A LIFE IN BALANCE
NOV/ DEC 2023 £5.25
150
PERFECT PRESENTS
CASTLE KEEPER Behind every great house is a great woman
GERI
Halliwell-Horner
SCORE!
Jilly Cooper is back on the ball
DEEP BLUE THINKING Set your moral imagination free
THE SPICE GIRL IN HER OWN WORDS Cover-V13-LC.indd 2
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MINI
DOLCEVITA
LONG INES BOUTIQUE 411 Oxford Street, London
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Contents
NOV DEC 2023
COLUMNS 34
38 216
THE GOOD LIFE Alice B-B raises toasts the season with Whispering Angel THE RURBANIST Arizona Muse on why she became an activist LAST WORD Life lessons from Michael Heseltine
STYLE 43
44 46 48 50 52 54 58
FLIPPING COOL Etro’s boho looks will brighten the gloom THE STYLIST ’Tis the season to rent your gown, says Tiffanie Darke THE EDIT Style news MAKE AN ENTRANCE Dress-up time ALL HANDS ON DECK Meet Daisy Knatchbull, the woman changing Savile Row THE MAGPIE Jewellery news WELL GROOMED Men’s style SOCIAL SCENE Glamorous parties, glamorous people
HEALTH & WELLBEING 63 64 66 68 70 72 74
TIME TO BASK Get your Vit D hit BODY LANGUAGE Olivia Falcon tackles thinning hair BODY & SOUL Blue Zone living for longevity THE SCOOP Meet the man who can improve your mind-body connection THE SEA, THE SEA The new brand harnessing seaweed’s superpower BEAUTY DILEMMA What is collagen banking? TRIED & TESTED Tackling pigmentation
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78 84 86 88 89 90 92 93 94 96
102
98 100
ABSOLUTELY CRACKING The twinkling, twirling Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker CULTURAL CALENDAR What to see, read and do PAGE TURNERS Richard Hopton chooses the best books of the year PLAYING WITH THE BOYS Jilly Cooper is back with a new bonkbuster TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY Allie Esiri’s poetry picks for the festive season THE EXHIBITIONIST Ed Vaizey is going Dutch ARTIST’S STUDIO David Yarrow LITTLE GREEN BOOK Iraqi-American activist Zainab Salbi THE CONSERVATIONIST It’s time to vote for change, urges James Wallace GOOD TIMES Happy news ROAD TEST Jeremy Taylor puts the Maserati Grecale GT to the test SCARFES BAR Political activist Gina Miller C&TH X BYLINE TIMES Laurence Sterne could teach BookTok a thing or two
PHOTOS: SIMON EMMETT
CULTURE
14 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | November/December 2023
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Contents
NOV DEC 2023
FEATURES 102 110 114 119 122 126
SPICE WORD Geri Halliwell-Horner on ageing, writing a bestseller and why having humility is important MAKING GREEN GREAT AGAIN Dale Vince tells Chris Haslam that he’s calling for populism with purpose INTO THE BLUE Lucy Cleland meets Moral Imaginationist Phoebe Tickell A CLEAN SLATE New Year’s resolutions to be more purposeful in 2024 MEET THE CHATELAINES What is the reality for the women running stately homes? asks Amy Wakeham BLOODSTOCK & BLINKERS A beginner’s guide to buying a racehorse – you neither need to know about horses nor have billions banked
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION 129
The C&TH Gift Guide inspired by our fave box sets
INTERIORS 155 156 158 160 162
LET’S PARTY Get the nightclub vibe DESIGN NOTES Interiors news GLITZ & GLAM All the shiny things DESIGN MOMENTS With Lee Broom ACTING YOUR AGE An old Harley Street flat gets a facelift
ON PISTE 165
Hit the slopes in style with our annual ski guide, edited by Felix Milns
TRAVEL 193
196 198
SERPENTS IN PARADISE Pythons at the The Datai Langkawi THE ESCAPIST Lauren Ho’s travel notes LAND OF THE RISING SUN Luke Abrahams goes in search of Japanese myths and legends
FOOD & DRINK 203 205 206
BITE ME Rick Stein’s tiramisu GASTRO GOSSIP What’s cooking? ACCESS ALL AREAS The best venues for your festive shindig
PROPERTY PHOTOS: SIMON EMMETT
209 210 212
HOUSE OF THE MONTH Richard Burton’s old digs HOTTING UP Anna Tyzack on how climate change is affecting the property market FIVE OF THE BEST New developments
REGULARS 22 25
EDITOR’S LETTER CONTRIBUTORS
ON THE COVER Geri wears dress by CELIA KRITHARIOTI, gold bracelet by TIFFANY & CO and her own bracelet and ring Fashion Director: Nicole Smallwood Photographer: Simon Emmett Art Director: Fleur Harding; Prop stylist: Michelle Lester; Make-up: Charlotte Reid @ One Represents using make-up and skincare by Charlotte Tilbury; Hair: Louis Byrne @ Premier Hair & Make-up using L’Oréal Professional and BaByliss; Manicurist: Lucy Tucker @ A-Frame using Nails Inc
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how to set their workforce free to think imaginatively as we seek to summon our collective creativity to tackle the polycrisis in which we find ourselves. We have everything we need, she says, we just have to get out of our fish tank mentality. Find out more on page 114. No one epitomises a different way of thinking more than perhaps Dale Vince, the green populist who doesn’t hesitate to ruffle a few conventional feathers when he has to. But he also shows us what could be: he’s made diamonds by extracting carbon from the sky; he owns the world’s greenest football team and he’s recently launched the world’s first electric airline. Why? To show us that ‘being sustainable’ doesn’t always have to mean sacrifice and that what we thought was impossible is, in fact, within our reach – Dale works his imagination muscle hard, as Chris Haslam discovers on page 110. Climate-change is not far from property buyers’ minds nowadays either. Houses on higher ground, with good EPC ratings and deemed more resilient, are becoming as sought-after as the traditional Aga and inglenook fireplace once were. Anna Tyzack talks to the agents and designers about how these considerations are affecting the industry (p210). When the Spice Girls first hit the charts in 1996 with Wannabe, I was 20 years old. Not young enough to be a full-fat, girl-power, hot-pant wearing groupie, but absolutely a (quiet) fan (I really loved Mama, much to my older brother’s disgust). So I’m chuffed to have our first Spice Girl on the cover 27 years later. Geri HalliwellHorner is now a regal 51 years old and is totally down with ageing (‘it’s what happens’). That might also be due to the fact that she’s currently enjoying fame as a New York Times bestselling author for her new children’s book Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen. As Geri tells Benji Wilson, she was always more into the words than the music anyway (p102). It’s our last issue of the year, so all it remains for me to say is, good tidings to you, wherever you are – and check out our gift guide on page 129. It might just make you chuckle. Laughter is a gift I’m sure we can all get on board with – and 130 best of all, it’s free.
Editor’s LETTER
H
ow might it feel, and what might be the tangible results, of imagining a different future – one in which resources are plentiful and regenerated, and where citizens work collaboratively and in harmony with the Earth? Sounds good, doesn’t it, especially given the backdrop of escalating war dominating the news cycle. Welcome to moral imagination, which in itself is nothing new, but I doubt it’s been a career choice/job title until Phoebe Tickell chose it to be. Phoebe teaches corporations and institutions
EDITOR’S PICKS MULTI-PURPOSEFUL These stackable, microwaveable, freezable, cookable Hokan bowls are top of my wish list. hokanbowls.com
SNUGGLE UP I’m planning a Christmas Day swim in the sea but not without my DryRobe close by. dryrobe.com
CELESTIAL BLING Virgo is my sign – and Romy’s new Zodiac Collection of necklaces is my vibe. romylondon.com
READING LIST Sarah Wilson’s book is a blueprint for how to find more meaning in your life – I’ve devoured it. Eye Books, £12.99
22 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | November/December 2023
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CONTRIBUTORS
Bibliophile, p82, and Playing With The Boys, p86
Making Green Great Again, p110
Spice Word, p102
Into The Blue, p114
CHRIS HASLAM
BELINDA BAMBER
BENJI WILSON
LUCY ROSE
What are you wishing for for Christmas? A sack of Dale Vince's Skydiamonds would be a nice little stocking filler. That said, a nice bottle of red usually does the job. Any New Year's resolutions? My wife will kill me, but after years of running and talking about races, and obsessing over training plans it is probably time I bit the bullet and ran an ultra-marathon. Sorry, Lou! Biggest success in 2023? I've written some great features, interviewed some fascinating people and am immensely proud of how lovely a human my daughter is turning into, but in truth, my biggest success in 2023 was getting to play cricket at Lord's. How can we each save the world in 2024? The sad reality is that if we, as individuals, want to make a difference before it is too late, we need to get the current government out. Vote Labour!
What are you wishing for for Christmas? The safe arrival of my widely scattered family, and my mum feeling well enough to join us. Any New Year's resolutions? I've resolved that the first thing I'll do each morning in 2024 is pull on my boots and head straight outdoors for a 20-minute blast along the river. Even in the rain, a walk in nature never fails to energise me: as a goal it feels stress-busting, healthy and achievable. Biggest success in 2023? I've transformed my dream space overlooking the Essex estuary where I lived as a child. How can we each save the world in 2024? By listening more. The world feels riven by loud, polarising, hostile opinions. If we each try to be more open to others' experiences (instead of telling them to be more like us!), that growing empathy will surely make a difference.
What are you wishing for for Christmas? Snow. I quite literally dreamt of a white Christmas the other night and nothing would please me more than to wake up on Christmas morning to find that I can no longer see my woefully under-tended, pockmarked and boggy garden. Any New Year's resolutions? Eat more greens. And fewer Soleros. And basically get fit and strong again after a year of injuries and operations and infuriating middle-aged niggles. Biggest success in 2023? Pavilion Open Men’s Doubles Champion. Although injury (see above) has denied me the change to defend what I am already calling ‘my’ title. How can we each save the world in 2024? It would help if everyone was reminded of the difference between argument and dispute. One is healthy, the other just drives online engagement figures.
What are you wishing for for Christmas? Some more pottery lessons is high on my Christmas list. I have recently started a beginner's course and I am hooked. Any New Year's resolutions? To try and take more time off – especially in the evenings (I have a bad habit of working most of them). Biggest success in 2023? There's not just one – I have had some fantastic illustration projects this year including a few children's picture books, rum and coffee packaging etcetera. I would say these are all my biggest successes this year. How can we each save the world in 2024? I think reducing our waste is a pretty doable action. Also, we should buy products and food without plastic when possible and then recycle as much as we can.
WA N T T O K NOW W H AT ’ S ON ? Get the C&TH editor’s picks and our weekly guide to What’s On — and you’ll never say you have nothing to do. Sign up at countryandtownhouse.com/newsletter countryandtown
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LUCY CLELAND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
EDITOR-AT-LARGE ALICE B-B ASSOCIATE EDITOR CHARLOTTE METCALF DEPUTY EDITOR AMY WAKEHAM ASSISTANT EDITOR & SUB EDITOR TESSA DUNTHORNE SUB EDITORS KATIE BAMBER, RUBY FEATHERSTONE, ANDREW BRASSLEAY FASHION DIRECTOR NICOLE SMALLWOOD BEAUTY DIRECTOR NATHALIE ELENI INTERIORS DIRECTOR CAROLE ANNETT CULTURE EDITOR ED VAIZEY EXECUTIVE RETAIL EDITOR MARIELLA TANDY SUSTAINABILITY EDITOR LISA GRAINGER PROPERTY EDITOR ANNA TYZACK MOTORING EDITOR JEREMY TAYLOR ONLINE CONTENT DIRECTOR REBECCA COX DEPUTY ONLINE EDITOR ELLIE SMITH ONLINE WRITERS CHARLIE COLVILLE, OLIVIA EMILY ONLINE ASSISTANT MARTHA DAVIES SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER DANIELLA LAXTON CREATIVE & PRODUCTION DIRECTOR PARM BHAMRA PRODUCTION DESIGNER MIA BIAGIONI ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER ELLIE RIX HEAD OF FASHION EMMA MARSH ACCOUNT DIRECTORS PANDORA LEWIS, SERENA KNIGHT DIGITAL COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR ADAM DEAN SPECIAL PROJECTS DIRECTOR SOPHIE STONEHAM ACCOUNT MANAGER SABRINA RAVEN SENIOR DIGITAL SALES EXECUTIVE AISLING WHITE SALES SUPPORT, OFFICE & JOINT B-CORP PROJECT MANAGER XA RODGER TECHNICAL DIRECTOR MARK PEARSON CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER GARETH MORRIS FINANCE CONTROLLER LAUREN HARTLEY FINANCE ADMINISTRATOR RIA HARRISON HUMAN RESOURCES CONSULTANT ZOE JONES PROPERTY & MARKETING ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND JOINT B-CORP PROJECT MANAGER GEMMA COWLEY CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER TIA GRAHAM CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER JAMES THROWER MANAGING DIRECTOR JEREMY ISAAC CONTRIBUTING EDITORS AND WRITERS TIFFANIE DARKE, JAMES WALLACE, STEPHEN BAYLEY, FIONA DUNCAN, OLIVIA FALCON, DAISY FINER, AVRIL GROOM, MICHAEL HAYMAN, LAUREN HO, RICHARD HOPTON, EMMA LOVE, MARY LUSSIANA, ANNA PASTERNAK, CAROLINE PHILLIPS THE EDITOR editorial@countryandtownhouse.co.uk FASHION fashion@countryandtownhouse.co.uk ADVERTISING advertising@countryandtownhouse.co.uk
PROPERTY ADVERTISING property@countryandtownhouse.co.uk ACCOUNTS accounts@countryandtownhouse.co.uk SUBSCRIPTIONS subscribe@countryandtownhouse.co.uk
COUNTRY & TOWN HOUSE is a bi-monthly magazine distributed to AB homes in Barnes, Battersea, Bayswater, Belgravia, Brook Green, Chelsea, Chiswick, Clapham, Coombe, Fulham, Holland Park, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Marylebone, Mayfair, Notting Hill, Pimlico, South Kensington, Wandsworth and Wimbledon, as well as being available from leading country and London estate agents. It is also on sale at selected WHSmith, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s stores and independent newsagents nationwide. It has an estimated readership of 150,000. It is available on subscription in the UK for £39.99 per annum. To subscribe online, iPad, iPhone and Android all for only £9.99/month, visit: exacteditions.com/ read/countrytownhouse. For subscription enquiries, please call 020 7384 9011 or email subscribe@countryandtownhouse. co.uk. It is published by Country & Town House Ltd, Studio 2, Chelsea Gate Studios, 115 Harwood Road, London SW6 4QL (tel: 020 7384 9011). Registered number 576850 England and Wales. Printed in the UK by William Gibbons and Sons Ltd, West Midlands. Paper supplied by Gerald Judd. Distribution by Letterbox. Copyright © 2023 Country & Town House Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. Materials are accepted on the understanding that no liability is incurred for safe custody. The publisher cannot be responsible for unsolicited material. All prices are correct at the time of going to press but are subject to change. While every care is taken to ensure information is correct at time of going to press, it is subject to change, and C&TH Ltd. takes no responsibility for omissions or errors
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COLUMN
The GOOD LIFE
Is Whispering Angel the nectar of the gods? Alice B-B thinks so From cheap plonk to chic drink; it’s a rosé revolution
O
NCE UPON A TIME… a man decided to make a wine so delicious, that if you closed your eyes you wouldn’t know it was pink. People thought Sacha Lichine was out of his mind; rosé was cheap plonk, only ever to be drunk at lunchtime, on holiday, with a cracking afternoon headache thrown in for free. But Lichine had a vision: to combine Bordeaux savoir-faire with the sexy chic of Provence. In 2006 he launched 130,000 bottles into the world with the prettiest colour, taste and name: Whispering Angel. Seventeen years later, with a combination of gab, graft and his glorious nectar, Lichine has proved the naysayers wrong. Whispering Angel sells a million cases a year, is so popular in America it’s known as ‘Hamptons’ Water’ and is now the wine of choice for British Airways’ Gold Lounge at Heathrow… Bottoms up to angel wings! An excellent way to kick off any adventure. WHEN NOT ONE, not two, but THREE people give a recommendation, it’s got to be good. So I hotfooted it to reflexologist Gemma Ireland’s calm white treatment room to get a slice of the BodyFlow technique she’s honed over the last 24 years (bodyflow.co.uk). By applying pressure to points on your feet that correlate to organs and parts of the body, Ireland enhances blood flow, stimulates the organs, nerves and muscles to ultimately create balance. ‘BodyFlow’s ethos is “Life at Balance”,’ says Gemma. ‘I believe in doing nothing that’s too extreme; no fad diets or crazy exercise, but allowing your body to calmly work as it should.’ Gemma’s consulting room may be in Battersea, but her treatment sent me to Jupiter and back. NEVER MEET YOUR HEROES, they say. But ‘they’ have never met Dr Mark Hyman; the 63-year-old ‘DocStar’ who has reversed his own biological age by 20 years, has a passion for functional medicine, looked after the Clintons and now consults with the White House and Surgeon General, has 65 million downloads on his excellent The Doctor’s Farmacy podcast, and has written 13 New York Times bestsellers, including the latest – Young Forever. Yes please! I spent a week with Hyman in Ibiza (I know – wellness doesn’t spring to mind…). But the new Six Senses resort in the north of the island houses RoseBar; a slick longevity space filled with all the wellness tech, for which Hyman is medical director. As he explains, ‘Functional medicine is the medicine of “why”, not “what”.’ It’s about getting to the root of an issue or disease and treating the whole person, rather than traditional medicine’s way of simply managing symptoms. I spent most of the week hoovering up as much of Hyman’s knowledge, wisdom and experience at the retreat he will be hosting twice yearly. And yep… he’s still my hero. (sixsenses.com) n
THIS MONTH I’LL BE...
HANDING out pre-party bottles of de-liver-ance for much-needed seasonal liver optimisation (loveyourliver.com). SALIVATING at the Wondering People site; a new online space for art, objects and oddities (wonderingpeople.com). STAYING shady with The Avantguard’s winter sunnies (theavantguard.com).
ILLUSTRATION BY MEI MEI, @MEIMEI_2503
‘But Lichine had a VISION: to combine BORDEAUX savoir-faire with the SEXY chic of PROVENCE’
34 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | November/December 2023
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INTERVIEW
The RURBANIST
Arizona Muse on the moment that changed her into an activist
What brings you joy? The feeling of being part of the worldwide
activism network. There’s so many incredible people doing marvellous work right now in mental health, climate change, and social improvement. What’s annoying you most? That the world isn’t listening to the activism movement. The activists I communicate with on a daily basis are the most intelligent people I’ve ever met. And our politicians and business leaders don’t realise activists are an untapped resource when it comes to decision-making. What advice would you give to your 15-year-old self?
CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Arizona speaking at C&TH’s B-Corp party in October; Montezuma’s Minted chocolate; Tacit by Aesop; sag paneer
QUICK FIRE FAVOURITES... SCENT Tacit by Aesop. CHOCOLATE Minted by Montezuma’s. DISH Saag paneer. GADGET My laptop with my daughter’s mermaid and unicorn stickers all over it. RESTAURANT Jikoni, partly because it sources its ingredients from a biodynamic farm.
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES; TWOBYTWO
Everyone is having the same problems as you. As a 15-year-old, I often felt like I was quite alone with all my problems, and that everyone else was perfect. And I would like to say [to her]: ‘don’t worry, no one knew what they were doing’. What keeps you awake at night? The urgency that we all need to move with right now, because we are in a climate crisis. People are not moving with urgency; we’re not running in the right direction. Some of us are walking in the right direction, but we’re not at the pace that we need to go. The moment that changed everything for you? When I realised our clothes are grown in soil by farmers. For the past nine years I have been educating myself and changing this system around growing clothes. Because leather, silk, wool, linen, cotton – everything we wear – are grown for us by farmers, but we often treat those farmers terribly. Where do you go to escape? To Russian banyas [a type of sauna]. I absolutely love them – they’re such an ancient culture of wellness. Your body just feels like it’s heavenly, floating out afterwards, and your mind is completely changed and relaxed. How do we save the world? By supporting my charity DIRT, which looks at the bigger picture of how our Earth needs us humans. So have a look at the work we do and please support us. And you can ask us about where every penny goes as we’re fully transparent. Your greatest failure? Not seeing soon enough how important time with me is to my children. It’s not just about short quality time – they need my full and undivided attention. Your greatest triumph? Turning around my relationship with my children and putting my phone away, and not participating in this global tragedy, which is that children are being totally ignored and neglected by their parents because of screens. What does a life in balance mean? One where I am not allowing my stress levels to impact my body. We allow life stress to impact us physically and mentally, as well as our relationships. If your body’s not stressed, then you’re okay. dirt.charity n
38 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | November/December 2023
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STYLE Edited by Mariella Tandy
Flipping COOL Reinvigorate your winter wardrobe by investing in some brilliant boho styles and throwing on plenty of chunky gold jewellery – just the thing for enlivening grey days. Etro dress, £3,780. etro.com
November/December 2023 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | 43
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COLUMN
The STYLIST
Get your rent on, it’s party season, says Tiffanie Darke
I
FROM ABOVE: Find a party outfit to rent with Cercle; rent Burberry from My Wardrobe HQ, from £23 a day
f you are on a sustainable fashion journey – buying less, wearing each piece for longer – you will be longing for newness. Longing to dress up, longing to shine, longing for fashion to take you to some exotic place where you can peacock about as your alter ego. (Or is that just me?) Nothing gives you that opportunity more than a party, and this year we need to party more than ever, (as Napoleon used to say, drink champagne for defeats as well as victories – it tastes the same and you need it more). ’Tis the season, my friends, for rental. If you haven’t popped your rental cherry yet, now is the time. One of the most exciting things about rental is there is no style commitment; you are borrowing for one night only so you can go wild. Experiment – be whoever you want to be! And as it’s so much cheaper than buying, you can afford to trade up. A Molly Goddard fuchsia ballgown? Yes, please. Fashion’s rental sector is booming; Business of Fashion expects it to grow from $1.2 billion in 2020 to $4.4 billion by 2025. But it is not without its carbon footprint: couriers deliver and collect and there’s cleaning involved with every wear. However, cleaning processes are evolving: most rental companies now use ozone cleaning (no water, less energy), and most rental outfits are stored in warehouses with shared transport. Rent the Runway calculated it had prevented 1.3m clothes going to landfill (by replacing purchases with ‘hires’), and taking into account transport, cleaning and end of life, found each rental created a three percent reduction in CO2 emissions. As it is in the interest of rental companies to prolong the life of each item, you can also rely on robust mending and care services. So where to go? My Wardrobe HQ now has Burberry as a partner, and you can even rent current season looks. For the ultimate fashion friend’s wardrobe, try By Rotation, where stylish women rent out their own closets. There you can hire Dame Helen Mirren’s red carpet gowns, Lady Amelia Windsor’s pieces and the wardrobe of influencers like Abisola Omole. You’d be in good company, too, with the likes of Matilda Goad and Dina Asher-Smith renting pieces from the platform. For something really rarefied, try Cercle. Founded by Coco Baraer Panazza, bon viveur, fashion lover and the daughter of a French-Italian seamstress, she has curated a collection of entirely unique and treasured pieces. Getting on Coco’s list is not hard, and soon you are invited to her Maida Vale apartment for champagne and dressing up. Coco specialises in the extraordinary, whether that’s rainbow sequin palazzo pants, couture organza jump suits or matching silk pyjamas. With Coco you can be whoever you want to be – just like Cinderella. cercle.uk; mywardrobehq.com; byrotation.com n
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STYLE | News
The EDIT Mariella Tandy’s essential style update PARTY ON
This season, Jigsaw has teamed up with designer Roksanda Ilincic – beloved for her jewel-like palettes and perfect party dresses – to create a capsule collection of 29 pieces, full of colour and unexpected intricate details. From £120, jigsaw.com
MAKE A TOAST Toast has debuted a new online platform for preloved Toast garments, accessories and textile homewares from past and present collections. Head to toa.st to browse its glorious range of vintage gems.
TO THE MANOR BORN
Purdey’s elegant new evening wear collection ‘Estate Evening’ is intended for post-shoot soirées. The new line-up features Black Watch tartans, sleek evening jackets and a slim long-line robe in forest green velvet. From £600, purdey.com
JUST FRIENDS
Ganni and Barbour have teamed up again for a nine-piece, limited-edition collaboration that beautifully showcases a fusion of Danish and British design heritage, celebrating craftsmanship, heritage and longevity. From £90. barbour.com WORK OF ART This year’s iteration of Dior’s Lady Dior art project sees the brand’s famed bag reimagined by a plethora of artists. London based fine artist Michaela Yearwood-Dan’s version has elaborate beading, black velvet and a special charm signature. Just gorgeous. £POA, dior.com
STYLISH STOCKING FILLERS 1 SLIP Hair tie bauble, £25. slipsilkpillowcase.co.uk 2 MOLTON BROWN Marvellous Mandarin Spice bauble, £15. moltonbrown.com 3 TRUDON Astral Candle, from £103. trudon.co.uk
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STYLE | Wardrobe
MAKE AN ENTRANCE Keep it sparkly and sexy, says Mariella Tandy
PRELOVED
INVEST
GALVAN Nuage blazer, £1,895; and trousers, £995. galvanlondon.com
KIKI MCDONOUGH Earrings, £5,200. kiki.co.uk
van cleef & arpels @ reluxe Vintage Alhambra, £9,900. reluxefashion.com
RENT
PACO RABANNE @ SELFRIDGES RENTAL 1969 nano metal bag, rent from £69.60. selfridgesrental.com
LK BORROWED Sabella dress, rent from £79. lkborrowed.com
ALAIA Red ruffle co-ord, £670.50. hardlyeverwornit.com
MANOLO BLAHNIK @ HEWI Hangisi glitter pumps, £508.50. hardlyeverwornit.com
AMINA MUADDI @ FRONT ROW Begum earrings, rent from £53. frontrow.uk.com CYNTHIA ROWLEY @ MWHQ Dress rent, from £14. mywardrobehq.com
BORGO DE NOR Seraphina dress, £725. borgodenor.com
VINTAGE 1970S EARRINGS @ OMNEQUE 18ct Yellow Gold Day & Night Earrings, £4,550. omneque.com
CHANEL @ RELUXE Metallic wedge shoe, £695. reluxefashion.com
MOTHER OF PEARL @ MWHQ Dress £348. mywardrobehq.com
MARZOLINE Lurex bow, £38. marzoline.com
THE ATTICO @ BY ROTATION Sequin skirt, rent from £80. byrotation.com
VERSACE Medusa-head platform mules, £790. matchesfashion.com
DEMELLIER The London Clutch, £275. demellierlondon.com
ISLA DE GAR @ JOHN LEWIS RENTAL Bag, rent from £18.33. johnlewisfashionrental.com
48 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | November/December 2023
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Discover the unlimited range of styles proposed by the Antarès
interchangable strap system and give free rein to your creativity. Finally express your personality with elegance and distinction.
