate sides of a strictly divided world, is adapted for the stage in this brand-new production directed by Tinuke Craig.
1. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Dream Ballets: A Triple Bill, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre
2. Edward Gardner, Royal Academy of Music
3. Untitled, from a selection of drawings by Shirley Smith, 2022-24 by Grayson Perry, courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro, The Wallace Collection
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EXHIBITION
25 APRIL – 24 OCTOBER
ROBBIE WILLIAMS: RADICAL HONESTY
Moco London
1-4 Marble Arch, W1H 7EJ mocomuseum.com
Musician, performer and borderline national treasure Robbie Williams has been reinventing himself as a visual artist. This solo exhibition brings together new artworks exploring themes of anxiety, self-love and introversion with typical candour and humour.
EXHIBITION
UNTIL 26 OCTOBER
GRAYSON PERRY: DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR
The Wallace Collection
Manchester Square, W1U 3BN wallacecollection.org
For this highly ambitious exhibition, Grayson Perry tells the imagined story of Shirley Smith, a working-class woman who, after a seizure, wakes up believing herself to be the heir to The Wallace Collection and starts to make art based on her visions.
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I took to it like a duck to water. In no time at all I was living and breathing hair. I knew from very early on that I wanted this to be my life.
2017 was a big year for mums. Queen Elizabeth II – the nation’s mother – celebrated her Sapphire Jubilee, marking 65 years on the throne. Stormzy released his debut album Gang Signs & Prayer, the first grime album to reach number one in the UK, with his mum’s own voice providing the prayer that kicks off one of its central tracks. Jodie Whittaker got to prove that it’s possible to both be a mum and play Doctor Who. And in South Kensington, Larry King opened the doors to his first hair salon –a significant moment in a career that might never have got started without the direct intervention of his mother.
“I wasn’t particularly academic at school and wasn’t much interested in further education. I had tried a couple of different jobs that had not worked out when my mum suggested I try hairdressing,” Lar ry explains. “I was 17 at the time and she helped get me an apprenticeship at Toni & Guy in Cambridge, as she had a friend who worked there.” What he found at the salon changed his life. “It was an instant connection. I took to it like a duck to water. I absolutely loved the training, the atmosphere. In no time at all I was living and breathing hair. I knew from very early on that I wanted this to be my life.”
Luckily, it also soon became clear that Larry had a genuine talent for the craft, and his popularity at the Cambridge salon quickly grew as he worked hard honing his skills. One of the things that has set Larry apart from the opposition (hairdressing can be an extremely competitive field!) was his technical prowess. After that first flush of success in Cambridge, he decided it was time to move to London to further his career, still with Toni & Guy but working in a global fashion capital. London offered the young hairstylist a dizzying array of opportunities which he did his best to grasp with both hands. “I just worked really hard, saying yes to every opportunity,” he recalls. “My wife Laura and I had children quite young, and they really gave us the drive to steam ahead. We were doing whatever we needed to in order to give them a better life.”
It was during these years working in different salons around the capital and picking up session work as a freelance stylist that his ideas really began to crystallise. Larry’s approach to hairdressing centred on creating natural, lived-in looks rather than the overly styled or ‘done’ hair that was very popular at the time. He began to champion effortless-looking styles that
enhanced the client’s natural looks and personality. This philosophy – one of enhancing rather than changing – became his signature in an industry that was, and still is, often most excited by dramatic transformations. At its core his is a client-centric philosophy – the stylist has to understand the person before they can even begin to envisage the haircut.
When someone steps into a salon, they’re placing themselves in a vulnerable position, with a great deal of trust in the hands – quite literally – of the hairdresser. For so many people, but especially women, hair is closely tied to a sense of self. It can determine how we feel about ourselves and the image we’re projecting to the world at large. A bad or unsuitable haircut can have a crushing impact that goes far beyond not liking the look. For Larry, technical skills are secondary to understanding this responsibility and nurturing the relationships that make it easier to fulfil.
“Our salons are friendly and not intimidating,” he says. “Clients feel welcome. The salons are deliberately designed to be like old-fashioned barber’s shops but moved into a hair salon environment – welcoming places where you turn up and are greeted by familiar faces.” Also hugely important is the camaraderie among the staff. “The fact that
they’re friends as well as colleagues and engage with each other as such, helps generate that welcoming atmosphere. High-end salons can be really intimidating and we just want everyone to feel at home and like they’re part of a community.”
While launching his own salon in 2017 paid off, it was a real risk, with entry into such a competitive field in no way guaranteed to succeed. Building the confidence to move from freelancing and into salon ownership was helped hugely when Larry met and became friends with David Gandy, widely regarded as the most successful male model of all time and now creative director of his own fashion brand. “I had built a real community around me in London, but when I started to work with David on his shoots it really snowballed,” Larry explains. “Through Select Model Management, the agency that represented him, I got asked to do loads of editorial work and my session career really took off. After a conversation with my wife, who at the time was working as a branding designer, we decided to try working together, as our skills complemented each other.”
The couple managed to raise the necessary investment and took the plunge. The success of the South Kensington salon soon led to
My Nanna’s Mousse was inspired by the big glamorous blow dries I used to give my nan Dolly. She was amazing, flying around on the back of motorcycles and jumping out of planes.
READING
ROOM THE
A visit to Veranda Books, a haven of translated fiction, spontaneous conversation and very personal book recommendations
Words: Mark Riddaway
Images: Orlando Gili
Leo and Emily Jefferson, the shop’s manager, being rapacious readers (“Emily and I have been competitive about how many books we’ve read this year,” says Leo) and each having a distinct set of inclinations. “Sometimes we overlap, but yes, we all have quite specific tastes, I think,” says Alison. “Emily has quite different tastes to me. Quite dark.” (This is, Emily insists, a result of her life being mercifully free of darkness.)
There are plenty of customers who share Emily’s taste for the bleak and twisted, but most people come in seeking sanctuary from the twisted bleakness of the real world. “I think the world is not in a great place at the moment, and collectively we’re looking for an escape from that,” says Alison. To help (and I love this idea deeply), the non-fiction section downstairs is organised by psychic weight –grim subjects to the left, light and fluffy to the right.
That’s not the shop’s only notable quirk. Other than a few recent releases, the fiction is almost entirely paperback, and even the week’s most popular books are laid out in very small quantities. “Neither of us really likes going into those shops that feel crowded, where everything is piled up,” explains Alison. “We
wanted it to be clean and inviting, and for that reason we don’t buy in bulk. We don’t have a stack of 30 of the new Sally Rooney – we’ll have a couple, and if they sell, we’ll get a few more.”
Translated fiction – an obsession of both owners and a significant point of difference for the shop –takes up an entire wall. “One of the great things about translated books is that they’re almost self-selecting in terms of quality,” explains Alison. “It’s a huge mission to get a book translated and then sell it into a completely different market, so it will only happen if you’re a prize winner or your book is very well regarded in your own country. I also love that it tr ansports you to a different place, a different country, a different culture.”
From Seymour Place to Sierra Leone in the tu rn of a page.
Like the famous bankruptcy in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, the story of Veranda Books played out in two ways: gradually and then suddenly. It began in 1996 with two young employees at an advertising agency discussing one of the decade’s era - defining novels. “Alison and I met almost 30 years ago working at an agency in Paddington,” says Leo. “I was
reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt – still one of my alltime favourites – and I remember that being the subject of one of our very first conversations. We were always chatting about books.”
