March 2012

ABSOLUTELY Fulham

Design for a HIGH SOCIETY WITH NICKY HASLAM

Fit for

PURPOSE THE BEACH BODY COUNTDOWN

TOP

50

LOCAL HOT SPOTS

PLUS

MICHAEL MORPURGO SOPHIE CONRAN MARK HIX

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PLOUM sofa. Design: Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec.

23-25 Mortimer Street London W1T 3JE 020 7323 1248 www.ligne-roset-westend.co.uk

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ABSOLUTELY MARCH 2012

CONTENTS

15 18

EDITOR’S LETTER ABSOLUTELY LOVES Absolutely’s top ten this month

FASHION 21

CATWALK TO CLOSET

23

FASHION NEWS

42

We nail the ice-cream shades du jour

Miu Miu, Laura Bailey and Biondi Couture

DRESS REHEARSAL

Out-and-out glamour at The Lanesborough

BEAUTY

35

AGENDA

54

THE BIG 5-0

64

37

MICHAEL MORPURGO

39

MOLLY PARKIN

60

27

BEAUTY CONFIDENTIAL

69

Absolutely’s best beauty buys of the month

Beauty news and tips

ABSOLUTELY SOCIAL

31

WHAT’S ON

Fashion fabulous at The Shop at Bluebird Our local culture diary

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LIFE THROUGH A LENS

PEOPLE

BEAUTY PRODUCTS

29

Fifty of our favourite Chelsea hotspots

Lord Lichfield’s life in pictures

25

CULTURE

Th is month’s highlights

The War Horse writer on his inspirations Pendle Harte meets the ultimate Chelsea girl

NICKY HASLAM

Katy Jarratt meets the original party boy and aesthete

SOPHIE CONRAN

The designer and cookery writer’s fabulous Fabergé Egg

INTERIORS 73

LET THERE BE LIGHT

75

INTERIORINSPIRATIONS

8 of the best... table lamps

The best trends, gems and designers this month

77

DESIGN FOR LIFE The V&A’s summer blockbuster

FOOD & DRINK 83

MAKING HIS MARK

87

RESTAURANT REVIEW

89

Mark Hix on his new Belgravia restaurant

We dig in at Aspely’s, another Heinz Beck success

FOOD NEWS

Fabulous wine, easter fun and a Grecian delight

TRAVEL 91 92 95

ESCAPE

We check in to The White Vine House, Rye

BETTER SHAPE UP

Th ree of the best fitness escapes

THAT’S AMORE

Stephen Bayley falls for the Amalfi coast

PROPERTY 124 IN THEIR OWN WORDS William Hughes Ward from Marsh and Parsons on the passing of the years

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TO BREAK THE RULES, YOU MUST FIRST MASTER THEM. THE UNIQUE ASYMMETRIC STYLING OF THE AUDEMARS PIGUET MILLENARY COLLECTION HAS TRANSFORMED THE WAY DESIGN ENGINEERS DEVELOP CALIBRES. THIS TRI - DIMENSIONAL MOVEMENT COMBINES PERFORMANCE AND CHRONOMETRY WITH HAUTE HOROLOGY MICRO-DETAILING. IN THE TRANSVERSAL BALANCE - BRIDGE, OPTIMUM S H O C K - R E S I S TA N C E I S C O M B I N E D W I T H T H E ELEGANCE OF THE CÔTES DE GENÈVE WAVE - FORM FINISHING. THE PERFECT SYMBIOSIS OF ENGINEERING, DESIGN AND CRAFTSMANSHIP, AND A CLASSIC EXPRESSION OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF LE BRASSUS.

MILLENARY 4101

2 Marylebone High Street London W1U 4NF Tel: 0207 487 5628 Email: info@newcavendishjewellers.com

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IN PINK GOLD. SELFWINDING MANUFACTURE MOVEMENT.

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ncompassing any com ination of design furnishing or total refur ishments athryn Levitt esign will professionally interior design and pro ect manage every aspect of your interiors pro ect from concept scheme right through to completion. We will employ procure and manage all trades uilders and suppliers giving you a total interiors solution. sing some of the nest materials products and nishes sourced from across the glo e we will deliver the ultimate in lu ury and re nement for your home.

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The Loft 2C Blake Mews Richmond upon Thames London TW9 3GA www. kathrynlevittdesign.com Tel: +44 (0)20 8948 1223

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ABSOLUTELY MARCH 2012

EDITOR’S LETTER

W

elcome to the inaugural edition of Absolutely Chelsea and Fulham. We’re thrilled to bring you a new magazine which is switched on to our very smartest of manor’s local news, faces and style. And to herald our exciting new launch, we’ve turned our attentions to some seriously big hitters in the chic stakes. Katy Jarratt went to meet Nicky Haslam, the inimitable party boy and arbiter of elegance, at his Chelsea base where he delivers his verdict on the stars of the day and laments how too, too exhausting the BAFTAS merry-go-round was (P.60).

Meanwhile, I went to meet the divine Sophie Conran, who has just designed one of the 200 Fabergé eggs currently dotted around the capital to be auctioned for Action for Children and Elephant Family. She tells me about being weaned on a diet of the aesthetic (Sir Terence is her father, after all), working for the milliner Stephen Jones, and how she’ll be getting muddy on her own family’s egg hunt this Easter (P.69).

We also chat to War Horse writer Michael Morpurgo (P.37), the ultimate Chelsea girl Molly Parkin (P.39), and even find time to send Stephen Bayley to the Amalfi Coast (P.95), and to escape to Rye on the East Sussex coast ourselves (P.91). We do hope you enjoy it!

Nancy Alsop Editor FIND US ON FACEBOOK ‘ABSOLUTELY MAGAZINES’ AND TWITTER ‘ABSOLUTELY_MAGS’

COMPETITION

Discover the sensuous luxury of Paris’ best-kept beauty secret: CARITA skincare. Prestigious and innovative, CARITA has become renowned worldwide with luxurious spas in over 40 countries, one of which is the credited Richard Ward Metrospa in affluent Sloane Square. A pioneer of the super-salon concept, Ward’s ground-breaking, award-winning salon has become the aspirational business model for the UK hair and beauty industry. To celebrate CARITA’s fi rst anniversary since entering the Richard Ward Metrospa they are offering one lucky Absolutely reader the chance to win a bespoke ‘Top to Toe’ treatment worth £499. Th is exclusive package covers all pillars of the Richard Ward Metrospa, offering a selection of iconic CARITA facial, massage, manicure and pedicure treatments and a blissful lie-down CARITA Hair Ritual, followed by a cut and style by one of the spa’s expert style directors, before finishing with a touch of expertly applied makeup. You will experience the ultimate escape with CARITA’s most indulgent pampering package which takes you from seventh heaven to cloud nine.

To enter, email nancy@zest-media.com Richard Ward Hair & Metrospa, 82 Duke of York Square, SW3 4LY 020 7730 1222; richardward.com

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CONTRIBUTORS

ABSOLUTELY

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Harriet Compston EDITOR Nancy Alsop FASHION EDITOR Charlotte Kewley ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Lisa Davis BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Greg Cole ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Charlie Tiptaft GROUP PROPERTY DIRECTOR Alexandra Hunter HEAD OF DESIGN Ray Searle

CHARLOTTE KEWLEY

Charlotte Kewley is a London-based freelance fashion stylist and editor. She began her career aged 18 on teen mag Sugar and has now been in the industry for over a decade working on various magazines including Stylist and OK and styling celebrities including Emilia Fox, Kelly Rowland and Lisa Snowdon. Charlotte lives in Wapping, East London with her fiancee and is getting married in May.

SENIOR DESIGNERS Lisa Wade, Stewart Hyde PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Lauren Giles PICTURE EDITOR Colin Streater PHOTOGRAPHER Mike Blackett FINANCE DIRECTOR Alexandra Hvid MARKETING MANAGER Jessica Batten MANAGING DIRECTOR Sherif Shaltout For editorial enquiries please email: editorial@zest-media.com For advertising enquiries please call 020 3176 5265 or email: advertising@zest-media.com Subscriptions are available simply by emailing subscriptions@zest-media.com.

You can receive an online subscription for FREE or a postal subscriptions for 6 & 12 months, £15 and £25 respectively (to cover postage and packaging).

Please email us with your preferred option and details.

KATY JARRATT

Katy Jarratt is a freelance journalist who lives in Mayfair. She writes mainly current affairs and lifestyle features, but finds interviews the most fun.

This month she interviewed the notorious Nicky Haslam of NH Designs who lives and works in Chelsea...

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Published by ZEST MEDIA LONDON 311 WESTBOURNE STUDIOS ACKLAM ROAD W10 5JJ T: 020 3176 5265 F: 020 7900 3020 Zest Media London Ltd. cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited submissions, manuscripts and photographs. While every care is taken, prices and details are subject to change and Zest Media London Ltd. take no responsibility for omissions or errors.

We reserve the right to publish and edit any letters. All rights reserved.

www.zest-media.com

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TAILOR-MADE TRAVEL Luxury leather goods and accessories hand crafted in the United Kingdom

Canvas and Leather Bags for the Elegant Traveller www.ettinger.co.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 8877 1616

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HOLLYWOOD ARMS

This local boozer re-opened late last year and we’re loving its joyfully robust yet stylish menu; expect to choose from the likes of potted Wiltshire rabbit with sourdough bread, or bread and butter pudding with drunken prunes. hollywoodarmschelsea.com

10 things we

Absolutely LOVE

CASSIS BISTRO

Cassis Bistro cocktails are the stuff of legend (try the Palm D’Or). Little wonder then that its daily 3pm – 7pm half price cocktail give us a warm fuzzy feeling… cassisbistro.co.uk

this month

OKA WEDDING SERVICE

Diehard Peter Jones fans we may be, but a wedding list minus the kitchen appliance stock is an ever-welcome thing.

Step forward OKA with its own very stylish wedding list service. okadirect.com

BLEULAB JEANS

We’re always on a quest to find the perfect-fitting denims, so when we do find good ones, we’re keen to splash out on multiple pairs. We feel bound then to hail as a genius Bleulab which has launched its reversible collection, giving us two colours for the price of one. bleulab.com 18

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HARRODS BESPOKE

STYLE

The thoughtful folk at Harrods are so sold on good service that rather than ask you to make the journey to its Knightsbridge HQ , they will come to you. The Bespoke Events team will cater any event, and even help you find the perfect venue. What’s not to love? harrods.com

DAUNT BOOKS

We cannot get enough of Daunt Books and its defiance of the demise of the independent book seller… maybe it has something to do with the beautifully laid out shop, or p’raps it’s the enticingly wellchosen tomes on offer. dauntbooks.co.uk

WILLIAM CURLEY CHOCOLATE EGGS

For chocolate-lovers, there is no one better than William Curley, whose Amadei egg is filled with sea salt caramels, framboise truffles and moutard champagne truffles. From £25; williamcurley.co.uk

DE GOURNAY WALLPAPER

We can never walk past 25-year old de Gournay’s showroom without swooning at the exotic chinoiserie intricacy of it all. After all, who else can pull off gold wallpaper complete with hand-painted elephants with such aplomb? degournay.com

THE TROUBADOUR

Well, if it’s good enough for Dylan and Hendrix (both of whom played here in the 1970s), it’s good and quirky enough for us.

We go giddy for its wine shop and bar, its eccentric café upstairs and its secret garden at the back… troubadour.co.uk

BRUNCH AT MEGANS Who knew about Megan’s Mediterranean-style courtyard, slap bang in the middle of the King’s Road?

If you’ve not been, head there now. We’re already salivating at the thought of its summer watermelon and feta salad… megansrestaurant.com

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LONDON FLAGSHIP BOUTIQUE LONDON FLAGSHIP BOUTIQUE

29 LOWNDES STREET • KNIGHTSBRIDGE • SW1X 9HX T: +44 20 STREET 7201 2590 E: store@herveleger.co.uk 29 LOWNDES • KNIGHTSBRIDGE • SW1X 9HX T: +44 20 7201 2590 E: store@herveleger.co.uk

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FASHION TIBI

Leather trim silk shirt, £365; my-wardrobe.com

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO

Catwalk to Closet

Port 1961

Satin and chiffon-blend scarf £87.50; theoutnet.com

This season’s pretty in pastels

ACNE

Pistol suede ankle boots £370; net-a-porter.com

CHLOÉ

Holly enameled bangle £290; net-a-porter.com

DOLCE & GABBANA

Layered tulle dress £930; net-a-porter.com

JOANNE STOKER Pink lotus, £620; joannestoker.com

VALENTINO

Silk dress £672.75; theoutnet.com 21

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FASHION

FASHION NEWS Updates from the catwalks and couturiers MIU MIU’S CAPITAL

MIU MIU is embracing show fever by launching a collection of one-off handbags, exclusively in each of the fashion capitals - London, New York, Milan and Paris. Comprising 46 styles, each limited-edition range will vary according to the city.

Luxurious materials, from crocodile to ostrich skin, will be contrasted with jacquard, patch brocade, linen and glitter. The London line will be available from the label’s Bond Street store, with prices starting at £1,295. miumiu.com

BOUTIQUE IN BRIEF

BIONDI COUTURE 55 OLD CHURCH STREET SW3; 020 7349 1111

THE IDEA

With designer swimwear, beachwear and accessories, Biondi is the ultimate holiday wardrobe destination.

THE USP

Half-Brazilian founder Claudine Davies is passionate.

She says: “Wearing a swimsuit is the most naked a woman ever is in public, so it really makes sense to invest in looking good”.

Emamo

THE BUY

Bespoke bikinis are made on site by a professional couture seamstress. Choose from a luxurious selection of fabrics in a stunning array of colours and prints, plus beautiful embellishments. Or book a swimwear party for 10 or more people, where champagnefuelled style advice will result in bikini perfection. biondicouture.com

LAURA BAILEY HEARTS RADLEY

Iconic British model Laura Bailey is Radley’s new brand ambassador and the face of its Spring/Summer campaign – and together, she and Radley are supporting the British Heart Foundation (BHF). A special issue of Radley’s best selling signature Pocket bag will be available from this month, in soft red nappa leather embellished with an exclusively designed red leather heart tag embossed with the BHF logo and the words ‘Mending Broken Hearts’. Both bag and mirror can be purchased individually, priced at £99 and £19. All profits will be donated to the nation’s heart charity. radley.co.uk

WAX AND WEAR

Strip, the company that changed the world of waxing by minimising the pain (thus gaining a loyal and grateful fan base) have moved into luxe loungewear, using their unique knowledge of that elusive combination: comfort and glamour. The new range spans six styles in gorgeous stretch silk satin in chic pale mink and ink black. We love the tie-side trousers and camisole, pictured.

Loungewear doesn’t get more luxurious than this.

Strip, 102 Fulham Road SW3

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1. RADICAL SKINCARE EYE REVIVE CREAM £60, harrods.com 2. NASMATTA NUDA FRAGRANCE £128, theshopatbluebird.com/ spa-and-beauty.co.uk, 3. BUMBLE & BUMBLE £35, bumbleandbumble.co.uk, 4. RODIN CREMA £60, liberty.co.uk, 5. OPI PEDAL FASTER NAIL LACQUER £11, lenawhite.co.uk, 6. SISLEY SUPREMYA £455, sisley-cosmetics.co.uk, 7. BEAUTANNIA BRIDESHEAD BATH OIL £42, uk.spacenk.com, 8. CLARINS BODY OIL £36, clarins.co.uk, 9. MILLER HARRIS LE PAMPLEMOUSSE £90, millerharris.com, 10. AMOUAGE BODY CREAM £80, amouage.com 25

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TREAT YOUR MUM ON MOTHER’S DAY

Mother’s Day Manicure £35 Includes: Glass of bubbly Chocolates & Bottle of OPI’s Vodka & Caviar polish

Mother’s Day Manicure & Pedicure £60 Includes: Glass of bubbly Chocolates & Bottle of OPI’s Vodka & Caviar polish

Champagne, Wine and Cocktails, latest Essie and OPI colours in stock, Minx, Shellac, Artistic & Axxium Gels, Fish Spa, massage chairs, Gift Vouchers, Mummy and Baby mornings, threading and much more..

Coco Nail Bar, 267 Portobello Road, London W11 1LR

0207 243 1113

www.coconailbar.com

As recommended by

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for weekly deals 24/02/2012 14:48

HEALTH&BEAUTY A MOMENT IN TIME Every season we swoon at Molton Brown’s latest offering. And this month is no exception with the launch of the brand’s gorgeous new skincare and anti-ageing bodycare collection.

Designed for individual skin types and to target specific problems, we love the pink toronja grapefruit which helps lift old surface cells to polish the skin. moltonbrown.co.uk

BEAUTY CONFIDENTIAL From bath oils to eating yourself young... our guide to staying absolutely beautiful

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OF THE BEST BATH OILS

COWSHED Grumpy Cow Uplifting Bath & Body Oil massage oil. £20; cowshedonline.com

YOUNG AT HEART

Forget botox. It’s all about your diet. Snap up Elizabeth Peyton Jones’ fantastic book, Eat Yourself Young, which outlines the five food types that are most ageing, the five superfood age-busters and the best way to get rid of those wrinkles. (Quadrille Publishing, £12.99)

SMOOTH MOVES

Vivify Beauty in Chelsea Cloisters have launched their new mobile service whereby a team of therapists will come to your work, hotel room or simply your home to primp, preen and pamper. Bliss! vivifybeauty.com

PORTRAIT OF A LADY

Ormonde Jayne have come up with the brilliant Perfume Portraits, a bespoke service where customers are introduced to 21 ingredients before working with one of the perfumiers to create the perfect personal perfume. ormondejayne.com

RICHARD WARD’S METROSPA, SW3

INDIA HICKS ISLAND Night milky bath. £20; crabtree-evelyn. co.uk NEAL’S YARD Exotic bath oil. £14; nealsyard remedies.com

Tucked away in Richard Ward’s salon on Duke of York Square – and complete with champagne bar and dog-walking service – this spa is super impressive. The anti-ageing skincare experts Carita are the weapon of choice – plump for the ProLift Facial, which blasts the need for botox out the window.