Available at exclusive retailers around the country
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STYLE | Interview
All Hands on Deck
I
Charlie Colville discovers how The Deck’s Daisy Knatchbull is transforming Savile Row
f you need a tailor in London, the first stop on your list will likely be Savile Row. This historic street, nicknamed ‘The Row’, kits out thousands of people in custom-made suits each year. But those familiar with the area will have noticed a rather big change in recent years. ‘You know, eight or ten years ago, you wouldn’t see very many women walking around here,’ muses Daisy Knatchbull, founder of women’s tailor The Deck. Part of a new wave of femalefounded tailors on the row, Daisy worked as communications director for Huntsman, during which time she famously became the first woman to wear a hat and tails at Royal Ascot. It was working in menswear, however, that revealed one of the biggest challenges on Savile Row: its lack of appeal to female customers. ‘Instead of trying to get more women to Savile Row for a men’s tailor, I thought we should be setting up a shopfront for women,’ explains Daisy. And so, in 2019, The Deck was born: ‘We’re not the first women’s tailor, but we’re the first shopfront on Savile Row to exist for women.’ Helmed by an all-female team, Daisy says that the sartorial traditions of Savile Row still remain, but they have been reframed to suit the modern woman. ‘We offer the features that you find on Savile Row – like side adjusters, fishtail backs, cuffs with working buttons. The patterns for our made-to-measure pieces are cut by some of the best female pattern cutters CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: The Deck’s founder Daisy Knatchbull; on the street.’ a trench from Knatchbull (£2,295) It’s this vision that has given The the new ready-to-wear range; Deck its success, despite the adversities a Knatchbull blazer (£1,295) of a pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis and Brexit. The latest proof of its popularity? A shiny new shop, slap-bang in the middle of the row. ‘I had no idea that, four years after launching, we’d end up having one of the largest shop fronts on the street,’ Daisy beams at me. ‘That could only be a dream, to be around the bastions of British tailoring.’ The next evolution of The Deck’s is the introduction of Knatchbull, its first ready-to-wear collection. Determined not to fall into the trappings of inconsistent high street sizing, the team analysed over 2,000 customer orders to better understand what different shapes and sizes looked like – from a first-hand perspective. Daisy describes it as ‘the ultimate ready-to-wear’, with a focus on central wardrobe staples and everyday luxury. The collection also has a more personal meaning for Daisy, after whom Knatchbull is named. ‘With The Deck, the client is the designer. We guide and advise them, but
ultimately they’re making it theirs,’ she explains. ‘With Knatchbull, I think it’s more about my own personal touch and how I love to dress… This is everything I love and everything I think every woman needs.’ Avoiding excessive waste was a key challenge to overcome with Knatchbull. Working with Savile Row cloth merchants and digital pattern cutting software, they were able to refine its collection almost completely virtually – resulting in just two rounds of sampling. (‘It’s kind of unheard of… It’s very, very low for fashion.’) When asked whether sustainability is generally high on The Deck’s priority list, Daisy said: ‘We don’t shout about it enough because it’s just so inherent in our business. And it’s a funny thing, isn’t it? Because someone puts one organic cotton T-shirt in a collection, they call themselves sustainable. For us, it wasn’t even a question; any brand I was ever going to build would have that as the main pillar.’ From offering repairs and using natural fibres to working with UK-based artisans, mills and cloth merchants, The Deck quietly continues to show its commitment to thoughtful fashion. ‘We also make sure all our suits have enough inlays [additional fabric left at the seams] so you can take them out and in for the rest of your life.’ Set to hit yet another milestone in 2024 – The Deck will be celebrating its fifth birthday – Daisy’s been thinking about where she sees her brand going in the next few years. Most importantly, she says, is making The Deck accessible for a global audience. ‘What motivates me is making a difference – as a business doing something to make the world that bit better for women,’ she emphasises. ‘My dream would be for every woman to know that we can give them what they’re looking for… the wardrobe for the modern woman. We want to become the destination for women’s tailoring today.’ thedecklondon.com n
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STYLE | Jewellery ALL TIED UP
Treat the love in your life – or ask to be treated – with these exquisite haute jewellery Love Knot bracelets from Anna Hu. £POA. annahu.com
SEEING SQUARES
Longines welcomes the new square-faced Mini DolceVita watch, an elegant investment for your wrist. It’s an easy everyday watch to take you from morning to evening and everything in between, and comes in a range of colours and styles, each one timeless and elegant. £3,700. longines.com
The Magpie
UNWRAP ME Add these to your Christmas list
Santa baby, slip some sparkles under the tree for me, begs Mariella Tandy
THE HEART WILL GO ON
Looking for something special for under the tree this Christmas? Recarlo has brought its stand-out natural diamonds and bold Italian designs to UK shores. Its latest collection ‘Anniversary Love’ captures all the romance of ‘firsts’: first date, first anniversary, and engagement (and not forgetting the first Christmas). In this collection the heart-shaped diamond is the star set in white gold and treated with a special rhodiumplating technique, bringing out all the shine and purity of the natural diamonds. Valentin solitaire ring, £4,900; Contrarié bracelet, £POA. james-porter.co.uk
STAR QUALITY
For cinema junkies: From The Silver Screen creates jewellery out of the upcycled silver from film stripes, creating beautiful pieces that are imbued with film history. The silver is processed at Cinelab Film & Digital just outside London, then cast and finished in Hatton Garden. Sallie silver hoop earrings, £185. fromthesilverscreen.co.uk
1 LIV LUTTRELL 18ct white gold earrings, £POA. livluttrell.com 2 HERBELIN Antarès Square watch with diamonds, £1,679. herbelin.com 3 JESSIE THOMAS Emerald and diamond black gold ring, £23,600. jessiethomas jewellery.com 4 TASAKI Danger earring in rose gold, £1,380. tasaki.co.uk
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STYLE | Men’s DROP THE BROS
Moss Bros has rebranded as Moss, with a colourful, contemporary and considered debut collection that is still connected with its tailoring roots. Hero pieces include vibrant, rugged knits and a striking, red double-breasted bouclé coat. Coat, £229. moss.co.uk
RAISING THE BAR
Well Groomed Put your most stylish foot forward this season, says Matt Thomas
VIVE LA REVOLUTION!
SCENT FROM SANTA
Fine new fragrance launches to add to your Christmas wishlist...
FLY LIKE AN EAGLE
Private White VC has taken inspiration in its native Manchester and the city’s cultural heritage with its ‘Revolutionary Artisans’ collection, from the five-tone colour palette of LS Lowry to the contemporary cityscapes of artist Hyo-Isak. privatewhitevc.com
Connolly’s AW23 collection is entitled ‘Down The Pub’ and comprises a mix of comfy old favourites inspired by a trip to the boozer and reimagined in new textures and colours, mixed and matchable with more fashionforward pieces. From £250. connollyengland.com
Lyle & Scott has introduced the latest evolution of its golden eagle symbol with a new Tonal Eagle collection, a sub-range of timeless classics that embrace a paredback aesthetic. lyleandscott.com
WINTER WONDERS
Layer up and look mighty fine with this seasonal selection… CQP Crest sand calf leather Chelsea boots, £415. c-qp.com
1 BASTILLE Bataille eau de parfum, €139. bastilleparfums.com
MR P Milano pinstriped cotton cardigan, £265. mrporter.com
SUNSPEL Rib knit jacket, £295. sunspel.com
Musto x Land Rover Primaloft reversible jacket, £185. musto.com
2 PARFUMS DE MARLY Althaïr eau de parfum, £230. selfridges.com 3 PENHALIGON’S Vra Vra Vroom eau de parfum, £195. penhaligons.com 4 ZADIG & VOLTAIRES This is Him! Undressed eau de toilette, £70. zadig-et-voltaire.com
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OLIVER BROWN LONDON
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GR A ND
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V I V IDUS
See the Movie at Hastens.com
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STYLE | Social Scene
Brenda Laguna
Tracey Llewellyn and Andrew Blakemore
Mia Xavier
Harriet Hobbs and Laurene Kolisso
Sarah Carpin
Claudia Piaserico and Chiara Fabbri
Adrian Lurshay
All That GLITTERS
A blooming marvellous celebration of Watches & Jewellery at Paper Moon
Isra Shah and Amy Wakeham
Jeremy Isaac
A
Oyku Savlioglu and Avril Groom
Claudia Ferro and Monica Porracin
nother year, another sparkling edition of Country & Town House’s special Watches & Jewellery issue has landed. Friends of the magazine from the two industries gathered at glamorous new restaurant Paper Moon at The Old War Office (the new London branch of the legendary Milanese spot) for a party hosted by the issue’s editor, Avril Groom, C&TH’s Tia Graham, and Artan Mesekrani, the venue’s GM. Charles Heidsieck champagne flowed, and delicious Italian bread and canapés by Paper Moon’s skilled kitchen staff – a preview of its mouth-watering new menu – circulated. A fitting send-off for a magazine stuffed to the brim with fabulous jewels and unforgettable timepieces.
Marie Prigent
Sally Warmington
Buy your copy at countryandtownhouse.com today Victoria Carfantan
Artan Mesekrani
Marta Bobes
Honour Wainwright
The Bloom Twins
Sabine Roemer, Harriet Hunt and Lucy Cleland
PHOTOS: © MARCUS DAWES
Tia Graham
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STYLE | Social Scene
Anna Mason, Fiona Howden and friend
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh
Jumping FOR JOY
Five days of the best eventing action at Cornbury Horse Trials
Tessa and Rory Bremner
T
Mark Foster-Brown
he Cotwsolds set flocked to beautiful Cornbury Park in early September for the Cornbury Horse Trials, hosted by the estate’s owner, David Howden. Guests making the most of that late-summer heatwave, while catching world-class eventers over five days, included royal visitors Princess Beatrice and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh. As well as all the equine action, set against the backdrop of the glorious, golden-hued Cornbury House, visitors also enjoyed live music and the best food and drink from local makers.
Jodie Kidd
Lucy Cleland and Arizona Muse
Carole Annett and Pandora Lewis
Time to CHANGE
C&TH celebrated its B Corp certification at 1 Hotel Mayfair
Venetia Martin and Alana Fogarty
Eshita Kabra
Tom Bourne
Grace Reynolds and Simona Valuckaite
Natalie Imbruglia
Davinder Singh and Sophie Allick
Mahira Kalim Nicholas Kirkwood
W
here better to toast our recent B Corp certification than at 1 Hotel Mayfair, London’s newest and greenest place to stay? Not only were we and our fellow B Corps raising a Sipsmith gin cocktail – or a delicious (non-alcoholic) Caleño rum punch in celebration of that, but C&TH was also delighted to announce DIRT as its charity partner for 2024. Founded by model and activist Arizona Muse, whose mission is to support the farmers who grow everything we need – including our clothes – to farm biodynamically, she addressed the room to tell us of the incredible projects that DIRT supports and how we can all get involved. We can’t wait to get our hands dirty... n
Britt Lintner and Emma Marsh
PHOTOS: © MARCUS DAWES; © GEORGINA PRESTON
David Howden and Princess Beatrice
Jade Jagger and Madeleine Bunbury
60 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | November/December 2023
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Re-Imagined The Circularity Collection
www.johnsmedley.com
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HEALTH &
PHOTO: © CONNOR MACLEOD ; TAKEN AT FORESTIS; CAMILLA WEARS SWEATY BETTY
WELLBEING
Time to BASK
While it’s tempting to hibernate as the shorter days set in, the health benefits of stepping outside shouldn’t be ignored. Exposure to daylight keeps your circadian rhythms in check, ensuring you are alert during the day and sleeping soundly at night. Basking in some winter sun will also boost your levels of vitamin D, which strengthens bones and bolsters your immune system to keep bugs at bay.
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HEALTH & WELLBEING | Review
BODY Language Give your hair a makeover with a stem cell hair treatment, says Olivia Falcon
I
1
kits and keep going as palpable results are evident around the six-eight month mark. Alternatively, if you are the kind of gal or guy that books a weekly salon blow dry, there are in-clinic Calecim treatments with white coated professionals who will do the hair treatment for you. The Remedi Clinic (remedilondon. com) offers professional scalp micro needling with LED light treatment for £2,000 for a six week protocol or try Dr Medispa £1,800 for a course of six treatments (drmedispa.com). A final footnote which is purely anecdotal rather than clinically proven (although tests are currently ongoing), I have seen cases of grey-haired people who have used the Calecim Advanced Hair Serum and grown back the dark hair of their youth – a Christmas miracle indeed. n
BATHROOM BLISS
BOOST
Hollywood’s hair guru, Philip B, brings Beyoncé-like bounce to hair with this Weightless Volumising masque, which contains time-released safflower oleosomes to boost shine and body. It also smells great – infused with neroli and lavender. £65, philipb.co.uk
2
DETANGLE
Fable & Mane The MahaMane Detangling Leave-In Conditioner combats UV rays and heat damage with extracts of aloe vera and alma, a Vitamin C-enriched berry great for hydrating the hair and preventing damage all year long. £28, fableandmane.com
3
SPRITZ
Buly’s new range of perfumes, ‘Les Jardins Français de l’Officine Universelle Buly’ are inspired by morning strolls through a French orchard and vegetable garden. This Vervaine and Basil eau triple is particularly pretty. £144, buly1803.com
4
STRAIGHTEN
The fastest way to flatten frizz and flyways with precision technology. Cordless and portable, the Corrale Straightener in Blue Blush is ideal for nights when you need to do a fast turnaround from office to party. £399.99, dyson.co.uk
PHOTOS: UNSPLASH
love the festive season but boy is it stressful. With party season upon us I’ve recently had a few high pitched, panicky phone calls from friends of a similar age (I am 49) all wanting a fix for thinning hairlines. If you are suffering from excess hair shedding triggered by stress or hormone fluctuations (female pattern hair loss) or just want to thicken up what you have (I’m a case in point, super fine hair but lots of it), the most effective treatment I have tried to date is Calecim Professional Advanced Hair System (£386, calecim.com). This is a topical treatment that can be administered at home, weekly, that gives impressive results that you will start noticing after just six weeks. It works on men too. The formula which is a Barbie pink tincture contains stem cells derived from the umbilical cord lining of red deer, which are bred for their antler velvet, (the antlers are shed naturally so be assured no animals are Calecim is a revolutionary new treatment for hair loss harmed in the manufacture). These super powerful stem cells contain thousands of growth factors and proteins that reactive dormant hair follicles that often shut down as we age, causing hair thinning. The formula has also been found in clinical studies to reduce micro-inflammation on the scalp, this inflammation disrupts the hair growth cycle and is a leading cause of hair loss. Indeed, the patented active ingredient PTT-6 has been clinically proven to increase hair follicle cell production by 24 percent. The hair system kit comes with a dermastamp you pat across the scalp on areas that require fluffing up, next you rub in the tincture and leave it on for 24 hours (expect a wet hair look) before washing out. After six weeks you should notice the first signs of new baby hairs starting to sprout but ideally invest in three to four
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drsebagh.com Shine through the party season with Dr Sebagh’s new, limited edition gift boxes. Filled with everything you need to ensure your skin looks its plumped, prepped and glowing best, well into the New Year — from super-serums to must-have moisturisers — each expertly curated collection of powerful, “Ageing-Maintenance” products comes festively presented in a luxury gift box. Available in-store and at drsebagh.com
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HEALTH & WELLBEING | Wellness
BODY & SOUL Take note of these lessons in longevity, says Camilla Hewitt
I
f you tuned into the Netflix docuseries Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, you’ll be familiar with the five places around the world where people live longer and healthier lives. These include Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Ikaria, Greece; Nicoya, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, California. While we can’t all book a one-way ticket to buy time on Earth, there are lifestyle choices we can make to extend not just our lifespan but our health span too. In modern culture, many of us stay active by regularly allocating an hour to exercise. In Blue Zones, the emphasis remains on moving naturally throughout the day. Lisa Carolan, founder of Our Retreat, says, ‘The human body is designed to move; however, we live in a world where a vast majority of people sit at a desk for eight hours a day.’ As an antidote to this, Lisa recommends adding functional movement to your routine. Based on real-world actions such as lunging, squatting, pushing and pulling, functional training can help reduce the risk of injury by improving coordination, mobility, and stability. Moving onto what’s on our plates, Nutritional Therapist Eve Kalinik tells us, ‘Within blue zones, one of the principle dietary components is the high consumption of plants, which provide myriad antioxidants and polyphenols. These can help manage inflammation and, as such, promote healthy ageing. Having a wider variety of plants in our diet is one way we can help mirror this. Moreover, their diet is pretty much based around whole foods, which means that ultra-processed foods don’t feature at all as compared to other areas of the world.’ Another factor to consider is the idea of purpose. In Blue Zones, a role within the community provides many, but particularly the elderly, with a reason to get up in the morning. Therapist Malminder Gill says, ‘Finding a purpose in life can promote longevity by providing a sense of meaning, satisfaction, and drive.’ If you’re struggling with this, Malminder recommends reconnecting with your core values and asking yourself what energises you. Community is also key to combating loneliness, which can be a major contributor to early mortality. Eve has the final word, reminding us that ‘having a close network and prioritising relationships is something we could all consider more in our perpetually busy lives’. n
GOOD READS Plan for a healthy, happy future
Blue Zones investigates how some of the world’s longest-living communities remain healthy and fulfilled, like Dora Bustos, aged 102
1 ‘Ikigai’ means a reason to live in Japanese – and this book is dedicated to helping you find it. (Hutchinson, £14.99)
2 Challenging us to reimagine our biology, health, and the process of aging. (Hodder & Staughton, £16.99)
Ground & Grow is a new winter weekend retreat held by The Pig at Harlyn Bay in collaboration with Cabilla Cornwall. Stay in the hotel’s cosy rooms, and be nourished by its 25-mile local menu, before heading to Cabilla for a gentle meditation and yoga class set to live classical music, a guided tour of its ancient rainforest and tree planting. Then reinvigorate with a cold water swim in the sea at Harlyn Bay, before warming up with a signature Pig spa treatment. BOOK IT: 24-26 Nov; 19-21 Jan; 8-11 March; from £865pp, cabillacornwall.com; thepighotel.com
3 How to have life-long strength and mobility. (Orion, £18.99)
PHOTOS: PEXELS; © NETFLIX
CHECK IN: THE PIG X CABILLA
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THE WA X JACKET COLLECTION WHERE WILL YOU GO IN YOURS? A traditional country staple brought up-to-date with practicality and panache. Gone are the days of heavy, cold wax coats in favour of elegantly cut, PrimaLoft®-lined jackets. Weather repellent style that is as at home on the Point-to-Point circuit as striding to the office.
dubarr y.com
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HEALTH & WELLBEING | Notes
The
SCOOP
Super skin and a deeper body connection ensure Charlotte Cole feels winter ready SOFTLY, SOFTLY
It’s not often that a product – or range of products – really blow my mind. But, no joke of a lie, Chantecaille’s BioLift range has stolen my heart and spoilt my skin (in a good way). I’ve been using the serum, day cream, eye cream and mask for the past few weeks, and never has my face felt more hydrated, soft, silken and smooth. As a brand, Chantecaille has been rooted in philanthropy from the off when it was launched by Sylvie Chantecaille 25 years ago, supporting many conservation programmes around the world. And even though the company has since been bought by Beiersdorf, the efficacy and ethics of the products remain at the heart of the brand. Bravo. From £100. chantecaille.com
PARTY PERFECT
Ditch the work diary and luxuriate instead in the professional and capable hands of the Neville glam squad on Pont Street, Knightsbridge, as we gear up for the party season. Three and a half hours in their hands will have you highlighted, cut, coiffed, and mani- and pedi’d to party perfection. All you need to add is the dress – and if you haven’t tried renting yet, give it a whirl this season. Just channel your inner Cinderella. Neville Hair and Beauty The Works, £550. info@nevillehairandbeauty.net
PHOTOS: © REMO KNECKT
MIND YOUR MOVEMENT
If you miss your ballet days of yore, check out Julien Diaz’s Physical Intelligence, a movement therapy that will see you skipping into winter with a deeper connection to your body. This brilliant offering from Diaz, a former professional dancer who trained at Rambert, is a fusion of ballet, contemporary dance and motion – which he choreographs for the individual client’s needs at home. You’ll find him stretching your limbs and spine to previously impossible places and teaching you how to do the same on your own. He’ll coax you to smile through the ‘good pain’ – the key to enjoying your body, flexibility and working smarter not harder. And improve everything from your already-healthy body through to dysmorphia or that post-operative ankle. Since he hung up his ballet shoes, he’s trained everyone from Nigella to Anthony Gormley. The latter was so grateful that he gave him some of his pictures. Alternatively you can just pay The Maestro of Physical Intelligence £100 a pop for a 50-minute sessions. +44 (0)7990 561105; juliendiaz19@gmail.com 68 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | November/December 2023
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THE HOME OF COUNTRY CLOTHING SCOTLAND AT ITS VERY BEST To request a copy of our new Autumn/Winter catalogue please call 01796 483 236 or visit
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HEALTH & WELLBEING | Skincare
THE SEA, THE SEA
Seabody is a science-driven skincare brand with the ocean in its soul, says Lucy Cleland
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hen Dr Helena McMahon returned home to County Kerry from Dublin to raise her daughter ‘with the help of a village’, she had hitherto not harboured dreams of launching into the highly competitive skincare market. Helena – then more science geek than beauty entrepreneur, with a Masters in Molecular Medicine and a PhD in Gene and Cellular Therapeutics from Trinity College – had taken up a new job for a company that was mining seaweed for compounds with commercial potential. Their brief was for Helena to use her drug discovery expertise to characterise natural molecules. It was during this period of developing the biotechnology to do this that Helena realised for herself the power of seaweed, packed full as it is of micronutrients, polyphenols, vitamins and minerals. It was particularly the ability to extract, purify and concentrate fucoidan (‘it’s not easy and definitely not something everyone can do; to manufacture the ingredient at scale has been a huge technical challenge,’ confirms Helena) that really excited her though. Making up around ten percent of a seaweed plant, fucoidan has incredible antioxidant, anti-tumor and antiinflammatory properties. ‘My mind was absolutely blown away,’ she says, ‘because I had never even considered natural molecules before. I was like a hardcore, pharmaceutical, synthetic-type scientist. But I was shown the light – nature is the most intelligent technology there is.’ And so, in 2017, Helena co-founded NutraMara, a marine molecule company, a next-gen business that sits at the intersection of biotech, nature and molecular biology and whose mission is to bring marine molecules into customer products for daily life. Out of this, Seabody was born – a luxurious, highly effective skincare and wellbeing range with newly discovered ingredients that Helena hopes will eventually become a part of people’s everyday lives, thanks to its far-reaching
holistic properties. Helena’s unique approach to the creation of the products stemmed from studying skin biologically and what happens during the ageing process or when things go wrong (from melasma to rosacea). ‘I mapped the skin biologically,’ explains Helena, ‘and then I selected the things I wanted to look at – like cell renewal and cell turnover, hydration, collagen and elastin production. Seven things in all.’ And once she had the data, she designed the formulations in a very systematic way, wanting each one to stand on its own. What’s beautiful, too, is that Seabody is regenerative, respectful of the boundaries of nature and has sustainability at its heart, from sea to shelf – and there is zero waste. The seaweed used is harvested by hand along the Wild Atlantic Way, from sources that are regenerated (it takes around two years to regrow). Some elements are used in the products, others in the range of supplements, and any of the leftover vitamin- and mineral-packed water is given away to produce organic fertilisers for agriculture. Seabody’s luxurious products were immediately picked up by Brown Thomas in Dublin, and now they’re coming to London, thanks to the brand recently winning John Bell & Croyden’s 225th Anniversary Award (full disclosure: I was a judge), which was launched earlier this year to celebrate forward-thinking health and beauty brands, and which attracted entries from over 80 companies. ‘To be at John Bell & Croyden was always top of the list,’ says Helena. ‘They are tastemakers in terms of the curation of the beauty and wellness products that they have.’ And with that it seems that the sea – and not the sky – is the limit.
FROM TOP: Seabody was born from the wonder properties found in seaweed; founder Dr Helena McMahon; Overnight Elixir Serum, €77; the brand won John Bell & Croyden’s 225th Anniversary Award; Glycan Enrich Moisturiser, €72.