The pair bonded over a shared love of reading, languages, travel and – as an extension of all three – translated fiction. At first, their pipedream was to abandon their jobs and become independent publishers. “I came across a small publisher called Pushkin Press and I really liked the idea,” says Alison. “We thought about setting something similar up. But it seemed like a lot of hard work for two people in their twenties with a big social life and no clue between them, so we shelved that and just carried on bei ng friends.”
Alison left the advertising industry, had children, retrained as a teacher, migrated to and returned from Hong Kong, experienced the soul-searching and ennui of the Covid lockdowns, then found herself pining for something different. Leo, whose first taste of bookselling had been an 18-month stint at Waterstones straight after university, had meanwhile rekindled his affection for the trade by taking a job at House of Hodge, a famous second - hand
One of the great things about translated books is that they’re almost self-selecting in terms of quality. It’s a huge mission to get a book translated, so it will only happen if you’re a prize winner or your book is very well regarded.
bookshop in north London. “Leo was telling me about his day, and it just sounded like such a happy, interesting life,” says Alison. “I said: ‘You know, we really should open a bookshop of our own.’ And he said: ‘Yeah, sure.’ A week later, I was taking a course on how to open a bookshop. And that wa s it really.”
Alison’s tutor, in the kind of coincidence without which fiction couldn’t function, was Leo’s mid1990s store manager at the Watford branch of Waterstones.
Veranda Books’ presence in Marylebone comes from the sense of serendipitous discovery that informs so many of the purchases in their shop. “I think this place found us,” says Alison. “We were looking around Golborne Road for a long time. I had my heart set on being up there, but it just wasn’t happening. We decided to come for a day out around here.” Leo is friends with Suzannah Crabb, the fashion designer whose lovely New Quebec Street boutique is part of the local landscape, and she helped introduce them to the neighbourhood. They knew they’d found their perfect home as soon as they were shown the vacant shop. “The space, the setting: this was always the place for us.”
Whether right now is a propitious moment to open an independent bookshop is an open question. A positive sign is that sales of physical books have remained buoyant despite – and perhaps in reaction to – the technological developments that are rapidly reshaping our world. “There’s a huge disillusionment with digital media and a return towards analogue in general, as a broader societal trend,” says Leo. “When you read a book, it’s a different experience for your brain. When we’re online, we’re constantly on autopilot, constantly scrolling, never fully engaged. Whereas with a book, you have to slow down.”
And yet, despite this healthy demand, high street booksellers are closing at an alarming rate, choked out by the Vulcan death grip of online retail. The good news is that people who love bookshops tend to love them deeply. “It’s quite sensory. Lots of people who come in here, the first thing they say is: ‘It smells amazing – it smells of books.’ There’s just something about the smell and feel that really appeals to some people.” So, in the right location, with the right offering, independents are still able to thrive.
Thankfully, they’re not reliant solely on old duffers like me. “What’s interesting is that a lot of the renaissance in books is driven by younger readers, particularly young women,” says Leo. “It’s become quite buzzy and fashionable.” There is, adds Alison, real substance behind the buzz: “They really are reading and engaging, and I think it’s amazing.” She cites the example of Rachel Cusk, a serious literary novelist and exceptional prose stylist, who has developed a huge following among young women on TikTok, “even though her books are about women of a certain age whose marriages are fa lling apart”.
Alison uses youthful online communities as a reservoir of ideas, pairing them with more traditional sources such as newspaper reviews and the promptings of industry reps. “Dua Lipa has an amazing blog called Service95 which has a book club within it. She’s very into translated fiction – probably partly because she’s Kosovan and she likes to promote books from there, but she’s also just a very welltravelled, very intelligent woman.
Kaia Gerber, the daughter of Cindy Crawford, also has an amazing book club called Library Science, where she recommends great books. We’re not huge on TikTok
or Instagram but we do use them to see what’s being t alked about.”
So, like the shop’s non-fiction section, there’s a bit of fear on one side and plenty of hope lined up on the other. What’s clear is that if we don’t visit the bookshops we have, they’ll one day all be gone – and that would b e a tragedy.
Leo sums it up perfectly: “If you have a library in your local area and you find out it’s closing, even if you don’t use it yourself you should still sign that petition. Because do we want to live in a society that doesn’t have libraries? Personally, I don’t. If we start losing those common cultural touchpoints, that’s the first sign of a society in terminal decline, in my opinion. I think people feel the same way about bookshops. The comment we continuously had from locals for the first month we were open was: ‘I’m so glad it’s not just another cafe.’ Don’t get me wrong: I love cafes, I love coffee and croissants, but as a society we don’t have a fundamental need for more cafes, do we? But we do need bookshops. We really do.”
VERANDA BOOKS
7 Seymour Place, W1H 5BA verandabooks.com
READING LIST
Here are today’s book suggestions from the Veranda Books team. Tomorrow’s will no doubt be different. In fact, today’s has probably already changed.
ALISON’S CHOICES
Engagement by Gun‑Britt Sundström
A turbulent relationship in a turbulent time – a 1970s Norwegian classic.
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico
A new Italian novel about the emptiness of contemporary existence, longlisted for the International Booker Prize.
Dream Count by Chimamanda
Ngozi Adichie
The interlocking stories of four women told by the author of Half of a Yellow Sun.
EMILY’S CHOICES
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong Beautifully written, very lyrical. A new take on the great American novel.
Love Me Tender by Constance Debre Sparse, stripped back writing about a woman living her life unapologetically and trying to maintain a relationship with her son.
All Fours by Miranda July
One woman’s brilliantly mad odyssey of sexual exploration.
LEO’S CHOICES
Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan
A long, sultry summer on the Riveria, from the pen of an 18-year-old prodigy.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
One of the defining novels of the 1990s: friendship, murder and betrayal at an elite American college.
Flesh by David Szalay
A compelling tale of sex, money and the search for love.
THE DIFFERENCE MAKERS
Introducing the people behind central London’s vital charities and community organisations: Charlotte Locks-Moro, director of fundraising at St John’s Hospice
Interview: Jean-Paul Aubin-Parvu
Images: Orlando Gili
St John’s Hospice is part of the charitable hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, which was set up 167 years ago by the Sisters of Mercy, an international community of Catholic women. Although there were always beds available for people at the end of their lives, it grew to the point where a decision was made to create an area specifically for palliative care. The hospice, as everyone knows it today, was created in 1984 with a 10-bed inpatient unit and now supports more than 4,000 people each year.
St John’s is a wonderful place. People often think that hospices must be sad, cold and miserable settings, but that couldn’t be further from the reality. St John’s is a warm and peaceful place to be, full of joy and laughter. You only need to visit our wellbeing centre once and your perceptions of hospice settings will be changed. That’s definitely a place of joy. They’re always doing art sessions, having movement classes, enjoying a good game of bingo. The atmosphere is amazing. In the inpatient unit you can often hear families having a laugh and a joke in one of the bedrooms or see them doing a jigsaw puzzle together out in the communal area. It’s a happy place – it really is.
Our services have grown significantly over the years. We opened our first daycare unit in 1987, looking after predominantly HIV and cancer patients who were still well enough to live at home. That same year we also launched our specialist palliative care nursing team, who go out into the community and look after patients and their families in their own homes. We began our Hospice@Home services in 1994, providing 24-hour wraparound care for those at the end of life, driven by the belief that patients and their families shouldn’t have to b e left alone.