Starting with a traditional facial, an electrode microcurrent is then introduced which lifts and resculptures slack muscles and smooths fine lines. And if that wasn’t enough, you can even have a hand and foot massage too. The results? Amazing! And last for weeks. richardward.com Carita have kindly offered Absolutely Chelsea readers the chance to win a bespoke ‘top to toe’ treatment worth £499. For details, please see the editors letters on p15.

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SOCIAL

JODIE HARSH AND IMMODESTY BLAIZE; BELOW: PRINCE CASSIUS

Absolutely

SOCIAL ANNA LAUB AND GUEST

TANKED UP

The perennially beautiful Shop at Bluebird last month got a top up shot of pulchritude as the fashion crowd descended to feast their eyes on an exhibition curated by O: By Tank, the Observer’s bi-annual fashion supplement.

The theme? Best of British, and in keeping with this the show brings together photographs which capture the key moments in our national fashion history, such as Katherine Hamnett meeting Margaret Thatcher, Stella McCartney’s inaugural collection and McQueen collecting his CBE. Revelling in the home-grown glory were the glam likes of Anna Laub, Immodesty Blaize and Henry Conway.

HENRY CONWAY ZARA MARTIN

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Battersea Park 15 – 18 Mar 2012 London

Art. Love. Home.

Contemporary art under ÂŁ4,000 affordableartfair.co.uk

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Fair sponsor

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March JANE BIRKIN, 1965 © DUFFY

What’s on

DUFFY: THE LOST PORTRAITS

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UNTIL 24 MARCH ROYAL COURT The Royal Court never fails to impress. Once again, they have come up trumps with David Eldridge’s In Basildon, an epic family drama which makes even Downton Abbey look tame.

Sloane Square, SW1; royalcourttheatre.com

CHELSEA ANTIQUES FAIR

21-25 MARCH CHELSEA OLD TOWN HALL Despite a boutique number of only 35 exhibitors, the world’s longest-running antiques fair remains as exceptional as ever.

Ranging from art deco experts to antediluvian specialists, this event is a hot spot for collectors around the world. King’s Road, SW3; penman-fairs.co.uk

March What’s on

Spider silk weaving at the V&A, musical mayhem at the Cadogan Hall and antiques galore in SW3

FETE FRANCAISE

UNTIL 19 MARCH ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC It’s time to celebrate all things French. In honour of our neighbouring country, the RCM has come up with a fabulous programme featuring concerts, talks and masterclasses. Debussy would be proud. Prince Consort Road, SW7; rcm.ac.uk

DUFFY: THE LOST PORTRAITS

22 MARCH TO 13 MAY PROUD CHELSEA Along with David Bailey and Terence Donavan, Brian Duff y revolutionised British fashion photography in the ’60s. This exhibition sees a stunning selection of his work with rare signed prints of lauded names including David Bowie, John Lennon and Michael Caine.

161 Kings Road, SW3; proudonline.co.uk

CHELSEA ANTIQUES FAIR: A FINE ANGLO-FLEMISH CHEST, CIRCA 1620, TO BE SHOWN BY PERIOD FURNITURE SPECIALIST ANDREW MORRELL, A 19TH CENTURY GILT BRONZE GROUP OF APOLLO AND DAPHNE ON A MALACHITE AND MARBLE BASE. £750. FROM ANTEDILUVIAN, THE OXFORDSHIRE DEALERS SPECIALISING IN GRAND TOUR OBJECTS; DUFFY: THE LOST PORTRAITS: JOHN LENNON, 1965 © DUFFY; DAVID BOWIE, ALADDIN SANE, 1973 © DUFFY; BADA ANTIQUE FAIR: A PAVÉ DIAMOND SET TWISTED BRACELET, BY STERLÉ. MOUNTED IN 18CT YELLOW GOLD. PARIS. CIRCA 1940; V&A: THE ALPAIDA LATRO SPIDER HELD IN PLACE FOR SILK EXTRACTION, SIMON PEERS COLLECTION

IN BASILDON

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FOR SILK EXTRACTION, SIMON PEERS COLLECTION

DIARY

THE BADA ANTIQUES AND FINE ART FAIR

21-27 MARCH DUKE OF YORK SQUARE With 20 years under its belt, the BADA Antiques and Fine Art Fair continues to wow with its glittering array of silver, jewellery, ceramics, textiles and rare works of art. Bringing together over 100 exhibitors, don’t miss this year’s loan exhibition, ‘Pomp, Pageantry and Protection’, the world’s leading private collection of etched and gilded hafted weapons on display for the first time. Duke of York Square, SW3; bada-antiques-fair.co.uk

GOLDEN SPIDER SILK

UNTIL 5 JUNE V&A It has taken a mean feat of eight years and more than a million Madagascar Golden Orb spiders to create these two pieces of work on display. Produced by Englishman Simon Peers and American Nicholas Goodley, the project was an experiment to revive the forgotten 19th-century art of spider silk weaving – and they have achieved just that with exemplary aplomb. Cromwell Road, SW7; vam.ac.uk

LANG LANG

20-23 MARCH ROYAL ALBERT HALL After a sellout performance in 2010, Lang Lang, ‘the hottest artist on the classical music planet’ is gracing the Hall once again. Great things are expected as he takes to the stage with the Philharmonia Orchestra to perform his complete Beethoven Piano Concerto cycle for the first time ever in London.

Kensington Gore, SW7; royalalberthall.com

LONDON DESIGN WEEK

14-16 MARCH DESIGN CENTRE CHELSEA HARBOUR With over 500 top brands exhibiting, one really can’t get any better than this. Get set for an action-packed assortment of beautiful designs, new launches and stimulating conversations – there’s even a talk on superyacht designs. Now, if that doesn’t impress, what will? Lots Road, SW10; dcch.co.uk

CRASH BANG WALLOP PERIOD DESIGN SALE

20 MARCH BONHAMS When it comes to period design, Bonhams has it down to a fine art. Pop into the Knightsbridge auction house for a wonderful selection of 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century furniture, works of art, sculpture, mirrors, lighting, carpets and rugs.

Montpelier Street, SW7; bonhams.com

24 MARCH CADOGAN HALL Jump back decades with The City of London Sinfonia’s charming musical retelling of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The perfect event to keep little ones occupied, children can bash about in the ‘percussion zoo’ or even take up the baton with ‘minute maestro’. 5 Sloane Terrace, SW1; cadoganhall.com 33

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CULTURE

AGENDA

This month’s highlights FRENCH FANCY

First Daniel Radcliffe in The Woman in Black, and now Robert Pattinson in the lead role of erotic drama Bel Ami… our teen movie stars really are all grown up it would seem. The pallid pin-up plays Georges Duroy in the Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod-directed flick, a character the actor describes as ‘completely amoral’. It’s based upon the Guy de Maupassant novel, and Pattinson stars opposite Uma Thurman and Kristen Scott Thomas, who play his (much older) love interests. Ooh la la. Released 9th March.

HOT STUFF

White Heat, the BBC’s new semiautobiographical Paula Milne-penned drama spans half a century, and charts the coming of age (and then middle age) of a cast including Claire Foy, Sam Claflin and Reece Ritchie. The years take us through not only the characters’ interlaced personal histories, but also through the Thatcher years, hedonism and HIV. Compelling.

LOOK OUT FOR...

FLORENCE WELCH The singer kicks off her world tour this month with a mass of gigs including a starstudded appearance at the Royal Albert Hall. florenceandthe machine.net

BOYD UP

Chelsea resident and award-winning author, William Boyd hits literary heights once again with his latest book, Waiting for Sunrise. Set in early 20th-century Vienna, it’s a heady mix of espionage, psychiatry and love. Entertaining – and excellent. (Bloomsbury Publishing, £18.99)

THE WRIGHT STUFF

Tucked away above a pub off the Fulham Road, the Finborough Theatre may be cute but it’s also culturally aware. This year, they are teaming up with The Papatango New Writing Festival for a competition, which offers two playwrights the fabulous opportunity to have their work produced at the theatre in December 2012. To apply, please visit papatango.co.uk 35

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Designs Shop Address: 8 Clarendon Cross, London W11 4AP 0207 727 3777 www.kateforman.co.uk

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PROFILE

TWIST OF GOLD

The author of War Horse, Michael Morpurgo, reveals the inspiration behind his best-selling novels

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE YOUR FIRST BOOK? Many years ago I was a teacher in a primary school and I could see that the story I was reading my Year 6s was really boring them. I went home that night and my wife suggested that I tell them one of my own stories that I used to make up for my own children at bedtime. So I went in the next day and started to tell them my story.

Slowly they started to listen and then intently on the edge of their seats, and by the time the bell went for the end of school, I had them in the palm of my hand. It was a great feeling and I have never looked back.

LITERARY HEROES? Robert Louis Stevenson was my favourite writer when I was young.

Treasure Island was the first book that I read for myself. I lived this book as I read it. One of my greatest literary heroes would have to be Ted Hughes, the great poet. He lived in Devon very near where I live and we became great friends towards the end of his life.

WHERE DO YOU LIKE TO WRITE? We have built a special tea-house in the garden, which is very light and airy and a great place to write. It’s quiet

there too as there’s no phone. I write upstairs in the tea-house sitting on a bed, with lots of cushions supporting my back and arms. I often write in the morning and then go for a long walk in the fields around our home in the afternoon with my wife. It really helps to have this time for the stories to weave themselves in my head.

WHICH OF YOUR BOOKS DID YOU MOST ENJOY WRITING? I probably have more fun writing retellings of classic stories. When I am retelling a well-known ancient poem, like Beowulf, or a folk tale or ancient legend, I try to find a way of telling it in my own voice, as if the listener of today was right in front of me. I do not keep strictly to every detail of the old story either. I try to interpret it in such a way as to make it exciting and meaningful.

When I am writing a re-telling I do feel in some way that I am like an actor. The story is not mine, but I am the one living it, interpreting it. So I tell it as I see it, as I feel it. I really enjoy this feeling.

HOW DID IT FEEL SEEING WAR HORSE ON THE BIG SCREEN? It was an incredible feeling. I was very nervous but once it began I knew it was a great film. I was at once deeply engaged,

in turns moved by the tale of loyalty between Albert and his horse Joey, by the serene beauty of the landscape of Devon, and horrified by the hellish vision of the trenches and the suffering of soldiers and horses alike. There are sublime moments, wonderfully funny moments, but Spielberg never shrinks for a moment from the horror of that war. We live with Joey and Albert, willing them to survive, and to find one another once again.

WHY DO SO MANY OF YOUR BOOKS INVOLVE ANIMALS? It is probably because I am really interested in the relationship between animals and humans.

Animals are sentient, intelligent, perceptive, funny and entertaining.

Animals, like children, aren’t in a position of power as we are as adults, and it is our duty to care for them. I think they often bring out the best in us because they listen without passing judgement and accept us for who we are without prejudice. For some people, this can be the most important relationship – a loving and uncomplicated one.

WHAT TOP TIPS WOULD YOU GIVE A BUDDING AUTHOR? Write because you love it and not because it is something that you think you should do. Always write about something or somebody you know about – something that you feel deeply and passionately about. Never try and force it.

WHAT AMBITION DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE YET TO ACHIEVE? I have been so lucky and have had so many wonderful opportunities. But I do love the theatre, it’s in my blood because my parents were both actors.

More and more I am involved in theatre as so many of my books have been made into plays. Perhaps it would be to be on the stage myself one day.

Michael Morpurgo is spearheading the Wicked Young Writers’ Award.

Young people (aged between 5 and 25) can submit entries until 31 July 2012.

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PEOPLE

Welcome to

MOLLYWOOD Molly Parkin claims to be the longest surviving member of the Chelsea Arts Club, where 300 people recently came to her 80th birthday party.

Pendle Harte catches up with the eternal Chelsea girl

PHOTOGRAPH BY TOMMY CANDLER

M

olly Parkin is unmissable.

Swathed in psychedelic fabrics and outsize turbans, caked in brightly coloured slap and jangling with bling, she’s not Chelsea’s typical grande dame.

But having had at least 10 addresses in the area over the past 60 years, she’s so much of a local institution that the Chelsea Arts Club threw a vast birthday bash for her 80th last month, to which 300 people came, and the entire outside walls of the club were splashed with pictures of Molly for the day.

Parkin is a former hat designer for Biba, fashion editor of 1960s magazine Nova (as well as, later The Sunday Times), an artist, novelist, famous drinker about town and a former boozing buddy of Francis Bacon at the Colony. Her string of old flames, about whom she is endlessly vocal, includes George Melly and Louis Armstrong as well as exhusbands art dealer Michael Parkin and artist Patrick Hughes; and friends past and present span Barbara Hulanicki, Quentin Crisp, Terence Donovan, Paco Rabane, Anita Pallenberg and Divine.

In Chelsea, she has lived in the Rolling Stones’ house in Cheyne Walk, her own house in Old Church Street, a houseboat on the river and now, in her bankrupt retirement, the Worlds’ End Estate (her favourite address to date, she says, for the sense of community).

In the wake of her party, Parkin’s on a high (though she’s been sober for over 20 years). “Darling, it went off like a

firecracker from the moment it started,” she tells me, her Welsh valley girl voice embellished by 60 years in Chelsea.

“Sarah Jane Morris, the international jazz vocalist, sang with her son (an astral twin of mine, he’s 17 and called Otis).

The last person she sung for before me was the Pope in the Vatican. Barbara Hulanicki, my closest friend from the minute we met in the early days of Biba, flew over from Miami for the party. The only people I gelled with from those fashion days were Barbara and Manolo Blahnik. I was the first one to put him in the press when I was fashion editor of The Sunday Times. He came to the party and his present was for me to go and choose a pair of shoes from his shop down the road. I chose black and white co-respondent shoes because flatties are all I can wear these days, darling. My old friend Marc Almond came, and lots of people from Soho as well as lots of my family from Wales.”

The party was a gift from the Chelsea Arts Club, where Parkin first went as a student, taken by her tutor. It was very different then, she says. “There were no

other women in there; it was frowned upon for a female to go into the bar. Sir Mortimer Wheeler was there, dribbling into his soup. The food was like school dinners, there would be mince with mashed potato with lumps and cabbage, then red jelly with Ideal milk or pink blancmange.” Parkin was made a member at the young age of 22 (“I’m the longest surviving member, but not the oldest member, mind”). She says: “Chelsea has always drawn painters and writers – there must be something in the stone, the crosslinks or whatever.

Though now the Chelsea Arts Club is the last bastion of creativity in Chelsea, because all the artists have gone east.”

Parkin came to live in London as a teenager with her family, who moved here from remote Pontycynner in Wales (she refers to herself as a refugee) – and though they settled in Willesden, they would come to the Welsh chapel in Radnor Walk. “My sister and I used to walk around Chelsea, along Cheyne Walk, and we discovered that the posher the houses, the less likely they were to draw the curtains so we’d admire the chandeliers and I said, when I grow up I’m going to live here – and I did end up living in the Rolling Stones house at 3 Cheyne Walk, invited by my friend Anita Pallenberg.”

These days she couldn’t imagine living anywhere outside SW3. “It’s sort of in my DNA,” she says. And equally, Molly Parkin is embedded in Chelsea’s, too.

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DRESS REHEARSAL Absolutely the most glamorous gowns and extravagant accessories

Fashion Shoot Chelsea Feb12.indd 1

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Red one-shoulder Indian silk dress ÂŁ4,280 Ritva Westenius.

Earrings ÂŁ325 Caroline Tanenbaum

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Lavender dress £5,450 Suzanne Neville.

Silver bracelet £225 Caroline Tanenbaum.

Metallic and leather slingback pumps £625 Charlotte Olympia at Net a Porter.

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Gold embellished dress ÂŁ12,000 Nina Naustdal Gold. Ring ÂŁ400 Caroline Tanenbaum

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Cream maxi dress £1,295 Amanda Wakeley. Antiqued silver and rose gold plate with crystal necklace £1,132 Erickson Beamon.

Earrings £2,800 Nina Naustdal Fine Jewellery.

Gold heels £525 Jimmy Choo

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Red strapless fishtail dress £1,215 Jexika. Earrings £5,100 Nina Naustdal

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Peplum detail dress £729 Jexika. Gold plated chain cuff £600 Yves Saint Laurent at Net a Porter.

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Orange strapless sequin top dress £860 Rachel Gilbert.

Clutch bag £1,595 Jimmy Choo. Bracelet £550 Carole Tanenbaum

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Red lace detail dress £1,895 Suzanne Neville. Gold-plated Swarovski crystal ring £225 Bijoux Heart at Net a Porter

CREDITS PHOTOGRAPHY Mike Blackett STYLIST Charlotte Kewley HAIR Riccardo Andrenacci MAKE UP Anna Gibson MODEL Nicky B at Bookings Agency SHOT ON LOCATION AT The Lanesborough lanesborough.com

STOCKISTS Amanda Wakeley 020 7352 7143 (also at Harvey Nichols) Carole Tanenbaum caroletanenbaum.com Erickson Beamon ericksonbeamon.com Gianmarco Lorenzi 020 7493 2906 Jexika jexika.com Jimmy Choo jimmychoo.com Kruszynska Couture 020 7589 0745 Net a Porter net-a-porter.com Nina Naustdal 020 7581 9988 Rachel Gilbert rachelgilbert.com Ritva Westenius ritvawestenius.com Suzanne Neville 020 7823 9107

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50 of the best

CHELSEA VENUES An insider’s guide

BEAUFORT HOUSE

Beaufort House is a haven for young Chelsea-ites and Sloane Rangers on the prowl in their natural habitat. It’s all about the cocktails, though we’re also a wee bit partial to the brasserie. Best of all is the champagne house, no need to explain why.

020 7352 2828; beauforthousechelsea.co.uk

THE BLUE BAR AT THE BERKELEY

Paint any room in Lutyens blue and we’ll be happy. Then throw into the mix a range of cocktails, 50 different whiskies and some tapas delights and we’re positively on Mount Olympus. Which is all rather fitting since the staff treat all customers as if they were gods… 020 7235 6000; the-berkeley.co.uk

BLUEBIRD

We’ve loved this place since Conran fi rst transformed it from surely the most elegant garage in London to a swanky eaterie

packed with beautiful people.