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PHOTOS: ADOBE
‘I was shown the light – NATURE is the most INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY there is’
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HEALTH & WELLBEING | Beauty Dilemma
PLUMP
HYDROPEPTIDE Retinol Routine Booster 1% Retinol Solution, £84. hydropeptide.co.uk ABSOLUTE COLLAGEN Deep Lift Neck & Décolleté Cream, £55. absolutecollagen.com
IT UP
OMNILUX The Mini Line Skin Corrector, £96. omnilux.co.uk
What is collagen banking? Nathalie Eleni puts down her deposit
F
SKINBETTER Mystro Active Balance Serum, £230. skinpharmacy.co.uk
HUM NUTRITION Collagen Love supplement, £44. cultbeauty.com
ORVEDA The Omnipotent Concentrate, £385. orveda.com
OSKIA Super 16 serum, £94. cultbeauty.com
TRINNY LONDON Plump Up Microneedle, £44. trinnylondon.com
PHOTOS: PEXELS
or decades, skincare brands have overpromised and mainly under-delivered when it comes to the expectation that one expensive pot is going to miraculously take ten years off our tired faces. However, there are successful ways to reignite your collagen supply – enter ‘collagen banking’. This means stimulating your natural collagen supply through treatments and skincare products in your twenties and thirties, storing it up so your body will have more of it later, when your skin begins to show signs of ageing. A combination of at home and in-clinic treatments are needed to get really noticeable results. What is collagen? Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, and is essential for our health. It maintains the structural integrity of bone and joints, and, with skin, it is collagen that maintains plumpness, elasticity and smoothness. How can we boost our collagen supplies? For starters, Dr Ahmed El Muntasar GP (theaestheticsdoctor.com) advises us how to protect our supply. ‘The main way to keep collagen healthy is preventing it from breaking down. Using a good quality retinol in your skincare regime, eating leafy greens, and wearing an SPF everyday can help considerably.’ Vitamin C also plays an essential role in the synthesis of collagen and maintaining the integrity of the skin’s structural proteins. The best way is to take it is as a supplement – I recommend Altrient C, which uses a liposomal encapsulation technology to ensure maximised absorption (£49.96, altrient.com). Do collagen supplements work? Some people swear by their collagen supplements, and some don’t see a difference. So how do they work? Dr Sophie Shotter believes that in the right formulation, taking collagen supplements absolutely work. ‘Ideally 8-10,000mg of hydrolysed collagen peptides that are fragmented to between two and four kilodaltons in size will trick your body into thinking that these fragments indicate trauma and skin repair is urgently needed. This then stimulates fibroblasts to produce more collagen.’ Try Absolute Collagen’s Marine Liquid Collagen Drink For Women (From £26.90, absolutecollagen.com). What about derma rollers? When the skin is intentionally damaged, through professional and controlled procedures such as micro-needling, laser, microdermabrasion or chemical peels, the body’s natural healing response is triggered to regenerate collagen and heal the injured skin. Although these treatments should only be carried out by a professional, good quality home derma rollers are a great addition to your skincare regime. I also love the injectable hyaluronic acid skin booster Seventy Hyal 2000, as it provides incredible results, instantly hydrating your skin for an immediate glow, while boosting natural collagen and elastin production. A course of three is recommended – as a facialist (and beauty director), I’ll be offering these myself at Omniya Clinic from November (omniya.co.uk). n 72 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | November/December 2023
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PR O M OT I O N HOOKE London’s discreet Mayfair address provides a luxurious and calming space
IS THIS THE FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE?
HOOKE London offers a new vision for your long-term health and wellbeing
T
he majority of modern medicine is reactive, responding to symptoms that have already presented instead of challenging their underlying causes. HOOKE London is different: it’s a first-of-its-kind service offering the world’s most advanced health screening to give members a personalised, evolving longevity plan. It offers luxury, trust-based care in an exquisite Mayfair location, managed and supported by globally renowned doctors and scientists. ‘ Today, middle -age brings a predisposition to at least one chronic disease, from Type 2 diabetes to cancer. As this risk rises exponentially with age, many people face their later years unable to realise their full potential,’ comments Kate Woolhouse, CEO. ‘At HOOKE, we empower our clients to change that narrative and, alongside a team of experts, take steps to ensure their optimal health for the future.’
PREVENTATIVE
At the heart of HOOKE is its preventative approach. This starts with a Health Investigation that identifies concerns and goals, before a series of assessments and scans with each member of the
HOOKE Multidisciplinary Team including medical, fitness, nutritional and cognitive health tests.
PROACTIVE
Once all your results have been collated, the team undertakes a full review of the data and identifies priority areas for action. HOOKE gives its members highly engaged and personalised care, with on-demand consultations when needed (face-to-face or virtual), bespoke nutrition and fitness programmes, continuous monitoring with the latest cutting-edge health technology, and tailored supplements. Further investigations, referrals and prescriptions are all included.
PACKAGES
HOOKE offers four tiers of membership – Healthspan Core, Performance, Healthspan and Healthspan +. Each membership offers the opportunity to work with and be guided by experts to harness the body’s natural capacity for regeneration and repair – before any health concerns become an issue. From £21,000 per year. hooke.london
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HEALTH & WELLBEING | Beauty BBL HERO Which skin concerns does it target? Rosacea, photodamage, age spots, broken veins and capillaries, sun damage, spider veins. Who is it for? Fitzpatrick skin types 1-4 for treatment of photoaging, pigmentation, spider veins, generalised erythema and to even skin tone.
IN MY MAKE-UP BAG
Pain? Mild-moderate (topical anaesthetic may be applied). Social downtime? Up to 24 hours. Results? Seen within one week with results lasting 12-24 months. Recommended course? Two to four treatments, four weeks apart with top-ups biannually. Price? From £500 (face), and £1,000 (body). drmaryamzamani.com
Nathalie Eleni tackles pigmentation with light treatment
P
igmentation is a pain. It pops up by surprise, and seems resistant to even the most potent skin concoctions. Although a dedicated skin regime of cosmeceuticals can lighten and brighten some patches, to really treat pigmentation and photo damage some serious beauty tech is needed. Dr Maryam Zamani is known for her attention to detail and fuss-free approach to skin. Her BBL Hero skin treatment is no exception, and gets the job done with minimal, if any, discomfort. BBL (BroadBand Light) is ‘a customisable treatment of light that is absorbed by chromophores in the skin to destroy superficial pigmentation such
as brown spots and seal dilated blood vessels’. Additionally, the regenerative effects of BBL, such as stimulating collagen and elastin production, can enhance skin tightness and texture. It’s a versatile option for skin rejuvenation tackling a trifecta of concerns in one go. After a full skin analysis that showed me what was lurking under my skin in terms of pigmentation, topical numbing cream was applied for 20 minutes. Then, a cooling ultrasound gel was applied to the area to be treated and the BroadBand Light pulses began their magic, destroying superficial pigmentation and sealing dilated blood vessels. It was quick and almost painless, although I did have mild swelling and redness, which was a little worse the next day. For most people, pigmented lesions then become darker for five-to-ten days before they flake off. It’s the only thing I’ve tried so far that really has lightened my pigmentation – from week two my skin looked fresher and brighter, and I didn’t feel like I needed to wear foundation.
THE BEAUTY GLOSSARY TRENDING TERM: UNDERPAINTING
Sent viral by celebrity make-up artist Mary Phillips, Underpainting is a subtle way to add contour and definition to your face. Both bronzer and highlighter are applied on clean prepped skin, followed by foundation to create a much softer make-up look. Try Merit Beauty’s Bronze Balm (£32, meritbeauty.com) to contour under cream foundation. If you prefer powder foundation, try Dolce & Gabbana Devotion Illuminating Face Powder (£50, dolcegabbana.com). Read more at countryandtownhouse.com.
1 Creed Carmina eau de parfum, £260. creedfragrance.com 2 Dior Rouge Trafalgar eau de parfum, £245. dior.com 3 Bibbi Ghost of Tom parfum, £225. libertylondon.com 4 Jo Loves Amber, Lime & Bergamot, a warming and sexy scent, £115. joloves.com 5 Art de Perfum Sabotage extrait de parfum, £125. artdeparfum.com n
PHOTOS: UNSPLASH
Tried & TESTED
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Midi Mayfair in Evergreen Patent Croc
ASPINALOFLONDON.COM • HARRODS • SELFRIDGES • 16 REGENT STREET ST JAMES’S
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CULTURE
PHOTOS: © EMMA KAULDHAR
Absolutely Cracking Catch the enchanting tale of Clara, her nutcracker friend, and their battle against the evil Mouse King, set to Tchaikovsky’s timeless score. And where better to see The Nutcracker than the sparkling Royal Opera House? Make sure to adhere to the (informal and unenforced) dress code, though, and dress to the nines – we’ve spied that the Royal Ballet has collaborated with AllSaints on a winter capsule wardrobe for a culturemeets-fashion fix. roh.org.uk
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CULTURE | What’s On
THE CULTURAL CALENDAR
The weather outside is frightful, but these are so-delightful, says Tessa Dunthorne
PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL BREADCRUMBING
Watch out for witches trying to fatten you up this festive season (see p205 for Gastro Gossip) – it might just be a trap. Simon Armitage retells the classic fairytale Hansel & Gretel at The Globe in a performance involving magic, music and songs. Just remember to leave a trail for your journey home. 8 Dec to 7 Jan, shakespearesglobe.com
Do not miss the Royal Academy’s solo survey of Marina Abramović. The artist, who brought performance pieces to the fore of the scene across the 1970s/80s, will see her most popular works performed by movement specialists and dancers – all within the gilded galleries of the Royal Academy. Until 1 Jan 2024, royalacademy.org.uk
MORE, MORE, MORE
Rococo mirrors sit alongside Greek vessels sit alongside Windex cleaning spray in this maximalist exhibition from Francesca DiMattio, called Wedgwood. It asks you to reimagine the domestic as decorative. You’ll never look at your crockery the same way again. 17 Nov to 23 Dec, houldsworth.co.uk
RACE TO CHRISTMAS
There’ll be festive cheer in abundance at Ascot this Christmas, as it hosts its Howden Racing Weekend. Off-track, there’ll be candle-lit carols, Father Christmas and delicious food and drink. 22-23 December. ascot.com
TWINKLE TWINKLE
Kick start that festive feeling, and bask in the glow of beautiful Christmas lights in Chelsea this November. Enjoy an afternoon meeting real reindeer and saying hello to the jolly man in red himself, plus mince pies, mulled wine, and a dusting of snow. The King's Road will be part-pedestrianised on 18 Nov for the Chelsea Christmas Lights switch-on. chelseachristmas.co.uk
ONE FOR ALL THE FAMILY
The RSC’s Box of Delights is a magical tale directed by Justin Audibert and following little orphan Kay Harker in his attempt to save Christmas – as he’s caught in the crosshairs of two magicians. Until 7 Jan. rsc.org.uk
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Make merry at Bath Christmas Market
The Critical LIST
Watch, read, listen
Apple TV+’s answer to Bridgerton is The Buccaneers, a new series inspired by an unfinished Edith Wharton novel that chronicles a group of young Americans navigating life in Victorian London. 8 Nov
TV
THE C&TH GUIDE TO…
CHRISTMAS MARKETS There’s nothing more festive than a Christmas market-themed staycation, says Olivia Emily
Set in an English estate, Emerald Fennell’s new dark comedy Saltburn explores themes of privilege and obsession through the lens of a group of wealthy Oxford students. 17 Nov
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e don’t do Christmas by halves in the UK – the festive spirit takes over a number of our cities. Whether you’re looking for a day trip or a jolly weekend away, these are the three best Christmas markets to visit in 2023. EDINBURGH CHRISTMAS MARKET The Scottish capital has Yuletide cheer in abundance. Its favourite Christmas market will return for 2023, with Princes Street transformed once again with an abundance of festivities. Think rides, Santa’s Grotto, rows of adorable wooden huts selling a whole range of festive treats, and plentiful food and bars serving hot and cold drinks. 17 November 2023 to 6 January 2024 at East Princes Street Gardens. showcatcher.com BATH CHRISTMAS MARKET Bath’s picturesque streets are transformed into a winter wonderland every Christmas, with rows and rows of wooden chalet-style market stalls and beautifully Christmassy scents wafting through the air. The twinkling wooden chalets are spread out across the city, entwining some of the city’s most iconic landmarks, and offering a variety of crafts, stylish homeware,
FILM
York Christmas Market
handmade jewellery, and perfect gifts. 23 November to 10 December 2023 across Bath. bathchristmasmarket.co.uk YORK CHRISTMAS MARKET It’s all festive foliage and twinkling lights at York’s annual Christmas market, which takes place slap bang in the middle of one of the UK’s most festive and beautiful cities. Expect beautifully decorated shops, restaurants and attractions alongside wooden chalet stalls bringing the festivities into the street. Womble down The Shambles for the Harry Potter vibes, and stop by the unique stalls to find your perfect gift, pre-Christmas crafts, and delicious snacks. 16 November to 22 December 2023 on Parliament Street and across the city of York. visityork.org
The writer behind shows like Normal People, Alice Birch has a new project at the National Theatre: a stage adaptation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s tragedy The House of Bernarda Alba, starring Harriet Walter. 16 November to 6 January
THEATRE Dolly Alderton returns with her second novel, Good Material, about heartbreak told from the perspective of protagonist Andy, who is trying to solve the puzzle of his broken relationship. 9 Nov
BOOK
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CULTURE | What’s On
PREVIEW
W
hether you’re a seasoned skater or prefer hanging by the sides with a cup of mulled wine, a trip to an outdoor ice rink is guaranteed to spark festive feelings. There are many places in the UK that deliver on this front, with rinks popping up all over the country – often with impressive backdrops and twinkling trees, plus plenty to explore off the ice, from mini-markets to food and drink pop-ups. In London, a riverside ice rink is returning to Battersea Power Station for the second year running, again in partnership with Jo Malone. As you skate around the three interconnecting rinks, enjoy live music from local independent solo acts, bands and DJs offering a mix of acoustic, pop, R&B and house. Afterwards, grab a warming drink in The Glass House, soaking up
the views of the building beyond. 10 November 2023 to 7 January 2024. glidebatterseapowerstation.co.uk Elsewhere, Warwick Castle is bringing back its Christmas at the Castle experience, which includes an open-air rink set beneath turrets and towers. Ideal for families, there’s also a sparkling outdoor light trail, which sees installations igniting the grounds of the historic venue. 25 November 2023 to 7 January 2024, warwick-castle.com Another favourite is the Royal Pavilion Ice Rink in Brighton – which gets extra brownie points for being powered by renewable energy. Set in front of the regal residence, it’s a beautiful setting for an evening of skating, followed by hot chocolate and nibbles in the rinkside restaurant. 28 October 2023 to 7 January 2024, royalpavilionicerink.co.uk
MY Cultural Life
Actor Lara Peake on consent, Lessons In Chemistry and guilty McDonald’s I’m in How To Have Sex… a film about three girls who
finish their GCSEs and go on holiday. And they choose to go to Malia, a party resort in Crete. They want to let their hair down and celebrate, but then they meet three new people – and from there, the group dynamic changes. The film explores friendship, womanhood and consent, and everything around sex and what we perceive as consent. I play Sky… who, on the surface, is not very nice. She’s a mean girl. The film used an intimacy director and coordinator...
Warwick Castle
Royal Pavilion, Brighton
Because it touches on themes of consent. To shoot sex scenes, we’d have rehearsals beforehand, and it was a closed set. Consent is... obviously not just a conversation for women to have. And the film examines how we link consent to body language. I kind of feel it’s almost a film about body language. So, although there can be verbal consent [in the film], it highlights that the body might be saying the opposite. I think the film opens a real conversation about what is verbal versus physical consent. I'm tuning into... The BBC’s Boiling Point. I can't stop reading... Lessons in Chemistry – my mum recommended it to me. My favourite film of all time is... American Honey. My anthem on replay is... Rehab by Rihanna. I can't wait to watch... Tuesday, which premiered last month at London Film Festival. My guilty pleasure is… A Maccies. How To Have Sex is available to stream now on mubi.com
PHOTOS: © PINNACLE PR – PHOTOGRAPHY: JOSEPH SINCLAIR; STYLING: JENNY KENNEDY; HAIR: SOPHIE SUGARMAN' MAKEUP: DOMINIQUE DESVEAUX
Glide into Christmas at the UK’s most magical open-air ice rinks, says Ellie Smith
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Visit our Showroom 110 Fulham Road, London FABRIC | WALLPAPER | FURNITURE | HOME ACCESSORIES
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CULTURE | Books who grew up in the Canadian woods and continually points out edible roadside weeds.
BIBLIOFILE
You show tech billionaires can be a force for good. Can fiction?
Oh, I hope so. This is a protest novel in the spirit of Dickens, Gaskell, Orwell, Wilkie Collins, Charlotte Bronte. I hope mine is *extremely entertaining* also – I believe in a healthy helping of sugar with the medicine. Who’s in your bunker? Margaret Atwood and our families and friends; Dr Benjamin Ellis, a doctor and mediator (ideal skills for apocalypse survival); the Inuit educator and hunter-gatherer Derrick Pottle; Ray Mears. I’ll ask Dr Chief Mi'sel Joe and the Mi'kmaq Nation if we can all move in and pool resources. It’d be great. When can I go? Desert island luxuries? Wikipedia, some extremely good knives, and a VERY comfortable bed.
Naomi Alderman tells Belinda Bamber about sex, survival and screenwriting
The satirical plotline of The Future is framed by three rival tech billionaires fleeing the apocalypse to a shared bunker. How did it start? I've worked in technology for
years – I’m co-creator and lead writer of the smartphone exercise game Zombies, Run!. It's a fascinating and infuriating world. Then the famous New Yorker piece about survival bunkers for technocrats caused my blood to actually sublimate out of my body with fury and horror. At first, I was noodling around with two sets of scenes: one of a woman fleeing an assassin in a hyper-digital-consumerist mall in Singapore, the other of someone sitting on an island with a technological survival suit for company, the only person left alive after a huge global catastrophe. Eventually they became parts of the same book. How did Lot join the story? The survivalist tech billionaires reminded me of the Bible story of Lot, who survived the destruction of Sodom, holed himself up in a cave with his daughters and... it didn’t go brilliantly. In human terms we’re essentially no different to stories from thousands of years ago. ‘Going it alone’ is a totally absurd fantasy. We need other people, we just do. Your vision ultimately feels optimistic. All we hear are the horror stories, so just keep imagining the beautiful world on the far side. There’s a Jewish saying: ‘it's not up to you to complete the work but neither are you free to refrain from it.’ There’s a lot of despair – but don’t give up, work on the patch in front of you. I believe your garden doesn’t belong only to you; it is a common good, shared with wild creatures. The story is led by two heroines, Zhen and Martha. Do you ever feel pigeonholed as a Jewish feminist lesbian writer? I have the
urge to slip any halter I find myself put in. I actually do fancy men as well as women, I just
Which human quality would you take to the future? Curiosity. It is the best of us. When
we think we already know everything it starts to go badly wrong.
Do you still write in the mornings and game in the afternoons? Haha, yes. I feel not-quite-
right without two projects on the go. TikTok tells me I have ADHD. Right now, I’m thinking about a new game, and a new novel.
don’t have gender lines on who I sleep with. It tends to be about the person not the genitals/ gametes/gender identity. I like writing about romance and sex between women – it’s been a wonderful part of my life and the world has enough heterosexual romance that I don’t need to push myself to contribute! Any survival skills? I can make my own cheese and I have a child’s instinct for reusing found objects. I’m also willing to learn and collaborate, which is the supreme advantage in The Future. Useful research? The SAS Survival Handbook is in my loo. And I’ve travelled with Margaret Atwood,
Your award-winning book The Power is now a TV series. Have screen adaptations impacted your writing process? I learned a huge amount
from TV writers and seeing your work translated into film makes you think more visually. How about directing The Future? Maybe an episode. Always go out of your depth – it’s taken me to places I’d never have visited in the shallows. On your bookshelf? Musa Okwonga, Penelope Lively, Tolstoy, William Golding, Chinua Achebe, Janet Malcolm, David Graeber, Ursula LeGuin, Diana Evans, Louise Erdrich, Ted Chiang and Alison Bechdel. The Future by Naomi Alderman (4th Estate, £20). Read the full interview on countryandtownhouse.com
Held memorably shows how pain and LOSS permeate generations, by Anne Michaels (Bloomsbury, £16.99); The Kingdom Of Sweets by Erika Johansen is a DARK rewrite of the Nutcracker (Bantam, £18.99); The Fortunes of Olivia Richmond by Louise Davidson has a Victorian governess, a HAUNTED house and a tarot-telling teen (Moonflower, £18.99); The Witch’s Daughter by Imogen EdwardsJones has a Russian princess with OCCULT powers (Bloomsbury, £20); Mistletoe Malice revives Kathleen Farrell’s PEPPY Christmas comedy (Faber, £9.99); Elspeth Barker’s Notes From The Henhouse bring JOY to the bleak midwinter (Bloomsbury £16.99) n
PHOTOS: © ANNABEL MOELLER
THE SEASON OF MAGICAL THINKING
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PAGE TURNERS Richard Hopton picks his books of the year
Peter Frankopan’s The Earth Transformed is an important book, one of vast scope, a history of our planet’s climate from earliest times to the present day, a story inextricably linked with human history itself. Bloomsbury, £30
ART HISTORY
Engagingly written and beautifully illustrated, Earthly Delights by Jonathan Jones is a reaffirmation of the importance of the Renaissance as ‘the art of a Europe discovering the world and itself.’ Thames & Hudson, £30
HISTORY
SHORT STORIES
Burning Angel brilliantly demonstrates Lawrence Osborne’s talent for writing sleek, mildly sinister short stories, many of them set in sunny climes populated by shady types. Hugely enjoyable. Hogarth, £18.99
Philippa Gregory’s Normal Women recasts British history in a feminine mould. Her revision of our history as a male-dominated narrative covers 900 years from the Norman Conquest to the present day. William Collins, £25 Beyond the Wall explores life in the former East Germany. Katja Hoyer’s book recreates vividly what it was like to live under communist rule behind the Iron Curtain. Fascinating and wholly original. Allen Lane, £25
SPORT
Everything to Play For: the QI Book of Sports by James Harkin and Anna Ptaszynski is a treasure trove of facts and stories about sports through the ages. An ideal stocking filler for sports enthusiasts of every stripe. Faber, £14.99
TRAVEL
Glowing Still is Sara Wheeler’s account of her life as a travel writer, a book brimming with acute observation, strongly held beliefs, telling detail, and lively anecdotes, leavened with wry humour. Abacus Books, £22
PHOTOS: © PEXELS
CLIMATE
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Books | CULTURE
COOKERY
POLITICS
Boris Johnson’s chaotic premiership will spawn many books but they will all owe a debt to Johnson at 10 by Anthony Seldon and Raymond Newell. It lays out in shocking detail Johnson’s dysfunctional, conflict-ridden regime. Atlantic, £25
GARDENING
In Uprooting Marchelle Farrell attempts to reconcile her Trinidadian background with life in England – the ‘toxic soil of Empire’ – through gardening. It’s an intensely felt book with much to say about family and race. Canongate, £16.99
COUNTRY LIFE
Looking behind the supposed idyll of country life, Rebecca Smith’s Rural lays bare the reality experienced by many of its working-class population, examining landownership, housing, and employment with a critical eye. William Collins, £18.99
WINE
FICTION
Colonial Penang is the setting for Tan Twan Eng’s atmospheric novel The House of Doors. The narrative centres on the author William Somerset Maugham’s sojourn with an English couple long resident in the city. Canongate, £20 Amanda Craig’s new novel, The Three Graces, is set in Tuscany and tells of three elderly expatriate women as they confront the reality of their declining years. It’s charming, witty, and acutely observed. Abacus Books, £18.99
Andi Oliver’s first cookbook, The Pepperpot Diaries is a feast of Caribbean cuisine, spicy and colourful, drawing on a diverse culinary tradition. Enjoy ackee dishes, local curries, cassava, and lots of coconut. DK, £27 The Secret of Cooking by Bee Wilson really is a cookbook with a difference. It’s practical, thoughtful, and realistic as well as replete with delicious recipes. Softcentred lemon omelette anyone? 4th Estate, £28
ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY
Taking 25 structures from Maiden Castle – constructed around 600 BC – to The Gherkin, Steven Parissien’s A History of Britain in 25 Buildings delves deeply into our cultural and social history. Thoroughly enjoyable. Head of Zeus, £35
MEMOIR
On Burgundy, compiled by Susan Keevil, is an anthology of the best writing about the most maddeningly complex of all French wine-growing areas. A treat for any wine buff. Academie du Vin Library, £30
Hitler, Stalin, Mum & Dad is Daniel Finkelstein’s moving memoir of his parents’ and grandparents’ horrific experiences as middle European Jews at the hands of the Russians and Germans during the Second World War. William Collins, £25
CHILDREN & YOUNGER READERS
PHOTOS: © PEXELS
Younger children will relish A Boy, His Dog & the Sea (Walker, £12.99) by former children’s laureate Anthony Browne, a story about Danny, his dog Scruff and a seaside adventure. Older children should read Katja Balen’s Nightjar (Barrington Stoke, £7.99), a redemptive story about the relationship between fathers and sons. Teenage readers will enjoy Philip Womack’s Ghostlord (Little Island Books, £8.99), a beguiling tale of an imprisoned boy and a 500-year-old curse. n November/December 2023 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | 85
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CULTURE | Books
Playing with
Black, sex god of her Rutshire Chronicles, because he’s heroically tending to his sick wife, Taggie. Jilly’s jokes are often a way of upending serious topics: in Tackle! there’s a cat called Mew Too and a ‘Glittoris’ designed to help hapless males find the clitoris. ‘Poor men are thinking, “where the hell is it”!’ she exclaims. The Tackle! cast don’t need any help, since players make successful passes both on and off the pitch – plus there’s a love story between two men. As ever, it’s a Shakespearean comedy in which characters blunder around dazed with Jilly Cooper’s back – this time, though, the action takes place unrequited longing until true love wins through. Jilly’s books are a perfect pick-me-up, because she creates a on the pitch rather than in the stables, says Belinda Bamber redemptive world in which goodies are kind, loyal and devoted to dogs, while baddies are bores and blackguards he beautiful 14th-century house where Jilly Cooper has lived for who mistreat their horses. over 40 years is hidden at the end of a rural Cotswolds lane. She Football is a surprise new subject for Jilly, though she was already a fan of Manchester City and especially Jack Grealish, a ringer for one of her cheeky greets me wearing a cardigan that matches the robin’s-egg blue of heroes. Jilly claims she still can’t understand the offside rule but dribbles puns her eyes, looking decades younger than 86 thanks to her Englishthrough the pages like a pro, from ‘Macho of the Day’ to a WAG ‘bitch rose complexion. The queen of the bonkbuster – as she was dubbed invasion’ and, of course, ‘multiple scoregasms’. As for the player called Midas, 50 years ago when her novels first electrified readers with their explicit (yet often hilarious) sex scenes – has long deserved the crown of national treasure. ‘everything he touched turned to goals’. ‘Puns irritate everybody dreadfully, Although millennials might not know her, she’s about to burst into their but I just love doing them,’ she beams. The good-heartedness of her irreverent consciousness with her first new novel since 2016 – a football story called Tackle! approach is perhaps how she manages to navigate the choppy seas of political – and the Disney Plus serialisation of her 1988 novel Rivals, starring Aidan correctness – ‘I’m 86 and I do say outrageous things,’ she admits, ‘but I just want the sexes to love and look after each other.’ Turner and David Tennant. ‘I’m not allowed to There are serious themes, too, such as Dolphy, talk about it,’ she tells me, ‘but I’ve seen the first a character who had a miserable time in a episode and it’s marvellous.’ Her grandson is a children’s home – a subject dear to the author’s runner on the show, and she’s delighted to be heart after her own ectopic pregnancy led her known on set as ‘Jago’s granny’. Though she demurs at calling herself a to adopt two children. The value she places on feminist, Jilly’s spirited heroines have been a home life reflects her own upper-middle-class model for equal pleasure in the bedroom. The childhood with ‘divine’ parents, and Jilly proudly shows me a photo of her handsome, ‘very clever two stable girls in Tackle! are celebrated rather than judged for their love of threesomes and, in a but very shy’ military father. She hated boarding typical Jilly-esque line, Marketa is diverted by her school, where she was known as ‘the unholy terror’ lover’s body tattoos because: ‘I love reading in bed’. and abandoned the chance of a longed-for place Her belief that sex should be FUN reflects her at Oxford after fleeing the second interview, conviction that we all need cheering up, especially ‘horrified by these tweed-suited women’. during current conflicts. Her new novel contains ‘If I’d gone to Oxford I’d probably have written scenes in Ukraine, to reflect her concern about some boring book on Walt Whitman,’ she muses. Instead, she landed a job as a reporter on a local the invasion: ‘Bloody Putin’. She often recounts how she and her husband Leo, who died in 2013, Essex newspaper and starting writing for the would laugh uproariously together, though ‘I’ve Sunday Times in 1969 after regaling an editor forgotten how to do sex really,’ she sighs, and there at a dinner party with her hopeless-housewife are fewer riotous bedroom scenes in Tackle!, partly anecdotes; she pioneered the witty confessional to do with the benching of Rupert Campbellcolumn, echoed since in the likes of Bridget Jones’s Diary. Her 1970s interviews with celebrities are a fund of funny stories: she tells me about getting so uproariously drunk with debonair film star David Niven that she failed to file her copy and is still indignant with Robert Redford for claiming she tried to flirt with him. Her 1985 blockbuster novel Riders brought Jilly widespread fame and is now listed alongside Pride and Prejudice on the BBC’s list of 100 most influential novels. After writing 50 bestselling fiction and non-fiction books, earning several awards and a CBE, you’d think she’d be ready to retire her trusty typewriter, ‘Monica’, but she’s already researching a new novel, set in Sparta, ‘where infidelity was once legal’. Her desk will always be her sanctuary, though from the photos cramming every shelf – including Queen Camilla, a longstanding local chum – and the warmth at her kitchen table, the good life is about family, friends, dogs, jokes – and champagne. True, Jilly is worried about memory loss, but was comforted by a recent visit from actor Penelope Keith. ‘Penny told me, “Darling, sit down and don’t worry, you’ve written great books with characters and characters and characters, you know all these people, you’re quite old, and your brain’s just full.”’ Tackle! by Jilly Cooper (Bantam, £22) is out on 9 November n
THE BOYS
PHOTOS: © THOUSAND WORD MEDIA
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CULTURE | Poetry
TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY Allie Esiri picks some joyful Christmas poems to curl up with this season
A
s December approaches with the year’s longest nights ahead of us, it offers us the perfect time to set down the phone and snuggle up with poetry. December, of course, denotes ‘celebration’ – a month of merriment and festivity. In Ancient Greece, the midwinter festival celebrated Dionysus, the god of partying and wine, with an emphasis on drinking and theatrical performances – the ancestors of today’s pantomime season. In Britain, the pagan feast of Yule long pre-dated Christmas, before eventually being subsumed into it. As in Thomas Campion’s poem, it seems a relatively natural transition from ‘Now winter nights enlarge / The number of their hours’ to ‘Let now the chimneys blaze / And cups o’erf low with wine’. But entertainment is only one aspect of celebration at this time of year. As the year draws to a close, December is an opportunity to celebrate each other and ourselves. Acknowledging oneself is a subject the poets turn to: as the cult hero Charles Bukowski writes, ‘you are marvelous / the gods wait / to delight in you.’ Maya Angelou’s iconic Black feminist anthem, Still I Rise, crowns a run of poems about self-celebration. The poems included in my new anthology 365 Poems for Life for Christmas are, above all, varied. There are, comfortingly, the classics, evoking childhood memories with their first lines alone. Excitement is stirred by Clement Clarke Moore’s opening lines – ‘’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house / Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse’; and who can read Christina Rossetti’s classic In The Bleak Midwinter without singing the carol silently, inside their head? And finally, of course, we come to the end of the year,
when the poets encourage us to contemplate the year ahead, perhaps set new goals and make exciting plans. And while no series of New Year’s Eve poems could be complete without Robert Burns, the much heralded Hogmanay poem Auld Lang Syne is far from the only New Year’s anthem collected here. You will find the jubilant extract from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s In Memoriam, which exhorts: ‘Ring, happy bells, across the snow: / The year is going, let him go’ and this gift – the electrifying 1995 poem by the contemporary American poet Naomi Shihab Nye. 365 Poems for Life is out now (Pan Macmillan, £22). n
BURNING THE OLD YEAR BY N AO M I S H I H A B N Y E
Letters swallow themselves in seconds. Notes friends tied to the doorknob, transparent scarlet paper, sizzle like moth wings, marry the air. So much of any year is flammable, lists of vegetables, partial poems. Orange swirling flame of days, so little is a stone. Where there was something and suddenly isn’t, an absence shouts, celebrates, leaves a space. I begin again with the smallest numbers. Quick dance, shuffle of losses and leaves, only the things I didn’t do crackle after the blazing dies.
