Holidaying through rose-tinted spectacles June 21, 2009 BEACHES are what the Caribbean does best, and you’ll struggle to top the postcard perfection of Pink Sands in the Bahamas. Gazing out across the sand, it’s as though you’re seeing the world through rose-tinted spectacles, as the swathes of powder edging Harbour Island have a fantastical salmon-tinged hue. Crushed pinky shells of microscopic marine [...]
Southwest is best for the ultimate seaside bolthole June 18, 2009 EARLIER this week, a beach in Cornwall came up for sale. On 13 July, the 76 acres of Gwithian beach will be sold by property consultant Colliers CRE in its Portman Square auction house, with the price expected to be in the region of £50,000. A bunch of dunes might not be your idea of [...]
FOCUS ON: BISHOP’S STORTFORD, HERTFORDSHIRE June 18, 2009 TYE GREEN HOUSE, ELSENHAM, CM22 6DY Price: £749,995This Grade II-listed, 16th century farmhouse has kept many of its period features, including exposed beams and an inglenook fireplace. Set over three floors, the property has six bedrooms and two living rooms. It is in grounds of about 1.75 acres where there are fruit trees and the [...]
Q&A: SALES June 18, 2009 Russell Hunt MANAGING DIRECTOR,PROPERTY HUNT Q. Dear Russell, I have a short lease on my property and I was wondering – how I would go about extending it?A. Well, now is a good time to extend your lease because the cost is based on the current valuation of your property, so your lease extension will [...]
Going out in a blazer of glory June 18, 2009 STRIPED blazers, perhaps topped off with a jaunty straw boater, have long been the uniform for the well-dressed chap at Henley, which takes place at the start of July. But this year, your stripes need not be mothballed afterwards. Regatta wear, such as deck shoes and blazers, are not only for those contemplating a session [...]
Why, Robot? June 18, 2009 FilmTHE TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN Cert: 12A THIS is the second instalment in the Michael Bray special effects paradise that is The Transformers. There is little point trying to work out what’s going on – the plot is utterly baffling, with new characters, monsters, machines and storylines unleashed every few minutes. But to tax [...]
OUT THIS WEEKEND PREVIEWS June 18, 2009 FILM GIGANTIC – Inventive comedy drama with Paul Dano and Zooey Deschanel. NORTH BY NORTHWEST – Re-release for Hitchcock’s landmark thriller, with Cary Grant. KATYN – Polish movie about horrors perpetrated by the Red Army in World War II. DVD VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA – Woody Allen’s return to form, with Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem.NICK [...]
Slick tricks and patter prove Derren Brown is the real deal June 18, 2009 TheatreDERREN BROWNAdelphi TheatreDerren BROWN has been on our TV screens long enough now for most of us to be fairly familiar with his shtick, but that doesn’t make seeing it live anything less than a wholly mesmerising experience. I can’t think there’s a more joyfully entertaining evening to be spent in a West End theatre [...]
NOW SHOWING SIX OF THE BEST June 18, 2009 MUSIC Meltdown – The Southbank Centre’s annual festival of progressive music climaxes this weekend with performances from curator Ornette Coleman and Kieran Hebden.FILM Sleep Furiously – Remarkable documentary about life in a Welsh backwater that deserves a wide audience.FILM Drag Me to Hell – Spiderman director Sam Raimi returns to his horror routes in this [...]
Broadband for all is a worthy but pointless goal June 17, 2009 FOR ALL the hype that preceded Lord Carter’s Digital Britain Report, its central recommendation can be summed up in four dreary words: Slow broadband for all. It wouldn’t be so bad if the meagre 2Mbps connection wasn’t being part-funded with a planned £6-a-year telephone line tax; this will mainly be collected from people who live [...]