Sir Terence may now have left the building, but it still has one of the buzziest courtyards in town during summer. And, after a bottle of something cold, the beguiling clothes shop downstairs is little short of dangerous… 020 7559 1000; bluebird-restaurant.co.uk

BLUEBIRD OF CHELSEA

Head down to Cadogan Pier

and jump aboard Chelsea art dealer Martin Summer’s 55-footer. A swanky two-engine motor yacht, it’s super stylish (think elegant mahogany panels and Peruvian fabrics) and serves a scrumptious lunch as well. 020 7351 7778; martin@ martinsummers.com

BODYDOCTOR

Uber-trendy but brilliant private gym in the crypt of St Peter’s Church in Eaton Square.

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CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT: ROYAL COURT BAR; BOMBAY BRASSERIE; BLUEBIRD OF CHELSEA; THE BLUE BAR AT THE BERKELEY

LOCAL LIFE But under whoever’s auspices – however dubious – you bag a pew at the bar, you are guaranteed a night of raucous story-telling, cheap drink and unabashed eccentricity.

If the weather is fine, the garden is a great spot for G&T – just don’t underestimate the elder arty statesman’s innate ability to drink you under the table.

020 7376 3311; chelseaartsclub.com

CHELSEA PHYSIC GARDEN

Headed up by trainer to the stars David Marshall, it’s results, results, results, with a six-week programme where you can lose up to a whopping three sizes.

020 7586 6222; bodydoctor.com

BOMBAY BRASSERIE

SW7’s own little bit of India hits the big 3-0 this year. The clientele’s red hot (Sean Connery, Cruise, Kidman et al) but the food is equally up there. 020 7370 4040; bombaybrasserielondon.com

THE BOTANIST

This little slice of Sloaney heaven is packed to the gunnels on a daily – and nightly – basis, as air kisses aplenty float out on the breeze to be absorbed into the heady, cocktail-infused atmosphere. As a bar, it’s great fun, but we also like the restaurant; dinner serves up light zesty flavours, but it is perhaps as a breakfast venue – try the pancakes – that we like it best.

020 7730 0077; thebotanistsloanesquare.com

BROMPTON CLUB

Power duo Piers Adam and Nick House are the brains behind this private members’ club. And they’ve done well. Dine, dance, do whatever you fancy. Entry is like Fort Knox but it’s worth it; the place is discreet, exclusive and marvellously riff-raff free.

020 7268 5906; thebromptonclub.com

The ultimate secret garden was founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries for the express purpose of aiding study into the medicinal qualities of plants. It’s the oldest botanical gardens in London – and history aside, it happens to double up as just the place to make like a Jane Austen heroine and take a turn. As a summer party venue, it is unsurpassed.

020 7349 6458; chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk

THE BROMPTON QUARTER BRASSERIE

A trailblazer of the convivial ‘small plate’ practice, Knightsbridge’s Brompton Quarter Brasserie – which now has a second home on the King’s Road – remains one of the best exponents of the craze. We love the breezy décor and the enticing cakes in the window, but best of all are the small – but surprisingly filling – Mediterranean salads with Middle Eastern and Eastern European dips. Better, smokier moutabal you will not find.

020 7225 2107; bqbrasserie.com

BUONA SERA AT THE JAM

Great fun Italian restaurant with raised tables reached by ladders. Bang in the centre of the King’s Road, the food’s good (antipasto, pizza, pasta), the vibe original (but in a good way) and the manager hilarious. Tree house dining at its best.

020 7352 8827

THE CAFÉ BAR, ROYAL COURT THEATRE

It’s drinks all round in this very cool 19th-century auditorium ‘pit’-turned-bar in the bowels of the Royal Court Theatre.

Bubbling over with actors, directors and writers, it’s chilled out, happy, relaxed – and the prices are actually decent.

020 7565 5000; royalcourttheatre.com

CHELSEA ARTS CLUB

You’ve not lived – not really lived – in Chelsea unless you’ve paid a visit to its Arts Club. We love the brilliant dichotomy of it being so very private that you cannot even enter its website without being a member, and yet so free and easy with its existing members that many of the old arty boys and girls have not paid for years.

THE CHELSEA FISHMONGER

It’s oft been said that Chelsea represents one of London’s villages, and nowhere proves it like Chelsea Green. There’s a butcher (Jago’s), a baker (Jane Asher)… and well, no candlestick-maker, but The Chelsea Fishmonger will substitute nicely.

The classic, open-fronted shop has been in existence for 100 years, and although local character William ‘The Fish’ Squires is no longer, we’ll happily take the brilliantly learned and friendly Rex Goldsmith, who’s been running the show since 2004.

020 7589 9432; thechelseafishmonger.co.uk

THE CHELSEA GARDENER

Call us young fogeys, but we like little more than a Sunday morning romp at the nursery – and why trek all the way to Petersham? You’ll find us at the Chelsea Gardener, cooing over orchids and coveting trinkets. 020 7352 5656; chelseagardener.com

ELIZABETH KING, PARSONS GREEN

Excellent delis are few and far between but the fabulous Elizabeth King has nailed it.

Elegance personified, there’s an amazing selection of food from French cheeses and New Zealand honey to homemade soups and Italian pasta. And the fresh bread rolls? Amazing. 020 7736 2826; elizabethking.com

LA FAMIGLIA

Owner Alvaro Maccioni’s adage that ‘if you cook well, then you are cooking like mamma used to cook. But if you cook really well, then you’re cooking like grandma used to cook’, could not sum up this Chelsea institution better. That 55

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JAMES HARVEY BRITISH ART

James and Flora Harvey’s Langton Street Gallery is dedicated to artists from the 17th-century to the present day, though it is in the 18th- and 19th-centuries that the Harveys have particular expertise. We love the eclecticism of it all – and more than that, the fact that the duo is so hospitable that a quick browse can easily mutate into a meandering chat. 020 7352 0015; jhba.co.uk (it was the Middleton HQ over the wedding), there’s a fabulous private garden, a stunning Linley-designed restaurant and 71 sumptuous bedrooms and suites.

Afternoon tea is also excellent.

020 7396 9000; thegoring.com

HARRODS

Luxury, luxury, luxury. Need we say more?

020 7730 1234; harrods.com it’s a favourite with long-time locals like Felicity Kendall and Bryan Ferry comes as little surprise; the atmosphere could not be more convivial. We love the pictures of the generations of family on the walls, and the fact that chef Quinto Cecchetti has been on board since day one. The food is hearty, Tuscan and brilliant. 020 7351 0761; lafamiglia.co.uk

THE FOX & HOUNDS

Picturesque little pub charmingly placed at the end of a terrace of artisan’s cottages.

Over 150 years old and once part of the Grosvenor Estate, it’s old school with paintings of hunting scenes, a monthly pub quiz, no TVs and a lovely landlord who addresses you as ‘Sir’. 020 7730 6367

THE HARWOOD ARMS

Smart restaurant masquerading as a pub?

Or just a pub with seriously good food? All we know is that it serves up heavyweight British food that’s so good it’s won them a Michelin star. Odd accolade for a pub?

Certainly, but it still has a proper public house atmosphere with real ales a-plenty and a 30-strong wine list. The scotch egg alone is worth a trip… 020 7386 1847; harwoodarms.com

THE HENRY ROOT

We are always taken with an eccentric and William Donaldson – aka Henry Root, 1960s playboy and satiric epistle-writer par

JONATHAN COOPER, PARK WALK GALLERY

Park Walk is one of the loveliest streets in our manor, what with being home to classic Sloane hang-out The Goat-inBoots, The Henry Root, Aubergine and a couple of tres exclusive galleries. We love Jonathan Cooper for the fluidity of styles it represents; one minute we’re talking classic and exquisite still lives, the next we’re getting close to nature via Isabel Bannerman’s somehow explicit horticulture photography. 020 7351 0410; jonathancooper.co.uk

KX

This private gym on Draycott Avenue just gets it, gets the need for privacy, gets the need for comfort, gets the need for R&R (there’s a gorgeous spa). And people love it… well, at least, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kylie Minogue and Laura Bailey all do.

020 7584 5333; kxgym.co.uk

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP MANDARIN ORIENTAL; LA FAMIGLIA’ ONE HYDE PARK; THE LITTLE BLACK GALLERY; LUIGIS; THE HENRY ROOT

excellence – was about as brilliant as they come, signing off letters, as he did, to the likes of Prince of Wales with ‘Henry Root.

A naval man like yourself ’. So the fact that the restaurant celebrates his irreverent wit and absurdity instantly earns brownie points with us. That it is also a spot-on neighbourhood restaurant is a happy bonus.

020 73527040; thehenryroot.com

THE LITTLE BLACK GALLERY

We like the literalism of this gallery. It is

THE FURNITURE CAVE

This appositely named consortium of antique dealers is very much an Aladdin’s cave of furnishings, from Art Deco delights to elegant Georgian armchairs.

Cheap they tend not to be, but it’s nothing if not excellent for pretend furnishing your make-believe Downton-esque pile.

And if, of course, you actually have said country manor, then there’s nowhere better. furniturecave.co.uk

THE GORING

Marvellously British family-run hotel a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace.

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LOCAL LIFE

very little, and very definitely black. Set up by Tamara Beckwith, Lindsey Carlos Clarke and Ghislain Pascal, in recent months we’ve seen the works of Terry O’Neill, Yul Brynner and Mike Figgis within its four dinky but very stylish walls.

020 7349 9332; thelittleblackgallery.com

LUIGI’S DELICATESSEN

For 35 years, Luigi’s has been bringing the very best of Italian olive oils, home-made pastas, cheeses and salume to Fulhamites, along with a hearty helping of Italian charm, and – for the girls - never anything less than a cheeky wink. Quite the best place to grab a delicious lunch and a slice of la dolce vita. To complete the picture one really should have a Vespa waiting outside.

020 7352 7739; luigismailorder.com

MANDARIN BAR AT THE MANDARIN ORIENTAL NAG’S HEAD Previously voted the no.1 hotel bar in London (and quite rightly so), this stylish hangout ticks all the boxes. It’s beautiful (leather armchairs, mohair, marble etc), it’s drink-fi lled (the cocktails are colossal) and, what’s more, its service is flawless. 020 7235 2000; mandarinoriental.com/london

Just one red and one white wine on offer, a no-mobiles policy, a roaring fi re and lots of ale being taken by old boys propping up the sunken bar, this 300-year-old curiosityfi lled pub is about as Dickensian as it gets.

Who knew that a pair of ice-skates, a carpet beater and a pewter beer engine dotted around would so vastly aid the experience… but somehow they just do. We also love the landlord Kevin Moran who rubbed the ‘Free House’ off his pub sign, insisting that he can sell whatever beers he so chooses.

Cue applause all round. 020 7235 1135

NAM LONG

When it comes to cocktails, Nam Long on the Brompton Road is where it’s at. There are crazy ones (Pink Panther), classic ones (mojito, of course) and then the just plain exciting ones (Flaming Ferrari). And there’s fine oriental cuisine to boot. 020 7373 1926; namlong.co.uk

MOSIMANNS

The bold and the beautiful flock to this 30-year-old private dining club in Belgravia. Founded by Dorchester doyan Anton Mosimann – who cooked for last year’s Royal wedding – the food’s naturally scrumptious, the private rooms fantastic (plump for Montblanc) and there’s even a cookery school for fi red-up customers.

020 7235 9625; mosimann.com

MOTCOMBS

No round-up of Chelsea’s finest would be complete without a nod to Motcombs, the area’s ultimate gastronomic grande dame. A terribly British affair almost throughout, (though the red neon sign belies the notion), the wine is French all the way.

The ultimate antidote to experimental young pretenders, the Philip Lawless-run operation is Chelsea through and through.

020 7235 6382; motcombs.co.uk

NEW KINGS ROAD VINTAGE GUITAR EMPORIUM

Serious guitar shop for serious players. But an equally cool hangout as well. Jam away amongst Gibsons, Fenders and Gretsches while salivating over the beautiful and rare instruments on offer. 020 7371 0100; newkingsroadguitars.co.uk

since the hotel provides for them a 24hour concierge service. 020 7590 2340; onehydepark.com

THE PARSON’S NOSE

‘Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name…’ and that they do at the Fulham Road’s wittily named Parson’s Nose. And no wonder – so proper and old-fashioned is it (despite opening in 2007), that the majority of the customers are regulars. During shooting season there’s pheasant, partridge, teal, woodcock and pigeon a-plenty. For the really keen, there are even classes run by a Master Butcher.

020 7736 4492; parsonsnose.co.uk

THE PHENE

Yes, the food’s great, and the bar very cool, but it’s The Phene’s Garden, just off the King’s Road, which really takes the jackpot.

Twinkling with fairy lights and outdoor fi replaces, it’s a screamingly perfect urban escape with retro hanging basket chairs, cosy sofas and a long line of cocktails.

020 7352 9898; thephene.com

THE PIG’S EAR

Lovingly scruff y gastro pub on Old Church Street – and a favourite of Prince

ONE HYDE PARK

Though we rather miss the view across the park afforded in the early days of construction, love it or loathe it, One Hyde Park has swiftly become a Knightsbridge icon. But then, a triumvirate of architect Richard Rogers, developers Nick and Chris Candy were never going to do things by halves. We mostly enjoy catching its residents darting out amidst a whirl of security in cars with darkened windows while we’re en route to cocktail at next door’s Mandarin Oriental – a jaunt that One Hyde Parkers need rarely make 57

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Contemporary dining in the heart of St James’s Avenue offers a modern British menu, using seasonal English produce. The menu is bursting with interesting flavours and textures that are not typical but go together beautifully.

We serve lunch Monday to Friday and dinner Monday to Saturday Perfect for business lunches, elegant dinners, private dining and exclusive parties.

7-9 St James’s Street London SW1A 1EE 020 7321 2111 avenuereservations@danddlondon.com www.avenue-restaurant.co.uk

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LOCAL LIFE Elizabeth Street pub-come-diner is still a favourite. After all, we never can resist a Georgian townhouse, the food is simple and hearty and the décor is winningly cosy and elegant. There may be a surfeit of besuited types and Boden clad 30-somethings, but we’d never let a trifl ing thing like that put us off.

020 7730 6060; thethomascubitt.co.uk

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD

Westwood and McLaren’s shop opened in 1971 as Let It Rock, now it’s unchanged since 1980 with its outsize clock and wonky floor – a King’s Road institution. worldsendshop.co.uk

WAITROSE, KING’S ROAD reviewed, but Guy Pelly’s more problematic venture is still a grand place for people-watching. Not that this approaches anything even close to cool – but that’s sort of why we love it.

020 7751 4400; public.uk.com

RICHARD WARD

William’s. Try the signature Pig’s Ear from Gloucestershire’s Uley Brewery – but there’s also a great wine list and good solid British food. 020 7352 2908; thepigsear.info

FROM TOP: SAATCHI GALLERY; POILANE SOURDOUGH BREAD; STEPHANIE HOPPEN GALLERY

POILÂNE

Rarely has a loaf of bread caused such a sensation. Poilâne’s delicious sourdough wields a magically magnetic power over Belgravia and beyond. It fi rst opened in Paris and the business has been run by three generations of the Poilâne family – in 1969, Salvador Dali even began ordering sculptures made from bread. You can now buy it at Waitrose too – but where’s the fun in that? 020 7808 4910; poilane.fr

PROUD GALLERIES, CHELSEA

Yes, Chelsea IS as cool as Camden. Alex Proud’s eponymous photographic gallery is more than just a showcase for visually spectacular work; it has been a byword for razor-edged cool since it opened, seeming to chime as much with the rock’n’roll crowd as the arty folk. The work on show has been thematically somewhat unilateral: ‘The Rock and Roll Years’, ‘Destroy: The Sex Pistols’ and ‘The Libertines’.

020 7349 0822; proudonline.co.uk

PUBLIC

Ok, we know. It has been mired in controversy over the noise, called a ‘public nuisance’ by neighbours and had its license

Kate Middleton is a fan and it’s easy to see why. Th is hair stylist’s ‘super salon’ on Duke of York’s Square is all about that elusive personal touch – in between, of course, the 75 stylists, the 170 hair and beauty treatments, the pampering pocket Carita spa and the speedy service.

020 7730 1222; richardward.com

THE ROYAL HOSPITAL

Nothing cheers us like the sight of a Chelsea Pensioner proudly walking about.

The Royal Hospital, which is home to the ‘Men in Scarlet’ was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and founded in 1682 by Charles II, chelsea-pensioners.co.uk

Food is where it’s at – and Waitrose does it splendidly. Not only that, the social fodder is exemplary with yummy mummies lining the aisles and a solid line of skinny Sloanes gliding delphicly around the veg section.

THE WHITE HORSE…

Otherwise affectionately known as The Sloaney Pony, pink-shirted Henrys were drinking here with their Alice-banded, floral frocked Henriettas back in the 80s, and nothing much has changed since (apart from the sartorial preferences – gilets for the girls and, well, the boys too).

And what’s not to love… the leafy Parson’s Green setting, the truly staggering range of beers (135 at the last count), the legendary summer barbecues? whitehorsesw6.com; 020 7736 2115

WORLD’S END DISTILLERY

Really, civilisation’s final outpost.

020 3362 3362; theworldsend.co

SAATCHI GALLERY

All hail one of the most visited galleries in London, despite showing work overwhelmingly from unknown artists.

Weird, wonderful, thought-provoking and sometimes downright ridiculous, visitors come to revere and to sneer in equal measure, saatchi-gallery.co.uk

STEPHANIE HOPPEN GALLERY

Stephanie Hoppen is something of a rarity in the art world: a gallerist who deplores arty jargon and naval-gazing in favour of simply choosing work on the basis of whether she finds it joyful or not.

020 7589 3678; stephaniehoppen.com

THE THOMAS CUBBITT Ever an old reliable, Cubbitt House’s

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PROFILE

THE social network Interior designer, author, artist... you name it, Nicky Haslam’s done it. Katy Jarratt enters the flamboyant and fabulous world of Britain’s most elegant scenester

‘W

e’ve met before,’ says Nicky Haslam as I jump up to greet him in the bright white waiting area of NH Designs on Pavillion Road. We hadn’t, but there was something so insistent in the suggestion that, had I felt at all uncomfortable, I would have been instantly put at ease. And a good trick, too, I noted, to make everyone feel like an old friend. When I look puzzled, he throws out a few other suggestions of the times and places we could have come across each other. I soon realise that it’s perfectly natural for Haslam to think he’s met everyone before, because he has, after all, been everywhere and done everyone.