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Art | CULTURE
The EXHIBITIONIST Frans Hals is this winter’s cultural must-see, says Ed Vaizey
Banquet of the Officers of the St George Civic Guard (1627) © Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem
I
t being that time of year again, you’ll naturally be thinking about a jovial fat man bringing you a great deal of cheer. I’m talking of course about the Laughing Cavalier, one of the delights to be found at the National Gallery’s Christmas blockbuster Frans Hals exhibition. This is the first time that the Laughing Cavalier, painted in 1624, has been loaned out. To be fair, its permanent home is the Wallace Collection, just up the road, so it has only travelled a few miles. Nevertheless, this short journey is a very big deal, which has only been made possible by the Wallace Collection changing its loans policy. For the previous 120 years the terms of the bequest had prevented any loans from its collection. So this is a significant moment, and the first opportunity to see this famous painting alongside many other works by the same artist – some fifty in total. The Laughing Cavalier is not, of course, actually laughing. He is smiling enigmatically, but he does have glowing red cheeks and a beard, and the quick brush style used by Hals gives him great vivacity. The painting came to Britain in the 1870s, thanks to the Marquess of Hertford, who had bought it in 1865 and hung it first in his Paris home. The Victorians gave it its famous moniker, and it was a sensation which helped revive interest in Hals, who had faded into obscurity, despite being a worthy contemporary of Rembrandt and Vélazquez. This is the first major retrospective of Hals’ work in Britain since the
Royal Academy exhibition in 1990, more than 30 years ago. Before that, the previous retrospective was in 1962. So Hals gets a run out every three decades, and this may be your last chance to see him in all his glory in your lifetime. As well as key loans from Dutch collections, other highlights in the exhibition include portraits of Isaac Massa, Pieter Dircksz and Tieleman Roosterman, as well as The Rommel-Pot Player, all loaned from the The Laughing Cavalier US and Canada. The exhibition is a chronological (1624) © Trustees of the display of portraits, with separate sections for genre Wallace Collection paintings and small portraits, allowing space for Hals’ amazing group portraits from the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem, which have rarely left the city since they were painted some four centuries ago. Hals sits as one of the central figures of the Golden Age of Dutch Art which included not just Rembrandt but also Vermeer, born just after The Laughing Cavalier was painted. The sensational Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (who are partnering with the National Gallery on the Hals show) this year means that 17th-century Dutch painters are having a moment. Hals can perhaps claim to be more influential. His Impressionistic style influenced painters such as Van Gogh and Monet, and unlike his contemporaries, most of his paintings depict people in natural poses, laughing and smiling. He is delightfully informal. This is one not to be missed. Frans Hals at the National Gallery runs until 21 January 2024. nationalgallery.org.uk n November/December 2023 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | 89
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CULTURE | Art David Yarrow shooting footballer Erling Haaland in a Norwegian fjord
DAVID YARROW
P
Caiti Grove looks behind the camera of the acclaimed fine-art photographer
hotographer David Yarrow has just wrapped an Oliver Twistinspired shoot with Cara Delevingne and David Gandy when we meet. The staged narrative pictures, taken at Chatham Docks, pay homage to London’s history but also hint at the darker side mined by Dickens when sketching his colourful characters from the city’s streets. In a few days David flies with his team to west Texas where he will riff on There Will Be Blood, the chilling 2007 drama centred on Daniel Day Lewis’ monstrous oil baron. These are shoots not for brands or films, but rather for art, to be bought from a limited run starting at £10,000. Yarrow started analysing shots from celebrated sports photographers at 17 and 18 years old. Later, when he arrived at Edinburgh University to study business and economics, he put theory into practice. ‘I always loved sport. I wasn’t so good at playing it and I thought the second-best option would be to photograph it,’ he says. He honed his technique of getting close to his subject at varsity matches – a method he has since utilised to capture hippos in Botswana and most recently, footballer Erling Haaland dressed as a Viking in a fjord in Oslo, the proceeds of which go to charitable causes in Norway. ‘What unites [all my work] is authenticity and freshness,’ says Yarrow. ‘We’ve got to elicit such strong emotion in people when they have so much choice, to get them prepared to invest their money and put it on their walls. So the starting premise is, will it excite people?’ When the 1986 Mexico World Cup began, Yarrow was in his penultimate year at university and flew out to photograph it for The Times. When England lost 2-1 to Argentina in the quarter-final,
photographers from other newspapers were ordered home, yet Yarrow managed to secure a press pass for the final. When Argentina went on to win 3-2 against West Germany, Yarrow snapped Diego Maradona, hoisted onto his teammates’ shoulders, with the World Cup held aloft. The photo was syndicated all over the world. After graduating, however, Yarrow juggled a dilemma: a job at The Times as a sports photographer was on offer but he felt the pull of finance, too. ‘I actually chose Wall Street, partly because of peer or parental pressure. So I put my cameras down professionally, but I still worked on a business plan that would allow me to monetise my craft.’ That business began to gain traction 20 years ago, while he still had his own hedge fund, then photography became his full-time venture in 2014. The plan had paid off. For his upcoming project in west Texas, he is expects to shoot just after sunrise and before sunset. ‘Low light is more atmospheric, it helps give a sense of distance and adds more emotion. It does mean we have to sleep twice – but you get used to it.’ As we say goodbye, I wish him good weather for the upcoming shoot which he politely declines. ‘If there is a thunderstorm, it adds a character for free. We’ll seize that opportunity, what a gift to be given.’ Yarrow brings an original and ambitious vision to photography, a sense of drama and tension to every shot. Clearly a romantic, he celebrates the wild and shows everyone (animals and footballers included) at their most vital, hopeful and optimistic. Compelling emotions impossible to resist in his work. Storytelling by David Yarrow is on until 26 November, Maddox Gallery, 12 Berkeley Street, Mayfair. maddoxgallery.com n
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Fotos: Flavien Carlod und Photos: BaptisteFlavien Le Quiniou, CarlodUnverbindlich. and Baptiste Architekt: Le Quiniou,for Ramón advertising Esteve. Éditions purposes Zulma. only.
French Ar t de Vivre
Eden Rock. Bed, bedside tables, bench, vanity and armless chair, designed by Sacha Lakic. Omsk. Table lamps, designed by Pierre Dubois & Aimé Cécil. Silky Gradient. Rug. CHELSEA – HAMPSTEAD – HARRODS – WANDSWORTH WALTON-ON-THAMES – MANCHESTER – REDBRICK LEEDS – DUBLIN In-store interior design & 3D modelling services.
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CULTURE | Sustainability
LITTLE GREEN BOOK Zainab Salbi, the Iraqi-American human-rights activist, is helping women to re-green our planet, says Lisa Grainger
For Earth, to link women around the world to fight climate change. Much of the narrative is maledominated, she says. ‘It’s Elon Musk stuff: about tech, batteries, cars, factories. But we all know what we really have to do is set aside 50 percent of our planet as wilderness.’ And it’s women who are so often the people out on that land, and its natural protectors. ‘So, using the wisdom and the expertise of indigenous women, youth leaders, conservationists, and scientists, we’re going to enable them to make the changes they need to.’ With her co-founder Jody Allen – the founder of Wild Lives Foundation – Zainab plans to raise and deploy $100 million to women to protect the planet. So far they’ve given $1.2 million to women in 17 countries to do projects from protecting a river in Chile to restoring a baobab forest in Madagascar. Everyone around the world can get involved, she adds. A jeweller has made hummingbird-shaped earrings – based on the fable, I Will Be a Hummingbird, by Wangari Maathai – whose profits will feed into the project. The website lists ways to live greener lives, and how to create community-based action. In addition, in March they’ll go on a trip organised by Journeys With Purpose to show western women who’ve never seen the wilderness alongside women who are protecting it. ‘Only once you’ve felt nature do you connect with it,’ she says. ‘And only once you connect will you protect it.’
I
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FROM TOP: Women restoring baobab in Madagascar; Zainab Salbi; Surya and the Moon Hummingbird Effect earrings, $700, proceeds to Daughters For Earth. suryaandthemoonjewels.com; members of the Ceibo Alliance (an indigenous organisation set up to protect the Amazon rainforest)
PHOTOS: © ALEXANDRA NARVAEZ; EDU LEON
f you follow the feeds of any humanitarian organisations, you’ll probably know the face of Zainab Salbi. She’s the 54-year-old, happy-faced, shaved-headed, gold-hooped activist who is at every fundraiser, every women’s empowerment event, every awards ceremony: on People magazine’s list of 25 women changing the world, or Foreign Policy Magazine’s ‘100 Top Global Thinkers’, a friend of Hillary Clinton, Angelina Jolie and Donna Karan. She’s the fiercely interrogative journalist who, if you’re a man doing something you shouldn’t be, you’d be scared of. And, if you’re a feminist with a heart, you can’t help but admire. At the age of just 23, on hearing about genocide in Bosnia, she flew out to help the country’s women, a trip that led to her founding the NGO Women for Women International, which has now raised over $150 million for female survivors of conflict. During the Arab Spring, she moved to the Middle East to front The Nida’a Show (which means ‘The Calling’) on TV, to give a voice to Arab women. And during the #MeToo movement she fronted a five-part programme on PBS to try to ensure that the revelations resulted in systemic change. Raised in Iraq, Zainab’s father was Saddam Hussein’s pilot, and her family lived in fear of the dictator. When she was 19, and her family’s only way of getting her out of the country was by marrying her to an American, they took it. What they didn’t know is that he’d be abusive, a story which she tells in her memoir, Between Two Worlds. The combination of her tough life experiences has been her making though,she says. Because she has lived through trauma. She knows abuse. She’s felt the effect of wars first hand. And because, through contacts made in the media, in NGOs, in humanitarian circles, she has learnt how to use that knowledge to best effect. Last year she co-founded her latest NGO, Daughters
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Conservation | CULTURE
The POSITIVE DISRUPTOR We can choose to vote for a better future, says James Wallace
James Wallace speaking at the recent Lib Dem party conference
THINK DIFFERENTLY, ACT NOW How to make it count in 2024
WATCH Disaster satire Don’t Look Up with Leonardo di Carpio, Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence. netflix.com DECLARE Join business leaders declaring a climate and ecological emergency. businessdeclares.com
PHOTO: DINENDRA HARIA
I
n just a few weeks we’ve seen a bonfire lit under our hard-won environmental laws, with Net Zero climate targets sent back to the future, diesel cars given a suspended sentence and the Rosebank oil field sold off to Norwegians and Israelis. How much more embarrassment on the international stage can Britain take? So why all this madness? It’s election fever, of course. But despite this sad state of state affairs, I believe we can find hope on the streets and in the corridors of power. In September, thousands of protesters, including barristers, surgeons, bankers and CEOs joined me and other campaigners to politely ask the government to ‘Restore Nature Now’, peacefully and without glue, orange paint or arrests. In the House of Lords recently, cross-party heroes like Baronesses Hayman (Lab), Pinnock (Lib) and ring leader Jones (Green) blocked the pipes of Michael Gove’s ‘Brick Shithouse Scam’, a failed attempt to remove pollution standards for house building. We are seeing once divided opinions united across the aisle and nation for the common good. At the recent party conferences, which I attended for the first time, I witnessed every shade of politics; from the ultrawelcoming and, dare I say it, environmentally friendly Lib Dems and sitting-on-the-fence-but-with-good-sound-bites Labour, to the panicked Tories with their backs against the
wall. A frenzy of luxurious promises bound to be broken and tongues as sharp as knives were balanced by glimmers of good old steadfast British stoicism. With a general election likely in May (according to many pundits, before another summer of small boats takes to the water) or October – we have an opportunity to take the moral high ground and insist on the standards of office we expect, not the usual MPs throwing insults and lies across the parliamentary playground. We business leaders, investors, community elders, social-media influencers one and all can lead by example, collaborating like those Westminster Lords and Ladies. Why? Because our society faces a socio-political emergency which demands that we set aside differences and act collectively. We can choose to have sustainable house building and nature restoration. We can choose secure shortterm fossil fuel supplies while transitioning to a green economy. We can find space in our hearts for displaced people and enjoy rewarding jobs and the comfort of traditions. We can permit freedom of speech and behave with the respect and kindness we hope to receive. We can say no to the torrent of misinformation and lies and yes to principled politics and truthful reporting that benefits everyone. We can vote for change. And we must if we hope to thrive. James is Chief Executive of River Action n
WITNESS Visit the House of Commons chamber to see democracy in action. parliament.uk/visiting ECOCIDE Support the lawyers making ‘ecocide’ an international criminal offence. .stopecocide.earth SWOT UP Make informed decisions by researching parliamentary debate and MP voting records. hansard.parliament.uk
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CULTURE | News DO THE ROA R Lions have returned to South Sudan’s Southern National Park. Caught in footage by a camera trap by Fauna & Flora, the glimpse of these big cats is an indication that the area may now have a breeding population of lions thanks to conservation efforts – and marks a big achievement in the protection of a declining species.
GOOD TIMES
Enough doomscrolling – let positive news pick you up, says Tessa Dunthorne
SAVING ANIMALS ABROAD
A new law to protect animals across the whole world has passed through the Commons and Lords before receiving immediate royal assent from King Charles. The Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Bill attempts to tackle cruel animal attractions globally, and will help crack down on UK-based travel companies advertising such venues. The bill was devised by Save The Asian Elephants CEO Duncan McNair, and is one of the most important animal-related bills ever passed in Britain.
BEST OF THE YEAR Feel-good news from the year just gone
Green energy was the UK’s leading source of electricity over the winter – overtaking gas.
FEBRUARY
The European Commission presents a landmark plan to support the scaling of EU Net Zero manufacturing capabilities, investing in green energy to help meet climate neutrality targets.
MARCH
The UN High Seas treaty was agreed by a consensus of member states, creating a framework for protecting the oceans.
APRIL
Ghana is the first to approve Oxford University’s promising new malaria vaccine – unusually, before the publication of final trial data. The WHO approves the vaccine in October 2023.
MAY
Several rewilding wins across Britain and Ireland. There were calls to reintroduce wolves to Donegal; £15,000 awarded to Rewilding Britain to protect Bodmin Moor’s temperate rainforests; and a first-of-its-kind rewidling centre opens in Dundreggan, Scotland.
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
JANUARY
JUNE
Kew Gardens releases a statement to say its team has identified a forever-plasticseating bacteria.
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WE CRUISIN’
A chartered dry bulk ship made its virgin voyage over the summer. Excitingly, this was powered, primarily, by wind. The US commodity group Cargill Inc was behind the rudder on this project, aiming to use the trip between Shanghai and Singapore as a means of studying how harnessing wind power can cut emissions in the shipping sector. The maritime industry accounts for three percent of global carbon emissions.
YIPPEE YANKS
President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act was ‘the most significant climate law in US history’ – now, a year on, data has shown that investment for a greener economy is picking up. Since its adoption, the US economy has seen $110 billion raised in private investment and the creation of around 170,000 clean energy jobs.
Jewellery designer Annoushka Ducas invites you to join her grassroots, nationwide fundraiser, The Brilliant Breakfast. Host one for friends, family or colleagues, and ask your guests to donate. Funds go to the Prince’s Trust, helping young women get jobs, earn qualifications and find self-confidence. The charity has raised £2.2m to date. thebrilliantbreakfast.co.uk
SEPTEMBER
JULY
Two major medical moments: cheaper TB drugs for millions as a global deal is agreed for patent rights, and the discovery of a promising drug, donanemab, is hailed as a potential ‘turning point’ in the battle against Alzheimer’s.
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
BRUNCH WITH PURPOSE
AUGUST
Young activists from Montana, US, win a landmark case on climate rights, arguing against their state’s fossil fuel policies. The case results set a legal precedent for young people’s rights to a safe climate.
A British BBC reporter saves the lives of six women who are trapped in the back of a van in France, working with French police and local journalists.
2023
This year, C&TH also became the world’s first glossy mag B Corp.
OCTOBER
Most UK libraries announce they will offer ‘warm banks’ to help people through the winter, a scheme carried over from last year launched in response to the cost of living crisis.
AND BEYOND? Who can say – set a New Year’s resolution to help save the world on p119.
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Maserati Grecale GT mild hybrid PRICE £61,570 ENGINE 1,995cc 4-cyl petrol POWER 295bhp 0-62mph 5.6 seconds TOP SPEED 149mph ECONOMY 32.4mpg (official) STREAMING Wind of Change – Scorpions
Road Test
The new Maserati Grecale GT is a posh SUV to rival the Porsche Macan. How does the sporty family-mover measure up? asks Jeremy Taylor
TOWN
COUNTRY
RATING: 4/5 HANDBAGS
RATING: 4/5 WELLIES
The automotive industry has become obsessed with do-it-all sports utility vehicles – estate cars and MPVs are a dying species, while hatchbacks, saloons and supermini have morphed into the familiar SUV shape. Maserati is late to the party with the Grecale, a mid-size luxury SUV that sits below the larger Levante model and attempts to garner some kudos with a moniker borrowed from a cool Mediterranean breeze. A load of hot air? Let’s find out. A Porsche Macan is arguably the benchmark in this sector. The five-seater boasts the right badge, plenty of performance and a smart cabin. The Grecale is equally posh, flaunts an even sexier image and some versions, like the marque’s V6-engined Trofeo, are very fast indeed. As yet, though, there’s no fully-electric model – Maserati’s first EV will be the Grecale Folgore, pegged to arrive next year. Our GT entry-level model features a turbocharged, 2.0-litre petrol engine, mated to mild hybrid technology. It has a sporty turn, although the ride is a little firm over potholed roads. The backseat will comfortably accommodate two adults, or a trio of teenagers on the school run, with a decent-sized luggage compartment. The cabin is a real highlight, plush and luxurious. Neat touches include storage under the armrests and twin cupholders, although the glovebox is titchy. Find that comfortable spot with ten-way adjustable seats in the GT. A pair of touchscreen displays appear a little daunting at first, too many icons and no simple rotary control to adjust the heating. After a few days, it starts to make sense. On the plus side, the rest of the dashboard isn’t cluttered with buttons and dials.
The Grecale may be an SUV but it offers Maserati levels of driving pleasure. Unlike the Mercedes GLC and Audi Q5, which major on comfort, the Grecale GT is composed and enjoyable on a twisty road too – sportier versions are even more fun. Choose between various drive modes and the engine responds accordingly, while the suspension and gears are adjusted to match. Weirdly, the Grecale is equipped with enormous paddle gearshifts on the steering column – it can be awkward reaching around them to find the indicator arm. The e-Booster hybrid system acts like an electric turbocharger to enhance performance further, while the whole performance is backed up by a sporty exhaust note that adds to the drama. All this does impact on economy, and around 27mpg everyday driving isn’t that impressive. At motorway speeds, the Maserati purrs along with minimal wind noise. The sound system punches out plenty of wattage and the only letdown is that many safety features aren’t standard in the Grecale, adding to the final price. I can’t help but think Maserati should have launched the Grecale years ago, when the SUV boom started. Key rivals, such as the BMW X3 and the Jaguar F-Pace, already have an established presence in the market. The Grecale does have a freshness about it but the rather bland styling doesn’t move the game on. And with so many SUVs to choose from, the Maserati isn’t different enough to give it an edge. You may want to consider residual values too – Italian cars aren’t well-known for holding their value. On paper at least, the Porsche Macan still looks like the obvious winner for mid-size SUV buyers.
