Refined, luxurious, even green. We try to find what the catch is March 20, 2012 When you’re looking at buying a car as large and luxurious as the Mercedes-Benz E220 CDI, the last thing you’re expecting it to offer is exceptional fuel-efficiency. A comfortable ride, yes, an interior that you can lounge in, probably, and a decent amount of high-tech bells and whistles, surely. But fuel-economy that will rival a [...]
CAR TALK March 20, 2012 CITROEN REDUCES COST OF EVS Driving EVs is gradually becoming more affordable. Citroen and Peugeot have slashed the prices of their C-Zero and iOn models so that each car now has an on-the-road price of £26,216 (down from £33,155). The government’s £5,000 plug-in car grant reduces the price to just £21,216. Contract hire rental rates [...]
London boost for Berkeley March 19, 2012 HOUSEBUILDER Berkeley says it has hit over £1bn in forward sales, up from £813m last May, driven by strong demand for residential property in London and the south east. The firm used a trading update to announce that it had acquired seven sites for a total of £80m since November, including a former Royal Mail [...]
Waking up is never easy March 19, 2012 ZEN TIMEPIECE £95 now-zen.com By striking a subtle B-note on a brass bowl, the Zen Timepiece promises to “summon your consciousness with complex tones” to wake you up. The small hammer strikes the bowl every 5 seconds until it is turned off, and is meant to set a calming tone for the day. WAKEUP WORKOUT [...]
FIT IN THE CITY March 19, 2012 FITNESS & DIET EXPERT The current climate is enough to make anyone ditch the gym for the pub but your body won’t thank you for it – there are better and healthier ways to avoid feeling the squeeze. Spin it out: Exercise isn’t called meditation in movement for nothing. Physical activity increases the production of [...]
Chakra: good but not great March 19, 2012 157-159 Notting Hill Gate, W11 3LF Tel: 020 7240 2078 FOOD *** SERVICE *** ATMOSPHERE ** Cost per person without wine: £50 WE hate it when our friends become successful,” lamented Morrissey back in 1992. “And if they’re Northern, that makes it even worse.” I have to disagree with the last part. In Birmingham, Manchester [...]
SAPORI SARDI March 19, 2012 786 Fulham Road, SW6 5SL Tel: 020 7731 0755 FOOD **** SERVICE **** ATMOSPHERE *** Cost per person without wine: £32.50 A true taste of the real Sardinia” promises the confident missive from Sapori Sardi. Situated on an uninspiring corner at the less glamorous end of Fulham Palace Road, near Putney Bridge station, it really [...]
QUAFFER’S CORNER March 19, 2012 HEAD SOMMELIER AND MANAGER OF LUTYENS RESTAURANT It is budget time and so, rather than allow my anger at yet another rise in alcohol duty get the better of me, let us take a quick look at how wine duty works. When wine arrives from overseas it comes to rest in a bonded warehouse. At [...]
Myerson back in bid to oust Sapro board March 18, 2012 CONTROVERSIAL investor Brian Myerson, who was banned from City takeover work for three years in 2010, is waging war against the board of a London-listed property fund. Myerson, the shareholder who shook up Liberty, Blacks Leisure and Scholl before getting the “cold shoulder” from UK regulators, is now putting pressure on fellow investors in South [...]
Boris Johnson names Chelsfield as developer in £1.2bn London project March 18, 2012 LONDON MAYOR Boris Johnson has revealed that Chelsfield, the property firm run by Sir Stuart Lipton, has been picked for the fiercely contested £1.2bn regeneration of Silvertown Quays in London’s East End. The 50-acre site owned by the London Development Agency is one of the largest derelict sites within the proposed Royal Docks Enterprise Zone. [...]