Well, everyone who is important at least, and it’s a compliment to be included in that ballpark. Sort of.

‘Weren’t the BAFTAs exhausting?,’ he says, as if I had been there (nope), ‘and it was freezing!’, he emotes, ‘I went with Peggy [Siegal] and, because she knows everyone in the film world, we were on the red carpet for 20 minutes. So I found Judi Dench who was wearing as little as I was and we huddled together while the cameras flashed around us. Can you imagine it?

These two little old people holding on

to each other in the blowing wind for dear life?’

It’ll come as no surprise that Haslam’s previous week – the BAFTA week – was bursting the seams of his Smythson diary with big names and after-parties. ‘I went to Harvey Weinstein’s party, saw Eddie Redmayne and that awful Tom Hooper. Saturday night was the Charles Finch and Chanel preBAFTA dinner at Annabel’s. Then the beautiful dresses at the BAFTAs, Gillian Anderson looked fabulous in Sybil Connolly. Tilda Swinton, what

than he is on. I think they try and make him look like a little boy, but he’s very manly. There really is a new wave of film stars who are very ugly. Eddie Redmayne and Jessica Biel, it’s a new form of face. Sort of like a thrusting animal jaw that is so appealing to directors these days because it looks good on camera.’

A bold statement, but Haslam has been around long enough to make it. The 72-year-old ex-Etonian was born in a period ‘early enough to know pre-war people who were very different,’ he says. ‘Society was not the same. I developed a highquality network when London was very small.’ He first brushed shoulders with film stars when he drifted into the world of Cecil Beaton, Joan Crawford and David Bailey in the fifties and sixties. He then ‘fell into newspapers,’ (as he puts it) and started to work for Vogue.

‘I left school and I certainly never pictured that I’d end up here,’ he gestures around his large office filled with magazines, party invitations and personal assistants. ‘I knew I wanted to do decoration but, at the time, one didn’t know that one could ‘learn’ it.

Of course there were old interiors firms in Mayfair and Chelsea who I could have gone to, but it never occurred to me to do so.’

‘I met George Clooney – much better off screen than he is on. I think they try to make him look like a boy but he’s very manly’ a terribly nice girl, very blonde hair cut very short – she’s clever too. Then there was lovely Naomi Campbell and the maker of The Artist. That man is devastatingly good looking. It’s odd how people look different in the flesh than in photos isn’t it?’

I ask him for another example.

‘George Clooney is another one. I met him last week – much better off screen

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PROFILE

HASLAM’S DESIGN WORK; WITH GILLIAN ANDERSON AT THE BAFTAS (PIC: RICHARD YOUNG)

Sixteen people work in the Pimlico building, ‘designers, draughtsmen, accountants, PAs, the people who look after the fabrics,’ he says. Inside NH Designs is like a Calvin Klein advert. The decor is crisp and pure and the wholesomelooking staff slouch coolly around in denim skinny jeans and boots. ‘Everyone chips in and does a bit of each other’s work,’ he says, ‘we’re like a big family, there’s no hierarchy, I love them all. We have lots of male interns, I always like them so much they stay on. They have no preconceived ideas – it’s heaven!’ The location is classic Chelsea, tucked away on Pavillion Road and opposite boutique coffee shop Cocomaya where I can see stylish women drinking tea in black dress hats.

The office is filled with a whole range of projects on the go at once: CDs, books, designs. Haslam’s most recent and notorious book detailing all his celebrity connections, Redeeming Features was coined ‘the maestro of the memoir’ by Tom Stoppard and revealed several of Haslam’s more controversial homosexual encounters. What sort of feedback had he had from it?

‘Total, total praise. People called me and said “I’m so thrilled to be in your book”. I’ve got several more things in the pipeline. An album of songs from the 30s and 40s, then two books, one about hunting lodges – I can’t tell you the title, it’s just too brilliant and you might steal it – and then a big book of photographs of me and celebrities called Me and…’

As well as international artistic ventures, Haslam is extremely involved with local interiors projects. ‘We’re doing a big house in Hyde Park, we’re always on the King’s Road doing various places. I’m totally hands on, always the one standing on ladders battering in the curtains myself.

I really should redo my own fl at in Cromwell Road. It’s been a disgusting tip for 20 years. But, I’m always too busy creating new rooms, castles, landscapes…’ he trails off, his hands in the air, conjuring up a cloudy vision.

It occurs to me this might be the point to ask him if he prefers spaces or people. ‘Spaces,’ he says immediately. ‘Spaces are my life without doubt, my work. I’d rather exist with spaces for the rest of my life – I’m very happy on my own. I’m not high maintenance, I can look after myself.’

He has an abstract moment and then it’s clear that time is running out and he has a pedicure, a hygienist appointment and another interview to go to, so… How’s his love life? ‘I haven’t got one. Not really,’ he says. ‘I haven’t gone off sex, but it’s gone off me I think.’ There is a guffaw from the room next door.

‘A pleasure as always, Nicky,’ I say, trying to trick him back. He flashes me a Hollywood smile and sees me out. What a force of nature. No doubt I’ll see him at the Oscars.

‘I haven’t got a love life. Not really. I haven’t gone off sex, but it’s gone off me I think’

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28/02/2012 17:43

The Scene

STEALER The Queen’s cousin and significant chronicler of the swinging sixties, Patrick Lichfield

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CULTURE

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This new coffee table tome encases within its lovely leaves previously unseen images from the stellar world that Lord Lichfield inhabited, from the 1960s right up until his death in 2005. Perceptions reveals a young Joanna Lumley modelling in a daisyprint leotard, early pictures of Susannah York and Anjelica Huston and one of Prince Charles kissing his new bride at Buckingham Palace in 1981 – and winningly in each case, his sitters seem unforced, their poses unmanufactured, making Lichfield a trailblazer of a more natural style of photography.

But perhaps most compelling of all are the 1960s street scenes, with young lovelies dressed up to the nines in the regalia of the decade he so epitomised…

Patrick Lichfield: Perceptions by Martin Harrison, is published by Quadrille, £30

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27/02/2012 18:56

Sophie’s CHOICE

As Sophie Conran unveils her work of art for the Fabergé Big Egg Hunt, she tells Nancy Alsop about having design in the blood

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THIS PICTURE: ‘CHANTILLY IN MIMOSA’, A DESIGN FOR SOPHIE CONRAN FOR ARTHOUSE PATTERN BOOK, £30 PER ROLL, AVAILABLE AT SELECTED INTERIOR DESIGN INDEPENDENTS RIGHT: CONRAN’S EGG, THE FIRST SPRING IN EDEN

‘I

was so honoured,’ chirrups an ebullient Sophie Conran.

‘I mean it’s something that artists normally get asked to do’, she continues, laying so reverential an emphasis on the ‘A’ word it’s patently clear that she – but a humble product and fashion designer, not to mention cookery writer – does not consider herself worthy of categorisation amid the lofty ranks of the artist. She is, of course, talking – however self-deprecatingly – about

having been asked to design one of 200 eggs for the Fabergé Big Egg hunt, an Easter trail on the very grandest of scales stretching across the capital for which the likes of the Chapman Brothers and Marc Quinn (‘real artists’) have been enlisted to customise their own Fabergé Egg, later to be auctioned for the charities Elephant Family and Action for Children. The philanthropic aspect too

It was kind of a natural transition that I would take after both my father and my mother. But I’ve had all sorts of jobs – I once hand-made lollipops!

was, it seems, a boon for Conran. ‘A number of friends have been involved with Elephant Family, and I’ve worked with Refuge, so I’m always really keen to help under-privileged children.’

The trail, which follows in the triumphant footsteps of the 2010 Elephant Parade, extends across 12 zones of London, and Conran’s effort is to be housed within the gardens of the Jumeirah Carlton Hotel in Knightsbridge, a turn of events about which she is thrilled. Did she, I wonder, covet a particular spot on the route? “No, but I did have an idea that I wanted it to be somewhere in or near a garden, so it’s wonderful that there will be flowers bursting into spring.’ It is particularly fitting given that Conran’s egg references so explicitly the season; it is, after all, no coincidence that she chose to name it The First Spring in Eden. ‘Because of the egg and all the symbolism bound up with it and with Easter, I very much wanted to do something about re-birth,’ she explains. ‘I wanted it to look like the first time you ever saw spring, hence its name.’ And while some of her fellow artists – despite her modesty, an apposite label – have gone down quirkily playful avenues and others into decisively dramatic territory, Conran’s egg speaks of innocence, all prettiness with none of the oftattendant twee factor.

While the high profile commission may have come as a surprise to Conran, to the outside world she seems a natural choice.

After all, she comes from a dynasty of British design behomoths, grew up next door to her father Terence’s studio for revolutionary shop Habitat, was working for the milliner Stephen Jones at 17 and later for her fashion designer brother Jasper and did up the house in which she still lives at 20 – to mention nothing of her ceramic Portmeirion products with which her name is now synonymous, or that she and her brother Tom ran a trailblazing supper

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FOOD&DRINK club in their twenties, with guests like Jay Jopling feasting on her fare for just a fiver. Did she feel that there was a certain inevitability about becoming a designer? ‘I think it was natural,’ she says, slightly falteringly. ‘It’s what they taught me, so it was kind of a natural transition that I would take after both my father and my mother [the food writer Caroline Conran]. But I’ve had all sorts of jobs. I once hand-made lollipops! Although when I was little I wanted to be a headmistress.’

That early dream was, alas, not destined to be. Indeed, Conran remembers her fascination with the aesthetic being stoked when her brothers Jasper and Sebastian made her a dolls house out of a beehive. I wonder aloud whether, in a household filled with such creative ingenuity, there was ever any rivalry – a line of enquiry she gently dismisses. ‘No, I don’t think there ever was, because even if some people think that what we do is similar, to us it feels quite different. We all found our place in the family, and perhaps because of that, we all found our place outside the family. We’re lucky in that we’d be friends even if we weren’t related.’ And for her father, she has nothing but admiration. ‘He has undoubtedly influenced me. Because

I was so conscious that everything had become so generic and CAD. I wanted something that had soul, so that people had the feeling it had been through the mud and people’s hands

‘JULIETTE IN SHELL’, A DESIGN FOR THE SOPHIE CONRAN FOR ARTHOUSE PATTERN BOOK, PICTURED WITH THE PORTMEIRION CERAMIC COLLECTION

of him, I love the mix of the old and the new, there’s a nod to Scandinavia and to Japan, but we also love the traditional English style. I am more feminine though – I adore patterns’.

Conran cut her teeth working for the milliner Stephen Jones, which, she says, was ‘such hard work, but incredible. I loved that there was nothing industrial about it – just rabbit glue and blocks of wood. He’d send me out to these Dickensian basement shops in Soho to buy buttons, all cramped full of cardboard boxes – it was like being in a sweet shop.’ Although she still occasionally works with her brother Jasper, it is her prettily utilitarian kitchen ceramics with Portmeirion that really catapulted her on to the design main stage in 2006, after she mentioned at a party to the company’s PR that she’d been working on an oven dish for her pie range. Did she ever envisage

it would become so roaring a success?

‘No!’ she says, exclamatory. ‘I’ve been bowled over by how well it’s been received, especially in countries where no one’s ever heard the name Conran.

That’s the really happy-making thing, and I think it’s been such a success maybe because I was so conscious that everything has become so generic and CAD. I wanted something that had soul, so that people had the feeling of it having been through the mud and through people’s hands.’

And that last – the muddy bit at least – is not a million miles from what Conran and her teenage children will be doing themselves this Easter. ‘We’re off to a cottage in Wales with friends for walk and an egg hunt. And lots of feasting!’ she hoots, merrily.

Sophie Conran’s egg is at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower, Cadogan Place, SW1X 9PY; sophieconran.com 71

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This delicate plate design from Anthropolgie on their exclusive ‘Are You Being Served?’ wallpaper is a sweet addition to the lifestyle shop’s eclectic range of home-ware. £78 per roll, 131 - 141 King’s Road, SW3; anthropologie.eu

de Gourney has just celebrated its 25th anniversary and the London showroom also happens to be the company’s headquarters. Renowned for the exquisite selection of handpainted wall art and accessories, the showroom is a unique haven of the very finest interiors.

Specialising in 18th-century Chinoiserie, and with a large database of historic designs, de Gournay also interprets classic patterns for a bespoke service and contemporary feel. 112 Old Church Street, SW3; degournay.com

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Since its inception in 1804, The Royal Horticultural Society has documented flowers and plants which have characterised the British landscape. This new collection of prints are available from innovative interior print company Surface View and will make a bold and beautiful statement.

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CULTURE

Design forlife

F

The V&A’s summer blockbuster hails the outlandish brilliance of British design over the past half century. Absolutely sneaks a peek

rom the Queen’s Jubilee to javelin-throwing at the Olympics, 2012 is roundly poised to go down in the annals as a momentous year for British cultural history. It is fitting then that the V&A initiates proceedings with the certain blockbuster ‘British Design 1948 – 2012: Innovation in the Modern Age’, which – appositely – starts chronologically with the post-war ‘Austerity Olympics’.

Via a myriad of significant objets, curators Christopher Breward and Ghislaine Wood weave a narrative of the Britain of the past 64 years, guiding viewers through the advent of the 1959 Morris Mini Minor which heralded the arrival of the motor car as a commodity for the masses, through the 1960s, complete with its Kenneth Grange Brownie Vecta camera and superfluity of original thinkers

emerging from the art schools, and right up to Alexander McQueen’s breathtaking Horn of Plenty collection and into the future with Zaha Hadid’s not-yet-realised, impossibly alienseeming Aquatics Centre. For it is through these objects, argue the architects of the exhibition, that we unlock our history; developments and tastes in fashion, furniture, fine art, graphic design, photography, ceramics, architecture and industrial design say as much – if not more – about the state of the nation as our political and military history, and certainly articulate how those key events influence the way we live.

Structurally, the exhibition is divided into three subsections. The first gallery concentrates on the post-World War II tensions between tradition and modernity, illustrating the co-existence of the craft revival – as championed by the likes of Michael

Casson and John Makepeace – with the compulsion to modernise and turn Britain in to a progressive country. The rooms will reveal models for the likes of Milton Keynes, shown alongside original pieces from Terence Conran’s trailblazing Habitat stores, which brought a European aesthetic and way of life to these shores for the first time. Meanwhile, the exhibition shows how, underpinning both divergent movements, were the 1951 Festival of Britain and the Queen’s Coronation just two years later, which seemed curiously to act as a catalyst for both.

The second room looks at the the British art school system and its subversive influence between the 1960s and 1990s, acting as it did, as a breeding ground for radical ideas and talents. Work from the likes of Zandra Rhodes and Damien Hirst will be featured, taking us through the London of the ‘swinging sixties’ 77

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PREVIOUS PAGE: Calyx furnishing fabric, 1951, by Lucienne Day, courtesy of the Estate of Lucienne Day / Photograph © Victoria and Albert Museum THIS PAGE, FROM TOP LEFT, CLOCKWISE: God Save The Queen, poster promoting the Sex Pistols, 1977, by Jamie Reid © Jamie Reid. Photograph by Victoria and Albert Museum; Even to spark out now would be no pain, poster promoting the Anti-Art Fair with a portrait of Trojan, 1986, by John Maybury, courtesy of John Maybury © Jaguar E-type, 1961, courtesy of Jaguar Heritage; Zaha Hadid’s aquatic centre; evening gown by Alexander McQueen, A/W 2009, courtesy of Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images; ‘Torsion’ chair, 1971, by Brian Long, by kind permission of Brian Long / Photograph © Victoria and Albert Museum; Children crossing sign, 1964, Margaret Calvert and Jock Kinneir for the Ministry of Transport, © Margaret Calvert

The exhibition takes us through the ‘swinging sixties’ to the divisive dawn of the YBAs and ‘Cool Britannia’ to the divisive dawn of the YBAs and ‘Cool Britannia’. Meanwhile, the final room explores the British creativity and output in the context of new technology, architecture and manufacturing, tracing technological history from the ground-breaking creation of Concorde through to the 1970s manufacturing slump and back its return to triumphant form with Jonathan’s Ive’s iMac for Apple in 1998.

Says Professor Martin Roth, Director of the V&A: ‘As people around the

world will be focusing on the UK in the summer of 2012 this is an ideal moment to showcase British innovation, taste and creativity. We are also delighted to be hosting a series of British-themed displays across all the collections in the Museum to accompany the major spring exhibition.’

Tickets cost £12, V&A members go free.

‘British Design 1948-2012: Innovation in the Modern Age’ opens on 31 March, and runs until 12 August. Visit vam.ac.uk for details.

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FOOD&DRINK

Making

THE CUT Mark Hix tells Harriet Compston why he has defied British food and gone for an adventure in Belgravia

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Did you always want to be a chef?

I didn’t at all actually – but CDT seemed so boring and our Home Economics teacher was much better looking so I opted for that instead.

Meal that changed your life?

An early trip to Spain in my late teens or early twenties – their simple approach to cooking and the way they use ingredients.

What projects do you have going on at the moment?

We’ve just opened Hix Belgravia, a new restaurant in the new Thompson Hotel, Belgraves.

Culinary heroes?

This could be a long list but keeping it short, chefs I really admire would include Fergus [Henderson] for doing something so utterly different and ahead of its time. I used to adore going to Alastair Little’s in Soho for its simplicity and use of great ingredients.

What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?

It must be going into business with my business partner Ratnesh Bagdai and setting up Hix Restaurants – our first venture was Hix Oyster & Chop House, close to Smithfield Market in London’s Farringdon.

With your latest venture, Hix Belgravia, you describe the menu as going ‘off piste’. Tell us more.

I am getting a bit bored of all these British menus preaching about locally sourced British produce, and then you look at the menu and it’s not British at all – so I wanted to do something

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a bit different and cook some more international dishes.

What is your favourite dish on the menu at Hix Belgravia?

I love the pici with duck ragu and the deep fried crispy squid with crispy curry leaves, chilli and almond flakes.

Top three ingredients you like to cook with?

Steak Wild mushrooms Wild herbs and leaves What dish do you like to knock up for a quick supper?

Steak salad or simple pasta with grated bonito flakes.

Best culinary advice you have ever been given?

Keep it simple.