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Motoring | CULTURE
THE DRIVE
Hotel Chais Monnet is housed in a former cognac distillery
Destination: Hotel Chais Monnet & Spa, Cognac
Forget the drink – let’s talk about Cognac the place. A five-hour drive due south from the Caen car ferry, this exceptional medieval town on the River Charente is steeped in unexplored history – a secret place that, once sampled, is addictive. While Jay-Z’s former brand D’Ussé is bottled at Château de Cognac in the town centre, the surrounding cognac region is best explored on electric bicycle or by classic Citroen 2CV. Irène, the brains behind Cognac travel service XO Madame, offers both and will guide guests to lesser-known spots like the Boinaud Distillery, followed by a picnic lunch in the vineyards. The lack of five-star accommodation in Cognac was recently addressed by Hotel Chais Monnet, naturally converting a former distillery into a home-from-home for weary travellers. The old cooperage is a cocktail/jazz bar, the barrellined cellar now a Michelin-star restaurant. The hotel’s rooftop terrace is the perfect place for sampling some of the 220 cognacs the hotel has on offer and to survey the town from on high. The architecturally designed structure below is an ultra-modern blend of twisted steel girders and glass on an epic scale. There’s nothing old school about the rooms either, all tastefully equipped with modern trim. Best of all, staff are exceptionally helpful – nothing is too much trouble. The owner’s passion for classic cars is reflected in the veteran motors that greet guests. I’ve arrived in a new, planet-friendly McLaren that will one day be vintage stock too: the company’s first car with a V6 engine and plug-in electric technology. Artura is a supercar for the electric age and, in theory, can return over 61mpg. Don’t expect
anywhere near that figure in a vehicle capable of 0-62mph in three seconds and 205mph, although there’s nothing cooler than gliding through a town centre in total silence using battery power. A two-seat hybrid, this British-built racer is simply a thrilling drive. Placing the engine behind the cockpit ensures perfect weight distribution, while the carbon tub that cocoons the cabin is superlight. Choose from four drive modes, including Track, while the Artura will somehow manage 81mph using electric power only. And once you return to the hotel, Chais Monnet has a pair of car charge points to top up for the next journey. Heady, sometimes mind-boggling but never sampled together, the Artura and a vintage cognac in its birthplace should be on your bucket list. BOOK IT: Hotel Chais Monnet from £200
IN THE BOOT
LEGO ICON Build your own ‘little red corvette’ with this 1,210-piece set that marks the 70th anniversary of America’s most iconic sports car. Chevrolet Corvette, £129.99. lego.com
(chaismonnethotel.com); XO Madame 2CV/ bicycle tours (xomadame.com); Brittany Ferries, Portsmouth-Caen return crossing with car from £190 (brittany-ferries.co.uk) McLaren Artura PRICE £189,200 ENGINE 2,993cc V6 & 7.4 kWh motor POWER 671bhp combined 0-62MPH 3.0 seconds TOP SPEED 205mph ECONOMY 61.5mpg (claimed) STREAMING Silent Assassin – Tkay Maidza
SPIN THAT DISC The Cosmo is a portable turntable for vinyl records that plugs into a car via any USB-C socket. Cosmo Turntable, £159. gadhouse.com
ON THE CHARGE Want to take your EV on an adventure? This book offers 60 routes with charging points across the continent. Electric Vehicle Road Trips Europe. (Lonely Planet, £25) n
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CULTURE | Interview
Trauma awoke the campaigner within Gina Miller. Charlotte Metcalf meets the woman on a mission to ‘clean up politics’
IN BRIEF COUNTRY COTTAGE OR PENTHOUSE?
A cottage covered in roses. DOG OR CAT?
I have two gorgeous rescue cats, Sparkie and Boots. They’re brothers. COUNTRY PUB OR MICHELIN STAR?
I don’t go out much but when I do someone gives me a look or comment that makes me uncomfortable. GARDENING OR THEATRE?
Both – I’ve just seen Mlima’s Tale at The Kiln – it was extraordinary. HEELS OR FLATS?
Heels for stepping up to the plate, and I have heeled Geox trainers for canvassing and door-knocking.
I
PORTRAIT BY ALEXANDRA DAO
f anyone is shaped by trauma it’s Gina Miller. She was growing up happily in her native Guyana when a car bomb killed the leader of a new opposition party, which was co-founded by her father. ‘Our family was next on a “death list” so my eldest brother and I, aged 13 and 11, were dispatched to safety in Eastbourne,’ Gina begins. ‘I was sent to boarding school. I’d never left home before and we didn’t see our parents again for two years. My father kept fighting against dictatorship and for justice, eventually becoming attorney general.’ Gina is known as a transparency campaigner and defender of our representative parliamentary democracy, having twice defeated the Conservative government in the Supreme Court for its unlawful attempts to bypass Parliament in implementing Brexit. She’s now the founder and leader of the True & Fair Party and parliamentary candidate for Epsom and Ewell. ‘Most of my family are medics, but from when I was tiny, my father used to brush my hair and tell me I was going to do something important, that I was a chip off the old block,’ she grins. Another trauma occurred when she was brutally attacked and sexually assaulted by four men while studying law at the University of East London. ‘The university tried to cover it up and my mother told me I mustn’t be seen as a victim, so I didn’t tell anyone. My dream was to be a barrister, like my dad, but I couldn’t function, or face going back.’ Gina eventually married and gave birth to a daughter in the late Eighties. The NHS was in crisis and there was a shortage of midwives, so Gina was given a drug to slow her delivery: ‘Lucy-Ann was such a perfect baby, I couldn’t put her down. But she didn’t achieve her developmental milestones and by the time she was two we knew something was seriously wrong.’ Today, Lucy-Ann is 35, with a mental age of five, due to being starved of oxygen and suffering stress during delivery. Gina fought to keep her little girl from being placed in an institution: ‘Lucy-Ann awoke the lioness and the campaigner in me. I campaign based on my life experiences.’ Gina then met her second husband in the City when she was founding her successful financial services marketing agency. ‘My marriage appeared idyllic. We’d moved to a fairy-tale old house in Bradford-on-Avon. After two-anda-half years, I woke with a huge gash in my back. Lucy-Ann, then about seven, asked, “Mummy, why did Jon push you
down the stairs last night?” I woke up with a shock after having blanked out how coerced and totally broken I’d been by my manipulative, controlling, alcoholic husband. I remembered another occasion he’d hit me, when I sat battered in a police station corridor in my nightie while police just walked past laughing. Jon turned up and persuaded them that I was having mental problems, so they just let him take me home. But that night I knew I had to be safe to look after Lucy-Ann, so I picked her up and ran to a friend nearby. I had zero access to money. I sold my BMW, bought an old Fiat, in which Lucy-Ann and I lived for three weeks in a car park while her dad tried to find us a place. From that car, I planned a marketing consultancy and how I would start speaking out against domestic violence.’ Gina’s campaigning has earned her a mixed reputation. ‘For speaking out against the lack of transparency in financial products in 2010, Bloomberg called me a “wrecking ball” that was single-handedly destroying the City.’ She’s been nicknamed ‘Black Widow spider’, ‘Director of Lipstick’ and ‘a bloody difficult woman’, and admits to feeling the most hated woman in Britain, but nothing deflects Gina from her mission. ‘I’m so shocked by our leaders’ lack of courage and competence, and millions feel the same. I launched the True & Fair Party last year to clean up politics, combat corruption and put governance into government. Politicians have wasted millions. High streets are dead, there’s no community cohesion, nothing for young people to do, and millions are off work with mental health and other health problems. On top of that, climate change, food insecurity, wars, pandemics and tech are changing almost everything. We must have a country where people are healthy, happy and have hope for the future. I want Epsom and Ewell to be a place where we trial robust practical solutions.’ Recently, Gina took on Monzo for closing her political party’s bank account, and launched a campaign to protect our countryside, farming and food sector. Though she espouses causes popular with many, her fearlessness and outspokenness mean Gina has received multiple death threats and still can’t even venture to a café without being insulted or attacked. If multiple traumas haven’t, what would it take to stop her? ‘I’ll never, ever stop standing up for others, fighting for fairness and equality, or lose my passion for what I believe is right,’ she insists. ‘The things that should have broken me have only made me stronger.’ n
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Gina Miller’s turbulent life has led her to fight for what she believes is right
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CULTURE | C&TH x Byline Times
BOOKTOK’S BIG BROTHER herever publishers gather, you can be sure the talk will be of TikTok and how it is transforming the way books are sold. In an industry powered by word of mouth, the short-form video platform has enabled readers and writers to take direct control of their marketing – and the results can be startling. With 186 billion views, #BookTok has quickly become the world’s biggest book club. It isn't just purveyors of romantic fiction like Colleen Hoover who are benefitting. When my company Unbound launched a paperback version of the obscure 1934 book-length puzzle Cain’s Jawbone in 2021, our expectations were modest. As of today, it has sold 600,000 copies in the English language edition and hit top-ten rankings in six other countries. It all began with a video made by a San Franciscan BookToker who cut up the book and turned her bedroom into a murder wall. Three days later, she had generated nine million views, and the book immediately sold out everywhere (it is now in its tenth printing). There’s a pleasing symmetry to the story – the royalties earned by the book go to the Laurence Sterne Trust, the charity that manages Shandy Hall, the place where Sterne wrote his 1759 masterpiece The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, and now a museum that boasts one of the world’s finest collections of experimental literature. It was the curator there who rediscovered Cain’s Jawbone (and its solution) and brought it to my attention. It’s hard not to speculate over just how much Sterne would have enjoyed this, as he had prepared his own passage to celebrity as carefully as any young TikToker. He underwrote the first printing of Tristram Shandy himself, having persuaded John Mitchinson; Cain's the celebrated bookseller and publisher Robert Jawbone (Unbound, £9.99) Dodsley to advertise it in his shop in Pall Mall. Rather than waiting for the critics, Sterne engaged Georgian England’s most famous ‘influencer’. He asked his friend (and probably mistress) the young singer Kitty Fourmantel if she would mind sending the actor David Garrick a letter. Sterne dictated the text in a way that was likely to pique Garrick’s interest – ‘the Graver people however say, tis not fit for young Ladies to read his Book, so perhaps you’ll think it is not fit for a young Lady to recommend it’. Garrick not only became a patron and an enthusiastic fan, he gave Sterne the use of his private box at Drury Lane. By the time Sterne arrived in London, three months after publication, the book was sold out and its author the talk of the town. Sterne quickly concluded a deal for a 5,000-copy reprint with Dodsley for £250 (about £40,000) and, using a similar ‘suggestive’ letter, persuaded the most famous artist of the day, William Hogarth, to contribute two engravings to the second edition. Illustrations in books were rare then – illustrations by Hogarth unheard of. In an equally audacious move, he
dedicated the book to the Prime Minister, William Pitt, currently riding high in public opinion after a recent string of military victories over France. A sure sign of the book’s success were the many pirate editions and imitations that flooded the market (like The Life and Opinions of Miss Suky Shandy of Bow Street), and that the name ‘Tristram Shandy’ soon found itself applied to card games, dances, a soup and a racehorse. In order to guarantee the authenticity of later volumes, Sterne hand-signed an estimated 12,750 books. Another ruse was to include one of his own sermons in the novel, attributed to Parson Yorick. The text mentions that there are more available – ‘enough to make a handsome volume’. Dodsley took the hint and, in May 1760, published a two-volume spin-off edition of The Sermons of Parson Yorick, with a subscriber list that included a dozen earls and seven bishops as well as Garrick, Hogarth, Sir Joshua Reynolds and the radical politician, John Wilkes. It soon outsold Tristram Shandy. In his famously inaccurate prediction – ‘nothing odd will do long: Tristram Shandy didn’t last’ – Samuel Johnson had failed to read the national mood. Tristram Shandy marked a turning point in the democratisation of literature. Sterne’s books weren’t just patronised by the great and the good, they were bought in shops by a growing community of ‘unlearned readers’. When he forced Dodsley at huge expense and difficulty to include a double-sided marbled page in the middle of volume three, Sterne created the first ‘personalised’ book. Every marbled page was subtly different; and every reader, whatever their education, was rendered equal in front of the whirling pattern. No one was more or less able to interpret the moral significance of what he called ‘the motly emblem’ of his work. In a playful and memorable way, Sterne was telling readers he was on their side. He would have loved #Booktok. John Mitchinson is the co-founder of Unbound, the world’s leading crowd-funding platform for books, and co-hosts the popular books podcast ‘Backlisted’. He was a senior writer for the BBC’s ‘QI’ and a Vice-President of the Hay Festival n
PHOTOS: PEXELS; © NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY/ WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
W
John Mitchinson explores what 18th-century novelist Laurence Sterne can teach us about the importance of marketing today
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Books that made me fall in love with reading again!
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My favourite must reads for 2023 so far...
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PHOTOS: PEXELS; © NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY/ WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Original sound
Ten bookshops in London you must visit... Laurence Sterne, captured here by Sir Joshua Reynolds, was one of the earliest marketing experts
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Dress Edeline Lee Tights Wolford Boots Christian Louboutin Gold bracelets Tiffany & Co. Necklace, silver bracelet and gold ring Geri’s own David Horan Paper lounge chair in matte vellum Béton Brut
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SPICE WORD
Even though she was the sauciest of the Spice Girls, Geri HalliwellHorner was always more into the words than the music – and now she’s a bestselling author, says BENJI WILSON FASHION DIRECTOR NICOLE SMALLWOOD PHOTOGRAPHER SIMON EMMETT ART DIRECTOR FLEUR HARDING
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Waist coat and trousers The Deck. Gold bracelet Tiffany & Co. Silver bracelet, gold ring, necklace Geri’s own Black anthroposophic sculpture Béton Brut
s I arrive at Geri Halliwell-Horner’s north London home my phone pings with an email alert. Geri’s book, Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen – the first in a young-adult series about a girl sent to an exclusive boarding school on a remote island – has gone into the New York Times bestsellers at number four. ‘I was not expecting this,’ says Geri as she ushers me in. ‘But it’s such validation for something I’ve believed in passionately and worked on solidly for so long. To get that connection with a readership… it’s mind blowing.’ If Geri is a smidge mind-blown this morning it’s understandable – she is just back from New York, where she’s been on tour promoting Rosie Frost. She is jet-lagged, she says, though she looks bright as a button in white jeans and a cream silk blouse, hair tied back with a ribbon just so. I tell her that her new designation as an NYT bestselling author
surprised me because, to be honest, I had assumed that Geri HalliwellHorner, writer, was just another celebrity jumping on the kids-lit bandwagon. In other words, I had underestimated her. ‘I studied English literature,’ she says, offering me a marshmallow, sipping on a coffee. ‘I actually was thinking about journalism before music,’ she adds, pointing at my tape recorder as if, in different worlds, she could easily have been asking the questions. And she does ask questions: we compare notes on kids (Halliwell has two, Monty and Bluebell), animals (there’s an aquarium in the corner of the room with some blasé fish doing circles; she is a keen horse rider) and what’s on television right now (answer: several documentaries featuring her, but more on that later). What comes out is that, although Geri Halliwell became an internationally famous pop star when she was young, it’s always been the words as much as the music that’s been her interest. ‘I was doing theatre – Stanislavski, and DH Lawrence and Hamlet, I’m steeped in Hamlet – all before music. I loved writing, and when I went into music I felt very confident in the power of words and lyrics.’ Looking back, she concedes that she was never a vocal powerhouse: ‘I wasn’t Mariah Carey in the singing, I know that, but in the actual songwriting I always felt competent. I thought, “this is something where I can really serve the band”.’ For the 1997 film Spice World: The Movie, Geri says she wrote parts of the screenplay. And now that the band is in the past, it’s storytelling that she has come back to. She had already written a series of younger children’s books but she sees Rosie Frost as the first real expression of her literary ambition. One early assessment came from her husband, Christian Horner, the head of the Red Bull Formula One team. ‘He’s not a book reader at all. Sometimes I’d say to him, “Oh, can I read you this bit?” And he kept on saying, “No, no, no, when it’s published!” He just wouldn’t look at it.’ But though Rosie Frost is aimed at the young-adult market, Geri wants broadsheet readers and grown-ups to enjoy it too. ‘There are questions in there that if you really care about the world, politically, environmentally, it might stimulate you anyway. So I gave Christian the book. And the first thing he said was, “It’s much better than I thought”.’ We both fall about laughing at this typically abrupt spousal endorsement. ‘And then a few days later, once he’d finished, he went, “You know what? I just could not put it down.” And I thought, “My work is done”.’
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Dress Suzannah London Earrings Pragnell Gold ring Geri’s own Sebastian Matta Malitte sofa Béton Brut
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Dress Lanvin Earrings and cuff Tiffany & Co. Necklace and bracelet Geri’s own
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Dress and bra Dolce & Gabbana Briefs Commando Bracelet and ring Geri’s own
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Dress Celia Kritharioti Gold bracelet Tiffany & Co. Bracelet and ring Geri’s own
You might ask why Geri would want to put herself out there for evaluation anyway. Looking round her home, which is mansion-sized with several fast cars out front, (and she has another one in the country out near Oxford) it’s fairly obvious that she is not writing for the money. ‘I’m incredibly grateful for what I have and the opportunities I’ve been given. But one thing I’ve always tried to do is to be useful to the world. Of course, my ego likes the validation of being a New York Times bestselling writer. Absolutely! But beyond that, it feels really brilliant when somebody has gone, “You know what, I read your book, and I felt good about myself.” If anyone has felt marginalised or bullied, or just needed a bit of encouragement or escapism, and they get that from what I’ve done, that’s really nice.’ The cover of Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen features a girl with flowing red hair standing resolute against all that the world can throw at her. It’s not too much of leap to guess who our Rosie might be based on. ‘You can’t help but put a little bit of yourself in there!’ she says with a laugh. ‘I come from Watford and then went to Watford Girls’ Grammar School in another part of town, so like Rosie I felt like a fish out of water.’ In the book’s opening scene Rosie is pulled out of class and told that her mother is dead. This comes straight from Geri’s own experience. ‘I was told at school that my father was dead. I was just doing my A-levels and what I remember most is I felt embarrassed about my feelings. I didn’t want anybody else to feel awkward, just because I was feeling overwhelmed. It’s so British – you just bottle it up. But I definitely use that in Rosie. The difference is that in the book I don’t airbrush her feelings and how she processes the grief.’
She knows people will roll their eyes at the idea of a pop-star turned actress turned author. ‘I do it too! So I’m not going to take it personally. And the outcome – what the book is like – is more important than what people think of me anyway. And actually, everyone in the UK has been 100 percent receptive to the idea of me as a writer. They get it.’ She points out that the themes in the book aren’t worlds away from the message of the Spice Girls: there’s a continuum between what Spice Girl Geri was saying and what Geri Halliwell-Horner is writing. ‘The girl power thing is there and I’ve always championed that. It’s just evolved into a different medium, that’s all.’ I mention that Netflix’s Beckham documentary has taken a whole new generation back to the late 90s and that time of Spicemania. Geri also features in Netflix’s forthcoming Robbie Williams documentary (the pair dated in 2001). So how does she feel now watching her younger self? ‘I see an evolving person,’ she says. ‘If you look at nature, trees consistently keep on growing and they have different seasons. I think that’s really healthy and natural. I mean, to expect anyone to remain static – that’s unattainable.’ No one, she says, stays frozen in time. ‘Ageing is what happens. It’s lovely to share what’s happened in my life and, if it inspires others, fantastic. And then if they see my life now, hopefully they can feel some sort of inspiration in their own life that it’s OK to get older.’ Any regrets? Any lessons learned? ‘What I’ve learned is that we’re all idiots at different times. And if I can have the humility to give that to myself and to others, we’re all right.’ Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen (Scholastic,£7.99) is out now n
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football team, the aptly named Forest Green Rovers; he recently founded Ecojet, the world’s first electric airline; and his Skydiamond plant can literally make diamonds from the air. Often polarising, but equally passionate, Dale has always been an outspoken champion of the green movement, and in recent times, has turned his attention to politics. Anyone who has seen him go toe-to-toe with climate deniers and flip-floppy politicians knows he’s a force for good. Surely, if there’s anyone who can ease our climate woes, it’s Dale. Earlier this year Dale, a vocal and generous supporter of Just Stop Oil, was plastered across the right-wing media for funding so-called ‘eco zealots’. A determined advocate for climate protests and direct action, Dale has recently changed his approach. ‘The next election will be the most important in my lifetime, so rather than finance protest, I’m urging people [especially young, first-time voters] to vote to save the planet. This government has declared war on net zero and “green wokery” in a way that is not just dishonest, but dangerous. ‘I believe that the only way to stop drilling in the North Sea now, science, logic and protest having failed, is by choosing a new government.’
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t’s bleak reading, but in a recent study by the Woodland Trust, one in three young people in Britain said they were scared about climate change, with 28 percent feeling overwhelmed. We know how they feel. News feeds are filled with devastating man-made disasters, climate sceptics peddle lies about renewable energy and fossil fuels, while the government downgrades its net zero pledges seemingly on a whim. It’s enough to make you want to quit society and live in the woods. Which is precisely where Dale Vince, 62, started out. In his early years, he unplugged from mainstream society and lived in a van, powered by his own homemade wind turbine. That turbine inspired him to launch Ecotricity, the world’s first green energy company, which made him a multi-millionaire. But far from sitting around counting his money, he’s committed to finding better ways of doing things. He’s the chairman of the world’s most eco-minded 110 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | November/December 2023
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Making
GREEN GREAT AGAIN
PHOTOS: © RAW PIXELS
Dale Vince, the eco-entrepreneur, climate activist and Skydiamond creator, believes in populism with a green purpose, says CHRIS HASLAM
He goes on to say: ‘When I started Ecotricity three decades ago, renewable energy was a crazy idea, one that was only interesting to hippies and academics. Today, it’s a global mainstream industry at the heart of every government’s net zero strategies.’ In the UK, renewable energy now accounts for 42 percent of electricity and Dale hopes it can get to 100 percent in as little as ten years. ‘Thirty years ago, it was expensive, unreliable and unknown, now it’s the cheapest form of energy we can build. Everything’s in our favour. It’s exciting.’ Asked why so many people still seem to have an issue with green living and renewable energy, Dale is unequivocal: ‘I’m just going to say government. Taxes, subsidies and regulations are pointed in the wrong direction. They make it harder to do net zero things and make it easier to carry on doing the polluting things. ‘Our economy isn’t a force of nature – we get to choose how it works and, at the moment, we choose [to be] burning fossil fuels. That’s a choice made by our government.’ The role the media plays is discussed and, again, he’s quick to point the finger. ‘Nine out of 11 national newspapers in our country are right wing.
