Living the life of a laird in a private Scottish stronghold August 7, 2011 ACKERGILL Tower is the sort of place that ought to have a permanent backdrop of lighting forks and thunderclaps. An asymmetrical block of granite turrets and chimneys, it’s a brooding, lonely obelisk that pierces the flat coastal landscape at Scotland’s most northerly tip. John O’Groats is just up the road, the next headland over is [...]
Jamie’s Italian considers float March 6, 2011 Jamie Oliver is looking at a £100m float of his Italian restaurant chain Jamie’s Italian, according to a weekend report. The restaurant chain is in the early stages of considering a stock market float, which could not happen before the turn of the year, according to the Sunday Telegraph. The company has reportedly talked to [...]
Jamie’s Italian considers float March 6, 2011 Jamie Oliver is looking at a £100m float of his Italian restaurant chain Jamie’s Italian, according to a weekend report. The restaurant chain is in the early stages of considering a stock market float, which could not happen before the turn of the year, according to the Sunday Telegraph. The company has reportedly talked to [...]
M&S poaches top man from Wm Morrison April 7, 2011 MARKS & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland has poached one of his former Wm Morrison colleagues, Christopher Taylor, to take charge of his convenience stores . Taylor, who was leading Morrisons’ expansion into smaller convenience stores, is the first of Bolland’s former executives to be hired by M&S since Bolland was himself poached as chief [...]
TRAVEL NOTES March 27, 2011 EQUESTRIAN CLINICS AT LUCKNAM PARK Country house hotels and horses go beautifully together. Now you have a chance to hone your equestrian skills at the supremely lovely Lucknam Park, the sort of place that Mr Darcy would have considered a reasonable abode. With an all-weather arena, shiny new show jumps and a cross country course [...]
A spa for all seasons, particularly summer April 11, 2011 WHEN a Four Seasons opens, you can count on a bit of fanfare – some state-of-the-art design, some standard-setting opulence. When it reopens in London after a refurb costing £100m, your expectations can be even higher. Rooms, foyer, bar, restaurant and spa all have their own horns to toot. In the case of the Four [...]
The glamorous way to drink May 11, 2011 IF you want the finest cocktails served by the most talented bar staff in the most spectacular setting – and let’s face it, who doesn’t – London’s swish hotels are right now the place to find them. Thanks to a slew of upgrades and openings, the ever-burgeoning popularity of sophisticated cocktails and the continuing cultural [...]
The glamorous way to drink May 11, 2011 IF you want the finest cocktails served by the most talented bar staff in the most spectacular setting – and let’s face it, who doesn’t – London’s swish hotels are right now the place to find them. Thanks to a slew of upgrades and openings, the ever-burgeoning popularity of sophisticated cocktails and the continuing cultural [...]
Lavishness amid the lonely splendour of the Welsh coast May 22, 2011 SOUTH Wales is home to a duality like nowhere else in the British Isles. It’s a land of timeless verdancy, endless summers and persistent rain. It’s a land torn apart by poverty, and before that the machinery of heavy industry. It is also my favourite place on earth. On the train eastwards from Swansea, this [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS April 18, 2011 FRY-UP FLAVOUR EASTER EGGS The roars of delight that went up in the City A.M. offices on hearing of breakfast-themed Artisan du Chocolat easter eggs (see pic below) were probably heard across the City. Bacon, mushroom and tomato may not sound like the most enticing trio of chocolate flavours to normal people, but to us [...]