Guilty food pleasure?

Foie gras.

Biggest kitchen disaster?

I think it might have been the time that I forgot to turn the oven on one Christmas. We all went out to the pub and when we got back the turkey was still sitting raw in the oven. It was the first time I’d cooked for my ex-wife’s parents so it didn’t go down too well.

I think we ordered a local curry in the end.

Where do you go to eat in London when you’re not working?

I like a lot of the local scruffy Turkish places in east London and also Vietnamese like Cay Tre in Soho.

How do you like to relax?

I go fishing – I take my rod with me wherever I go in the world. It’s my favourite form of relaxation.

Future plans?

Now that would be telling... but there are plans.

RECIPE

Clarence Court free-to-fly quail egg shooters SERVES 4 12 CLARENCE COURT FREETO-FLY QUAIL EGGS 2 RASHERS OF SMOKED STREAKY BACON WITH THE RIND REMOVED 2 TSP FINELY CHOPPED CHIVES COARSE SEA SALT TO SERVE Grill or fry the bacon until crisp, then leave to cool and chop as finely as you can and mix with the chives.

Bring a pan of water to the boil and carefully lower the quail eggs in with a slotted spoon.

Simmer for 20 seconds then drain and run under the cold tap briefly.

Spoon the sea salt onto a serving dish, cut the tops off the quail eggs, stand them in the salt and spoon the bacon mixture on top of each one.

Serve immediately.

hixbelgravia.co.uk 85

MARK HIX RECIPE.indd 85

29/02/2012 00:27

OR TF G N OU RIN ISC RDE D 5% LINE O ON

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HOSOMAKI 5 Pieces of thin sushi roll 20. Salmon 21. Spicy salmon 22. Tuna 23. Spicy tuna 24. Cucumber 25. Avocado 90. Cucumber with organic brown rice 91. Avocado with organic brown rice 92. Salmon with organic brown rice FUTOMAKI 5 Pieces of thick sushi roll 30. Japanese Omelette (eggs) inari, kanpyo, chives, enoki mushrooms and cucumber 31. Salmon and avocado 32. Tuna and avocado - tuna, avocado, chives and enoki mushrooms 33. Vegetable - yellow daikon, cucumber, red pepper, green beans & chives 57. Crispy duck (roasted) duck, cucumber, mint, enoki mushrooms, chives, & hoisin sauce NIGIRI 2 Pieces on a small bed of sushi rice 10. Salmon 11. Spicy salmon 12. Tuna 13. Spicy tuna 14. Prawn 15. Japanese Omelette (eggs) 16. Octopus with Teriyaki sauce 17. Seabass 18. Grilled eel 19. Hamachi (subject to availability) 27. Ikura (salmon eggs) 28. Mackerel 29. Chilli beef with teriyaki sauce SASHIMI 4 Fillets of fresh raw fish 1. Salmon 2. Spicy salmon 3. Tuna 4. Spicy tuna 5. Hamachi (subject to availability)

£3.50 £3.75 £4.30 £4.50 £3.10 £3.25 £3.30 £3.30 £4.30

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6. Seabass UKAI dressing £6.50 7. Chilli beef with Teriyaki sauce £5.80 64. Crunchy oriental broccoli £5.40 with sesame dressing URAMAKI 65. Seaweed salad Sukura £5.10 2 Inside-out rolled sushi cress & Wakame seaweed 40. Rocket -cucumber, red selection, cucumber, £4.70 pepper, chives and enoki bean sprout, sesame seeds, mushrooms edamame beans and dressing 41. California - crab meat, £4.80 mango, cream cheese and UKAI MIXED PLATTERS masago These selections can 42. Salmon and avocado £4.80 not be altered salmon, avocado and 70. Salmon mix: Sashimi x4, £10.90 sesame seeds Nigiri x2, Hosomaki x5 43. UKAI california - salmon, £5.10 71. Spicy salmon mix: Sashimi £11.50 cream cheese, rocket and x4, Nigiri x2, Hosomaki x5 cucumber 72. Tuna mix: Sashimi x4, £12.90 Nigiri x2, Hosomaki x5 UKAI SPECIALITIES 73. Spicy tuna mix: Sashimi £13.50 50. 4x Oysters (Subject to x4, Nigiri x2, Hosomaki x5 £6.60 availability) served with 74. Veggie mix: Omelette £9.50 orange and ponzu dressing nigiri x2, Cucumber hosomaki 52. 8x UKAI pancake Japanese £4.90 x5, Vegetable futomaki x5 pancake with cucumber, 75. UKAI mix: Edamame, £19.00 chives, inari and hoi sin Salmon sashimi x4, Prawn sauce nigiri x2, Rocket uramaki 53. 4x Tuna tartar finely x5, Tuna Hosomaki x5 £5.70 chopped raw tuna in lemon 76. Jumbo mix: Edamame, £26.00 pepper and mirin dressing Salmon sashimi x4, Tuna served in cucumber cups, sashimi x4, Salmon nigiri chives and tobiko x2, Prawn nigiri x2, Tuna 54. 4x Salmon tartar finely nigiri x2, Cucumber £5.60 chopped raw salmon in hosomaki x5 chilli wasabi and mayo77. Party mix 90 pieces: £85.00 nnaise served in cucumber Generous selection of cups and tobiko sashimi, nigiri and maki 55. 4x Inari sushi seasoned tofu £3.80 beautifully presented ideal pouches of rice, sesame, for 8-10 people - Allow ginger and chives preparation time 56. Tuna tataki seared tuna with £8.60 78. Sashimi mix: Salmon x4, £16.50 sesame seeds and miso Tuna x4, Fish of the day x4 dressing 79. Tuna & salmon mix: £14.00 Salmon sashimi x2, Tuna SALADS sashimi x2, Salmon hosomaki 60. 6x Daikon rocket salad roll £5.90 x2, Tuna hosomaki x2, rocket, avocado, red pepper, Salmon nigiri x1, chives, enoki mushroom and Tuna nigiri x1 daikon ginger dressing 150.UKAI Gojyu 50 pieces: £45.00 61. Spinach salad roll blanched £4.90 Generous selection of sushi spinach, sesame seeds and beautifully presented, orange ponzu dressing ideal for 4 people - Allow 62. Green mango and papaya £5.90 preparation time salad carrots, coriander, mint, peanuts, tomatoes with MISO SOUPS red nahm jim 80. Miso, tofu, seaweed, spring £1.75 63. UKAI salad Rocket, lettuce, £5.40 onions and chive oil soy beans,radicchio, 83. Seafood Ramen (thin) £6.50 seaweed, sesame noodles, octopus, prawns, and pumpkin seeds with kani stick, seaweed

and chive oil 84. Seafood Udon (thick) noodles, octopus, prawns, kani stick, sea weed and chive oil 85. Vegetable Ramen (thin) noodles, tofu, spring onion and mixed vegetables 86. Vegetable Udon (thick) noodles, tofu, spring onion and mixed vegetables 87. Miso, salmon, tofu, seaweed, spring onions and chive oil SIDE DISHES 100. Edamame (hot or cold) 104. Spicy Edamame 101. White rice 102. Organic brown rice 103. Japanese mixed pickles CHIRASHI 4 Fillets of fresh raw fish (Sashimi) served on a bed of rice 110. CHIRASHI Salmon - White rice Tuna - White rice 112. SPICY CHIRASHI Spicy salmon - White rice Spicy Tuna - White rice TEMAKI 1 Piece of handroll 130. Salmon, avocado, sesame seeds and chives 131. Tuna, avocado, enoki mushroom and chives 132. Mixed vegetable 133. Ikura (Salmon eggs), cucumber and chives 134. California - Crab me at, mango, tobiko, cream cheese and chives 135. Eel, cucumber, enoki mushroom and chives DESSERTS 120. Ice-cream 2 scoops (Ask for daily flavours) 123. Warm Chocolate Brownie with your choice of icecream 125. Green tea & Vanilla Pannacotta with chocolate sauce 126. Fresh fruit plate 127. Mixed mochi

£6.50

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We deliver to: W1, W2, W3 (some parts), W6 (some parts), W8, W9, W10, W11, W12, W14, SW5, SW6 (some parts), SW7, NW6, NW8 & NW10

223 Portobello Road, W11 1LU | 2 Westbourne Grove, W2 5RA | 58 Poland Street, W1F 7NR *our own customer survey

Untitled-1 UKAI3.indd 1 1

27/02/2012 24/02/2012 19:01 14:59

FOOD&DRINK

All hail Heinz

Heinz Beck’s first UK venture, Apsleys, looks likely to win its second Michelin star, wagers Christian Bird

H

einz Beck is best known for La Pergola, his three Michelinstarred restaurant at Rome’s Cavalieri Hotel, which has attracted a seemingly endless amount of attention. He’s something of a star in Italy, with a major public profile, in no small part thanks to his preoccupation with nutrition and his regular TV appearances. His first UK venture, Apsleys at the Lanesborough Hotel, has gained nothing but acclaim since its opening. It won a much-deserved Michelin star early in 2010, confirming its reputation as one of London’s top Italian restaurants, and is regularly tipped for a second. It makes a pleasant change for a restaurant in a luxury hotel to take Italian, rather than French, cuisine as its base, although the quality of the cuisine here defies simple pigeonholing.

The fi rst thing that strikes you entering the dining room is how richly ornate and

grand it is; the impression is of continental glamour, with none of the impersonality that you often find in hotel restaurants.

The next thing you notice is the friendliness and charm of the staff, who seem genuinely pleased that customers – who, after all, are hardly stuck for choice around Park Lane – have chosen above all to visit Apsleys. And the third, and of course the most vital, is the indisputable quality of the cooking.

The à la carte menu includes many of Heinz Beck’s specialities – helpfully marked with an ‘HB’ symbol – or the tasting menu

Beck’s signature dish of carbonara fagottelli is a favourite of Michelle Obama’s, apparently

offers a comprehensive overview of the kitchen’s highlights. Opting for the à la carte, we were delighted by everything we ate, including Beck’s signature dish of carbonara fagottelli (a favourite of Michelle Obama’s, apparently) and an extremely successful main course of suckling pig, a notoriously hard ingredient to get right but served perfectly here.

Cheese and dessert courses (the latter of which offer semi-surprise dishes with oneword names such as ‘Dream’ and ‘Milk’) are impeccable.

Unusually but pleasingly, the lightness of the courses mean that the delicate cuisine never becomes overwhelming or de trop. Th is surely owes much to Herr Beck’s background in nutrition, and also ensures that the evening lacks that bloating feeling that many rich meals have. It helps that the wine list – which includes some eye-poppingly expensive and rare vintage wines – has a very good selection by the glass that can be matched to the various dishes. An especially good Chardonnay to accompany the fagottelli was a highlight.

London isn’t short on top quality Italian restaurants by any means, any more than it has plenty of second-rate pretenders, but if you fancy trying some really innovative and exciting cooking, unafraid to take risks and innovate while remaining entirely true to its roots, there are few better places to try than Apsleys. Our tip would be to visit at a weekend, when Herr Beck is often found in the restaurant doing a walkabout, as it’s rumoured that the cuisine raises its game to somewhere very near the three star mark of La Pergola.

Apsleys, The Lanesborough Hyde Park Corner SW1 020 7259 5599 lanesborough.com 87

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29/02/2012 12:20

The name Zaika translates quite literally as sophisticated flavours and this is the ethos behind the innovative menu. With and emphasis on refined yet creative Indian cuisine.

Enjoy a complimentary glass of Champagne when you come for Lunch, quote “Absolutely” when making the reservation. Conditions Apply.

........................................................................................................................ ............... ...................

Lunch Menu from £12

T Two Course Early Evening Menu from £22

........................................................................................................................ ............... ...................

Private Bookings, Corporate Events

Zaika, No1 Kensington High Street, London, W8 5NP 020 7795 6533 reservations@zaika-restaurant.co.uk www.zaika-restaurant.co.uk

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27/02/2012 24/02/2012 19:01 14:13

FOOD NEWS

FOOD&DRINK

Fabulous wine, Easter fun and a Grecian delight LET THEM EAT CAKE

Delightful as Easter eggs undeniably are, one can all too easily have a sickly surfeit – particularly those especially adept at unearthing them at the bottom of the garden on Easter morning. For a more grown-up indulgence for La Pasqua, Carluccio’s is serving up a classic Italian Easter cake, otherwise known as colomba tradizionale (750g, £13.95), which comes in the shape of a dove – the symbol, of course, of peace – and is made with candied fruit and sultanas, and topped with hazelnut icing and sugar. For the more rustically inclined meanwhile, try the Pane del Pescatore (250g, £4.95), a ‘fisherman’s bread’ made with sultanas and almonds. carluccios.com

WEDDING WINE

ELEPHANT STEPS

Fulham institution Blue Elephant has moved to a slick new home in Imperial Wharf, to a building modelled on the Saran Rom Palace in Bangkok. A brand new menu will be revealed including Isaan Carpaccio, spicy raw slices of Angus beef served with fiery papaya salad, rock sea salt, a hint of olive oil and parmesan cheese. blueelephant.com

Step forward Tom Harrow, aka the WineChap, who has just teamed up with uberexclusive wedding planner Love and Lord to deliver a brilliant service which helps brides and grooms to construct a wine list which guests can contribute to, thus taking the first steps towards building a first-rate cellar.

Guests can buy by the bottle, the half case or the full case, and each bottle is tagged so that the couple know who to thank. winechap.com and loveandlord.com

RULE BRITANNIA

This patriotic ‘British Egg’

by James, £5.75, is stocked at Harrods. If you really, really love it, you can also commission your own made-to-order version which weighs in at 2.2kg. harrods.com

IT’S ALL GREEK

For five days only, the prodigiously and precociously talented Greek chef Athinagoras Kostakos will take the helm at The Capital’s kitchens. From 6 – 10 March, the 27-year-old head chef at Mykonos’ Bill & Coo Suites will prepare some of his signature dishes including the likes of native lobster with Orzo pasta flavoured with ouzo and extra virgin olive oil. 020 7591 1200; capitalhotel.co.uk

WE ARE FAMILY

Talented fraternal duo Chris and Jeff Galvin open Demoiselle in Harrods Food Hall this month. It’s their fifth London offering, and they are, true to form, keeping it well and truly in the family. While the brothers have devised the French cuisine on the menu, it is Chris’s wife Sara Galvin who is taking on the role of patron of the 55-cover restaurant. Expect to see plenty of the brothers’ signature dishes, such as confit pork cheeks alongside Demoiselle exclusives such as baked lobster fishcakes with warm vinaigrette of fresh ginger and chives. harrods.com 89

FOOD NEWS.indd 89

29/02/2012 00:19

relax at hyatt regency relax at- hyatt regency london the churchill london - the churchill

Situatedin inthe theheart heartofofthe the West End, with views Portman Situated West End, with views overover Portman Square, this five-star is perfectly placed London’s Square, five-star perfectly for for London’s mainmain Situatedthis in the heart hotel ofhotel theisWest End,placed with views over Portman shoppingareas areasand andtourist tourist attractions. Each of the hotel’s wellshopping of for the hotel’s wellSquare, this five-star hotel attractions. is perfectly Each placed London’s main appointed guest rooms and suites offer extreme comfort in elegant appointed guest and rooms and suites offer extreme in wellelegant shopping areas tourist Eachdishes of comfort the in hotel’s surroundings.

Guests can attractions. enjoy seasonal the AA rosette surroundings.

Guests can enjoy European ‘comfort’ food in The appointed guest rooms and suites offer extreme comfort in elegant awarded restaurant, The Montagu, award-winning Italian cuisine Montagu, Italian at Locanda Locatelli and surroundings.

Guests can enjoycuisine European ‘comfort’ food The at Locandaaward-winning Locatelli and cocktails in The Churchill Bar. in This cocktails in The Churchill Bar. This luxurious hotel offers the highest luxurious hotel offers theItalian highest levelsatofLocanda standards and service.

Montagu, award-winning cuisine Locatelli and levels of standards and london.churchill. service. reservations visit For reservations visit hyatt.com or call the highest cocktails in The Churchill Bar.For This luxurious hotellondon.churchill. offers +44 20 7486 5800.

Hyatt.

More You’re Than Welcome. hyatt.com or call +44 20 7486You’re 5800.

Than Welcome. levels of standards and service.

ForHyatt. reservations More visit london.churchill. hyatt.com or call +44 20 7486 5800. Hyatt. You’re More Than Welcome.

+44 20 7486 5800 london.churchill.hyatt.com +44 20 7486 5800 The trademark HYATT and related marks are trademarks of Hyatt International Corporation. london.churchill.hyatt.com

2010 Hyatt International Corporation. All rights reserved.

©

The trademark HYATT and related marks are trademarks of Hyatt International Corporation.©©2010 Hyatt International Corporation. All rights reserved.

The trademark HYATT and related marks are trademarks of Hyatt International Corporation. 2012 Hyatt International Corporation. All rights reserved.

Hyatt.indd 1

28/02/2012 16:01

TRAVEL WHY RYE?

The spectacular mélange of medieval, Tudor and Georgian architecture along with its situation on the top of a hill overlooking the Rivers Rother and Marsh makes this East Sussex town almost absurdly picturesque. For the historically minded, the Ypres Tower along with the original town wall speak of Edward III’s 14th-century fortifying precautions against French invasion, while those of a more literary persuasion will find as compelling that Henry James lived (and died) at Lamb House, the exemplar of Rye’s fine Georgian houses, where later EF Benson would take up residence and where writers such as Rudyard Kipling visited. Finally, Mermaid Street – with its cobbled stone and half-timbered houses with names such as ‘The House Opposite’ – also happens to be one of the loveliest in England.

GET THERE: From Victoria, the journey is easy, and towards its end, the train takes one directly and dramatically along the coast.

UK GETAWAY

Rye, Sussex

White Vine House

WHERE TO STAY?

THE ROOMS:

Up on the first floor, our room is spacious and homely at the same time, and has a proper old style four-poster. Appealingly, every room is equipped with Wi-Fi, DVD players and flat panel TV screens – all sympathetically and discreetly installed so as not to interfere with the more antiquarian aesthetic. There is real coffee, good quality biscuits, sweets and dried fruit on offer – the latter a measure which waste-conscious Javed has installed to put paid to throwing away mountains of pastits-best fresh fruit every week.