Firstly, they said climate change wasn’t real. And now they say, well, OK, maybe it is manmade, but we can’t afford the transition [to net zero] at that pace. We have this fundamental problem that too many people in our country aren’t convinced that climate change is real.’ It’s a depressing, but important conversation, and one Dale is only too happy to have face-toface with those naysayers. He explains his idea of ‘green populism’ and the need to ‘keep it simple and talk to people about what bothers them. Politicians like [Donald] Trump, [Nigel] Farage and [Boris] Johnson really cut through with simplistic, sometimes bombastic, messaging, but they don’t care about the facts, or the truth of what they say. Without lying, we have to be more like them. We have to craft messaging that people can get, about the things they care about. If you talk about jobs and the economy [rather than polar bears], then you’re talking in people’s wheelhouses. That’s what most people care about.’ As for solutions, Dale is impassioned. He’s convinced that a new – non-Conservative – government is vital: ‘There’s an election in the next 12 months, where we can change everything.’ He also believes in engaging with people who think differently. This brings us on to his own ventures November/December 2023 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | 111
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‘Being green and getting to NET ZERO is not about giving stuff up, we just have to find ANOTHER WAY to do it’ Ecojet, his emission-free hydrogen-electric powered airline. ‘We can’t get the bulk of people [to support] net zero living if we’re telling them they have to stop flying,’ he says. ‘The big aviation players have pencilled in 2040, maybe 2035, to be flying with electric and hydrogen, but the reason we jumped into this now is that we haven’t got 15 years just to get started on this journey. We’ll have our technology ready in 12 to 18 months from now, so we’re jumping in with both feet saying, “we’re not even from this industry, but if we can do it, why can’t you!’’’ Whether he’s leading by example or Since the 90s, Dale has been a key simply shaming big business (and politicians) player in pushing for greener energy into doing better, Dale seems relentless in and tackling climate change in Britain his pursuits. In our conversation, we barely scratch the surface. and his idea that ‘being green and getting to net zero is not about giving As well as the ventures mentioned, there’s his mission to turn grass into gas. ‘It could be an entirely new industry and help us get off of fossil gas, stuff up – we just have to find another way to do it’. Skydiamond is a sparkling example of this mindset. Among the world’s which dominates home heating, and make it from a sustainable source first zero-impact, carbon-negative diamonds, its stones are grown in the grown right here in Britain, which creates habitats for wildlife in the process.’ Cotswolds using only renewable energy, carbon and rainwater. ‘That project And that’s not all: ‘We’re also doing some research into the production came about because I was looking into carbon capture and thought the most of food from grass. We’ve discovered grass is an amazingly nutritious plant permanent form of carbon is diamond. I thought, rather idealistically, I’d be – we just can’t eat it raw. But we can extract twice as much protein from able to go into a company and hand over a sack full of diamonds [representing it, so we’re working on a process to extract food [protein] from the grass, their carbon footprint] and they could be handed out to the staff.’ which solves two problems, energy and food security, while also providing This wasn’t possible, but the gemstones the facility can grow are among a massive sustainability boost.’ the most sustainable available and a world away from environmentallyDale is exhaustingly prolific, with a phenomenal CV. While he surrounds damaging mining. ‘We just use the wind, the sun, the rain, and carbon himself with experts, it’s clearly a single vision from someone who’s acutely dioxide. It’s a 21st-century version of alchemy, where we turned carbon aware of the problems we face and is actively looking for solutions, while also appreciating the need for the nice things in life. Maybe we all need to dioxide into something really quite special,’ Dale says. Continuing his desire to ‘just find another way’, Dale recently launched be a little more Dale. n 112 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | November/December 2023
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Into the BLUE
Phoebe Tickell wants to release us from our goldfish bowl mindsets into that of the vast and endless sea perspective beyond. It’s all about freeing our imaginations - but how did she expand her own? asks LUCY CLELAND ILLUSTRATION BY LUCY ROSE ILLUSTRATION
‘T
o sleep, perchance to dream.’ If Hamlet’s desire was to find dreams only in the afterlife, he won’t find much truck with Phoebe Tickell. For Phoebe brings the starstuff of dreams into her professional vernacular when working with everyone from corporations to governments as a Moral Imagination Activist. Yes, you may well ask… Moral imagination, ‘imagination on behalf of the welfare of the whole’ (as Phoebe describes it), is not a new concept. It traces its roots back as far as Plato, Virgil and Dante, popping up from time to time over the centuries in the works of Edmund Burke, Jane Austen, George Eliot and Toni Morrison. But it’s never been a job description until now, as far as I know (and can we add it to all school careers departments, please). But then the world’s never been more in need of moral imaginationists to help us envision a better future. Which is now Phoebe’s career and her life force. Even her tone is lyrical as she describes her journey to the position she now holds, shuffling off – as she feels she was able to – the mechanistic, hierarchical system of industrialised study and work to find herself beautifully attached by gossamer threads to a world of imagination – and its possibilities for cracking open states of evolution and emergence. ‘Moral imagination is a muscle that everyone has. It’s just that it’s not worked out as much, and there’s no time or space given to it at school or work,’ she says. Phoebe’s childhood and studying experiences provide clues as to how she exercised hers, though it was not always easy, she admits. ‘I was always driven by a deep curiosity for the world and a passion for wanting to make things better,’ says Phoebe, who is half-English and half-Hungarian. Spending her summer holidays in Hungary, with no television nor internet, it was a world of fantasy and imagination that Phoebe constructed with her sister to stave off the endless boredom. ‘The entertainment industry provides us with non-stop 24-hour digitally administered entertainment – but not enchantment,’ wrote Phoebe in her 2020 Moral Imagination Manifesto. Enchantment is Phoebe’s wheelhouse. When she left her state primary school in west London to enter the rigorous and demanding independent St Paul’s Girls’ School, the contrast between her two worlds grew greater: ‘I was moving between post-socialist Hungary and November/December 2023 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | 115
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capitalist, competitive London, and I was seeing that different worlds are possible, and are happening at once – there’s not even a word for “posh” in Hungarian,’ she says, wryly. At St Paul’s, she spent as much time in the art wing as the science block, until – inevitably – she had to choose one. The system pulled her towards science, because, the voices said, ‘you’ll never get a job in the arts and you can always come back to it’. So it was off to Cambridge, which she naively imagined to be like Hogwarts, to be trained as a ‘wizard of science’. The truth was a little more reductive. ‘I had chosen natural sciences because I was in love with the world and wanted an intimate understanding of how life works and to grow as a scientist,’ says Phoebe, but the way the course was taught as 12 hours of lectures, 18 hours of lab time and three essays a week left no time for deeper thinking. ‘I felt Phoebe Tickell believes really imprisoned and like I was that freeing our imaginations to think being hammered with information. of better ways of doing I took the ecology module and – things can result in rather than an immersion in life, systemic change going outside and being in nature – it was bringing dead animals into a lab and dissecting them. It felt like a death culture not a life one.’ Phoebe’s imagination muscle was slowly being weakened and her spirit dampened. Despite this Phoebe was rewarded with a First Class Degree, but it was travelling to Asia after Cambridge and immersing herself in Eastern spirituality that allowed her to begin to work through what had felt so wrong about the approach to learning and science. In the monasteries of Thailand, she found Buddhism and learned to meditate for three hours a day; she did six weeks training in a Thai boxing bootcamp; she discovered the writings of Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti and Ivan Illich. She gradually shuffled off her perceived shame of not fitting in. Returning to London, she got a job at Imperial College and found herself back in the lab. But it was clear once more that science performed this way was not going to make Phoebe tick. By saying yes to some opportunities, and no to others, including a fully funded PhD in marine biology at the Scripps Institute in San Diego, studying by the sea (‘I had a lot of grief walking away from that’ – but she was clear that she wanted not to study the ocean, but to be in the ocean, i.e. to be in life, not in the lab) she forged her own path. This included joining a friend’s business in Mumbai, designing five-day transformative learning camps for kids and a stint working on a Holistic Science Masters at Devon’s alternative Schumacher College – ‘a sort of eco-hippie Oxford college’. Then, in 2021, aged 29, she founded Moral Imaginations. This was a way of pulling together all her deep learnings and experience to drive her mission of ‘getting us out of the fish tank’, and ‘into the vast and endless sea’, i.e. to challenge our indoctrinated ways of thinking through imagination – and therefore create solutions for a better future. ‘In the tank,’ she explains to me, ‘we think the water is low oxygen, there are not enough nutrients, and there’s no space for imagination, but instead
scarcity and competition. But out there, there’s this vast and endless sea. That’s what my work is all about: we think we have resource problems, but actually we have imagination problems – because everything we need is here. We just need to get out of the tank.’ ‘How?’ I gasp, just like one of those goldfish. ‘With imagination,’ she smiles. ‘I believe that every human has a deep sense of what they are here to do. And what they need is the permission, the trust, the support, the growth, to really live that out as a creative, intelligent, flourishing human, and unlearn industrial, mechanistic ways of thinking.’ The moral part is important because, ‘imagination is unbiased. It both creates new medicines that saves billions of people’s lives, but also nuclear weapons and wars.’ This is about imagination with people and planet at the heart of it. Putting this thinking into practical, workable form is what Moral Imaginations is all about. Take Phoebe’s work with Camden Council. ‘We’ve just finished phase one of a big project,’ she explains. Phoebe says she worked together with the council to develop an eight-week programme to help with issues around the workforce and psychological safety. ‘They loved the idea of an imagination trainer working with their council officers, because imagination flourishes and increases psychological safety, because when you imagine together, you share vulnerability, it creates trust, and then it’s a kind of positive feedback loop.’ She and her team recruited 32 council officers from across every council department, from early years to the job centre, from children’s services to the Camden football team – a huge mix of people to take part in workshops, exercises, framework teaching, live sessions, content toolkits. A starting point was to play with ‘what ifs’: ‘what if we put wellbeing into the heart of being employed at Camden’; ‘what if staff went on imagination sabbaticals to develop ideas for projects’; ‘what if there was less division between staff and community’; were just some of the questions generated by staff themselves during the programme. The team also trains the leadership, embedding moral imagination into the infrastructure of the council, which centres around their three pillars – considering how future generations can be represented; how the rights of nature can be integrated; how they bring the perspective of ancestors and historical inequity into decision-making. You can just taste the glorious tinge of possibility when you are freed up and held safely to be able to explore those questions and what might result from them – the potential for systemic change. And this is what, ultimately, is needed, believes Phoebe, if we are to have a hope of retelling the story we’ve been told – the one of scarcity and competition to another of nature-rich flourishing for all. Is it time for us all to dare to dream?
‘We think we have RESOURCE problems but we actually have IMAGINATION problems because everything we NEED is here’
moralimaginations.com n
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A Clean
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
SLATE Is your New Year’s resolution to save the world? You could make it a little bit brighter in 2024, says TESSA DUNTHORNE November/December 2023 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | 119
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Greta Thunberg challenges us to take action in 2024
ACT – AND ACT NOW Greta Thunberg ‘It’s been my 258th weeks of protests – there’s no other option than to do this. This is not just polar bears or melting glaciers. This is extremely, extremely serious. And we can all do something about it – I think we all underestimate how much we can do about it. The sense of powerlessness is a very strong currency that the people in power benefit from. But as soon as we start to reclaim that power, we can shake things up. When I look back, I want to be able to say I did everything I possibly could.’ THE CLIMATE CONVERSATION, SOUTHBANK, AUGUST 2023
PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK; GETTY IMAGES; © PETE WOODHEAD
T
here’s something about a clean slate. The idea – of what was called a tabula rasa in Latin – is age-old. It was an idea first set out by the Greeks (Aristotle and his ilk), who believed we were born empty and ready to be molded by whatever experiences we met along our journeys. And isn’t the turn of the clock from 31 December to 1 January simply a new tabula rasa; a moment to start afresh? Statistics tell us that most will focus this sense of renewal on the self. When 30 million Britons make a New Year’s resolution this year, 28 percent of these goals will revolve around health, another 27 percent personal finances. Not many will look outwards. Perhaps, though, it’s time to rethink that. While we may aspire to a tabula rasa, we certainly won’t actually inherit a blank slate next year – we exit the hottest global year on record with an increasingly polarised political stage. Yes, we have promise and potential for change, once the bubbles have finally fallen flat on the first of January 2024, but our tabula has already been marked in a way that we cannot erase. So, grab a pencil, and get to work on redrawing a new slate in 2024. Here are the New Year’s resolutions that just might help make the world a better place.
THE BIG ONE: STARTING
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THE FINANCE ONE: DO BUSINESS BETTER You have around 80,000 hours in your career (according to 80000hours.org). Your career – and your business, if you run one – is the area in your life in which you are likely to have the most impact on the world. So why not use it to change the world?
TIP THE EARTH Arizona Muse, founder of Dirt
‘You tip your servers, would you tip the earth? We’re engaging restaurants to support the farmers who regenerate soil globally this year; by signing up your business to #TipTheEarth, you’re supporting DIRT charity in this work. Our scheme adds an optional one percent tip to each bill – it’s not just restaurants, it’s also spas, hotels, bars and members’ clubs we hope will sign up.’ dirt.charity
SHARE FOOD
Alyson Walsh, Fareshare commercial director
‘We want to hear from business owners who’d help unlock their surplus food for redistribution; last year, Fareshare redistributed the equivalent of 128 million meals. This food saves charities money, meaning they can invest in vital wraparound services, including support for mental health, domestic violence, unemployment, housing and debt, as well as bringing down levels of food waste.’ fareshare.org.uk
GET CERTIFIED
Allyson Bartlett, 1% For The Planet VP Brand & Marketing
‘1% for the Planet is an accountability partner for businesses looking to make real, tangible impact. Our logo is highly recognisable and trusted by consumers around the globe. Doing better by people and the planet is good for business—and certification is a powerful way to start off the new year.’ onepercentfortheplanet.org
THE HEALTH ONE: CITIZENS NOT CONSUMERS Work on yourself in the coming year – but know that you can’t go it alone. As Jon Alexander says in his advice below, 2024 is the year to blossom into being a citizen rather than a consumer, and acting as part of a community. Plus, there are personal benefits to navigating the world as part of one; as Netflix’s Secrets Of The Blue Zones points out, community is a means by which you can extend your healthspan. So maybe it also ticks that personal health New Year’s resolution after all.
SAY NO TO SELF-INTEREST Jon Alexander, author of Citizens
‘We’ve been living with a “consumer story” for the past 80 years, where our role as individuals is to pursue our own self-interest. This story makes us into independent individuals, where we define ourselves through competition. But individual action alone can’t fix the problems we face. A powerful act to take in the next year is to start by simply noticing this “consumer story” in the messages you receive from companies and politicians. Look around you. Be a citizen in the coming year, not a consumer – someone who is interdependent and social.’
LOOK LOCAL FIRST
Jade Brudenell, Exec Director of Conservation Collective
PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK; GETTY IMAGES; © PETE WOODHEAD
‘From my side, everyone can get involved with restoring nature locally, wherever they call home: voting, volunteering, gardening, and growing. See Isabella Tree’s Book of Wilding. And did you know locally led restoration projects are six to 20 times more likely to achieve long-term success and bring environmental and economic benefits to their communities than non-local ones?’
PLANT SEEDS OF CHANGE
Ellen Miles, author of Get Guerrilla Gardening; @OctaviaChill
‘Community gardening is fantastic: for the environment; the people around you; and for yourself. Through guerrilla gardening (planting up neglected corners of my area with neighbours), I’ve made lifelong friends, brought bees and other wildlife to previously desolate street corners, and gained a sense of peace, purpose and pride in the process. Start by finding an existing local group or garden to join – they’ll show you the ropes. (Or read my book)!’
MICRO-VOLUNTEER Charlotte Lister, Ms Eco UK
‘I micro-volunteer for the RSPCA. It’s only a small commitment: they put up tasks that you then complete throughout the year. These range from litter picking and filling out surveys, to putting out bird treats and cleaning animal feeders.’ n November/December 2023 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | 121
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Meet the Chatelaines
The women protecting the past and providing a future for our historic houses. By AMY WAKEHAM
W
ould you believe that there are over 4,000 castles in the UK, and around 3,000 stately homes? Britain’s history is very much written in their stones, with these buildings bearing witness to nation-shaping events over hundreds of years. And the people tasked to look after these castles and manors, and their surrounding estates over the centuries? More often than not, women were tasked with keeping the show on the road, while their menfolk fought in wars, spoke in parliament, or gallivanted around the clubs of St James. It might be easier for people of both sexes to come and go nowadays, but as the Duchess of Rutland recently pointed out in a piece for the Daily Mail about her podcast, Duchess, it’s still common for women to take on the role of chatelaine to historic houses – a job made all the more difficult by the wearing realities of life in 2023: the energy and cost of living crises; the staffing shortage; Brexit. ‘When I married my husband in 2016, I always say I married Iford as well,’ laughs Marianne Cartwright-Hignett, who took charge of Iford Manor in Wiltshire alongside her husband William after they married in 2016. The Grade II*-listed house with its Grade I-listed gardens dates back to the Domesday Book, but was actually bought by William’s mother in 1965, when she had to downsize from her family seat, Aynhoe Park, after tragedy struck. ‘She restored the house, saved the gardens, which were thought lost, and she’s the reason we are where we are today,’ recounts Marianne. But despite the family history, Marianne is clear: ‘You have to run these places as businesses these days.’ Her background working in the City, in private equity, was a good grounding for taking on the role of chatelaine of Iford. ‘Between my husband and I, we are very fortunate to have a good skill set, and we’ve been developing a business that I’m really enjoying.’ This
Former publishing CEO Victoria Howard puts all her business experience towards preserving and restoring 300-year-old Castle Howard
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Marianne continues the work of her motherin-law, who bought Iford Manor in the Sixties
because they’re businesses by default; they are these fantastic places that need restoring and preserving.’ She continues: ‘We’re in a whole range of different sectors: tourism, farming, property, hospitality. And all of these require different skills and different things to make them work, and that’s quite a challenge, actually. So I find myself wearing different hats – one day I’m talking about farming and the next day about hospitality.’ Victoria and Nick never expected to take on Castle Howard but for unforeseen family reasons it landed in their laps. ‘It’s not the life I imagined I’d be leading,’ she says. ‘Having spent my entire career in the world of media, my friends are all absolutely shocked that I’m going around in my green wellies as a farmer. But it’s fun.’ Another chatelaine running her home as a business is Lady Barnard, who took charge of medieval Raby Castle in County Durham with her husband Harry in 2015. ‘Some days, when I walk through the portcullis I can imagine how glamorous it must have been to arrive in a carriage and descend into the entrance hall with a pair of roaring fires and the staff ready to greet you,’ she says. However, of the reality of her experience as chatelaine so far, she says, ‘it has been a baptism of fire. I have loved it and there are so many different aspects to the job. One minute I’m discussing porcelain restoration, the next minute I’m on a building site or meeting visitors. I’m fascinated by architecture and the stories of how buildings or rooms came to look as they do, so working on restoration either at the castle or on the wider estate is a joy.’ There is a long history of female caretakers at Raby Castle. ‘The women at Raby have had to be brave,’ recounts Lady Barnard. ‘The castle has its own strength so the lady of the house must work with it. ‘There have been wealthy brides such as Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland and half-sister
‘If I’m absolutely HONEST, it’s been a lot more DIFFICULT than I thought it would be’ includes open gardens, a restaurant and cafe, a successful annual jazz festival, and an 1,000 acre estate, along with hydro-electric and solar power projects. ‘Our goal is to produce more energy than we use,’ confirms Marianne. Of her role, she says: ‘High level it’s the marketing, the strategy, the finance, the management of our teams. And at the heart of it we’ve got two little boys, currently one and four, and our family home.’ Another historic house with a high-flying chatelaine – although she wouldn’t use that word herself – is Castle Howard in North Yorkshire, helmed by Victoria Howard, the former CEO of HarperCollins. ‘I am the executive chairman,’ she explains, ‘which means that I run the business day to day along with my husband [Nick Howard].’ Compared to her former job, Castle Howard (a vast Baroque masterpiece that dates back to 1699) is a much smaller operation – but that doesn’t mean it’s been an easy ride. ‘If I’m absolutely honest, it’s been a lot more difficult than I thought it would be,’ says Victoria. ‘They [historic houses] are very strange businesses in a way,
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Lady Barnard is the latest in long line of notable women at Raby Castle
to Henry IV. I’m grateful to Catherine Vane, wife of the 4th Duke of Cleveland who wrote a comprehensive book about the castle around 1870, a great insight on how to live here and its contents – it’s a great help today.’ One thing Catherine Vane didn’t have to deal with, however, was the multiple crises unique to 2023, which especially impact historic houses: the lasting effects of the pandemic; staffing; cost of living; and energy bills. ‘Like everyone else, we are having to be canny, watch every penny and give the best value for money,’ says Lady Barnard. ‘Being a business that was very heavily reliant on tourism, it was obviously devastating to us,’ says Victoria of the pandemic’s impact on Castle Howard. ‘We’ve lost four years really.’ In their rural location, they’ve found it especially difficult to recruit enough staff; York is 15 miles away, and public transport links are poor. ‘But we manage and, hopefully, it’s a nice place to work. We try to make sure our staff are looked after as best we can. It’s very much a people business – we are only as good as our staff.’ Marianne has also struggled to recruit staff for Iford’s restaurant and cafe. ‘Our main thing is to try to always put our employees first, and we always try to make sure that we can give people job security, and we have built up our reserves so we can do that. And we also want to ensure that we’re here for the community
to continue visiting.’ Similarly, ‘the cost of energy for these places is huge,’ she points out; they’re currently putting in more solar panels to counteract this. All three chatelaines agree on one point, though: that taking charge of these historic homes isn’t as glamorous as people think. ‘I think you have the highs and the lows but when the toilets get clogged, I’m the one unblocking them,’ laughs Marianne. ‘There’s probably a bit of Cinderella to it – but before she married the prince.’ ‘I think most people have this idea of Upstairs, Downstairs and loads of butlers running around,’ says Victoria. ‘And it’s absolutely not. Occasionally we put on black tie dinners and get the silver out, but that’s usually for a business purpose.’ Lady Barnard agrees: ‘It’s not so glamorous when I’m in a boiler suit cleaning out a cupboard that hasn’t been touched for 200 years or in a hard hat and high vis on a muddy building site, but I think I’m happier doing the latter. Maybe I should get some crystal studs for my hard hat.’ But, despite the long days and the knotty business issues, all three women wouldn’t change their roles as chatelaines looking after some of Britain’s most historic homes. ‘I think it’s a lifestyle, you have to embrace it,’ sums up Marianne. ‘There are definitely times when it’s hard, it’s a huge responsibility.’ n
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charity
Founded by Arizona Muse
@dirt.charity
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Syndicates are an increasingly popular way to part-own a racehorse
at the beginning of October, Herbert is pleased to say that having recently bought five horses in Ireland, ‘four are sold out already – we launch them as we go along.’ Come the annual yearling parades in mid-October, when would-be owners have a chance to see Highclere’s new acquisitions, some syndicates will already have lots of shares in them, and all will be open for prospective sharers. Racehorse ownership by syndication has opened up the world of racing, says Herbert. ‘They are fantastic for the game – it’s a way to have huge fun at any level.’ Of course, it’s still not cheap. To be part of Highclere’s Heron Syndicate, you’ll initially be set back £15,590 plus VAT for a horse trained by Andrew Balding But this pales in comparison to the price of outright ownership. ‘Nowadays the average price of a horse from the second book at Tattersalls would be 70,00080,000 guineas [£73,500-84,000] and it’s about £40,000 a year to train a horse,’ says Herbert. ‘Our way of doing it makes it much more affordable but still gives folks the chance to go to the places that everyone dreams of going – to Ascot, and the Classic races.’ Not all of those joining syndicates are naturally horsey people. For those who don’t come armed with experience, it can be totally transformational, says Herbert. ‘It’s amazing how many people say, “it’s changed our lives”. It’s so heartwarming to hear that.’ For racing is not just about the sport, but the associated experiences. Highclere sharers are in the pit lane, ‘meeting the top trainers, getting to know their horses really well, staying in the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket. It’s a thrilling year – no matter how good your horse is, you’re going to have a really fun time.’ Syndicates that value the personal touch can offer those wanting to be hands-on with their horses a wonderful experience. ‘Racehorses are treated with an incredible combination of being both pets and athletes,’ says Hayward. ‘The staff looking after them know every inch of the horses – what they need, how they’re feeling, when they’re not quite right. That level of attention to detail is extraordinary to behold. The trick is for trainers to make you feel genuinely involved.’
Bloodstock & BLINKERS
‘I
’ll always remember my first winner,’ says Rob Hayward, horse racing fiend and chief strategy officer of organisational ethics consultancy Principia Advisory. ‘It was at Hexham a week before Christmas, and it was punishingly cold, but it didn’t matter. McGinty’s Dream sluiced up by 20 lengths, and it was just the most extraordinary experience.’ Hayward is one of a growing number of those getting involved in horse racing wearing an owner’s badge. But he doesn’t have a yard, and he isn’t a sheikh – over the last decade, he’s been part of a racing syndicate, the part-owner of a racehorse. Syndicates are becoming increasingly popular, offering an entry-level route into racing, with fees in the tens of thousands of pounds for a share in a young horse. One of the top syndicate yards is Berkshire-based Highclere Racing, run by the Hon. Harry Herbert, younger brother of George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon. Highclere offer opportunities to share in horses as soon as they arrive. Speaking
highclereracing.co.uk n
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
You don’t need to be ‘horsey’ or ‘super rich’ to get into racing, says Eleanor Doughty
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THE C&TH CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE
LIGHTS
Camera ACTION
Take inspiration from 2023’s most popular binge watches for your Christmas gift giving
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THE C&TH CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE TUSTING Mini Holly bag in cerise, £365. tusting.co.uk
<<
BUCCELLATI Blossoms Color earrings, £3,800. buccellati. com
STELLA MCCARTNEY Sunglasses, £190. stellamccartney.com SELF PORTRAIT Crystal-embellished dress, £420. netaporter.com
GIOVANNI RASPINI Shine necklace, £790. giovanniraspini.com
AUDEMARS PIGUET Code 11.59 Selfwinding watch, £29,700. audemarspiguet.com VIVIENNE WESTWOOD Catwalk: The Complete Collections, £60. thamesandhudson.com
AND JUST LIKE THAT MANOLO BLAHNIK Bamana pumps, £875. manoloblahnik.com
MOET & CHANDON Impérial Brut with metal gift tin, £56. moet.com
For fabulous, fashion-loving Carrie Bradshaws DR SEBAGH Plump & Glow gift box, £178. drsebagh.com
FENDI @ XUPES Vintage Baguette bag, £899. xupes.com
CONSIDERED CHRISTMAS
CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN Sandale du Désert, £830. christian louboutin.com
Feeling confident in what suits you is essential for anyone thinking of building a forever wardrobe of investment pieces. House of Colour offers bespoke style and image consultations. Vouchers from £50, houseofcolour.co.uk
PHOTOS: © SKY/HBO
BUY LESS, EXPERIENCE MORE
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THE C&TH CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE DIFFERENCE COFFEE Esmeralda Geisha washed coffee pods, £5 a pod. differencecoffee.com
GLENTURRET X ETTINGER Hip flask, £135. theglenturret.com ZATU GAMES Fungi board game, £13.99. board-game.co.uk VEGEPOD Indoor kitchen garden, £249. vegepod.co.uk
JOHN LEWIS Dolce & Gabbana x Bialetti moka pot, £75. johnlewis.com
PROCOOK Cast iron fondue set, £45. procook.co.uk
THE FOOD MARKET 3kg Manchego, £89.99. thefoodmarket.com
CHATEAU GALOUPET 2021 Cru classé rosé, £46.50. clos19.com
BOILING POINT
THE LAST DROP Release No 32, £2,250. lastdropdistillers.com
SIPSMITH Swan barspoon, £10. sipsmith.com
For the friend who always knows the best restaurants
NO 3 GIN London Dry Gin, £39. no3gin.com
LE CREUSET Cast iron round casserole, £345. lecreuset.co.uk
CONSIDERED CHRISTMAS
ROCOCO Dark fresh chocolate collection, £49.95. rococochocolates.com
BUY LESS, EXPERIENCE MORE
Everyone benefits when you gift that foodie friend a cookery crash course. After all, they’ll need someone to test those dishes on. Winner-winner, Cambodian marinated beef dinner. Two-day cookery residential from £360. rickstein.com
PHOTOS: © COURTESY OF THE BBC
AGRICOLA DUE LEONI Jeremy Deller collab olive oil, £126. selfridges.com
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NEW
Mandarin & Spice
Discover the collection in-store or online at moltonbrown.co.uk
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THE C&TH CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE DOCK & BAY Quick dry blanket for dog, £25. dockandbay.com
MOCCAMASTER KGB Select Filter coffee machine, £249. machina-coffee.com
MEWS Wilton dog bag, £895. mewslondon.com
FARRAR & TANNER Manopoulos poker set, £175. farrar-tanner.co.uk
POPPY TEFFRY Labradoodle Bauble, £9.95. poppyteffry. co.uk
GROUNDTRUTH RIKR crossbody phone bag, £39. groundtruth.global
GINGER FOX The Traitors card game, £12. fenwick.co.uk
SOWVITAL House plant spritz, £24. sowvital.com
COLIN FROM ACCOUNTS
LOMI Smart waste kitchen composter, £499. lomi.com
For the friend living the domestic dream
LAZYJACK PRESS Hair of the dog socks, £30. wolfandbadger.com
ANYA HINDMARCH Recycled nylon dog bag, £125. matchesfashion.com
CONSIDERED CHRISTMAS
BABBOE Dog cargo bike, from £1,899. babboe.co.uk
BUY LESS, EXPERIENCE MORE
For the friend who can’t bear to leave their pooch for a second, the Headland Hotel has it all: incredible Cornish dog walks, and endless doggy delights and treats (plus practical poo bags). Gift them a stay, headlandhotel.co.uk
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T I M E
F O R
D E S I G N
MEISTER FEIN AUTOMATIC SIGNATUR Classic elegance meets innovative design language: this watch thus combines the essence of a classic with the geometry of a new age. Self-winding movement with two-arm oscillation weight, sapphire crystal, water-resistant up to 5 bar. 27/4355.00 www.junghans.de
w w w.junghans.co.uk · info@thebluecompanylondon.co.uk
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THE C&TH CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE
BERT FRANK Chess set, £3,990. bertfrank.co.uk
THE BOTANIST Gin, £37. thebotanist.com
66 SOUNDS Fender Coronado Sunburst, £5,199. sixtysixtyguitars.com
COURBET Ring in white gold, €6,900. courbet.com
RUARK R410 Integrated Music System, £1,299. av.com
ETSY Fleetwood Mac Rumours decor vinyl, £64.95. etsy.com
EYM NATURALS Yin refillable candle, £165. eymnaturals.com
For the rockstars, pop idols and dance anthem divas
THEO FENNELL Earrings, £5,850. theofennell.com BOODLES 18ct rose gold anklet, £18,200. boodles.com
CONSIDERED CHRISTMAS
BLACKEYE GIN Gin, £36. whiskyshop.com
VINTAGE SUNGLASSES 1960s rare museumgrade sunglasses, €599. vintage-sunglassesshop.com
BUY LESS, EXPERIENCE MORE
Transform their guitar playing – whether they’re a total beginner or a budding Jimi Hendrix (or wannabe Daisy Jones). Set of five 60-minute lessons, £300. londonguitarinstitute.co.uk/gift-vouchers
PHOTOS: © AMAZON PRIME VIDEO; UNSPLASH
LALAGE BEAUMONT Maya calf leather handbag , £675. lalagebeaumont.com
DAISY JONES & THE SIX
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MAGICAL FESTIVE SHOPPING AT THE WORLD’S LEADING DESIGN CENTRE THURSDAY 30 NOVEMBER – SATURDAY 2 DECEMBER FASHION HOMEWARE LIFESTYLE FOOD AND DRINK BEAUTY JEWELLERY ART PLUS WREATH MAKING CHRISTMAS WORKSHOPS AND DEMONSTRATIONS FESTIVE FOOD AND TREATS FATHER CHRISTMAS FREE ENTRY
DISCOVER MORE - DCCH.CO.UK Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour SW10 0XE Fundraising for Grief Encounter, supporting bereaved children and young people
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THE C&TH CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE
CAROLINE CASTIGLIANO Tamara tiara, £549. carolinecastigliano.com
COZE Monogrammed cushion, from £110. cozelinen.com
EJ CHURCHILL 9ct Grouse cufflinks, £547. ejchurchill.com
YARDLEY Gentleman Legacy, £20. yardleylondon.co.uk
HUMPHREY BUTLER Necklace, £POA. humphreybutler.com
JAMB Palme Mirror, £POA. jamb.co.uk
YVES DELORMES Golestan kimono, from £209. yvesdelorme.com
CROW & JESTER Tweed suit jacket, £695. ejchurchill.com
QUEEN CHARLOTTE For preening Princesses and not-so-practical Princes
ADLER Plumeria ring, £POA. adler.ch ETO Wine decanter, £139. etowine.com
EDWARD GREEN Loafer, £1,500. drakes.com
CONSIDERED CHRISTMAS
DAVID MORRIS Pink Asiyah earrings, £POA. davidmorris.com
NINA CAMPBELL Halycon Days Serengeti mug, £45. fortnumandmason.com
The favoured snack of royals throughout history. Learn how to make these perfect bites of delicate macaroon at home – Cordon Bleu style. From £255, cordonbleu.eu
PHOTOS: UNSPLASH
BUY LESS, EXPERIENCE MORE
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THE C&TH CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE
SKYDIAMOND Half-pavé eternity ring, £2,893.72. skydiamond.com
REMY MARTIN XO 300th Anniversary limited edition cognac, £175. fortnumandmason.com LORO PIANA Baseball cap, £440. loropiana.com
LUCA FALONI Cashmere cardigan, £675. lucafaloni.com
CHEANEY Hadley D penny loafer in polished black, £445. cheaney.co.uk
BOLLINGER La Côte aux Enfants 2013, £1,000. champagne-bollinger.com
PATEK PHILIPPE Grand Complications manual winding watch, £POA. patek.com
SUCCESSION For these high flyers, it’s stealth wealth all the way
BURBERRY Check tote, £1,190. burberry.com
FARRAR & TANNER Mele & Co Jamie cufflink box, £25. farrar-tanner.co.uk
ROLLS-ROYCE Spectre maquette, £POA. rolls-roycemotorcars.com
HARRY WINSTON Logo yellow gold bangle, £POA. harrywinston.com
CONSIDERED CHRISTMAS
HASTENS Grand Vividus bed in Phantom Charcoal, £POA. hastens.com
Encourage them to take a break from their latest business machinations, and learn how to navigate choppy waters for real with sailing lessons from the Royal Yacht Association. For all levels. rya.org.uk
PHOTOS: © HBO
BUY LESS, EXPERIENCE MORE
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A Tradition of Safari since 1812. Explore our artisanal leather goods and outdoor clothing collections. Our travel bag range is now available in a limited edition walnut suede.