In 1999 our inpatient unit expanded to 19 beds as the need grew. In 2011 we introduced our free lymphoedema care service and a year later launched a palliative care ambulance service, meaning that our patients don’t have to endure the long wait for NHS ambulances – we’re still the only London hospice to offer this. In 2018 we set up bereavement services for adults and children – some of our families are with our bereavement and counselling services for several years after the end of life.
The hospital was closed during Covid. This allowed us to create a temporary inpatient unit within >
People often think that hospices must be sad, miserable settings, but St John’s is a warm and peaceful place to be, full of joy and laughter.
the hospital while we renovated the existing space, thereby keeping services going. We also established a new children’s hub – a special area where children can relax or speak to our counsellors but still be close to their loved ones. Then last year we opened a brand-new wellbeing centre. We focus quite strongly on complementary therapies. Many of our patients can’t increase their drug load for pain relief, because they’ve reached the limits of what they can take, so complementary therapies offer an important way of providing pain relief and relaxation. During our refit we added a multi-sensory room, which helps calm patients with neurological conditions and allows us to treat them much more effectively. We also offer both occupational therapy and physiotherapy. It’s vital to keep patients mobile and agile for as long as possible, especially those with onset dementia. We do cognitive exercises with them while also trying to keep them mobile enough to remain in their own homes for as long as possible.
At the hospice we really do focus on a holistic approach to care. For example, having a relationship with nature and the outdoors is very important. Both of our gardens have been renovated recently. We’re now able to get beds out into the middle of our inpatient unit garden. And our wellbeing garden is now completely accessible, which is amazing when you consider that many patients don’t have any access to outside space unless they come in to see us.
The challenge for our staff is that our approach demands that each patient and their family be dealt with completely individually. Our community nurse specialists are vitally important to us, because it’s they who will assess both the patient and their family group to work out which services they might need. It’s vital that we work with patients around their preferred point of care – we’re all about allowing patients to live the way they want to live for as long as they physically can. When it gets to the point of talking to them about end of life, it’s about giving them all the support they need to be in the place that they want to be, rather than forcing them into hospital.
Our clinical team is second to none, a real family, and we also create that family environment for our patients and their families. We’re helped by hundreds of volunteers. The care team are just so dedicated – they’re always going above and beyond what’s expected of them and getting them to occasionally say no is probably the hardest thing! We’ve had ambulance drivers take a family down to the seaside for the day so that they could have fish and chips on the beach. We’ve had our inpatient unit team help a patient get ready for a wedding that we held on site. We’ve hosted 90th birthday parties for patients who couldn’t celebrate at home. Our staff help create all these little moments of joy. It really is phenomenal to see.
I’m the director of fundraising. There are 12 of us in the team and we raise money from various sources. We get donations from trusts and foundations, from
individuals and from incredible community groups that do all sorts of wonderful things – from tea parties to bake sales to marathons and skydiving. We also have a very strong corporate group that have been donating to us for a long time. The Howard de Walden Estate is a great example. They’ve been supporting us for over 10 years now through sponsoring one of our Hospice@Home nurses. This service is vital for those patients who wish to remain at home at the end of their lives – they allow families to actually be families, creating memories and resolidifying their relationships, rather than being the primary carers. When you become a carer you almost stop being a son, a daughter, a wife or a husband, so it’s really important that we give them support and the feeling of security. We’re indebted to Howard de Walden, and it’s always a brilliant feeling for me to be able to tell my team that we’ve got their support for another year.
One of the reasons that companies love supporting us is that they can actually get involved with the hospice – it’s not at arm’s length at all. We get corporate volunteer groups helping to rotavate and plant seeds in the garden. We’ve had them coming in to run IT awareness days, assisting patients with their phones and tablets to help keep them connected in the community. We’ve had others in doing arts and crafts, running reading groups, all sorts of projects. My role is to coordinate the team that makes all of this happen.
My family and I did an abseil to raise money for St John’s Hospice. My mother had received outreach support from her local hospice during Covid, so when I started talking about jumping off the side of a building, she said: “Oh, I’d like to do that too.” Bearing in mind she was 81 at the time, I was slightly concerned. But then my daughters and my nieces decided that they’d also like to get involved, so seven of us abseiled off The Orbit in the Olympic Park. We managed to choose an incredibly windy day, which was slightly hair raising, but it resulted in an amazing sense of achievement. It was a lovely thing to do together as a family group, and knowing how close the cause is to our hearts made it that much more special.
I think our donors who get involved in our crazy stunts and events feel the same way. We always have cheer squads there. We always look after our participants very well, so that they stay close to the cause they’re fundraising for. Go to the London Marathon or the Royal Parks Half Marathon and we’ll be there with our pompoms cheering everyone on. Taking part in that abseil was a good way to show that, yes, I can go and ask people for money, but I’m also willing to get out of my comfort zone and do what we ask of our supporters.
ST JOHN’S HOSPICE
zoltan.abbott@hje.org.uk stjohnshospice.org.uk
A CLOSER LOOK
FOOD » 36
STYLE » 46
HOME » 56
WELLBEING » 58
HEALTHCARE » 60
STYLE »46 Q&A
Katia Barros of FARM Rio on the colours of Brazil and the creative power of collaboration
STYLE »48 STYLE PHILOSOPHY
Mats Klingberg of Trunk Clothiers on timeless design, team chemistry and the slow revival of the tie
HOME »56 ANATOMY OF A DESIGN
José Antonio Santos of eba on creating an elegant solution to a perennial kitchen storage problem
Q&A: LUKE AHEARNE
The head chef of Lita on learning the ropes at his dad’s cafe, pairing exceptional food with a buzzing atmosphere, and gaining a Michelin star within months of opening
Interview: Clare Finney
Q: You’ve gone from running your dad’s cafe in Clonmel, Ireland to running a Michelin-starred restaurant in Marylebone –without any formal training, aged just 32. Is that precocious talent innate or inherited?
A: I’ve been genuinely interested in food and cooking from a young age. While everyone else was watching cartoons, I was watching cooking programmes; when we were on family holidays, I’d never order from the kid’s menu, I’d be ordering swordfish with the adults. By the time I was 11 I was cooking roast dinners. I did my first Christmas dinner aged 12. When I was 16, Neven Maguire, a celebrity chef in Ireland, visited my school, and I somehow managed to get a week’s work experience at his restaurant during the school holidays. I finished the week, and he said: “Stay for the summer” – so I did.
Q: How was that experience?
A: The restaurant was the opposite end of the country, so I had to stay in staff accommodation – and I was straight in. It really cemented what I wanted to do with my life. I loved the pace, the buzz. It was always about the food, of course, but I got sucked into the working life of a restaurant. I hated going back to school. I had a place at cooking college, and I was all ready to go, aged 17 – but then they called me and said I had too much experience, and they were giving my place away. That was when dad asked me to come and work with him in his cafe in town, and a year later I was running the place: coming up with new menus, pushing the boundaries, changing the concept from cafe to day bistro. It was an amazing chance to develop leadership skills at a young age.
Q: Do you think there is less emphasis on formal training these days than there has been previously?
A: I would never discourage anyone going for formal training, but I
think working in a good restaurant, taking everything in, storing it in your memory and always pushing to be better is what takes you forward. There are some things you can’t teach, and that’s particularly true in the hospitality industry: there’s a lot that just comes from common sense, being genuinely interested and striving for perfection. If you don’t have that within you, you can only go so far.