THE BATHROOM:

Almost the same size as the bedroom and fitted with a beautiful roll-top bath, this is what gives the room its stellar quality. There’s an abundance of fluffy white towels and the mirrors even double up as inconspicuous televisions. Ever ecologically sound, Javed eschews the ubiquitous hotel soap and shampoos, and instead refills specially made bottles, whilst ensuring that the quality of the products is excellent.

There is no dearth of fittingly quaint hotels to chose from, though some are a little knowingly ‘ye olde worlde’ for certain tastes. Step forward then White Vine House – positioned handily and handsomely on the high street – about which there is happily nothing ersatz. Its architecture represents a microcosm of the wider miscellany of styles and ages in the town; after all, its frontage is Georgian, its cellar is medieval, its staircase is Victorian and its frame Elizabethan. Rather deprecatingly, it describes itself as ‘a restaurant with rooms’, and indeed, as soon as guests step inside, they are met with the inviting aromas from the dining room, which serves modern Indian food cooked by Michelin-rated chef Dev Biswal (more of which later). The welcome is warm and attentive, and owner Javed Khan – a young ex-banker and something, one senses, of a perfectionist – is a charming host who is patently devoted to the hotel, not as a moneymaking venture but as a life-long quest, both to keep the historic building in healthy restored order and to perfect the ultimate hassle-free, happy stay for guests.

PRICE TAG: £150 and £190 per room, per night, whitevinehouse.co.uk THE RESTAURANT:

Round the coastal corner in Margate, Dev Biswal has garnered something of a reputation for his delicately spiced, anti ‘curry house’ Indian food, and as such his restaurant has become the south coast’s answer to the likes of The Cinnamon Club. Last year, a chance remark from Javed whilst visiting the Margate restaurant led to the collaboration at Rye; Javed had a restaurant at the hotel he was struggling to run, and it seems, Dev was keen to expand.

The result? Ambrette, which serves local food such as scallops, expertly spiced, in a convivial dining room. A lovely touch is that diners, while waiting by the fire in the adjacent room are offered a complimentary glass of sparkling wine.

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BETTER SHAPE UP FITNESS ESCAPES

Three of the best destinations to keep you in peak condition

PETER ISLAND RESORT AND SPA

1

For the most devout of gym bunnies among us, the ever-thoughtful folk at Peter Island Resort & Spa in the British Virgin Islands have put a new programme in place so that you can maintain your bikini body between sessions lying prostrate on the idyll’s beaches. Though most of us consider respite from the city a welcome excuse to drop the fitness regime like a hot potato, our more committed counterparts will delight in the island’s partnership with Fit Bodies Inc, as a result of which visitors can call on the expertise of three visiting experts who offer complimentary classes,

from yoga and Pilates to beach boot-camp and power walking. All of which means you can tuck in to the hearty Caribbean cuisine guilt-free.

Nightly room-only rates this spring at Peter Island Resort & Spa start from $325 (*£207) in an Ocean View Room, peterisland.com

2

Those of a spiritual persuasion – or indeed anyone longing to escape the urban pace and pressures – should pack up and make straight for Vietnam’s The Nam Hai hotel. The all-villa resort offers an eclectic weekly wellness programme, which kicks off with

meditation classes (strictly for early birds – they start at 7am) and continues through the day with Yoga, massage lessons and finally self-defence instruction. All this against a backdrop of impossibly white sands, naturally. Rates start from $650 (£418), excluding taxes, per villa per night, which includes a daily buffet breakfast for two people at The Restaurant, daily complimentary shuttle to Hoi An and complimentary non-alcoholic beverages from the minibar.

Stay at The Nam Hai for 4 nights and pay for 3, or stay 7 and pay for 5; valid until 20 December 2012; thenamhai.com

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29/02/2012 11:26

TRAVEL

FROM TOP: VILA VITA’S ALGARVE BEACH; A POOL-SIDE SPA ROOM AT THE NAM HAI; PETER ISLAND; THE SWIMMING POOL AT THE NAM HAI

3

For a slightly less far-flung fitness regime designed specifically to kick-start the pre-summer detox, the Algarve’s Vila Vita is hosting a Get Fit Week. The three programmes it has devised are divided into the five-day ‘Vital Active’ (£471, excluding accommodation), the five-day ‘Awakening’ detox (£738, excluding accommodation) and the four-day ‘Natural Balance’ (£429, excluding accommodation.) It’s quite the best way to prep for your real holiday.

But do make sure you get in quick: it runs from 10 – 17 March. vilavitaparc.com 93

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29/02/2012 09:22

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27/02/2012 18:54

LA DOLCE VITA Stephen Bayley falls for Sophia Loren and the stunning Bellevue Syrene on the Amalfi Coast

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29/02/2012 09:28

I

t’s a fine thing to be sitting here with Sophia Loren in the lobby of a spectacular hotel. The dimensional specifics of each are similarly impressive. Additionally, I have a glass of prosecco nearby, blue water in the middleground, a volcano in the distance and, just by my right elbow, a gasp-making cliffdrop of perhaps 300 feet down to a small beach of black sand.

To be truthful, there is a (sliding) sheet of glass between me and bloodily pulped oblivion, and – alas – La Loren is here only in photo-album form: although, unlike Vesuvius, she continues to smoulder (even off the page). Still, as reception areas go, it’s not too shabby. The sun shines, oranges and lemons grow like weeds in the

perfumed air and I think, as I so often do, of La Dolce Vita.

Sorrento’s freshly refurbished Bellevue Syrene is the most elegant of the necklace of fading grand hotels garlanding the vertiginous cliffs of the Golfo di Napoli’s southern shore. It’s only 50km from Capodichino airport, but since half that distance is travelled on the slow, arse-clenchingly terrifying SS145 – a ledge rather than a road – it seems more remote… both in space and time.

The ledge is a congealed mass of hot, angry metal in summer, so use a boat or come a little out of season. A grand hotel out of season is, I fancy, as the prosecco takes hold, rather like making love to an ageing beauty. Sophia Loren, for example.

The physical attraction remains, but decorum requires parts to be covered.

Passion is muted, but the expertise is assured. The result? A specialised, but nonetheless satisfying, experience. For example, Bellevue Syrene’s proprietors have made the calculation that, in the quiet months, it’s cheaper to give drinks away than pay someone to serve them.

And the happy result is ice buckets of wine scattered about: fuel for more cheerful fantasy about mischievous Roman gods and Neapolitan sex goddesses.

We – and I mean my wife and I, not me and Ms Loren – are the latest in a line of odd couples drawn to this magical, haunted place. At the bottom of my cliff, Virgil celebrated completing The Aeneid with a

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TRAVEL

FROM LEFT: BELLEVUE SYRENE; AMALFI COAST; BELLEVUE SYRENE

party thrown by the Emperor Augustus, dedicating a statue of Amor in a troglodyte Temple of Venus (where they now store butane cylinders). Admiral Nelson began his affair with Emma Hamilton nearby in 1793: she had promoted herself by dancing naked on tables at society dinners.

Nietzsche and Wagner had their nasty spat here in 1876. Love, and hate, hang in the air along with the oranges, lemons and popping prosecco corks.

All rooms have a sea view, but we have a suite with a panorama of everything.

Decoration is by Marco de Luca, who worked on the High Bohemian B&B La Minervetta just up the road. But while the colourful mayhem of La Minervetta is like an explosion in Tricia Guild’s

knicker drawer, the Bellevue Syrene’s style is monochrome and restrained: layered, competitive whiteness of very high threadcount sheets and superb Richard Ginori china. It is sumptuously austere: a perfect counterpoint for our room’s model Riva Aquarama and a schlock bust of Marcus Aurelius suggesting the poles of experience, sensual and philosophical, available here. A flyer for a car hire company is in Russian and shows a Ferrari.

Like any luxury hotel, Bellevue Syrene has grand restaurant spaces out-of-sync with the stylish intimacy and dominant sensuality of its bedrooms. Eat there one night and enjoy the tinkle of the pianist playing soft rock classics while you sup.

In town, Inn Bufalito is a mozzarella specialist that also cooks real Campanian dishes, which we enjoyed. (Possibly ignore the plague of alien industrial balsamic always on offer.) Also tempting is Aurora, a solemn, brightly lit old-school pizzeria where the staff is in dinner jackets and customers are in shorts.

Best of all, saunter down to Marina Grande, among the fishermen’s nets and ziggurats of piscatorial crapola, to Trattoria da Emilia. I doubt the menu has changed much since 1947, but since they serve the freshest possible fritto misto (the fish are too small to be worth freezing) along with, for Italy, unusually good restaurant bread

and jugs of glugging bianco – who wants innovation? And, just beyond the threshold, a thrilling confirmation of the rightness of it all: a black and white photograph, taken in 1955, of Sophia Loren in mozzarella-tight shorts, taking a break at this very spot from filming Dino Risi’s Pane, Amore e. Loren said everything she did owed a debt to spaghetti, but I think other factors were involved.

Saturday morning in Room 501, the sepulchral quiet is interrupted only by a distant strimmer, a tap-tap-tap from invisible lavori and the maddening Eurostar chime, like the Danone ad riff, of our lift coming and going. Mrs Smith is sitting on the terrace in neo-classical repose, watching a distant aliscafo shoot silently across a glass sea to Capri, the craggy goat island. I know she is thinking of lunch.

Years ago, we stayed in Franco Zefirelli’s old house, the Villa Tre Ville in neighbouring Positano. This global HQ of modern hedonism introduced us to the troubled magic of an area that has attracted poets and lovers since BC and drawn gamblers, chancers, divas, directors, dancers and stars AD. The owners of Bellevue Syrene have just bought Franco’s old house and turned it into apartments, establishing another local connection to historic pleasure.

A chair on a vantage point here is a good laboratory to test if the ancient gods still exist. I think they do, but so too do rather younger ones. Maybe if I wait long enough in this sunburnt otherwhere, Sophia Loren will actually turn up. Bellevue Syrene makes la dolce vita real, turning a dream into an address.

Review by Stephen Bayley for the Mr & Mrs Smith Hotel Collection: Italy.

Published: November 2011.

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29/02/2012 02:23

TRAVEL NEWS THE REALLY WILD SHOW

To mark its half-century in the business, Abercrombie and Kent has launched a wildlife brochure, which celebrates not only the anniversary but the fact that the company has long made a point of supporting conservation organisations and preserving the wilderness of the countries it travels to. Would-be travellers can elect to join intrepid tours ranging from gorilla-watching in the Dzangha-Sangha National Park under the tutelage of Ian Redmond to tracking wolves in Yellowstone Park, Canada. abercrombiekent.co.uk

YOUR OWN PRIVATE HIDEAWAY Anyone for whom a desert island is not a desert island unless it is literally deserted (of other tourists at least) would do well to decamp forthwith to Bora Bora, where the Four Seasons resort is now available exclusively for hire. The fabulous seven-night package costs £630,000, and includes use of 107 rooms, 250 employees, all meals, drinks, air fares and transfers. We can but dream… fourseasons.com/borabora

LOOK EAST…

… TO HYDERABAD, India’s fi fth largest metropolis, which is the latest to lay claim to a Vivanta by Taj hotel (vivantaby taj.com), the rapidly expanding group aimed at business travellers. Th is latest incarnation is laid out over 8,600 sq ft and offers bespoke culinary two-city tours between Hyderabad and neighbouring Secunderabad… Or even further east to Tokyo, where the 23-storey Palace Hotel (palacehotelstokyo. com) is set to open in May to reveal to guests how its stellar views over the city match its assortment of restaurants, all aiming unswervingly for Michelin’s good books: The French restaurant, Crown, opens in collaboration with Patrick Henriroux who runs two-star La Pyramide in France, and the Japanese offering Wadakura is managed by the Shinji Kanesaka who also owns the twostarred Sushi Kanesaka in Ginza.

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27/02/2012 18:49 13/10/11 15:00:34

ABSOLUTELY MARCH 2012

PROPERTY

STERLING STREET, KNIGHTSBRIDGE SW7 This extremely attractive period house is situated in the heart of Knightsbridge and has been refurbished to the highest standards. This home will offers three bedrooms, three bathrooms, reception room, large eat in kitchen with direct access to a stunning West facing garden.

ÂŁ4,500,000 Freehold

PROPERTY FRONT COVER MAR12.indd 63

020 7584 7020 knightsbridge@carterjonas.co.uk

29/02/2012 00:34

Knowledge takes you far.

Know-how takes you further.

M&P Chelsea March.indd 1

29/02/2012 05:11

Over 50% of our sales and lettings business in Central London is with international buyers and tenants.

We have years of experience in tracking down exactly the right buyer or tenant for your property, wherever in the world they might be.

Even more importantly, our International Desk exposes your property to the widest global audience, opening up new opportunities all over the world.

With our award-winning marketing and close relationships with major international companies, it’s hardly surprising news of your property travels far and wide.

Local know-how. Better results. sales@marshandparsons.co.uk lettings@marshandparsons.co.uk marshandparsons.co.uk

M&P Chelsea March.indd 2

29/02/2012 05:12

Local know-how. Better results.

Our Offices:

Brook Green

Hammersmith

Mayfair

Balham

Chelsea

Holland Park

North Kensington

Barnes

Clapham

Kensington

Notting Hill

Battersea

Fulham

Little Venice

Pimlico

Bedford Gardens W8 £4,950,000 This beautifully presented four storey, Grade II listed period house features a wonderful double reception room on the ground floor, a lower ground floor kitchen/dining room, a large master bedroom suite, a further two bedrooms and three bathrooms. The property also benefits from a separate artists studio situated at the end of the superb private garden. Freehold. Sole Agents.

KENSINGTON: 020 7368 4450 sales.kns@marshandparsons.co.uk

M&P Chelsea March.indd 3

29/02/2012 05:12

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/marshandparsons

Join us on Facebook: facebook/marshandparsons.co.uk

Visit our YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/marshandparsons

SALES

See all of our properties online: marshandparsons.co.uk

West Eaton Place SW1 £3,950,000 This wonderful Belgravia apartment is located on a corner position and boasts plenty of natural light. The ground oor provides a large reception room, a contemporary kitchen with direct access to a terrace and a guest cloakroom. The lower ground provides a utility room and two superb bedroom suites, both with luxurious en suite bathrooms. Share of Freehold. Joint Sole Agent.

CHELSEA: 020 7591 5570 sales.chs@marshandparsons.co.uk

M&P Chelsea March.indd 4

29/02/2012 05:12

Local know-how. Better results.

Our Offices:

Brook Green

Hammersmith

Mayfair

Balham

Chelsea

Holland Park

North Kensington

Barnes

Clapham

Kensington

Notting Hill

Battersea

Fulham

Little Venice

Pimlico

Green Street W1 £3,600,000 This large and elegant Mayfair apartment is situated towards the eastern end of Green Street, which sits south of Oxford Street and is regarded as one of Mayfair’s most popular addresses. The property occupies the ground and lower ground floors of this well maintained period building. The ground floor comprises a reception room and eat-in kitchen. The lower ground floor boasts two excellent bedroom suites and access to the private garden. Share of Freehold. Sole Agents.

MAYFAIR: 020 7591 5587 sales.may@marshandparsons.co.uk

M&P Chelsea March.indd 5

29/02/2012 05:12

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/marshandparsons

Join us on Facebook: facebook/marshandparsons.co.uk

Visit our YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/marshandparsons

SALES

See all of our properties online: marshandparsons.co.uk

Bishops Road SW6 ÂŁ2,250,000 Arranged over three floors this stunning property comprises two large reception rooms, a contemporary kitchen, a dining area leading out to a patio garden, a wonderful master bedroom with en suite bathroom and three further double bedrooms all with en suite bathrooms. Freehold. Sole Agents.

CHELSEA: 020 7591 5570 sales.chs@marshandparsons.co.uk

M&P Chelsea March.indd 6

29/02/2012 05:12

Local know-how. Better results.

Our OfďŹ ces:

Brook Green

Hammersmith

Mayfair

Balham

Chelsea

Holland Park

North Kensington

Barnes

Clapham

Kensington

Notting Hill

Battersea

Fulham

Little Venice

Pimlico

Onslow Gardens SW7 ÂŁ2,150,000 This wonderful ground floor maisonette is presented in excellent condition having recently been completely refurbished. The property comprises a stunning open plan kitchen/reception room with direct access to the private patio and communal gardens. The bedroom accommodation boasts a master bedroom with en suite shower room, a utility/cloakroom, two further double bedrooms and a large family bathroom. Leasehold.

CHELSEA: 020 7591 5570 sales.chs@marshandparsons.co.uk

M&P Chelsea March.indd 7

29/02/2012 05:12

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/marshandparsons

Join us on Facebook: facebook/marshandparsons.co.uk

Visit our YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/marshandparsons

SALES

See all of our properties online: marshandparsons.co.uk

Chesham Street SW1 £1,625,000 This fabulous apartment has recently undergone a full refurbishment and now offers a ‘turn key’ opportunity in this prime London location. Split over two levels, there is a superb open plan reception room to the front of the property, a modern kitchen which leads directly out to a wonderful roof terrace, two large double bedrooms (one en suite) and a shower room. Leasehold. Joint Sole Agent.

CHELSEA: 020 7591 5570 sales.chs@marshandparsons.co.uk

M&P Chelsea March.indd 8

29/02/2012 05:12

Local know-how. Better results.

Our OfďŹ ces:

Brook Green

Hammersmith

Mayfair

Balham

Chelsea

Holland Park

North Kensington

Barnes

Clapham

Kensington

Notting Hill

Battersea

Fulham

Little Venice

Pimlico

Solgt

Sprzedane

Venduto

Lennox Gardens SW1 ÂŁ1,490 per week Perfectly situated on Lennox gardens this stunning, newly refurbished duplex apartment comprises a large double aspect reception room, a semi-open plan contemporary kitchen/dining room, a master bedroom with en suite bathroom, three further bedrooms, a large bathroom and a roof terrace with lovely views.

CHELSEA: 020 7591 5570 lets.chs@marshandparsons.co.uk

M&P Chelsea March.indd 9

29/02/2012 05:12

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/marshandparsons

Join us on Facebook: facebook/marshandparsons.co.uk

Visit our YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/marshandparsons

LETTINGS

See all of our properties online: marshandparsons.co.uk

St Georges Drive SW1 £875 per week This stunning three bedroom split level property is located on one of the most sought after streets in Pimlico. The property offers a large open plan kitchen/reception room, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and plenty of built-in storage. The apartment further benefits from three terraces, including a decked roof terrace with panoramic views over London.