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THE C&TH CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE
HEATH Beard and moustache oil, £11. heathlondon.co.uk
THE CONRAN SHOP RS4 Football Table, £2,475. conranshop.co.uk
MONCLER Gilet, £790. mrporter.com
RICHARD MILLE RM 11-04, £POA. richardmille.com
CLASSIC FOOTBALL SHIRTS 1996/7 Southgate away shirt, £349.99. classicfootballshirts.co.uk MONTBLANC Meisterstück pen, from £380. montblanc.com
BRUICHLADDICH Whisky, £43.99. realenglishdrinks.co.uk
HIGHGROVE GARDENS Shortbread, £6.95. highgrovegardens. com
TED LASSO
For cheery souls and those who believe
GARMIN Swim heart monitor, £79.99. wiggle.com
LSA INTERNATIONAL Decanter, £140. lsainternational.com
WITHINGS Sleep analyzer, £129.95. withings.com
SONY Playstation VR2 gaming headset, £569.99. selfridges.com
HERMES Olympe bracelet, £495. hermes.com
CONSIDERED CHRISTMAS BUY LESS, EXPERIENCE MORE
Test your toe punts and volleys with London’s immersive football experience, TOCA Social. Just remember not to cave under the pressure of a penalty shootout. From £60, toca.social.
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AFRIKA
Maison de parfums d’intérieur eu.baobabcollection.com
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THE C&TH CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE VAN CLEEF & ARPELS Zodiaque medal (Libra), £2,280. vancleefarpels.com
JOHN SMEDLEY Emmy jumper in extrafine merino wool, £200. johnsmedley.com
GRAFF Laurence Graff Signature Bangle, £5,800. graff.com
JACQUES MARIE MAGE Jagger sunglasses, £910. mrporter.com
HOUSE OF HACKNEY Wild Card jacquard bottoman, £895. houseofhackney.com
GUAVA & GOLD Paradise Found shimmering body oil, £32. guavaandgold.com
DIOR MAISON Vase with 24ct gold, £550. dior.com
BREGUET Classique Grande Complication minute repeater watch, £POA. breguet.com
TOOLALLY Love Signet ring, £195. toolally.com
THE GOLD Sumptuous gifts worth staging a heist for
VEUVE CLICQUOT Brut Yellow Label champagne with personalisable box, £67. clos19.com
SIMONE ROCHA Kilt, £795. simonerocha.com
CONSIDERED CHRISTMAS BUY LESS, EXPERIENCE MORE
Create a really special gift by sending your unloved antique gold (or other metals) to Lylie, the Belgravia-based jeweller who will recycle it for you, and convert the value into a voucher for her beautiful designs. lylies.com
PHOTOS: © BBC & PARAMOUNT+
BOADICEA THE VICTORIOUS Tiger parfum, £950. boadiceaperfume.com
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Thoughtful design, built to last a lifetime.
Kitchens Furniture Accessories Lighting Paint Design services neptune.com
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THE C&TH CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE
HOLLAND COOPER Travel bag, £199. hollandcooper.com GUCCI The Alchemist's Garden, £240. gucci.com
DALE ROGERS Fossil wall plate, £POA. dalerogersammonite.com
MUSTO Offshore jacket, £600. musto.com HOUSE OF BRUAR Fingerless mitts, £39.95. houseofbruar.com JIMMY CHOO Boot, £1,125. jimmychoo.com
FINISTERRE Wetsuit, £165. finisterre.com
NORDIC OUTDOOR Gransfors axe, £237.95. nordicoutdoor.co.uk THE PADDLE CO Carbon negative board, £299. paddleco.co.uk
ROLIFE Flower house wooden kit, £50. rolifeonline.com
THE LAST OF US For the person you’d call in the apocalypse
DUBARRY Butler cap, £129, dubarry.com
CROCKETT & JONES Chelsea 5 boots in natural rough-cut suede, £470. crockettandjones.com
CONSIDERED CHRISTMAS BUY LESS, EXPERIENCE MORE
Calling intrepid women: Shackleton’s all-female polar skills trip prepares them for sub-zero adventures, before plunging them into snowy Norway for six days of heart-pounding ski-tours and skill building. £6,995, shackleton.com
PHOTOS: © SKY/HBO; © JACK ANSTEY
WNDR SKI Skis, $899. wndr-alpine.com
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AUTUMN/WINTER 2023 USE CODE: CHRISTMAS10 FOR 10% OFF
WWW.WHALEOFATIMECLOTHING.COM
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THE C&TH CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE SMYTHSON Diary, £85. smythson.com
LOEWE Cushion, £450. mrporter.com
WHITE COMPANY Pyjama top, £42; bottoms, £40. thewhitecompany.com
LYMA The Laser Starter Kit, £1,999. lyma.life
GARMIN Fenix 7X sports watch, £779. fenwick.co.uk
CHANTECAILLE Sheer Glow Rose Face Tint, £70. chantecaille.co.uk
EQUI Wellness Formula capsules, £55. equilondon.com
BAMFORD Geranium shower cream, £24. bamford.com
WELLMANIA ARAMINTA CAMPBELL Highlands at Dusk hot water bottle, £75. aramintacampbell.co.uk
LOAF Socks, £19. loaf.com
For health-obsessed wellness warriors
FALKE Sports bra, £90; leggings, £110. falke.com
FLORAL STREET Sunflower Pop threewick candle, £80.75. floralstreet.com
POLISHED LONDON Teeth Whitening Kit, £49.99. johnbellcroyden.co.uk
CONSIDERED CHRISTMAS Hooke London offers a new approach to healthcare, with full-body screenings by experts that prioritise early detection, and proactively address and prevent conditions for optimal health. Screenings from £7,500. hooke.london
PHOTOS: © NETFLIX
BUY LESS, EXPERIENCE MORE
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THE C&TH CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE EAST LONDON PARASOL COMPANY Catherine evil eye parasol, £399. east londonparasols.com
BANG & OLUFSEN Beoplay HX headphones, £499. bang-olufsen.com BAOBAB Elementos Oceanos candle, £125. baobabcollection.com
RECARLO Anniversary Love tennis bracelet, £POA. recarlo.com
MEDINA Typhoon swimsuit, €350 (3 percent donated to DIRT) medinaswimwear.com
SABINA SAVAGE Birds of Innocence robe, £895. sabinasavage.com
WHITE LOTUS
LOVE BRAND Searching For Urchin Staniel swim trunks, £150. lovebrand.com JO LOVES Pomelo perfume, £78 for 50ml. joloves.com
For peripatetics who love the finer things ASPREY Chaos bracelet with blue topaz and iolite, £13,450. asprey.com
JULY Carry on suitcase, £245. july.com
CONSIDERED CHRISTMAS BUY LESS, EXPERIENCE MORE
Take inspiration from White Lotus, and give them a night to remember at the Royal Opera House for its 2024 production of Madama Butterfly – without the series’ murderous finale, of course. Tickets on sale 11 January, roh.org.uk.
PHOTOS: © SIM CANETTY-CLARKE; APPLE TV
ROLEX Yacht-Master 42, £11,800. rolex.com
MULBERRY Small Darley bag, £750. mulberry.com
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THE C&TH CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE HOLLAND & HOLLAND Northwood tweed skirt, £695. hollandandholland.com
MATILDE JEWELLERY Astra pendant, £5,265. matildejewellery.com
LONGINES Hydroconquest GMT watch, £2,250. longines.com
OLIVER BROWN Alcantara bomber jacket, £595. oliverbrown.org.uk
BARBOUR Lowerdale gilet, £129. barbour.com
LE CHAMEAU Artémis boots, £275. lechameau.com
PURDEY Reversible poncho, £775. purdey.com
REALLY WILD Liberty print silk dress, £425. reallywildclothing.com
WESTLEY RICHARDS Edward Freestyle fedora in moss, £295. westleyrichards.com
YELLOWSTONE For cowboys at heart – with or without a horse to hand
FOPE Aria pendant earrings, €3,110. fope.com
HEIRLOOMS LINENS Cashmere and lambswool throw, £450. heirloomslinens.com
WHALE OF A TIME Exeter fleece, £59.95. whaleofatimeclothing.com
FAIRFAX & FAVOR The Rockingham ankle boots, £245. fairfaxandfavor.com
TROY LONDON Suede tracker jacket, £780. troylondon.com
CONSIDERED CHRISTMAS BUY LESS, EXPERIENCE MORE
Make like the cowboys of Montana, and learn how to shoot like a pro with EJ Churchill. With grounds in Buckinghamshire and North Yorkshire, they’ll be a sharp shooter in no time. From £105, ejchurchill.com
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It’s in the detail
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INTERIORS
© DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN
Edited by Carole Annett
LET’S PARTY
Chiki in Costa Palmas, Mexico, is Martin Brudnizki’s answer to the glittering party season ahead. But how to bring festivity and glam into your own home? See page 158. November/December 2023 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | 155
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SHEEPISH
COCOONING
A Holmes Bespoke tapestry, one of six designs, features as a rich, textured backdrop to a Naturalmat bed. Handmade in India, each tapestry is hand knotted from natural, sustainable New Zealand wool and bamboo silk. Westward King tapestry, from £1,872. holmesbespoke.com 1 Comfort Seating Chair covered in Johnstons of Elgin bouclé, £298 p/m. johnstonsofelgin.com
Design NOTES
Solidwool uses coarse, low-grade wool (the stuff farmers find hard to sell) and mixes it with bio-resin to create desirable, unique furniture, all made in Devon. Welsh Mountain Hembury chair with ash legs, scorched or oiled, £575. solidwool.com
What’s caught Carole Annett’s interiors eye this season
2 Dolce & Gabbana x Smeg Toaster, £599.95. shop.smeguk.com
PULSE RACERS
1 Swoon-worthy wool straight from the mill 2 Dolce Vita, life with beautiful objects – why not? 3 Gold standard: fashion meets interiors
3 Oswald Boateng’s debut for Poltrona Frau From £13,230 (plus VAT). poltronafrau.com
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News | INTERIORS
PLATE UP
Move over, white – patterned plates are having a moment
NINA CAMPBELL Flowers and shells dinner plate, £67.50. ninacampbell.com
NEW DIGS
Bespoke furniture specialist Clive Christian is back with a new showroom at 1 Sydney Place, South Kensington. By appointment only. clivechristianfurniture.com
BIT ON THE SIDE
LOVE CHILD
Contemporary lighting company Pooky and heritage fabric company GP & J Baker launch lampshades – a match made in heaven. Green and pink polka dot design, £85, and Philomena lamp base, £115. pooky.com
DIOR Toie de Jouy Bordeaux plate, £170. dior.com
Life of Riley circular leather three-legged table with stitched detailing, £399. lifeofrileyonline.co.uk
SKYE McALPINE TAVOLA Bryony Rose dinner plates, £190 for four. skyemcalpinetavola.com
KELLING HOME Artisan collection plate, £300. kdloves.com
RAINBOWS AHEAD
Minnie Kemp visited Transylvania to immerse herself in folk tales and bucolic scenery in the land of Stefan Ormenisan, founder of Mind The Gap. The result, Enchanted Woodland, an alluring and colourful collection of fabrics and wallpaper. Pallet wallpaper, £299. mindtheg.uk
POLLYANNA JOHNSON Mary Sidney Herbert, £130 at the National Portrait Gallery shop. npgshop.org.uk
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INTERIORS | Trend
HARRODS Baccarat Bon Jour Versailles table lamp, £1,250. harrods.com WOLF & BADGER Rockett St George star wall appliqués, £65. wolfandbadger.com
LALIQUE Toucan crystal sculpture, £5,150. lalique.com
ROTATE AW23 catwalk show image courtesy of Copenhagen Fashion Week
1ST DIBS Venini 'Triedri' murano chandelier, £14,454. 1stdibs.co.uk
Glitz & GLAM
KOIBIRD Serena Confalonieri, Arabesque glass vase, £500. koibird.com
Banish winter gloom (inside at least), says Tessa Dunthorne
A SELFRIDGES Sequin embellished Christmas holly leaf, £14. selfridges.com
DALE ROGERS AMMONITE Mounted Brazilian amethyst, £3,500. dalerogers ammonite.com
s the temperature drops outside, amp up the heat, colour and fun inside with some good old-fashioned glitz and glamour. Mirrored by the sequinned couture seen on the runways at the most recent Copenhagen Fashion Week, translate the trend in your home by scattering around a few glinting vases, sparkling chandeliers, multicoloured metals, electric elements, crackling crystals and bold brass. More is more this winter season.
ANDREW MARTIN Purple apple, from £159. andrewmartin.co.uk
ETSY Disco ball vase, £39. etsy.com
LUXDECO Eiccholtz, Connor side table, £1,900. luxdeco.com
FORTNUM & MASON Yellow lab Christmas bauble, £18. fortnumandmason.com
DO IT YOURSELF A living room by interior architects Huntsmore (huntsmore.com) uses gleaming gold accents to brighten and lift an otherwise neutral room
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INTERIORS | Inspiration The designer's New York penthouse and appointment space
2 NEW YORK CITY, USA
3 THE BAUHAUS & ART DECO MOVEMENTS
What makes Lee Broom tick?
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‘The Art Deco and the Bauhaus movements are constant sources of inspiration for me. The simple, pure lines and geometric shapes often implemented within these styles can be seen in many of my designs, especially my lighting pieces. Revolutionary yet timeless, this period of art really helped to shape the design industries and continues to inspire many.’ leebroom.com
he product designer behind his eponymous luxury lighting and furniture brand, Lee Broom creates functional yet sculptural homeware pieces that double as objets d'art. Since founding his company in 2007, he has rolled these out at a breathtaking pace, seeing over 100 product designs brought to life, from first sketch to sale. His works also bring the haute couture to your living room; Lee has collaborated with 1 the likes of Christian Louboutin, Mulberry and Bergdorf Goodman.
1 VIVIENNE WESTWOOD
‘After winning a fashion design competition aged 17, I worked as an intern for Vivienne Westwood. I shadowed her for two days which was an incredible experience and cemented my dedication to becoming a designer. I worked for her in Paris and London for nine months and she was always so generous with her time and knowledge. Just before I left, her parting advice was “do your own thing”. It is a simple but powerful mantra and one that I have channelled as much as I can throughout my career. We shared a special connection and she’s a big part of the reason I was able to build my design career.’
3
Lee Broom and his first mentor, Vivienne Westwood
A Wassily chair by Marcel Breuer, an important member of the Bauhaus Movement
PHOTOS: © JULIS CHESKY; © STEPHEN KENT JOHNSHON
DESIGN MOMENTS
‘New York City is an incredibly inspirational place and is also my home when I am in the US – we have a penthouse in Tribeca which also serves as a by-appointment space to view our collections. 2 I’ve always felt drawn to vibrant and culturally rich cities and New A corner of a Lee Broom dining room, featuring his furniture York City embodies that nature. My designs often take inspiration from architecture and art, so having that connection through New York is invaluable.’
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INTERIORS | Case Study
PHOTOS: © TARAN WILKHU
‘FIREPLACE surrounds are detailed and plastered in historic FASHION, while cornicing and wainscoting adorn walls like the trim of icing on a BIRTHDAY CAKE’
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ACTING YOUR AGE
Sustainability, history and the ‘art of couture’ came together in the redesign of this family home, says Tessa Dunthorne
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Gold leaf details were another way in which 1508 London could employ its favourite artisans and craftspeople
arley Street is best known for its cluster of aestheticians and surgeons, often world-leaders in tidying up the faces of the rich and famous. But nestled among this sea of clinics is a gorgeous family home that recently saw a facelift of its own. The Georgian Grade II-listed townhouse began its life as a single-family dwelling, before joining its neighbours as consulting rooms. Then, over the years, it found itself gutted into flats, divvied among multiple owners. The reimagining of this property began when the current owner decided to stitch it back together again, to once again be a six-bedroom family home. This challenge of homecoming (or minor surgery) was handed to expert interior design studio, 1508 London. ‘The owner set us two primary objectives,’ says the team at 1508. ‘First: replace original Georgian features with historically accurate antiques, or high-quality replicas. Second: merge history with modernity – and bestow upon it an identity that combined elements of romanticism and “the art of couture”.’ The residence now absolutely feels bespoke: it has been made afresh to fit the client as though it were a couture dress. When planning approval was won for the entire redesign, it allowed significant tailoring of the space to hark back to its Georgian past. Fireplace surrounds are detailed and plastered in historic fashion, while cornicing and wainscoting adorn walls like the trim of icing on a birthday cake. Also tailor-made are the pops of modernity, which create visual excitement and moments of contrast to ward off any accusation of stuffy spaces. A striking rainbow stair runner by Christopher Farr adorns the hallway, and the ultra-modern living room lights by Flos are strung like a cat’s cradle in contrast to the traditional parquet and panelling. With waste a big issue in the interior design industry – of 200 million tonnes of waste in the UK each year, 59 percent comes from construction, including interior fittings and fixtures – the client and 1508 were keen to do this refit responsibly. To this end, there was a heavy emphasis on restoration where possible. One of the hero achievements of the entire project were the historical rooms, of which the living room was one. By employing artisans, 1508 brought out original features that were in the space all along – no vast rehauls or tip trips required. Gold leaf appliqué, done by Henry Van Der Vijver for the project, sends you back in time without overemphasising the idea of historicism. A canopy bed in the principle bedroom, too, is both timeless and modern, with its four poster-inspired curtains framing the bed – yet in a clever twist are actually suspended from the ceiling. Indeed, when adding or amending fittings in the home, environmentally conscious brands were given priority. For example, Bauwerk lime wash gave the walls a gentle freshen-up, and the brand explicitly uses no VOCs or unnatural chemicals. All in all, a gentle touch of cosmetic work had an enormous effect, giving a new look to an old home that was starting to feel its age. 1508london.com n November/December 2023 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | 163
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Advertisement feature
There is no better place than Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons to celebrate the best of the British wintertime. A house for all seasons, here, you find an unfolding series of gardens and orchards, guest rooms and suites; each with its own spark of individuality.
Immerse yourself in the ultimate dining experience and savour Raymond Blanc’s celebrated cuisine, join a day of discovery in The Raymond Blanc Cookery and Gardening School, or simply take time to relax and rejuvenate. The doors are open for your winter getaway.
NEW COURSES AT
The Raymond Blanc Gardening School LE MANOIR AUX QUAT’SAISONS
U
nder the expertise of Head Gardener Anne Marie Owens, the gardeners at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons have researched the best varieties, sown the seeds and nurtured the crops for almost 40 years. Today, there are 11 magnificent gardens, a 2500-strong heritage orchard and an organic potager which provides Raymond Blanc and his brigade of chefs with the freshest produce. Keen gardeners know that there’s work to be done all year round. Come rain or shine, each season brings new tasks to be completed and best practices to learn. The Raymond Blanc Gardening School has inspiring courses to fill the year. Driven by Raymond’s passion for organic garden-to-plate gastronomy, the course calendar includes seasonal fruit tree pruning and micro herbs and edible flower growing. All courses are hands-on. There are also seasonal vegetable courses, and the new ‘no-dig’ courses share tips on how to grow beautiful and healthy, heritage varieties without equipment, fertilisers or feed.
CONTACT
With Head Gardening School Tutor, August Bernstein at the helm, as summer approaches, the garden school turns to growing for your own cocktails; as well as flower courses that share tips on growing an array of cut flowers to fill the garden and then getting the best vase life from beautiful blooms. Day courses take place in the Victorian Botanic Glasshouse, which overlooks beds of succulent produce. Guided by the values of seasonality, provenance and sustainability, The Raymond Blanc Gardening School imparts insider tips and expert advice used every day at Le Manoir in a relaxed and creative environment. A full-day, practical course costs from £285 and includes course tuition, all equipment and seeds, delicious refreshments during the day, and a working lunch. Readers booking before the 1st April 2023 will receive a copy of Raymond’s book “The Lost Orchard” (mention RBGS23 on booking).
CONTACT
email: reservations.mqs@belmond.com email: reservations.mqs@belmond.com 01844 278881 Telephone: 01844Telephone: 278881
Belmond.com/lemanoir Belmond.com/lemanoir
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SKI SPECIAL
Edited by Felix Milne
HIT THE WHITE STUFF THIS WINTER
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Fusalp Avery jacket, £1,290; Elancia fuseau ski pants, £600; Arctic Chapka, £300. fusalp.com
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SNOW NEWS DAY Gabriella Le Breton and Felix Milns tell us what’s hot in the coolest places on Earth
Touch up your skiing in Méribel under the tutelage of David Lindsay
OFF THE BEATEN PISTE
HOT HOTELS
The biggest hotel news of the winter comes from the motherlode of Alpine glamour, St Moritz. Grace La Margna (gracehotels.com) is already turning manicured heads in the ritzy Swiss resort. Think cocktails in the original art-deco bar to the tunes of a live DJ, a wine list that champions English grapes and lakeview bedrooms that blend original features with slick minimalist design. Insta-worthy design is also a feature of the Hotel Faern Crans-Montana (faernresorts. com), another exciting addition to a Swiss grande dame, with quirky interiors by British designers Run for the Hills. The concept of two friends inspired by Hoxton Hotels, Faern aspires to transport the lifestyle club vibe to the mountains.
ABOVE & BELOW: The Ritzy Grace La Margna
PHOTOS: UNSPLASH
Board the Venice Simplon-Orient Express
Master your ski turns and catch up on the local gossip under the tutelage of the son of Méribel’s founding father, Colonel Peter Lindsay. Born and raised in Méribel, David Lindsay is launching specialised three- and six-day coaching programmes with Ecole du Ski Français (esf-uk.co.uk) for intermediate to advanced level skiers. For those after blissful isolation and bottomless powder turns in British Columbia, bespoke ski specialist Mabey Ski (mabeyski.com) is offering the opportunity to stay at the remote McGillivray Pass Lodge, only accessible by helicopter. Once delivered to the cosy log cabin, tucked deep in snow-choked peaks north of Whistler, guests have to earn their turns, ski touring through the pristine Coast Mountains. Scott Dunn (scottdunn.com) has joined forces with the Venice SimplonOrient-Express to give rail travel to the French Alps and Dolomites a decidedly luxurious twist. After travelling from London to Paris aboard the Eurostar, a private transfer whisks guests across the French capital to board the iconic Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Travelling overnight in the opulent comfort of a historic suite, they awake either in the French Alps for a week’s holiday at Val d’Isère’s Le Blizzard hotel or in Venice, for two nights in the City of Water before travelling on to the plush Hotel La Perla in the heart of the Dolomites.