Q: Though you’ve since worked with two titans of the London food scene, Richard Corrigan and Isaac McHale, you credit Garrett
Byrne – a Michelin-starred chef in Ireland – with being your greatest mentor. Why was your time with him so formative?
A: I was 20 when I went to have a trial at his restaurant, Campagne. I loved working with my dad, but I was ambitious and had a lot to learn. Garrett was doing great stuff, he had a Michelin star, it was classic French cooking with Irish ingredients. When he took me on, he said: “It’ll be hard – but if you want to learn, you’ll learn here.” He’s been my biggest mentor and remains my biggest inspiration. Everything he knew, he put into me. He was like a
DURRANTS HOTEL
Rumel Pinnock, executive chef at Durrants Hotel on the joys of seasonality, the importance of feedback, and the benefits of a family-run hotel
Interview: Ellie Costigan
I’ve had a passion for food from a young age. I was born in Jamaica and grew up in the countryside, so I always had lots of produce around me. I was always interested to see what my mum or grandma were doing in the kitchen and would try to contribute anywhere I could.
After culinary school, my first work experience was at a fish restaurant in Waterloo, serving really fresh seafood –whatever the catch of the day was. From there, my love of cooking grew and grew. I never looked back.
I’ve worked in a lot of high‑end, modern British and European restaurants, including the Guardsman Hotel in St James, where we won an award for our afternoon tea, and Lost
FOOD PHILOSOPHY
father figure. I was there when he won his first star, and he was there when I won mine. He wouldn’t let anyone else sit beside me at the ceremony. He was the one who gave me the belief that I could achieve what I wanted. And when the time came for me to leave, he wasn’t upset; he said: “You need to go, because you need to grow.” We drew up a list of places I wanted to go to, and London was t he only one.
Q: What drew you to London?
A: London is a different pace and a different lifestyle, and it’s a pace that suits me. I was always going
Property, which is part of the Hilton, in an amazing spot in front of St Paul’s Cathedral. I’m grateful now to have been given a chance to improve myself and contribute to the history of this beautiful, historic hotel.
Our menu is a representation of the British seasons. I do my best to source local suppliers offering fresh, sustainable produce. The menu changes every three months, give or take – depending on the British weather! Come April and May, we should have wild garlic, rhubarb and the first of the green peas. My favourite season is summer, though, especially when it comes to the afternoon tea. There’s much more produce available, with big summer fruit flavours you can play around and get creative with.
back and forth, because I was born here and still had family here. I’d set my sights on the Clove Club. I’d eaten there and was two courses into their 10-course tasting menu when I said to myself: I’m going to work here. It was one of the World’s 50 Best at the time, and I was totally out of my comfort zone at first. After that, I moved to Luca [Isaac McHale’s second venture]. I left as the senior sous chef. My goal was to reach head chef by the age of 30 – so I was delighted when Richard Corrigan asked me to be head chef of Corrigan’s Mayfair. It the first time I was solely in charge,
Being in a hotel, we get a lot of worldwide travellers and customers from a wide range of backgrounds, who have experienced palettes and understand quality food. Their feedback comes from a place of knowledge, so I always appreciate their comments, positive or negative. We get local residents who just come for a meal, too. The hotel has been around such a long time, it’s really well-known.
We relaunched our Sunday roast menu and we’ve had a lot of positive feedback. The highlight is the beef sirloin, which we carve in front of the table, so there’s a bit of ceremony to it. It’s a nice touch.
There are several different spaces to eat or have a drink in the hotel, each of which
but Richard was great. Needing a new lunch menu every two weeks meant I always had a new platform to go off, and he pretty much let me do my thing.
Q: You’re now heading up Lita, which has been praised not just for its food but its convivial atmosphere – not something always associated with Michelin stars. How have you c reated this?
A: I focus on Mediterranean food because it’s food I love cooking and eating – and it’s fun. Who doesn’t want to eat Mediterranean food on a terrace in the sunshine? There’s
has its own personality. Many customers have their favourite rooms. The Wallace Room has just had a redesign, giving it a modern touch – it’s a beautiful setting for afternoon tea –while the Armfield Room has a fireplace and is a cosy place for intimate drinks. That’s very popular.
We make almost everything in house, including our pastries, which we also make gluten free or vegan. We want everything to taste great but also look amazing. A lot of the time the first thing people do is post a picture to social media, showcasing how lovely our afternoon tea is.
Durrants is family owned, which makes a massive difference to how it’s run. I’ve opened three hotels since 2017
and I’ve never had the creative freedom that I’ve got here. The owner and I talk to each other regularly and we’re always working together to make things better.
If I have time, I will go into the restaurant and speak to the guests – they really love that. Someone once asked why there isn’t fish and chips on the menu and I said if you like, I’ll arrange it for you tomorrow. They came the next day and I served them fish and chips. It made them very happy! If you’ve got an allergy or there’s something you want that’s not on the menu, we’ll always do our best to cater to that request.
If you’re going to try one thing on the menu, I’d say order the duck breast – that’s what a lot of regulars go for.
When you come to the hotel, you will be made to feel at home. Our staff will always give a genuinely warm welcome to all our guests and if you’re a regular, we’ll greet you by name. We want all our guests to feel valued and appreciated. When you show your dedication to the job and your passion, that’s what wins people over and keeps them coming back.
DURRANTS HOTEL George Street, W1H
5BJ
durrantshotel.co.uk
Rumel Pinnock
right people, and if I’m coming in and screaming from morning to night no one will want to work with me. I’ve learned a lot in the last few years about how to be a better manager. I strive for perfection, and there are times when I get annoyed, but it’s nothing like before. During briefings before lunch and dinner, the guys all have a chance to speak up and have a voice. I’m proud of the fact that 90 percent of the staff I started with are still here. I want a team that believes in the direction we’re going in, so I can in turn bring them up with me, to the next level.
Q: Where do you go from here?
A: I’m always looking to what’s next – I want Lita to become a London institution, and have a star for 15, 20 years to come. I want the menu and drinks list to always be evolving, but for the restaurant to still feel warm and comforting. We’ve done very well to create a buzz around the place, and I don’t want to lose that buzz. The key is always giving the guests a better experience. It needs to be the same place, but it needs to move with the times. I want Lita to be something that people remember and return to for years to come – familiar but alw ays evolving.
Q: You were born in north London, grew up in Tipperary, and have worked in London for over a decade. Where feels like home?
A: I moved to Tipperary when I was three, so I grew up there and I am Irish. I was born in London, and when I’m in London, I say it’s my home. But then when I go back to Tipperary – well, I’m going home. I’ve spent half my life in London now – but I still haven’t lost my accent.
LITA
7-9 Paddington Street, W1U 5QH litamarylebone.com
A GLASS APART
Daniel Kaizen, bar manager at El Bar de Cavita, on an unusual Mexican liqueur that is making waves in the cocktail world
Interview: Vi el Richardson
Some drinks are familiar to all of us, while others will raise an eyebrow when you first hear about them –Nixta belongs firmly in the second group. A liqueur made entirely from heirloom Mexican corn, it is distilled at the Destilería y Bodega Abasolo, north of Mexico City and over 2,000 metres above sea level – the highest distillery in the world. This altitude subtly changes the distillation process, influencing the spirit’s character and creating something truly unique.
