House prices to decline in 2011 December 21, 2010 HOUSE prices will fall by two per cent next year, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said today. While house prices are projected to slip, a drop in supply to the market will stop prices tumbling further, it said. And transactions are unlikely to pick up, with little more than 900,000 expected to take [...]
A fancy hotel is the answer if you’re stranded by snow December 20, 2010 IT’S not looking good for those of us planning to head away for Christmas, which means it could be time to rethink things. Option one: wallow at home, rueing the fact that your plans have been scuppered and the shops have sold out of turkey; option two: book into a hotel, relax and enjoy a stress-free Christmas [...]
Lux retreats for weightloss December 20, 2010 FITNESS & DIET EXPERT No longer seen as old-style fat farms, weightloss retreats are perfect for those looking to shift a Christmas-pud tum and locate long-forgotten waistlines. For the purist: Covering everything from Neuro Linguistic Programming – through to Raw Food Training and colonic irrigation, the team at Anamachara Detox maintain they can get your [...]
Kensington’s own slice of Provence December 20, 2010 CASSIS 232 Brompton Road, SW3 2BB, Tel: 020 7581 1101, cassisbistro.co.uk FOOD SERVICE ATMOSPHERE Cost per person without wine: £35 THE website of Cassis, Marlon Abela’s new venture, says proudly that the interior matches its cuisine. The cuisine, though, is Provencal, an inherently rustic sort of food, with snails and hunks of meat and tomatoey [...]
THREE OTHER FRENCH RESTAURANTS IN SOUTH KENSINGTON December 20, 2010 L’ETRANGER French with a – hang on a minute – Japanese twist, you’re unlikely to find a dining experience quite like this elsewhere in London. Tofu and ginger sit alongside pan-fried foie gras and fillet steak Rossini. Less usual dishes include quail and lychee salad with chicken liver chocolate and miso-grilled aubergine with ponzu caviar. [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS December 20, 2010 NEW YEAR’S AT PARAMOUNT For a decadent New Year’s Eve with the best possible views of London, head to Paramount, the former members’ club at the top of Centre Point. A champagne reception, five-course meal and a DJ from 11pm should ensure a stylish way to ring in 2011. £160 per person. Top of Centre [...]
Behind the scenes at the house of KRUG December 19, 2010 KRUG, the grand old Champagne house, has been feeling a little unloved of late. Revered across the world as a wine that’s emblematic and long-lasting, it is perhaps perceived as a Champagne to be bought, sold and stored, rather than drunk in celebration. This was not always so, and Krug wants to have fun again. [...]
TRAVEL NOTES December 19, 2010 Six Senses Laaumu Luxury spa resort company Six Senses – famed for paradisal outposts in Thailand and elsewhere in the East – will open a sensational new property in the Maldives next year (see pic), complete with a wine tower rising from the sea. The 97 villas, on the island of Olhuveli in the relatively [...]
A glossy sci-fi sequel with few thrills December 16, 2010 Film TRON: LEGACY Cert: 12A ALMOST three decades after he first got sucked inside a luminescent software programme to do battle with some evil artificial intelligence, Jeff Bridges is back – and this time there’s three of him. His character from the 1982 original film, genius hacker Flynn, has been trapped inside the computer programme [...]
ALSO OUT THIS WEEKEND December 16, 2010 FILM BURLESQUE Christina Aquilera makes her film debut in this excerable drama, co-starring Cher. ANIMALS UNITED Safari-centric kids animation, with James Corden and Stephen Fry among the voices.. LOOSE CANNONS A beautifully-made Italian comedy all about – what else? – the family. DVD THE EXPENDABLES Sly Stallone and a bunch of other past-it duffers – [...]