PIMLICO: 020 7828 8100 lets.pim@marshandparsons.co.uk

Burton Mews SW1 £850 per week Perfectly situated and well presented throughout, this apartment boasts a spacious reception room with wooden floors, a separate kitchen, a large master bedroom with fitted storage, a second double bedroom and a neutral bathroom. The property further benefits from excellent storage throughout and private parking.

CHELSEA: 020 7591 5570 lets.chs@marshandparsons.co.uk

M&P Chelsea March.indd 10

29/02/2012 05:13

Offices throughout the UK including 5 in London Our London offices are open on Saturday between 10am - 3pm

Carter Jonas Chelsea March.indd 1

29/02/2012 05:16

carterjonas.co.uk

SOUTH KENSINGTON

Wetherby Place SW7 A most unusual newly built studio house discreetly located behind a gated entrance. The house is in excellent condition with great entertaining space.

Reception room • Study • Guest cloakroom • Kitchen/dining room • 2 bedrooms • 2 bathrooms • Patio

Guide price £3,350,000 Freehold

Knightsbridge & Chelsea 020 7584 7020 knightsbridge@carterjonas.co.uk

Carter Jonas Chelsea March.indd 2

29/02/2012 05:16

Offices throughout the UK including 5 in London Our London offices are open on Saturday between 10am - 3pm

CHELSEA

Billing Street SW10 A beautiful period house tucked away in this unique private enclave just off Fulham Road, with flexible accommodation over three floors. This bright house has a large eat-in kitchen with separate dining area and also offers a roof terrace and a charming private garden.

2 reception rooms • 2 bedrooms • 2 bathrooms Roof Terrace • Garden

Guide price £1,500,000 Freehold

Knightsbridge & Chelsea 020 7584 7020 knightsbridge@carterjonas.co.uk

Carter Jonas Chelsea March.indd 3

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carterjonas.co.uk

SOUTH KENSINGTON

Courtfield Gardens SW5 A fabulous interior designed flat on the first floor of a period house with a west facing balcony and beautiful views over the garden square. The flat would make an ideal home or rental investment.

Reception room • Bedroom • Bathroom • Kitchen • Balcony

Guide price £1,350,000 Leasehold

Knightsbridge & Chelsea 020 7584 7020 knightsbridge@carterjonas.co.uk

Carter Jonas Chelsea March.indd 4

29/02/2012 05:16

Offices throughout the UK including 5 in London Our London offices are open on Saturday between 10am - 3pm

KNIGHTSBRIDGE

EARLS COURT

Lennox Gardens SW1

Gledhow Gardens SW5

A stunning two property on the third floor (with lift) of a period conversion on a prestigious garden square in Knightsbridge.

An exquisite recently refurbished property situated in a wonderful South Kensington location.

2 double bedrooms • 2 reception rooms • 3 bathrooms Communal gardens

2 bedrooms • 2 bathrooms • Reception room Open-plan kitchen • Balcony

£2,150 per week Unfurnished

£1,350 per week Unfurnished

Knightsbridge & Chelsea 020 7584 7020 knightsbridge@carterjonas.co.uk

Knightsbridge & Chelsea 020 7584 7020 knightsbridge@carterjonas.co.uk

KNIGHTSBRIDGE

SOUTH KENSINGTON

Brompton Road SW3

Manson Place SW7

A beautifully refurbished, contemporary apartment situated on the third floor of a portered block in the heart of Knightsbridge.

A stunning newly refurbished apartment on the raised ground floor of this stucco fronted period property.

Bedroom • Bathroom • Kitchen • Reception room • Lift • Porter

2 double bedrooms • 2 luxury bathrooms • Kitchen Reception • Lift

£1,200 per week Furnished

Knightsbridge & Chelsea 020 7584 7020 knightsbridge@carterjonas.co.uk

Carter Jonas Chelsea March.indd 5

£1,050 per week Furnished Knightsbridge & Chelsea 020 7584 7020 knightsbridge@carterjonas.co.uk

29/02/2012 05:17

carterjonas.co.uk KNIGHTSBRIDGE

CHELSEA

Beauchamp Place SW3

Walton Street SW3

A newly refurbished split level flat on a very sought after street in the heart of Knightsbridge.

An opportunity to rent a spacious and well proportioned flat in the heart of Chelsea.

2 double bedrooms • Large living room • Fitted kitchen Tiled bathroom • Conservatory • Balcony • Storage room

2 double bedrooms • 2 bathrooms • Reception room Dining/study room • Kitchen • Communal patio • Small private patio

£800 per week Furnished

£695 per week Furnished

Knightsbridge & Chelsea 020 7584 7020 knightsbridge@carterjonas.co.uk

Knightsbridge & Chelsea 020 7584 7020 knightsbridge@carterjonas.co.uk

KNIGHTSBRIDGE

SOUTH KENSINGTON

Park Mansions SW1

Queens Gate SW7

A very well presented, freshly decorated flat in a well regarded portered building in the heart of Knightsbridge.

An opportunity to rent a well proportioned and spacious flat moments from Hyde Park.

Bedroom • Bathroom • 2 reception rooms (with open plan kitchen) Lift • 24hr hour porter

Double bedroom • Bathroom (en-suite) • Kitchen • Reception room

£675 per week Furnished Knightsbridge & Chelsea 020 7584 7020 knightsbridge@carterjonas.co.uk

Carter Jonas Chelsea March.indd 6

£625 per week Furnished

Knightsbridge & Chelsea 020 7584 7020 knightsbridge@carterjonas.co.uk

29/02/2012 05:17

NETWORK...

THE KEY TO FINDING THE PERFECT MATCH When it comes to bringing properties and buyers together, we work tirelessly to find the perfect match. With a network of offices nationwide, it’s easy to see why loyal Carter Jonas clients can be found the length and breadth of the country.

Whether selling, letting or buying, look no further.

Call us on 020 3018 2361 or find us online at CARTERJONAS.CO.UK/KEY

Carter Jonas Chelsea March.indd 7

29/02/2012 05:17

PROPERTY

Luxe living This Cheyne Row townhouse is a masterclass in slickly executed luxurious chic

WHAT This vast and sprawling house on Cheyne Walk is arranged over 7500sq ft, all presented in jaw-slackeningly immaculate and contemporary style.

Impressed? You should be. There are five bedrooms (with en-suites, naturally), an intriguing floating library, a master bedroom with its own dressing room, a cinema room, roof terrace, patio, a wine room, off-street parking, and our favourite of all, a plant room. With all that to keep in good order, you’ll need a full in-house staff – so it’s handy then that there are suitably stylish servant quarters with their own en-suite bathrooms. Or indeed, for the more domestically-inclined, a further bedroom.

WHERE Upper Cheyne Row is one of the most coveted addresses in London,

positioned as it is on the banks of the Thames, and looking across to Sir Norman Foster’s Albion building. The property sits amid some of the finest Georgian buildings in the capital, most of which are covered in blue plaques recalling famous former incumbents.

The King’s Road is just minutes’ walk away, while there is the picturesque vista of boats bobbing down the

Thames as a constant source for making whoever lives here feel aesthetically replete.

WHY This enormous townhouse has been designed to the very highest of contemporary standards; triple height ceilings mean that the already large space feels even more cavernous and the floating library is something to behold. But mostly we just love the view, which would have had Turner twitching to get hold of his paint brushes.

DETAILS POA, freehold CONTACT Bective Leslie Marsh 020 7589 6677 bectivelesliemarsh.co.uk 119

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2012-02-24 15:13:56

1

BELGRAVIA

Caroline Terrace SW1W A unique and prestigious low built, double fronted Belgravia house, with a large integral garage and a beautiful south-facing garden. This exceptional property is presented in good condition throughout however, there is also enormous potential drawing room | family room | master bedroom (en suite) | 5 further bedrooms (1 en suite) | 1 further bathroom | kitchen/breakfast room | study | conservatory | utility room | pantry | vault storage | integral garage | balcony | south-facing garden

Guide price ÂŁ6,500,000 leasehold

cluttons.com

020 7730 0303 belgravia@cluttons.com

28/02/2012 11:23

2012-02-24 15:16:03

1

CHELSEA

Elvaston Place SW7 A prime Central London residential period building, consisting of six newly refurbished two and three bedroom apartments. The building was built in circa 1860 by Charles Aldin and is located on north terrace of the street. Elvaston Place runs between Queen's Gate and Gloucester Road, close to the shopping and transport facilities the area has to offer. Knightsbridge, Hyde Park, High Street Kensington and the V&A, Science Museum and Natural History Museum are all within easy walking distance

Guide price ÂŁ10,500,000 freehold

cluttons.com

020 7584 1771 chelsea@cluttons.com

28/02/2012 11:23

2012-02-24 14:59:23

1

BELGRAVIA

Sloane Court East SW3 A stunning, newly redecorated maisonette in the heart of Chelsea, located around the corner from the Saatchi Gallery and moments from Sloane Square and the fashionable shopping of the Kings Road. This bright property is neutrally decorated throughout, has two good sized double bedrooms both with fitted wardrobes, is fully furnished and is available immediately reception room | 2 double bedrooms (en suite) | kitchen/breakfast room | guest cloakroom

ÂŁ1,350 per week furnished

Westminster Green SW1P A superb second floor executive Westminster apartment situated in a highly prestigious development with excellent on-site facilities including a gym, 24 hour porter, business facilities, a meeting room and secure underground parking. The flat offers lovely views over St John's Gardens with the Tate Britain located moments away reception room | 2 double bedrooms (en suite) | kitchen | gym | business facilities | 24hr porter | secure parking | balcony

ÂŁ850 per week furnished

cluttons.com

020 7330 0303 belgravia@cluttons.com

28/02/2012 11:23

2012-02-24 15:10:03

1

CHELSEA

Onslow Square SW7 This gorgeous property is situated on this much sought after garden square close to South Kensington underground station. The flat has been recently refurbished to the highest of standards and boasts wood flooring throughout entrance hall | reception room | main bedroom (en suite) with dressing room | further double bedroom | shower room | kitchen | terrace access to communal garden

|

ÂŁ1,595 per week furnished

Elm Park Gardens SW10 This stunning property has been newly refurbished to an exceptional standard and is located just off Fulham Road close to the excellent amenities of Kings Road, South Kensington and Gloucester Road entrance hall | reception room with open-plan kitchen | 2 double bedrooms (1 en suite) | further bathroom | study | patio | access to communal gardens

ÂŁ850 per week furnished/unfurnished

cluttons.com

020 7584 1771 chelsea@cluttons.com

28/02/2012 11:23

‘‘

124

AGENT SPEAKS MARCH 12.indd 124

Associate Director, Marsh & Parsons PHOTO: RICHARD CLARK

O

n the eve of my 35th birthday, I look back over the last decade or so and am surprised at just how quickly the time has flown.

Now I’m a young man on the block, but in 1999 I started as a trainee negotiator when we estate agents were just about getting the hang of photocopiers (we weren’t the most advanced users of technology) and one of my early jobs – sticking photographs to sets of details – was certainly on the way out. Floorplans, once far and few between, were also starting to make a big impact and the move to valuing property on a price-per-square-foot basis was certainly set in motion. Some dislike this method and I must admit I feel it detracts a certain finesse from the ‘old days’ of agency, but it does normalise the market and gives the ability to track trends much more effectively. So I thought I would take a look into house prices from 2000 to the present and focus on Ovington Street, SW3, which happens to be just across the road from my office, to see just how much change has really happened and whether the well-known myth of property prices doubling roughly every 10 years has actually worked out to be true Ovington Street is a typical period terrace with houses that vary in size from the original 1600 square-footers to some now in excess of 2400 square feet. Back in 2000 you would have been paying around £800 per square foot for a decently decorated house. That figure jumped 12 per cent by 2004, seeing the average at around £900 per square foot, a rather slow time in the market, I remember. Then, in 2005 things started happening as buyer confidence grew and by the summer of 2006 the market had grown another 20 per cent, seeing your average Ovington Street house coming in at £1125 per square foot. ‘This can’t continue!’ cried those sitting on the fence as prices rose, on average, another 20 per cent by the summer of 2007 raising that price per square foot to £1400. We all know what happened next, August 2007, the credit crunch, prices dropped by 25 per cent – or did they? For me, it wasn’t a true market at work and the severe lack of transactions distorted the numbers drastically and so, by the time confidence bounded back late in 2009 we were seeing £1750 per square foot, an increase of 20 per cent on 2007. So after a steady, but positive start to 2012, we now see houses in Ovington Street expecting to trade at level north of £2000 per square foot.

Two have recently sold north of £2100, a mere snip compared to the £7000 per square foot you’ll need to pay to live at One Hyde Park! So yes, prices did double in the last decade and have done so for the last 90 odd years which is a pattern I see continuing as long as there is such an imbalance between sellers and buyers. If you’d like to know how much your property in SW3 is worth, don’t hesitate to drop me a line... WHughes-ward@marshandparsons.co.uk

‘‘

In their own words

WILLIAM HUGHES WARD

28/02/2012 23:54

PROPERTY

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Absolutely

PRIME On the market in our manor

TILTON STREET, SW6, ÂŁ1,550,000

IMPRESSIVE THREE DOUBLE BEDROOM HOUSE

This state-of-the art house discreetly located on Tilton Street comprises an exceptionally spacious open-plan kitchen/ reception room, a separate utility room, a chilled wine cellar, two bathrooms, a guest w/c and two double bedrooms as well as outside space and a separate annexe with a bathroom, chard.co.uk 126

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28/02/2012 23:47

PROPERTY ONSLOW GARDENS, SW7 £2,150,000 A STUNNING PERIOD CONVERSION Onslow Gardens is one of South Kensington’s most sought-after addresses with its picturesque white stucco-fronted houses and beautifully maintained mature gardens. Th is wonderful, long-lease, ground floor maisonette is presented in near-perfect condition, having been completely refurbished when the curremt owners originally moved in. The property is entered on the ground floor and towards the rear of this period conversion, marshandparsons.co.uk

EATON SQUARE, SW1 £17,500,000 ELEGANT TRIPLEX APARTMENT A fantastic ground-, first- and second-floor triplex (451 sq m/4,857 sq ft approx) with three large bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, and three impressive reception rooms, on an exceptionally long lease with a guide price of £17.5 million. With high ceilings and ornate period details, this magnificent apartment makes an outstanding London home. sothebysrealty.com

YEOMANS ROW, SW3 £1,750 PER WEEK FAMILY HOUSE WITH SELFCONTAINED STUDIO FLAT A large semi-detached family house of approximately 2400 sq ft, with a fine first floor reception room and patio garden. There are wooden floors throughout and a self-contained studio in the basement. Located between Knightsbridge and South Kensington in a pretty, quiet street. bodensresidential.com 127

PRIME PROPERTY DPS2.indd 127

28/02/2012 23:47

PROPERTY

Discreet chic Tucked away and quiet, this Hereford Square mews house is ideal for entertaining in the summer

WHAT While mews properties traditionally sacrifice space for picturesqueness, this South Kensington example refuses to make any such compromise. Securely hidden, there are two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large reception room and a paved patio – just the thing for barbecues in the summer. A word of warning: you will forever more be host.

WHERE Just off Hereford Square, which constitutes one of London’s loveliest communal gardens, designed in 1845 by the architect Thomas Holmes. James Barrie, author of Peter Pan, lived on the Gloucester Road side of the square, and it was here that his flying hero first zipped in through the window to take

the children to Never-Never Land, he later said. As in Barrie’s day, it is perfectly placed for visits to the V&A and the Natural History Museum.

WHY Wetherby Studio is centrally positioned, yet totally tucked away. The living space is bright, light and airy, and we love the fact that in the summer, the outside comes in as the sliding doors open straight from kitchen to the garden.

DETAILS £3,350,000, freehold CONTACT Carter Jonas 020 7584 7020 carterjonas.co.uk

AGENT’S VIEW The first time I visited Wetherby Studio I realised I’d never before noticed its gated entrance, which proves how discreet its location is.

This is a highly individual low-build house, which has a different feel from a classic mews house. It is far more private than a flat, so if you’re looking for peace and quiet, but require superb entertaining space and an abundance of natural light, this could be the one for you.

Anita Sanford, 020 7584 7020 carterjonas.co.uk

COURTFIELD GARDENS, SW5 A fabulous interior designed one bedroom flat on the first floor of a period house with a west-facing balcony and beautiful views over the garden square. The flat would make an ideal home or rental investment.

Snap it up for £1,350,000.

Leasehold.

020 7584 7020 carterjonas.co.uk

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29/02/2012 04:05

Paultons Square, SW3

ÂŁ2,750 pw

2140 SQ.FT / 199 SQ. M | 4 bedrooms | Long Let | Chelsea A beautifully refurbished townhouse with a lovely private garden on a prestigious Chelsea Square Wilfords London, 6 Holland Street W8 4LT wilfords.com

WILFORDS LETTINGS.indd 1

+44(0)20 7361 0400

28/02/2012 10:13

Onslow Gardens, SW7

Smith Street, SW3

ÂŁ2,150,000 | Leasehold

ÂŁ2,600 p.w

Unfurnished

This three bedroom maisonette on the ground and lower ground floors of this handsome white stucco fronted property combines classical Aproportions beautiful period house which has been refurbished to a high standard, property great entertaining space has access to a with afamily contemporary refurbishment.

The maisonette is located at athe sought afteroffers Onslow Gardens address andand benefits from direct private at thecommunal rear. Situated in thisOnslow sought Gardens after street to all amenitieswithin of Chelsea. accessgarden to beautiful gardens. is close very well positioned easy walking distance of fashionable South Kensington with itshome, excellent transport links, shopping opportunities and restaurants, well Three as moments from Gloucester underground station.area, Period Four/five bedrooms, Master bedroom, En-suite and dressingasarea, reception rooms, DiningRoad room, Kitchen, Laundry Garden.

Entrance hall, Reception room / dining / kitchen, Three bedrooms, Two bathrooms (one en-suite), Cloakroom, Patio area, Communal gardens (access subject to usual consents).