The drink was developed by Dr Iván Saldaña using cacahuazintle corn, an ancient variety with deep Mexican cultural roots. The corn undergoes nixtamalisation, a process that involves soaking and cooking it in an alkaline solution. The nixtamalised corn is then mashed into a dough masa. Over the course of a month, 100 percent corn distillate is slowly added, infusing into the mixture. Finally, it’s sweetened with piloncillo, an unrefined Mexican sugar with an intense, earthy flavour. After clarification, it is finally ready t o be bottled.
The resulting drink is a golden-hued liqueur with a distinctive flavour profile. The taste is reminiscent of a corn dessert – imagine corn ice cream or a sweet tamale. It’s rich and creamy with a wine-like mouthfeel, but not too sugary. It’s on our dessert menu as a 25ml pour and I’ve never seen it come back unfinished.
Nixta is also extremely versatile behind the bar. You can use it like a liqueur or as a base spirit in cocktails. We have a Nixta old fashioned, where it’s mixed with corn - based whiskey for a silky twist on a classic. It also shines in a carajillo with espresso, or in an espresso martini, and you can swap it in for orange liqueur in a margarita. It works really well in so many famili ar cocktails. Nixta is a relative newcomer in the UK, but its appeal is growing. People are often surprised, but once they’ve tried it, they love it. It’s not available everywhere yet, but that adds to the mystique. Nixta is not just a new liqueur. It’s a new idea.
EL BAR DE CAVITA
60 Wigmore Street, W1U 2RZ elbardecavita.com
ANATOMY OF A DISH
BIGOLI IN SALSA DI ACCIUGHE
Simon Piovesan, owner of 2 Veneti, on a traditional Venetian pasta dish
Interview: Clare Finney
Image: Carla Barber
In a nutshell
This is a traditional pasta dish from Venice: bigoli, a Venetian pasta, with salted anchovies. It is salty and savoury, balanced by the sweetness of the white onions.
The inspiration
This is the signature dish of Venice and completely represents the city. Venice was once a big naval port, with ships coming in from all over the world, and anchovies were common. It’s a dish born of poverty: onions were also something everyone could afford, and bigoli is a flour-and-water pasta typical of the region. There was also a big Jewish community in Venice, and this dish, which has no pork, became popular for that reason. Today in London, anchovies are very fashionable, but when we introduced this dish about 20 years ago, we were one of the first restaurants to have an anchovy pasta dish on the menu and it was a more difficult sell.
The purpose
I founded 2 Veneti years ago with an old friend of mine, who is no longer in the business. I’m from Treviso, he’s from Venice. They’re only 30 miles apart, but Treviso is in the hills, and we use more meat than fish. As restauranteurs, we wanted to combine the food of our childhood homes. I brought a duck ragu, and for him it was bigoli with anchovies. It is a bit of a Marmite dish, but if you like
anchovies you will eat it with a lot of pleasure.
The technique
Start with the white onion, either diced or cut in long slices – I prefer dicing. Fry this slowly in olive oil then, when slightly translucent, add the white wine and a touch of water and let it cook down until the onion is soft and sweet. Keep a bit of the liquid in the dish, then add the anchovies, broken into pieces. Traditionally these would be whole anchovies kept in sea salt for storage, which you would have to debone and very slightly descale, but you can use anchovies in olive oil for speed and ease. Continue to cook until the anchovies melt into the dish, which they will do because they’re such a very fatty fish. Meanwhile, cook the bigoli. When al dente, strain –reserving a bit of cooking water – and add to the sauce. A touch of parsley goes well, as it’s a fresh, green, earthy herb that complements the salty fish.
The secret
Our secret is frying the anchovies and onions really slowly, up to an hour and a half. You can do a faster version, in just 20 minutes, and it’s crunchier and a little more sour. But we think this is the best way – softer and sweeter.
2 VENETI
10 Wigmore Street, W1U 2RD 2 veneti.com
Josephine
Josephine Bouchon, which opened last year on Fulham Road, is a homely neighbourhood bistro loved by locals and restaurant critics in equal measure. Run by Michelin-starred chef Claude Bosi in partnership with his wife Lucy, it’s a love letter to Claude’s home city of Lyon, serving up bold, earthy Lyonnaise dishes with impressive skill but very few airs and graces. A much-anticipated second Josephine site arrives on Blandford Street in April, taking its cues from a different time and place – the golden age of 19th century Parisian bistro culture. Expect exceptional cooking, attention to detail, all-day dining and effortless elegance.
JOSEPHINE
6-8 Blandford Street, W1U 4AU
josephinebistro.com
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Fine Senneh Rug with Silk Foundation, Persia, circa 1900, 2.03m x 1.40m
Q: The prints used by Farm Rio are particularly stunning. Who c reates them?
A: All our prints are designed in Brazil, by our in-house team of print designers. There is not just one designer at FARM Rio: the brand has an outstanding collective of Brazilian creatives, including fashion designers, print designers and many more outstanding people. Their skills turn clothes into tools of empowerment to spark joy everywhere.
The collections we sell in Britain are not the same as those in Brazil, but the development of the prints, which is where the creative process
TRUNK CLOTHIERS
Mats Klingberg, founder of Trunk Clothiers on timeless design, team chemistry and the slow revival of the tie
Interview: Ellie Costigan
I want Trunk to be a destination of discovery –it’s very important for me to introduce our customers to new things. I want to surprise and delight my customers with something they haven’t seen before.
I’m Swedish, but I’ve lived in London since 2005. I’d wanted to start my own business for a long time, and there were lots of brands I liked that weren’t available in London at the time. Marylebone felt like the perfect place for us – not too old school, not too trendy. It has a very neighbourhood feel. I met Andre Balazs, founder of Chiltern Firehouse, in 2009. I’d been looking at Chiltern Street as a spot for Trunk anyway, but when I found out he was going to turn the old fire station into a hotel, I knew it was going to be a great location.
STYLE PHILOSOPHY
I’ve always got my buying hat on. Most of the time I’ll notice a brand because it’s worn by a cool guy or I find it in a cool shop. It’s not necessarily the case that I’d wear everything we stock –that would be too limited – but they are always things I’d like to see on other people. Just because something isn’t right for me doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate it.
I like to work with brands that have a good story, that take pride in provenance, quality and how things are made. We want to know where our products are coming from and that the people who made them have good lives. Many of these brands are family-run businesses and have been for generations.
Ties are something that continually come in and out
of favour. In the early days, we sold a lot of them – then, with the pandemic, that disappeared. Now it’s ticking up again. People are wanting to be smarter again. Things come and go in cycles.
We started our own label to focus on staple products that you want all year –trans-seasonal items like t-shirts, chinos. All-weather products with a functional element.
We don’t buy sweaters from another brand and just put our logo on it – we do it all ourselves. Everything is made in Scotland, Portugal and Italy, and the most important part is finding the right makers. There’s a lot of back and forth, choosing materials, perfecting the sample and altering the design until it’s right.
Our team are a picky bunch. We look at lots of fabrics and yarns before deciding. Julia, who manages our own brand, has spent lots of time at Milano Unica, a fabric trade centre, to find suppliers. In some instances we’ve worked with makers directly to develop our own. A mill up in Scotland on the Isle of Lewis made a twill for us, for example. I’m passionate about materials, especially when it comes to knitwear.
We sell classic menswear without being too traditional. Shapes change slightly over the years, but I have jackets that are 10 years old in my wardrobe that I still wear. Trunk embodies that – it’s timeless design.
