BUYING April 7, 2011 MANAGING PARTNER AT BLACK BRICK, BUYING AGENT Q. The Budget suggested that it is going to become easier to get planning consent. What will be the impact on house prices? A. The Budget announced measures to streamline planning applications, including a 12-month guarantee for processing all applications and appeals, a fast track for major infrastructure [...]
Italy’s green heart lures clever buyers April 7, 2011 LIKE Nice, Cannes or St Tropez, it’s hard to find a slice of Tuscany that’s escaped the money and appetites of the international set. So for those craving a home in a still-authentic slice of Italy, with budgets below those of the global elite, Umbria is the smart choice. Paul Belcher, director of Ultissimo, a [...]
Feathery fun for the family April 7, 2011 FILM REVIEWS RIO Cert: U BEARING in mind the panoply of animals to have starred in digitally animated films, from kung fu pandas to mobster sharks, it’s surprising it’s taken until now to have a movie all about a parrot. The one we now have is no classic of the genre, but that won’t bother [...]
The smarter way to travel April 7, 2011 ANYONE who thinks a small trolley case is suitable hand luggage for a weekend away or a business trip is suffering a failure of imagination. The only thing in an airport less stylish than a Ryanair boarding queue is a businessman wheeling around a tiny overnight case – at least pick it up, you weed. [...]
ALSO OUT THIS WEEKEND: April 7, 2011 FILM. MARS NEEDS MOMS Disney animation in which world’s mothers have been abducted by Martians. Bit of a disappointment. THE ROOMMATE Really rather rotten psycho-slasher flick about two college flatmates, one of whom is a loopy obsessive who shouldn’t be left alone with a pair of scissors. DVD THE KILLING For those who missed it [...]
Gadgets for globetrotters April 6, 2011 APPLE IPAD 2 Thinner, lighter, faster and cooler still than its predecessor (and this time with a camera too), the new generation iPad is already inspiring tech-envy in airport executive lounges everywhere. Keep that seat-back telly switched off on a long-haul flight, and sit back with this instead. From £399. www.apple.com/uk NOKIA BOOKLET 3G Light [...]
Software for a simpler digital life April 6, 2011 TECH TALK THE problem with the technology revolution is the hours we now spend simply organising our digital existences and inputting the same information. But there are software programmes and apps designed to give us our lives back. Roboform, for example, tackles those time thieves masquerading as online forms. Since so much of life is [...]
Sensible doesn’t mean not fun April 5, 2011 I’m caning it on eco,” exclaims my excited co-driver, immediately proving that he may not be an ideal customer of Nissan’s new electric Leaf car. That said, in the pursuit of thorough journalistic investigation we were trying to see how much we can deplete the range by hammering the car, rather than driving it normally. [...]
CAR TALK April 5, 2011 KIA’S ELECTRIC CROSSOVER The Seoul Motor Show is underway and Kia has shown this unusual looking all-electric crossover utility vehicle (CUV) concept car called Naimo. The car – which will form part of Kia’s EV test fleet – has no middle B-pillars and has rear-hinged rear doors and a three-way split opening boot-lid. With a [...]
Episode 8: A lunch in Mayfair April 4, 2011 THE ’03 I think Michel.” I sit opposite the oleaginous Rupert Carmichael in an elegantly restrained private dining room at the Bensley Hotel. The sommelier retreats. “We’ll drink the ’59 if I land you” says Rupert. He shoots his cuffs, his signature diamond-encrusted death’s head cufflinks prominent at the sleeves of his handmade Savile Row [...]