2 Cale Street, London SW3 3QU 2 Cale Street, London SW3 3QU 020 7581 5011 020 7581 5011

HENRY & JAMES MARCH 12.indd 1

chelseaoffice@henryandjames.co.uk lettings@henryandjames.co.uk henryandjames.co.uk henryandjames.co.uk

28/02/2012 11:14

Waldron Mews, SW3

Smith Street, SW3

ÂŁ1,700 p.w | Unfurnished ÂŁ2,600 p.w

Unfurnished

A fantastic, spacious four bedroom house, securely situated in this charming gated mews. The property has a modern, eat-in kitchen, reception Aroom beautiful house whichterrace has been to a high standard, the property and has access whichperiod leads family out onto a private andrefurbished accommodation on the lower ground floor, offers which great wouldentertaining be ideal forspace guests.

Upstairs theretoisaa private at the rear. in this sought after street to all bathroom. amenities of Chelsea. mastergarden bedroom suite andSituated two further double bedrooms withclose a further This property also comes with a large private garage.

Period home, Four/five bedrooms, Master bedroom, En-suite and dressing area, Three reception rooms, Dining room, Kitchen, Laundry area, Reception room, Kitchen, Four bedrooms, Three bathrooms, Cloakroom, Terrace, Garden, Garage.

Garden.

2 Cale Street, London SW3 3QU 2 Cale Street, London SW3 3QU 020 7581 5011 020 7581 5011

HENRY & JAMES MARCH 12.indd 2

chelseaoffice@henryandjames.co.uk lettings@henryandjames.co.uk henryandjames.co.uk henryandjames.co.uk

28/02/2012 11:14

Determined When you’re looking to sell, our determined teams are fully committed to achieving the best price for your property.

Andrew Everill, head of sales in Chelsea is typical of our determined staff. With 15 years experience in prime London sales, Andrew not only brings expertise and enthusiasm to selling your home, but also an ample amount of charm.

It is perhaps why 97% of our customers would recommend us to their family and friends.

Scan the QR code using your iphone or smart phone to donwload the Bective Leslie Marsh App.

Chelsea 020 7589 6677

Kensington 020 7795 4288

Notting Hill 020 7221 4805

Ladbroke Grove 020 7221 0330

Brook Green 020 7603 5181

bectivelesliemarsh.co.uk BECTIVE MARCH12.indd 1

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Chelsea 020 7589 6677

Kensington 020 7795 4288

Notting Hill 020 7221 4805

Ladbroke Grove 020 7221 0330

Brook Green 020 7603 5181

bectivelesliemarsh.co.uk

Entertain on a Grand Scale Upper Cheyne Row Chelsea SW3

An exceptional and highly individual freehold house of great volume discreetly located in this charming street in the heart of ‘Old Chelsea’lying between the Kings Road and the river. Designed with over 7,500 sq ft of contemporary double and triple height accommodation with interconnecting reception rooms providing for fabulous family living or entertaining on a large scale. The house has the much sought after benefit of off street parking.

Refreshingly different estate agents

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• Mezzanine Dining Room • Kitchen/Breakfast Room • Floating Library • Study/Office • Guest Cloakroom • Cinema Room

BECTIVE MARCH12.indd 4

• 6 Bedrooms • 5 Bathrooms • Wine Room • Plant Room • Roof Terrace • Patio Garden

Freehold Price On Application Chelsea office

020 7589 6677

ae@bectivelesliemarsh.co.uk

28/02/2012 11:20

Chelsea 020 7589 6677

Kensington 020 7795 4288

Notting Hill 020 7221 4805

Ladbroke Grove 020 7221 0330

Brook Green 020 7603 5181

bectivelesliemarsh.co.uk

Prestigious Location Braemar Mansions, Kensington SW7

Share of freehold ÂŁ5,950,000

A magnificent lateral apartment (303 sq m/3,270 sq ft approx.) located on the third floor of a highly sought-after portered building complete with direct lift access. The property is presented in excellent condition throughout boasting luxurious living accommodation and vast, enviable entertaining space and access to the beautiful communal gardens. 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms (3 en suite), bedroom 5/dressing room, double reception room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, guest cloakroom, direct lift access, 24 hour porterage, communal garden access.

Kensington office

020 7795 4288

kt@bectivelesliemarsh.co.uk

Refreshingly different estate agents

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Favoured Crescent Pelham Crescent, Chelsea SW7

Unfurnished ÂŁ5,500 per week

A unique opportunity to let this impressive stucco fronted family house. The house has been recently refurbished and benefits from well proportioned rooms which are ideal for entertaining. Pelham Crescent is located in South Kensington over looking a lovely garden square and close to all the excellent local facilities. The Underground station is only a few minutes walk away. 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms (2 en suite), cloakroom, 3 reception rooms, kitchen, utility area, garden, garage.

Chelsea Lettings

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020 7589 6677

ts@bectivelesliemarsh.co.uk

28/02/2012 11:20

020 7352 9556 stanleychelsea.co.uk

Lennox Gardens, SW1X Leasehold P.O.A

Stanley Chelsea March.indd 1

29/02/2012 05:18

Extended by popular demand — Instruct us to sell your property and we will cover the solicitors costs.

Call us now for a free market appraisal and details.

Offer open until the end of March

stanleychelsea.co.uk Stanley Chelsea March.indd 2

020 7352 9556 29/02/2012 05:18

PROPERTY

Property News ‘We are seeing early signs that international MARKET wealth can be replaced by COMMENT new equity from private offices and hedge funds’ WEST IS BEST

London’s ‘West End’ wealth sector takes over from traditional City banks in the East as a prime property price driver, says new residential research from Savills.

When prime London houses prices rocketed in 2006, City bonuses were a clear contributor. Until that point, there had been a strong link between house prices and bonus payment; now the market’s dependency on bonuses is much-reduced.

The analysis demonstrates that the value of prime London’s real estate is today being driven by international equity

IN GOOD VOICE John D Wood is lending its support to the Skolia Choir’s collaboration with the Notting Hill Preparatory School, who come together this month to perform ‘Of God and Nature’, a concert featuring works by Tavener, Britten and Blackford at Cadogan Hall. We’ll see you in the front row for our monthly high-brow fi x.

Tickets cost £12 – £16. Book by phone on 020 77304500, or online at cadoganhall.com

with cash from what they dub the ‘West End financial sector’ playing an increasingly important role. The company estimates that less than £1bn of bonus money entered the market in 2011, but that shortfall was compensated for by other sources of equity, totalling a further £6.2 billion.

The surge of international wealth (£5.2 billion) has been well-documented but wealth from the domestic ‘West End’ financial sector (estimated by Savills at £1 billion in 2011) has been largely ignored. The consequent rise in values as a result of all equity injected into the prime central London market totalled 14.1 per cent in 2011.

Charlie Bubear, head of Savills Chelsea, comments: ‘Historically London has shown the potential to perform when new equity is generated in the capital, not just from the stock market and banking activity but through IPOs, mergers, acquisitions and other investment and business activity. We are seeing early signs that international wealth can be replaced by new equity, particularly from the private offices and hedge funds – the West End cash generators.’ savills.co.uk

MARKET COMMENT HARRY BUCHANAN, JACKSON STOPS ‘The property market goes from strength-to-strength. Pimlico is back on top; prices are rising and demand continues to outweigh supply – the prime indicators of a successful housing market. There are, however, signs of overpricing creeping in. Like you, I am keen for prices to grow steadily but if you are thinking of moving, whether upsizing or downsizing, it is important that the agent you choose is able to back up their proposed price with evidence. For sales this is the evidence that mortgage valuers will look for when signing on the dotted line. In short, it is vital that not only you but your chosen agent believes in the price quoted and proves it! 020 7828 4050 140

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PROPERTY

Property of theMonth The old and the new meet to exquisite effect in this Chelsea maisonette on Cadogan Square

WHAT The classic Edwardian red-brick facade of this Chelsea maisonette belies the fact that its interior has recently been completely rebuilt. The handsome vernacular exterior overlooks the square’s gardens, while inside there is a master-bedroom with en-suite, plus two further bedrooms also with adjoining high-spec bath/shower rooms. There’s a dressing room – oh coveted thing! – two reception rooms,

one of which spectacularly runs the entire length of the building, a terrace and a patio.

WHERE Cadogan Square is in the heart of Chelsea, situated as it is just off Sloane Street. The property is a leisurely sashay from Harvey Nichols, is ideally positioned for local schools such as Hill House, and is just minutes from The Saatchi Gallery and all the shops at Duke of York’s Square. Peter Jones’ panoramic cafe is also a handy neighbour to get acquainted with for an inspiring dose of morning caffeine.

WHY Aside from its enviable position, the generous proportions are also a great draw. The melange of the old exterior and the new interior

mean that it has all the charm of the old with the easy-living of the modern.

The outside space (the communal square, plus the property’s terrace and patio) is also a great boon – plus the King’s Road is on the doorstep.

DETAILS £5,500,000, leasehold (until 2113) CONTACT Douglas and Gordon 020 7225 1225 chelseasales@dng.co.uk 141

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Wanted At Crayson, it’s the Wild West right now. All the properties below are locked up. Sold. The expectations of all our clients exceeded SOLD

SOLD

Chepstow Place, W2 £3,250,000 SOLD

Lonsdale Road, W11 £3,250,000 SOLD

Faraday Road, W10 £1,600,000 SOLD

Holland Park, W11 £3,700,000 SOLD

Brunswick Gardens, W8 £1,500,000

CRAYSON MARCH 12.indd 1

Moorhouse Road, W2 £1,850,000

29/02/2012 05:29

To get the perfect buyer at your door – or to get to the door of that perfect property – come to ours. What more could you want?

SOLD

SOLD

Chepstow Road, W2 £2,200,000

Clarendon Road, W11 £13,500,000 JSA: Savills SOLD

SOLD

Blenheim Crescent, W11 £3,800,000 SOLD

Ledbury Road, W11 £3,550,000 SOLD

Holland Park, W11 £3,600,000

hello@crayson.com T 020 7221 1117 10 Lambton Place London W11 2SH

CRAYSON MARCH 12.indd 2

Clarendon Road, W11 £4,250,000

Specialists in Selling

29/02/2012 05:29

Holland Park, Holland Park W11 A top-notch, top floor apartment with space and a sun-filled, west-facing view that’s second to none

Reception room Kitchen / breakfast room Three bedrooms, two en-suite bathrooms Study Shower room The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea 1,559 sq ft / 144.8 sq m Guide Price £2.25 million Share of freehold Sole Agent hello@crayson.com T 020 7221 1117 10 Lambton Place London W11 2SH

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Specialists in Selling

29/02/2012 05:29

Woodsford Square, Holland Park W14 A modern town house in an award-winning development, situated in prime Holland Park, in prestigious surroundings. Anyone for tennis?

Two reception rooms, kitchen / breakfast room Master bedroom & bathroom Four further bedrooms & two bathrooms Utility room, cloakroom, garage & off-street parking Private south facing garden, communal gardens The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea 2,171 sq ft / 202 sq m Guide Price ÂŁ2.75 million Freehold Sole Agent hello@crayson.com T 020 7221 1117 10 Lambton Place London W11 2SH

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Specialists in Selling

29/02/2012 05:30

The Baynards, Chepstow Place Notting Hill W2 One of Notting Hill’s most visionary buildings seeks a buyer with an equal amount of vision

Entrance hall Kitchen, dining, reception room Three bedrooms, three bathrooms Lateral accommodation Two secure, underground parking spaces 24hr Porter and lift 1,882 sq ft / 174.8 sq m Guide Price £2.75 million Share of Freehold Sole Agent hello@crayson.com T 020 7221 1117 10 Lambton Place London W11 2SH

CRAYSON MARCH 12.indd 5

Specialists in Selling

29/02/2012 05:30

Talbot Road, Notting Hill W2 First class, first floor, one-bedroom flat.

If space and style is what you seek, this is the one for you

Reception room Kitchen Bedroom & bathroom Balcony & lift New 125 year lease 810 sq ft / 75.2 sq m Guide Price ÂŁ1 million

Sole Agent hello@crayson.com T 020 7221 1117 10 Lambton Place London W11 2SH

CRAYSON MARCH 12.indd 6

Specialists in Selling

29/02/2012 05:30

Pimlico Office: 020 7828 4050 pimlico@jackson-stops.co.uk

Gloucester Street SW1

www.jackson-stops.co.uk/London

£1,295,000 STC Freehold

A beautiful, recently refurbished and spacious three bedroom ‘infill house’ on this popular residential street in the heart of the Pimlico Grid.

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, Ground Floor Drawing Room, Open Plan Kitchen Dining Room, Guest WC, 2 Demised Storage Vaults, c.1,200 sq ft (G.IA.) Pimlico Office: 020 7828 4050 pimlico@jackson-stops.co.uk 41 offices covering the UK London: office 17c Curzon Street W1J 5HU

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Buckingham Gate SW1E

ÂŁ595 Per Week Furnished

A two bedroom apartment on the sixth floor (with lift) of a portered Victorian mansion block close to Buckingham Palace and Wellington Barracks. Within minutes of St. James Park and Victoria Stations and the shopping facilities of Victoria Street and Cardinal Place Shopping centre.

1 Double Bedroom, 1 Single Bedroom, 2 Bathrooms, Reception, Kitchen, Private Roof Terrace, Portered Victorian Building with lift.

Pimlico Office: 020 7828 4050 pimlico@jackson-stops.co.uk

Gloucester Street SW1V

Fast find: 46430

ÂŁ695 Per Week Furnished/Unfurnished

An impressive architecturally designed two bedroom flat in the heart of Pimlico. Presented in a modern contemporary finish and high specification. Aprox 1055 Sq. Ft. Within easy reach of Victoria and Pimlico Stations.

2 Double Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, Reception Room, Guest WC, Kitchen / Dining Room.

Pimlico Office: 020 7828 4050 pimlico@jackson-stops.co.uk

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Fast find: 46066

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Chelsea Office: Sales: 020 7581 5881 | Lettings: 020 7581 8431 chelsea@jackson-stops.co.uk

www.jackson-stops.co.uk/London

Radnor Walk SW3

ÂŁ4,950,000 Freehold

An exquisitely redesigned 4 bedroom house situated on one of the most sought after streets in Chelsea Drawing room, open plan kitchen, dining room, 4 double bedroom suites, media room, steam room, utility room, wine cellar, garden, 2568 sq ft Chelsea Office: 020 7581 5881 chelsea@jackson-stops.co.uk

JSA: Russell Simpson 020 7225 0277

41 offices covering the UK London: office 17c Curzon Street W1J 5HU

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Moore Street SW3

ÂŁ3,500 Per Week Unfurnished

A newly refurbished and thoughtfully designed townhouse situated on one of the most popular streets in Chelsea, just moments from Sloane Square.

Kitchen, Dining room, Sitting room, First floor drawing room, Study, 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, Cloakroom, Garden.

Chelsea Office: 020 7581 8431 chelsea@jackson-stops.co.uk

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£?

We value you and we’d love to value your property.

In this fluctuating market, wouldn’t you like to know what your property is worth? Contact your local D&G office without delay.

£1,295,000 Leasehold Sloane Court West SW3

A wonderful two bedroom ground floor flat with Chelsea Sales: 020 7225 1225 direct access to west-facing communal gardens. chelseasales@dng.co.uk

£895,000 Leasehold Ashburn Gardens SW7

A delightful and spacious two double bedroom flat located on the second floor.

D&G CHELSEA SALES.indd 1

2 bedrooms, Bathroom, Cloakroom, Reception room, Kitchen, Porter, Access to gardens.

South Kensington Sales: 020 7581 1152 sthkensales@dng.co.uk

2 bedrooms, Bathroom, Reception room, Kitchen.

28/02/2012 11:24

Text dng to 84840 for details of properties near you now.

North Chelsea Fulham Hammersmith & Shepherd’s Bush

Kensington South Kensington Notting Hill Pimlico & Westminster

South Balham Battersea Battersea Park Clapham Southside

East Putney West Putney Southfields & Earlsfield

www.douglasandgordon.com

£895,000 Leasehold Whitehead’s Grove SW3

A first floor two bedroom double aspect flat in a well-maintained period corner building.

£625,000 Leasehold Cornwall Gardens SW7

A beautifully presented one bedroom flat on the top floor overlooking Cornwall Gardens.

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Chelsea Sales: 020 7225 1225 chelseasales@dng.co.uk

2 bedrooms, Bathroom, Reception room, Kitchen.

South Kensington Sales: 020 7581 1152 sthkensales@dng.co.uk

Bedroom, Bathroom, Reception room, Kitchen, Balcony, Communal gardens.

28/02/2012 11:24

Text dng to 84840 for details of properties near you now.

North Chelsea Fulham Hammersmith & Shepherd’s Bush

Kensington South Kensington Notting Hill Pimlico & Westminster

South Balham Battersea Battersea Park Clapham Southside

East Putney West Putney Southfields & Earlsfield

douglasandgordon.com

£1,695 per week Unfurnished Shawfield Street SW3

A stunning house which has been newly refurbished to the highest standard.

£675 per week Furnished/Unfurnished Earls Court Gardens SW5

Architecturally unique self-contained two bedroom South Kensington Lettings: 020 7589 5252 house known as ‘The Glasshouse’. sthkenlets@dng.co.uk

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Chelsea Lettings: 020 7581 6666 chelsealets@dng.co.uk

3 double bedrooms, 3 shower rooms (2 en-suite), Double reception room, Open-plan kitchen, Dining area, Cloakroom, Paved garden, Terrace.

2 double bedrooms, En-suite shower room, Family bathroom, Kitchen, Reception room, Balcony.

28/02/2012 11:24

6424

Lizzie Hardman, Niki Harding, Arabella Fairbank and Fiona Davis Skiers and Negotiators Not just skiers but ski instructors these girls deftly plough through any problem. Our people are what make us great, and Lizzie, Niki, Arabella and Fiona are the ‘piste’ de résistance.

douglasandgordon.com Extraordinary people

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27/02/2012 13/01/2012 10:05 17:25

With summer approaching it is time to have some fun with our fabulous new collection.

THE BEACH ROCKS COLLECTION 020 7269 9944 davidmarshalllondon.com

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Now available at

27/02/2012 10:07