I used to do everything myself, so I’m grateful to have such a great team now. Everyone
pretty much started at the shop and has evolved into other roles as the business has grown, or we’ve met through mutual connections. It’s important you have the right chemistry, as we spend a lot of time together. It’s also important that they are as passionate about Trunk as I am.
The kind of man we attract is 35 to 55 and well travelled. They appreciate and want to know how things are made – to understand the value a particular garment or brand has. They’re very loyal and many of them have been shopping with us for 15 years. We’re not a ‘cool’ fashion brand, we’re here for the long term. A lot of other shops have come and gone, but I think that’s why we’re hanging in there.
It’s our 15th anniversary this year and we’re working on lots of exclusive collaborations. There’ll be events throughout autumn as well, with people in the industry who we’ve gotten to know over the years – and of course our customers. We had a big launch party in September 2010. We want to celebrate all these years in similar style.
TRUNK CLOTHIERS
8 Chiltern Street, W1U 7PU trunkclothiers.com
begins, is managed by a unique department that serves all of our markets. The creative and styling teams, which are separate, then adapt these prints according to the specific needs of each region. Since the UK experiences colder winters, we work with different fabrics and calendars to ensure our collections are suitable for the climate. Despite these adjustments, the DNA of the brand remains consistent across all markets.
A: Becoming a more sustainable brand is a journey, where each act matters. Step by step, we move forward, reviewing our habits and practices. Nature has always been our home, and we’re passionate about taking impactful steps to ensure it continues to inspire new generations with its power and diversity. Right now, we focus on four main pillars: nature, culture, people and circularity. These include efforts like neutralising the company’s carbon emissions and increasing the percentage of responsible fibres in our collections. One of our most notable initiatives is
our reforestation project, which focuses on Brazilian biomes such as the Atlantic Forest and the Amazon Rainforest. To date, we’ve planted 1.5 million trees and continue to donate 1,000 trees for planti ng every day.
Q: What do you think are the biggest misconceptions that Europeans have about Brazil?
A: Sometimes, there can be a tendency to see Brazil through a singular lens – be it Rio de Janeiro, Carnival, or the Amazon. In truth, Brazil is a vast and multifaceted country, rich in culture and filled with diverse landscapes, ecosystems
Q: In Brazil, climate change and biodiversity loss are pressing issues. How does that inform your approach? >
Mats Klingberg
and experiences. I’d encourage Europeans to go beyond the well - known images and experience Brazil’s incredible variety firsthand. You’ll find that Brazil is not just one country but many Brazils, each waiting to be discovered. Our collections and narratives celebrate the immense beauty and depth of Brazi lian culture.
Q: What are your impressions of London?
A: It’s such a dynamic and vibrant city, with a unique mix of modern and historic elements. I really enjoy how diverse and multicultural the city is; it feels
Q: Your Marylebone store is such a beautiful space. What was the inspiration behind it?
A: All of our stores are designed to create an immersive experience that transports visitors into our world, reflecting Brazilian culture through artistic expression and artisan craftsmanship. We want our spaces to be an escape, and a celebration of our roots. The FARM Rio store in Marylebone was designed by architect Renata Gaia in collaboration with our creative team. Its entrance is inspired by the stunning Amazon flora and fauna, with handcrafted marquetry design by Maqueson da Silva, whose work is deeply influenced by Brazil’s rich biodiversity. The artistic influence continues throughout the store, with delicate watercolour paintings by French artist Dominique Jardy transforming the walls into a tropical dreamscape. Sculptural pieces, like Walmor Corrêa’s bronze sculptures of hummingbirds and a symbolic ‘weaver bird’, give a sense of wonder and harmony, and handpainted accents by English artists Carlie Allan and Daniel Bland blend our signature prints with a classic European aesthetic.
Q: Now that you’re leading a global brand rather than a market stall, are you still able to enjoy moments of pure creativity?
like a place where different cultures, ideas and traditions come together seamlessly.
Speaking of Marylebone specifically, it’s such a charming neighbourhood with a perfect blend of local shops, cozy cafes and beautiful architecture. The atmosphere is so inviting, with a more relaxed vibe compared to the busier parts of the city – a great place to explore and unwind. What I find most difficult is the weather! It can be unpredictable and often quite grey and rainy, compared to Brazil’s sunny vibe. But overall, London is a very special place to be.
A: What brings me the most personal pleasure is the opportunity to create in a collaborative environment with a diverse team. Over the 27 years of FARM Rio, this collaboration has allowed us to continually infuse freshness into the brand and keep the creativity alive and thriving. This constant exchange of ideas and inspiration makes the creative process fresh and exciting, allowing me to continue enjoying pure moments of creativity – even as I lead a global brand.
FARM RIO
26 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4PQ farmrio.uk
Below: The FARM Rio boutique on Marylebone High Street
SAFARI JACKET
BELLA FREUD, £575 bellafreud.com
Don’t let the title put you off: this smart, slightly fitted overshirtstyle cotton jacket is designed for Chiltern Street more than it is for the savannah, probably better suited to an English spring than an African summer. It will work as well with a floral skirt as it would sturdy trousers. Two patch pockets will easily accommodate phone, wallet, lippie and keys, enabling you to even go bag free if you so choose!
DENIM SHIRT CARDIGAN AGNÈS B, £245 agnesb.com
The queen of classic, functional style with an edge comes into her own come springtime, and this denim shirt cardigan, complete with patch pocket, is the perfect example. It’s 100 percent cotton (sustainably sourced, of course) so it’s both airy and insulating, and the denim style, long sleeves and snap button fastening lend themselves to a wide array of outfits and formats.
SASKIA JACKET BY NATALIE MARTIN TRIOLOGY, £295 trilogystores.co.uk
Florals in spring are a cliché for a reason: they suit it. They suit us, now our cheeks are beginning to lose their winter pallor, and they suit our blossoming surroundings. This jacket is a case in point: light, but with a soft quilting to fend off any lingering chill, decorated with pale pink heirloom roses, and completed with a pretty tie fastening detail.
LIFE & LIBERTY
Tania Hindmarch, co-founder of O Pioneers, on a
Liberty print dress suited to every occasion
We’re obsessed with Liberty prints –we use them for pretty much everything. Historically, we’ve always worked with cottons, but we’ve started to introduce a few silks to the range, and our Shelley dress is one of them. It’s a crepe de chine, so it’s a softer silk. The print is Betsy, which is a classic Liberty, in charcoal black with muted lilacs, pinks, blues and a very light mustard. It floats and swishes beautifully – it really is gorgeous to wear.
Silk is very good at keeping you cool when it’s hot and warm when it’s cool, so it’s a nice transitional piece. It’s a good length for those who want to show a bit of ankle, but it’s a wearable length too: it works with sandals, trainers or high heels, like the model is wearing here, outside the Golden Eagle pub on Marylebone Lane. We try to design items which aren’t obviously summer or winter, and aren’t obviously nighttime or daytime, so you can make it whatever you want.
We try to design dresses that have longevity – dresses we might have found in the back of our mum’s wardrobe in the 70s and borrowed, hence the Pierrot collar and capped puffed sleeve. We always put pockets in our dress, though – not a feature of the 70s. We want to be able to chuck our phones or keys in our pockets; pockets are a feminist statement. We aren’t chasing trends; we’re designing and making pieces we like and would want to wear for years to come.
MATURE HA WP PAPER BRAID HAT MOUKI MOU, £260 moukimou.com
PAUL
£550 paulsmith.com
WHITE DENIM MIDI SKIRT WITH SEASONAL PRINT SCARF BELT
SMITH,
PLINTH DRAWER
José Antonio Santos, director of eba, on creating an elegant solution to a perennial kitchen storage problem
Interview: Vi el Richardson
Requirement
One of the major issues with traditional kitchen bases is the valuable space wasted by large plinths being used purely for support. Our goal was to reclaim that lost space and turn it into functional storage while maintaining a clean, elegant aesthetic. The challenge lay in ensuring easy access to the drawer and seamless integration into our existing range without compromising either the functionality or the aesthetics. For example, placing the drawer 2cm above floor level allowed us to maximise capacity without affecting comfort. The drawer also features a subtle tilt, ensuring enough space for your feet when working close to the countertop – a small but essential detail. This combination of depth and inclination makes the stored items easy to access. It is a versatile, ergonomic and space-efficient solution that enhances both functionality and design cohesion.
Inspiration
Our inspiration comes from a combination of engineering principles and a deep understanding of how people use their kitchens. Storage is one of the most valuable aspects of any kitchen and yet so much space
is wasted in many kitchen designs. We carefully observed how users interact with their kitchen cabinetry, and this played a significant part in shaping the final design. It was absolutely key that the final design provided easily accessible storage without obstructing movement, otherwise it would be largely unused and we would have failed to reclaim that space in a meaningful way. We also worked very hard to ensure that the plinth drawer would complement our existing kitchen systems. This required us to develop specific integrations for the plinth drawer within each base module. This took a lot of time and effort, but the result is an extremely versatile storage solution as well as an efficient one.
Process
The plinth drawer is manufactured in our own factory. This gives us complete control, allowing us to ensure each one meets exacting standards of precision and quality. The main manufacturing challenges we faced were related to its adaptability and versatility. Given the wide range of modular options available in our kitchens, we had to ensure that the drawer could integrate seamlessly with a multitude of different configurations. This required careful design adjustments and constant testing of hardware. Another challenge was ensuring the plinth drawer was suitable for the wide range of materials and finishes we offer. Each material has unique properties, and the drawer needed to work seamlessly with all of them. All this design and testing created several iterations during development – it was a process of continuous refinement. Each version was tested for ergonomics, functionality, aesthetics and ease of integration with our existing modular systems.
Materials
The materials used in the
plinth drawer are carefully selected to maintain the same high standards as the rest of our cabinets. All materials are sourced sustainably and responsibly, including FSCcertified wood. Every material undergoes rigorous in-house control tests to guarantee the highest levels of quality, durability and functionality. The plinth draw is available in the same materials as our range of cabinets, including laminate, melamine, veneer and a series of lacquered finishes. This allows us to offer over 60 possibilities, covering a wide range of textures, colours and finishes. In fact, with the lacquered fronts, you can create an infinity of colour combinations to complement the overall aesthetic of your kitchen.
Philosophy
Our design philosophy is centred around timeless elegance, functionality and precision. We believe that every piece we create should not only be visually striking but also serve a practical purpose – it’s vital that it enhances your overall living experience. We are inspired by the principles of quality craftsmanship, sustainability and a deep respect for the space the objects we create inhabit. In the design of the plinth drawer, this philosophy is expressed through its seamless integration with the broader kitchen environment. It enhances the storage capacity of your cabinetry while maintaining a refined, minimalist look. The use of premium materials and meticulous craftsmanship ensures longevity and durability, while the versatile modular design aligns with our commitment to innovation and space optimisation. Every detail is carefully considered to create a sophisticated yet highly functional element within the kitchen. Enhancing everyday life through design –that’s what eba is all about.
eba MARYLEBONE
28 Wigmore Street London W1U 2RN ebainteriors.com
HAND & NAIL CARE
L:A BRUKET REJUVENATING HAND SERUM 273 OH MY CREAM!, £42 ohmycream.co.uk
NAIL STRENGTHENING TREATMENT MARGARET DABBS, £16 margaretdabbs.co.uk
NERI FIRENZE MANICURE SET MOUKI MOU, £355 moukimou.com
FRESH HONEYSUCKLE MOISTURISING HAND CREAM FRESH, £16 fresh.com
INVIGORATING NATURAL HAND AND BODY WASH ANATOME, £32 anatome.co
RESURRECTION RINSE-FREE HAND MIST AESOP, £13 aesop.com
£22 ortigiasicilia.com
LIME DI SICILIA HAND CREAM ORTIGIA,
IN WITH THE NEW
Dr Chris Laing, CEO of healthcare innovation agency UCLPartners, on the challenges of turning bright new ideas into real world practice
Interview: Vi el Richardson
Q: Has your approach to healthcare innovation been shaped by a particular challenge?
A: One of my defining experiences was leading emergency services at UCLH during the Covid-19 pandemic. I was responsible for working with infection teams, critical care teams and key hospital departments to develop an acute care pathway at unprecedented speed. One particularly impactful project, which was actually led by Becky Shipley, who has since Joined UCLPartners, involved partnering with Mercedes Benz on a new CPAP device that made ventilation easier to deliver, which was provided free to the NHS and healthcare systems across the globe. That experience
reinforced my belief that effective healthcare innovation is about framing the challenge you face correctly and then fostering an environment which encourages solutions to emerge.
Q: As an innovation agency, how do you balance the competing priorities of academia, healthcare delivery and the commercial world?
A: We focus on aligning our priorities where we feel the impact will be strongest. Universities excel at research, but translating discoveries into scalable solutions is a challenge. Industry wants to develop new products, while the NHS needs effective solutions that integrate seamlessly into existing structures. Our guiding principle is to ask: what does the patient need? By addressing real healthcare needs first, we ensure that the innovations developed by academia and industry have a clear pathway to adoption in clinical practice.
Q: Looking at healthcare innovation globally, what does the UK need to adopt or strengthen?
A: The UK has world-class research and a single-payer healthcare system, but innovation adoption can be slow. We can learn from countries that have streamlined regulatory pathways and faster procurement models. The UK should continue investing in testbeds for rapid evaluation and ensure NHS procurement is flexible enough to adopt new technologies efficiently. Currently, the NHS can be difficult to work with, creating barriers to the adoption and spread of innovation. Companies coming to London either want to enter the NHS market or establish their headquarters here, and we need to ensure both pathways are as smooth as possible.
Q: What are the key factors determining whether innovations are adopted into the NHS?
A: The uniqueness of an innovation helps, and a strong evidence base is critical. Strong clinical and operational impacts with minimal disruption to existing services will make adoption easier, and innovations that align with national priorities tend to stand a better chance. Companies that understand NHS funding mechanisms and transformation programmes will also have a significant advantage. Ultimately, innovations succeed when they solve a pressing problem, align with the needs of healthcare providers, and have champions within the system. At UCLPartners, we work with companies to bridge any gaps. We help innovators understand how to position their solutions for real-world uptake while working with NHS partners to reduce the friction of adoption.
Q: Your work spans multiple disciplines. How do you foster genuine interdisciplinary collaboration rather than simply bringing different specialists into t he same room?
A: We begin with shared problem definition, bringing a team of experts together at the earliest stages. We then create dedicated physical and virtual collaboration spaces where traditional hierarchies can be temporarily set aside –this proved invaluable during the pandemic response. We actively cultivate ‘translators’ who understand multiple domains and can bridge communication gaps between specialists. Most importantly, we recognise that meaningful collaboration requires time – our most successful innovations often emerge after 12 to 18 months of regular interaction.
Q: How do you ensure that innovations address health inequalities rather than w idening them?
A: That’s at the core of our strategy – our priority is to create >
innovations that are scalable and accessible to diverse populations. Digital solutions must consider digital literacy and avoid excluding those with limited access to technology. Contrary to what many believe, digital health can actually increase engagement and reduce inequality rather than making it worse – it just needs to be done in the right way. During the pandemic, we saw very high digital uptake across all communities, including those previously considered harder to reach.
Additionally, we focus on co-designing solutions with communities, ensuring they’re culturally appropriate and meet real-world needs. A prime example is AI-driven predictive healthcare, which helps direct resources to the most at-risk populations, rather than simply benefiting those already engaged with the healthcare system. By training our innovations on data from patients whose outcomes are currently worst, and creating customisable solutions for those patients, we’re actively working to reduce healthcare disparities.
Q: When it comes to fostering patient involvement in innovation, what methods have you found to be most effective?
A: We’ve developed several approaches that create patient engagement beyond tokenistic representation. We employ community researchers from specific populations who gather insights from their peers, which is particularly valuable when it comes to underserved groups who may distrust traditional methods. Patient design partners participate throughout the innovation process, with their contribution being valued equally with clinical professionals. We’ve established digital communities where hundreds of patients with specific conditions provide rapid feedback on innovations. We use ethnographic approaches to understand lived
experiences rather than relying solely on what patients tell us in formal settings. Importantly, we measure the impact of involvement on outcomes, tracking how engagement improves adoption and effectiveness. To us, patients aren’t just users but essential co-creators whose expertise is as valuable as any clinical or technical knowledge.
Q: Given the current economic pressures, is UCLPartners adapting its approach to ensure that innovations deliver financial su stainability?
A: Absolutely. Cost-effectiveness is a key criterion for selecting innovations. We focus on solutions that improve outcomes while reducing long-term costs. What’s remarkable is that just five percent of health service users consume 50 percent of healthcare resources in North Central London alone. This high-need cohort generally has three or more long-term conditions, and the complexity of their care is extremely burdensome for them, often requiring over 30 appointments a year, with some attending up to 80. Their care is frequently uncoordinated, with unclear clinical ownership and poor outcomes. We’re exploring ways to consolidate care for these patients through data and digitally enabled solutions. The goal is to deliver care that better meets patients’ needs, while being significantly more cost-effective.
Q: You often speak about the importance of proactivity, prevention and personalised care. Can you share a real-world example of an innovation that embodies these principles?
A: The AI for urgent and emergency care programme exemplifies this approach. It uses machine learning to predict which patients will require emergency care months in advance. Our data shows that 95 percent of acute care demands are likely to come from 5 percent
“We are
on
something of a
burning deck in terms of healthcare sustainability, so AI’s arrival is timely. We need safeguards and proper evaluation, but we must embrace this opportunity.”
of the population who – and this is key – are identifiable in advance. These patients receive proactive interventions to steer them towards community-based care. With patients who might need more serious intervention, we’ve seen a 30 percent reduction in hospital admissions. It’s particularly valuable in addressing health inequalities, as those most at risk of hospitalisation often belong to underserved populations. The reality is that these patients aren’t overusing health services; they’re underusing them until they reach crisis point.
Q: What specific policy or structural changes would most accelerate the adoption of healthcare innovations within the NHS?
Hale House
Under the stewardship of The Howard de Walden Estate, the Harley Street Health District is evolving into an integrated healthcare ecosystem that spans prevention, treatment and long-term care. Launching in April, Hale House marks a significant step in that evolution. This impressive new Portland Place development, created by incorporating three existing buildings, will act as a dynamic coworking space for healthtech startups and other innovators in the healthcare sector, offering access to the resources and networks needed to support their growth. UCLPartners is the facility’s anchor occupier.
HALE HOUSE
76 Portland Place, W1B 1NT spacemade.co
A: There are four key changes. First, streamlining procurement through more unified pathways would remove significant barriers. Second, dedicated innovation budgets protected from operational pressures would ensure promising solutions receive the necessary investment. Third, standardising evaluation frameworks across the NHS would prevent the inefficiency of repeated assessments for each organisation. Finally, investing in NHS leadership capability around technology adoption would address the skills gap that often slows implementation. These practical changes would transform the pace at which the NHS can benefit from innovation while maintaining its core principle of equitable healthcare for all.
Q: Do you think there is a role in healthcare for social media?
A: Social media definitely has a role in addressing healthcare inequalities because digital literacy is remarkably high across all demographics. During the pandemic, we observed significant uptake of digital platforms for health information, even in traditionally underserved communities. The barrier isn’t digital technology itself but how we approach it. By creating digital solutions that meet people’s needs where they are, with platforms they understand, we can increase engagement and reduce inequalities.
Q: What impact do you think AI will have in the coming years?
A: AI is shifting the focus from reactive care to proactive, predictive
medicine. Clinicians are becoming increasingly involved in developing AI-driven decision- support tools, ensuring they align with clinical needs. Researchers play a vital role in validating AI models and ensuring ethical considerations are addressed. However, technology developers must prioritise usability and transparency, making AI tools interpretable for clinicians.
The challenge is to integrate AI seamlessly into workflows without creating additional burdens. There are certain functions where AI will deliver superhuman performance in terms of scale, speed, depth and reliability. This is where we try to focus our efforts. When done right, AI has the potential to enhance, rather than replace, human expertise. We are on something of a burning deck in terms of healthcare sustainability internationally, so AI’s arrival is timely. We need safeguards and proper evaluation, but we must embrace this opportunity.
Q: How does working within the Hale House healthtech hub on Portland Place enhance your ability to deliver on your mission?
A: London offers extraordinary advantages for healthcare innovation. World-leading academic institutions, teaching hospitals, life sciences companies and investment capital create unparalleled collaborative opportunities. Being located within Hale House positions us adjacent to healthtech companies and venture capital firms while maintaining proximity to university and NHS partners. The move signals our evolution toward more ambitious, transformative innovation. This location isn’t just about the address, it’s about embedding ourselves within a dynamic ecosystem that enhances every aspect of our work.
UCLPARTNERS
Hale House, 76 Portland Place, W1B 1NT uclpartners.com
WEYMOUTH STREET, MARYLEBONE VILLAGE, LONDON W1G
DEVONSHIRE PLACE, MARYLEBONE VILLAGE, LONDON W1G
This three bedroom apartment is approximately 1,842 sq ft (171 sq m) located on the ground floor and first floor.
The ground floor comprises of entrance hall, reception room, office, cloakroom, kitchen. The first floor comprises of three double bedrooms benefiting from en suite bathroom. The property boasts high ceilings with plenty of storage.
Conveniently located moments from Marylebone High Street and the open spaces of Regent’s Park, the building is located on the west side of Devonshire Place close to the junction with Devonshire Street.
Unfurnished
£1,750 PER WEEK
A unique opportunity to acquire a lateral apartment having an area of approximately 1,864 sq ft (173 sq m) located on the second floor. The apartment has the added benefits of original features, underfloor heating and a passenger lift.
The property features an entrance hall, separate kitchen, a spacious double reception room, three/four bedrooms, including a master bedroom with views over Weymouth Mews, an en-suite bathroom, plus an additional shower room.
Situated on the south side of Weymouth Street in the heart of Marylebone Village.
Leasehold
£3,500,000
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