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SKI SPECIAL Forsthofgut’s stables will satisfy your horse-mad progeny
SKIING WITH SMALLS
Powder Byrne’s ski holidays provide perfect off-pisting for all ages
The go-to for ritzy family ski holidays, Powder Byrne (powderbyrne.com) is launching a dedicated off-piste guiding programme for teenagers. Intended for confident skiers aged 16-19, the Teenage Guiding programme complements its existing kids’ ski offerings (for ages 3-17) and will see qualified ski guides lead them around the slopes, covertly progress their skiing. If your little ones are more into ponies than powder, check into the wholesomely luxurious Forsthofgut (forsthofgut.at). The family-owned hotel offers ski-in/ski-out access to the expansive Saalbach-Hinterglemm-Leogang ski area as well as its own stables, meaning your horse-mad progeny can work towards their gold riding badge while you master your carving on the slopes. Families looking for a Christmas to remember will be excited to hear that illustrious children’s party entertainers Sharky & George (sharkyandgeorge.com) have announced their first chalet partnership, with Arula Chalets in Lech. While parents sit back and luxuriate in one of the finest chalets in the Alps, their little angels can enjoy discos, science workshops, and visits from Father Christmas. Finally, take the trip to Cormayeur for family week with Archy Events, who are taking over these Italian slopes from 17-23 December with fantastic games to keep them occupied, as you hit the pristine pistes (cormayeurmontblanc.it).
PHOTOS: UNSPLASH
CHALET CHAT
For the best of both chalet and hotel worlds, head to Courchevel, where the opulent Le K2 Palace (lek2palace.com) is launching five suitechalets. Each of the handful of Tibetan-inspired newcomers comprises three bedrooms, including a master suite with hammam, a spacious living area and dedicated breakfast butler. One valley over, Méribel is set to welcome Les Chalets de Tueda (leschaletsdetueda.com), so named after the nearby Tueda Nature Reserve, a village of ten interlocking chalets designed by one of the resort’s master architects, Christian Rey-Grange. In Switzerland, the Verbier specialist Ski Verbier Exclusive (skiverbierexclusive.com) brings us the fabulous five-bedroom Chalet Teredo. With a secluded spot just above the Savoleyres lift, the elegant property ticks the wow box with a mountain-view indoor pool with floor-to-ceiling windows that open to a sunny terrace with a sunken hot tub. A rare addition to the exclusive St Moritz chalet scene comes from Leo Trippi (leotrippi.com) in the form of the six-bedroom Chalet Via Brattas. Hunkered into mountains above the Kulm hotel, the slickly refurbished home offers lake views, a cinema, gym and sprawling octagonal master suite.
The fabulous five-bedroomed Chalet Teredo
NEWS FROM ACROSS THE POND
ABOVE AND BELOW: Jackson Hole’s two sides
Our transatlantic friends are offering a dizzying array of reasons to hop across the Pond this winter. In Colorado, Aspen (aspensnowmass. com) is launching 153 acres of new terrain on Aspen Mountain. Named Hero’s in honour of the locals who helped to create it, the new terrain pod includes 19 chutes, four pistes, three gladed areas, and a new chairlift. Steamboat Springs (steamboat.com) is celebrating its 60th birthday in style, emerging from a $200 million renovation project with a transformed base area boasting new restaurants, shops and attractions as well as new ski terrain and lifts that make it Colorado’s second largest ski area. Hot on the heels of its snowiest winter ever, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (jacksonhole.com), Wyoming is poised to open for its longest season yet, running 143 days from 24 November 2023-14 April 2024. Held in reverence by expert skiers, Jackson Hole also warrants a top spot on the family bucket list. Look no further than the new Chalet Collection by onefinestay which provides the perfect base for all powderhounds in the Rockies. Experience snowtubing and the impressive aerial tram, before returning to one of six lodge homes (onefinestay.com). In Canada, Whistler Blackcomb (whistlerblackcomb.com) welcomes the resort’s first purpose-built, fully serviced ski lodge this December, the Wedge Mountain Lodge & Spa. Up there with the über chalets of the Alps, the sprawling ten-bedroom lodge arcs around an outdoor pool, hot tub, plunge pool and sunken firepit, with further perks including a games room, private cinema and wine cellar-cum-après-ski den. n
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SKI SPECIAL GOLDBERGH Maple leaf ski top, £189. goldbergh.com
MONCLER Padded wool cardigan, £800. moncler.com
JETSET Acquarius embroidered ski pants, £850. netaporter.com
INUIKII Bomber Star boots, €350. inuikii.com
COOL A S ICE
CHANEL @ FRONT ROW Muffler, rent from £245. frontrow.uk.com
Turn the slopes into a catwalk for skiwear that is as stylish as it is snuggly CELINE EYEWEAR Studded ski goggles, £480. netaporter.com CANADA GOOSE Balaclava, £295. canadagoose.com
FUSALP Kira ski suit, £1,070. fusalp.com
MOON BOOT @ BY ROTATION Snow boots, rent from £18. byrotation.com
PERFECT MOMENT Piste sweater, rent from £7. perfectmoment rental.com
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PHOTOS: UNSPLASH
SHOREDITCH SKI CLUB Diana puffer jacker, £695. shoreditchskiclub.com
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PR O M OT I O N
FRESH PISTES These cool holiday destinations are the next big things, according to luxury ski travel agent, Leo Trippi
‘O
ur US market is ahead of the curve,’ says Oli Corkhill, CEO of Leo Trippi, ‘and over the past few years, we’ve noticed a few emerging trends from our booking data, revealing the mountain holidays that are gaining in popularity – world over.’ He continues: ‘Although our top three destinations of all time remain Zermatt, Verbier, and Courchevel, we’ve noticed the Dolomites were a key emerging destination for the 2022/23 season. We also spotted an 148 percent increase in bookings at the Austrian resorts of St Anton and Lech. And, finally, we’ve noticed rising interest in our Arctic Circle chalets and stays.’
Cortina d’Ampezzo, The Dolomites
THE PERKS This UNESCO World Heritage site is a glamorous destination popular with A-listers and royalty alike. The Winter Olympics will be held here (and in Milan) in 2026, so expect sporty runs with well-groomed pistes, and excellent access to tree skiing. Beginners are well accounted for with plenty of progression slopes, while expert powderhounds can try their hand at dizzying couloirs. THE STAY Skip the hotel – go for full service VIP treatment. Chalet LV 01 is a spacious alpine villa set over four floors, sleeping over eight. Towering in the Via Menardi area, it overlooks the famous passegiata and promises the ultimate après-ski spa treat, with its 20-metre indoor pool, unbeatable sauna and incredible wine cellar.
Lech, Austria
THE PERKS Lech am Arlberg has among the best snowfall in the world. The resort is luxurious (think heated chairlifts and modern gondolas), and the ski area is a vast 305km wide. Local runs are wide and smooth, and the après-ski is legendary – enjoy champagne bars alongside dinners from hole -in-wall restaurants. THE STAY Chalet N is an ultraexclusive luxury chalet in Oberlech, which boasts ten spacious suites for exclusive hire only. Lucky guests
FROM ABOVE: Cortina shines at night; the pool at Chalet N, a luxury alpine stay; snow is guaranteed at Saariselkä, Europe’s northernmost ski resort
receive a full-staffed service, with 24-hour concierge plus security staff and ski instructors on request. The kitchen is world-class – enjoy a feast of reinterpreted alpine cuisine with all the flair of a private members’ club
Saariselkä, Finland
THE PERKS Saariselkä is Europe’s northernmost ski resort so expect impeccable snow coverage, all season. It’s still uncommercialised, with unspoiled nature for miles – keep an eye out for wolverines and reindeer – and for skiing, it’s the perfect stopoff for a cross country adventure. It boasts 200km of ski tracks, 34 of which illuminated, promising spellbinding nighttime larks through a genuinely wild part of the world. THE STAY The adults-only boutique hotel Javri Lodge is a bucket-trip list destination. Sat 250km north of the arctic circle, this bolthole allows easy access to the slopes, but also to a vast array of other exciting snow adventures. Whether it’s experiencing a dog-sled ride, or cutting through the pistes on a snowmobile, or ice-fishing on a frozen lake with a hot drink, the activity options here are unparalleled.
Leo Trippi is the go-to travel specialist company providing tailormade mountain adventures and access to the world’s most luxe chalets. It has been named the World’s Best Ski Travel Agent at the World Ski Awards for nine years in a row. leotrippi.com; +41 81 385 1882
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A COSY HAVEN YEAR-ROUND The Chalet L’Arole represents a rare opportunity for a discerning buyer to craft the perfect home for every season, as well as owning an extraordinary slice of Swiss history
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uilt in 1904, and with historical links to the Chanel perfume dynasty, the superb Chalet L’Arole in Villars has now been fully modernised to cater for the most discerning tastes. An award-winning and sustainably focused renovation sees it now offering eight bedroom suites on a substantial plot in this sought-after alpine resort. Located in the exclusive Chesières enclave of Villars which offers four of the best international schools, including the worldrenowned Aiglon and Beau Soleil colleges, within walking distance, Chalet L’Arole is also surrounded by the best ski slopes in the region. Villars offers 117 ski runs in winter as well as fabulous walking in the spring and summer, meaning that L’Arole truly is a home for all seasons. Charlie Willis, of the eponymous CW London, says: ‘Villarssur-Allon is a magnet for those international education elites with some of the most renowned and unrivalled colleges in the world. Being located in this sparsely populated, even unpeopled and tranquil, yet hugely picturesque and conveniently located Alpine all season resort - as well as being known for skiing as much as it is for summer retreats - Chalet L’Arole is utterly unique. This precious family home has only been owned by 2 families in the last 70 years.’ Renowned for its natural beauty, Villars is a firm favourite with Europe’s discreetly wealthy. The enclave’s proximity to Geneva and its huge ski area spanning Les Diablerets, Gryon and Glacier 3000, make it a failsafe both for families and lateseason skiing. Villars boasts both nursery slopes and stellar ski
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PR O M OT I O N
schools but advanced skiers will have to opt for off-piste routes as the resort is all about its huge variety of blue and red runs. Foodies are attracted by the rustic mountain restaurants such as Lac des Chavonnes and Auberge du Col de Soud and it’s fun to take the old mountain railway which transports skiers to the mountain top. The Chalet has only had two owners since being built in the early 20th century, one of whom, Laurent Normand, was the General Manager of Chanel in Paris. While there is no documentary evidence to prove it, local legend holds that Coco Chanel was a regular guest at L’Arole and photographs of regular visits to Villars by the legendary creator of the ‘Little Black Dress’, together with her Chanel connection to Laurent Normand, make this highly likely. Offering a huge 6,000 sq/ft of internal living space set out over four floors, the impressive alpine residence can comfortably accommodate 16 guests in eight, individually designed, en-suite bedrooms. During the renovation many of the original features were retained. Fine materials, handcrafted wood panelling, natural stones and antique and contemporary furniture have all been employed to create an outstanding and luxurious family home. The chalet boasts a gym, cinema room, sauna and massage room, underfloor heating and a private ski locker with boot warmer. The outdoor heated swimming pool and cedar hot tub are perfect for after ski relaxation and for taking in the mountain views looking out over Mont Blanc. The chalet also provides a sophisticated venue for entertaining. Sacha Steyn of The London Broker says: ‘This incredibly spacious modernised home with spectacular south facing views over the Alps has all the modern amenities of a luxury spa hotel but serves as a private home. The traditional Chalet really has such a presence in its convenient yet unrestricted setting, having the rare advantage of being flooded with sunlight on the large terraces, balconies and garden.’ Inside the original glass and oak staircase opens up the centre of the property and accesses all floors. Seven of the eight en-suite bedrooms are located on the top two floors of the chalet, a number of which open out to one of the two balconies. The two master bedrooms incorporate extensive bathrooms and dressing rooms. All except two of the bedrooms can be configured either as twins or double bedrooms providing flexible sleeping arrangements. The ground floor houses the wood panelled drawing and sitting rooms as well as the dining room, main entrance, kitchen and guest toilet. The drawing room accesses the vast south and west-facing terraces. On the lower floor there is a further en-suite bedroom, the boot room, TV/games room,
The chalet boasts a prime position in the exclusive Chesières enclave of Villars
a guest toilet, laundry room and an extensive wine cellar. The pool and hot tub are located on the terrace on this floor which also leads to the fitness area, sauna and massage room located in a separate building adjacent to the garage. The latest security and entertainment systems have also been incorporated into the infrastructure. Marc de Peuter, the CEO of the local Swiss luxury establishment known as MdeP Real Estate, adds, ‘Step into a world of timeless luxury at the former Chanel family chalet, where history and opulence unite in perfect harmony.’ This is your chance to own this fabulous chalet surrounded by some of the best skiing in Europe. L’Arole has easy access to Geneva airport, top international schools, first-class skiing, bars and restaurants, all set in the most relaxing atmosphere and the highest levels of luxury. Welcome to the best of Villars. Price on application. charliewillis.london; thelondonbroker.com; marcdepeuter.immo
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PR O M OT I O N
WINTER MAGIC
Escape to Courmayeur this winter for a ski break to remember
W
hether you’re snow ploughing on the beginner slopes, or strapping on your skis to hurtle down the black runs, you’re still after the same thing from your ski break: a truly magical experience. Enter Courmayeur, a gem tucked away on the Italian slopes of Mont Blanc.
WHAT TO DO?
In the summer, people visit for the incredible hiking opportunities; in the winter, it’s all about the snow. It has exhilarating experiences to offer every level of skier, with two ski schools for beginners, plenty of characterful and challenging intermediate slopes, and some of the best off-piste adventures in the alps. If you want to try your hand at other snow sports, Val Ferret is an alpine valley offering cross-country skiing from November to March, and there’s also snowshoeing, ice climbing and snow biking to try. The village is car-free, and offers superb shopping, world-class restaurants, a fantastic choice of accommodation for all budgets and a fabulous après-ski scene. The resort has gained a reputation among foodies, who come to eat at the renowned local restaurants, as well as to sample the delicious local alpine delicacies from the region’s many producers. Foodies flock to Courmayeur for its incredible restaurant scene and special chef events
Key Dates for Your Diary Family Ski Weeks 17-23 December 25 March to 1 April 2024 Gourmet Ski 22-23 March 2024
WHERE TO STAY?
There is something suited to all styles in Courmayeur. For true alpine luxury, Le Massif is a modern mountain hideaway, while Auberge de la Maison provides a cosy lodge experience. The newly renovated Gran Baita Hotel & Wellness Resort offers one of the best locations in town, while Grand Hotel Courmayeur Mont Blanc is pared back and luxurious. courmayeurmontblanc.it
PHOTOS: © LORENZO BELFROND; © GIACOMO BUZIO
WHY COURMAYEUR?
The resort has a vibrant calendar of winter events, the highlights of which include Gourmet Ski and Family Ski Week. The former is a weekend-long foodie event with a reputation for attracting outstanding chefs. The 2024 event will feature chefs such as Jean-Philippe Blondet, Alain Ducasse and Claude Bosi. The dinners will take place around and sometimes on the slopes, with attendees able to meet the chefs as they enjoy their delicious food – a highlight will be a new barbecue apres-ski event. All the experiences will be available to book separately. Another key event on the calendar is Family Ski Week, which will be held twice in the 2023/24 winter season (see box for dates). Intended for children aged 4-13 years old, they’ll include week-long programmes for keeping kids busy, including ski school, kids clubs, crafts and talent shows. Parents, meanwhile, can hit the slopes, enjoy the local food and wine, and really switch off.
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SKI SPECIAL
SUITE LIFE, CHALET CHIC
Forget the AirBnB. These are the mountainous getaways and alpine boltholes to book this season
PHOTOS: UNSPLASH; © BENOIT LINERO; © CHARLOTTE LINDE
ST ALBAN, Hotel – La Clusaz, French Alps
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ALPAGA, Hotel – Megève, French Alps
BEST FOR ART DECO-INSPIRED SHORT BREAKS
BEST FOR ROMANTIC BREAKS
Unlike many purpose-built French resorts, La Clusaz is a delightful year-round mountain village, and the jewel in the Aravis region’s chain. The Aravis resorts are only 90 minutes from Geneva so a great short break destination, and La Clusaz is a perfect setting for the sophisticated art deco glamour of the St Alban. A bijoux hotel in the centre of the village, the comfortable rooms of the St Alban are very much in the style of a natural modern mountain aesthetic, with pine-clad walls and ceilings, modern industrial lighting and tartan wool throws, but it is the communal areas where they have pushed the proverbial boat out. Indeed the lobby and bar channel ocean liner glamour, with art deco detailing and lettering creating a deeply cool ambience, beautifully styled with vintage boxing gloves, retro video games and library book shelves concealing tan leather seating nooks. The restaurant space is small, so only breakfast and simple bar snacks are served – think platters of mountain meats and cheese, washed down with mean Manhattan cocktails. Too often mountain hotels are so comfortable you never want to leave, so this is a great base to explore the town yet be immediately cocooned on your return. The Nuxe spa has a clubhouse feel, with half-height wood panel ling, rattan hanging egg chairs and duck egg blue walls. Wall to wall art deco cool. Felix Milns
High on a south-facing plateau with stunning views of Mont Joly and Mont Blanc, the Alpaga is a wonderfully boutique hotel spread over four interconnecting chalets with shingle roofs, copper gutters and aged pine cladding. Six neighbouring chalets available on exclusive hire make up the hamlet. Recently taken over by the Beaumier group, the hotel has had a sensitive makeover that ups the mountain charm. Paris design gurus Charles & Co and Saint-Lazare have injected some real soul into the spaces, be that the wall of antique wooden kitchen utensils, herringbone-clad doors or monumental metal fireplace. A couple of clicks out of town, the setting feels especially remote and exclusive, with its sun-kissed terrace and fire pit for afternoon sundowners a particular gem. Don’t fear though – there is a very reliable shuttle service to head to the slopes or town. The bar, restaurant and spa all inhabit separate chalets, thankfully linked above and below ground for snow days, and the outdoor timber hot tub has the best Mont Blanc view in Megeve. Food is paramount here, with a small bistro cheek by jowl with the Michelin-starred Table d’Alpaga. Felix Milns BOOK IT: From €600 (two sharing) on a B&B basis.
beaumier.com
BOOK IT: From €220
(two sharing) on a room-only basis. hotel-st-alban.com
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CHALET BLACKCOMB, Chalet – Val d’Isère, French Alps BEST FOR LAID-BACK PRIVACY AND LUXURIOUS WELL-BEING
BOOK IT: From €29,800 for seven-days of exclusive use on a chalet board basis (sleeps ten). consensiochalets.co.uk
ARULA CHALETS, Chalet – Lech, Austrian Alps BEST FOR A BOND-STYLE BASH
Peeking out from the elbow of the Lech valleys are the Arula Chalets. These two sibling lodges ooze 007-appeal – you can easily picture Bond kicking his feet up here after a hard day in sporty pursuit of a nefarious villain (probably down the north face of the nearby Valluga mountain). Both chalets are decadent options for snowseekers looking to après-ski in style. Classic in style with postcard-idyllic timber cladding, the big sister of the pair is Arula One, which sleeps a whopping 22 people. The swish private bar is complete with shuffleboard table, plush sofas topped with mountainous blankets, and – of course – its very own barman. A drink here could be an expertly twisted negroni, or a bottle chosen from the vast wine cellar. If the party really gets going, the garage, which sits three floors down, can convert into a party barn, DJ included. The twin chalet, Arula Two, sleeps a smaller party of eight, and features much of the same in miniature. Both chalets boast steamy spas, generous pools, in-house masseuses, and fantastic concierge teams. Factor in the private chef catering your every passing whim, and you’ll genuinely be reticent to head for the boot room each morning. Tessa Dunthorne BOOK IT: From €9,500 on a chalet-board basis. thearulachalets.com
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PHOTOS: UNSPLASH; © TIBERIO SORVILLO
Totally renovated for last year’s winter season, Chalet Blackcomb is one of Val d’Isère’s swankiest catered chalets. Spread across three floors of stunning reclaimed pine and spruce wood, five stylish ensuite bedrooms are awash in calming neutral tones and fine wools, linens and throws. Located in the private Domaine de Cacholet neighbourhood, this is a chic boutique retreat with a difference. It’s one of luxury operator Consensio’s innovative Relaxed Catered Chalets, where service is less formal by design. The chilled set-up is ideal for families and independently minded groups looking to sample a few local restaurants, via the Consensio driver of course. The Relaxed Catering programme includes breakfast, afternoon tea and, five nights a week, two-course dinners plus cheese, with a particular emphasis on plant-based, healthy dishes (but only when desired). A personal concierge is still reachable 24/7 and, as with every Consensio chalet, Perrier-Jouët runs on tap. Wellbeing is the name of the game with an entire floor dedicated to an oxygenated fresh-water pool and relaxation area. Repair to the outdoor hot tub under snowflake-speckled skies with fulsome splashes of champagne cheerfully delivered by your hosts. There’s an embarrassment of space for stretching piste-addled limbs: the large open-plan lounge with crackling fireplace has seating for a small army, and the super-size dining table is complemented by a sun-catching balcony and cozy bar area bursting with complimentary wines and spirits. A kitchen snug with fireplace is ideal to observe the chefs in action. Of special interest to families, a clever floor-to-ceiling glass wall acts as a sound-proof barrier between the two zones and there’s a full store of games, books, sledges and toys. Leslie Wolt.
SKI SPECIAL
TENNERHOF, Hotel – Kitzbühel, Austrian Alps BEST FOR TRADITIONAL HUNTING LODGE-STYLE LUXURY
Dating back to 1271, Kitzbühel is one of the most historic towns in the Alps. It first became prosperous as a mining town in the 17th century, when they built most of the fabulous old buildings in the heart of the pedestrianised cobble streets, paving the way for its prestigious position today. Nowhere encapsulates this better than the Tennerhof, the town’s original five-star hotel. Located above the town, with unbeatable views of the turrets and spires of the town backdropped by the fearsome descent of the Hahnenkamm downhill, the site was known as the Weather Farmhouse in the 14th century, as the farmer would warn the town about incoming storms from his vaunted locale. It is a view that regularly drew Ian Fleming here for writing retreats months at a time, with his favourite room now subtly branded 007. Every room is different, and every wardrobe a unique antique. Many have open fireplaces and/or stuben-style heaters and ornate colourful hand-painted panelling. There’s a different four-course menu every day, with the half-board restaurant sporting two Gault Millau hats and its gourmet restaurant four. Despite sleeping up to 130 guests it has a timeless intimate feel. There are also more contemporary chalet-style apartments in two new buildings for those that want a more private experience. Felix Milns BOOK IT: From €479 (two sharing) on a B&B basis. tennerhof.com
GRAND TIROLIA, Hotel – Kitzbühel, Austrian Alps
PHOTOS: UNSPLASH; © TIBERIO SORVILLO
BEST FOR SPACE ON A NORTH AMERICAN SCALE
Located a short drive from town on its own golf course, the newly refurbished Grand Tirolia is all about space. The rooms are huge, the spa is cavernous, with both indoor and outdoor pools, and there are multiple different restaurants in this sprawling resortstyle hotel. And it’s only getting bigger – a new building of 70 family suites and spa is planned for December 2024, and this winter a new jazz club will open, promising live music every night. Considering its scale, the designers have done a great job of creating cosy spaces. Reeded timber panels undulate across the walls of the main restaurant, from which guests can peek into the open kitchen, clad in striking marine blue crackle-glazed tiles. Walk further towards the bar, and you enter a space with a natural club lounge-feel, with its tan leather seats, earthy suedes, and moody black and white behind-the-scenes shots from Bond movies. On the topic of the restaurant: don’t miss dinner in the Gasthaus Eichenheim, the golf clubhouse diner, where chef Manuel Satzinger has been experimenting with fabulous Japanese flavours for the last ten years, alongside more traditional Tyrolean fare. Golfers will also love the indoor golf simulator as an alternate après idea; ski all day then finish with a round at Pebble Beach. Felix Milns BOOK IT: From €318 (two sharing) on a room only basis.
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SKI SPECIAL
CHALET V, Chalet – La Tzoumaz, Bernese Alps BEST FOR BACK DOOR DESIGNER ACCESS TO VERBIER
Those in the know love La Tzoumaz for its laid-back family feel and back door access to Verbier. Chalet V is the perfect base here for design-conscious skiers who want a bit more bang for their chalet buck. With its double height vaulted ceilings, to the dining and living space and stunning wraparound south-facing balcony, the chalet combines beautifully rustic aged timbers with contemporary flair. And there’s all manner of mod-cons: from its year-round outdoor heated pool, hot tub and fire pit to its indoor sauna, cinema room, pinball machine and table tennis. The interiors are true mountain chic with beautiful Bocci rain droplet pendant lights suspended above the oversized dining table. Nico, the in-house chef, serves up gourmet fare from the open-plan Officine Gullo-style kitchen on a different dinner set each evening, celebrating both food and design sur la table. The charming bedrooms boast glam touches like gold drum bedside tables, and en-suite bathrooms surprise with sky blue accents laden with Tiffany and Hermès toiletry treats. And of course waking up to wonderful south facing views over the Haut de Cry mountain range is a luxury that can never be overstated. Caroline Milns BOOK IT: from 32,700 CHF per week (exclusive hire) on a
BEST FOR AMERICAN OLD-WORLD CHARM
Deer Valley, Utah, is a high-end ski resort that exudes luxury, and the Stein Lodge is the jewel in its crown. Imagined by Norwegian ski champion Stein Eriksen, who also designed the wider resort, this was the luxury property that started it all, back in the early 1980s. Think huge stone fireplaces, leather sofas, heavy wood and exposed beams, retro ski art and (faux) fur throws, creating a grand yet comfortable lodge with an old-world charm. It is a skiers-only resort with heated sidewalks and valets on hand to help carry tired skiers’ gear after a day on the slopes. The Lodge has hot tubs on balconies looking out over the Wasatch Mountain range and is home to Utah’s best rated spa, with treatments like the High-Altitude Relief Package helping visitors adjust to the change in elevation. And then there’s the wine cellar, stocked with 20,000 bottles, with its on-site sommelier present to help navigate the list. Situated mid-mountain, from the slopes the Lodge looks something like an alpine hamlet with all you need for a gourmet getaway. Complete with its own coffee shop, the Troll Hallen lounge serving up lively après, piste-side Alpenglobes, and the much lauded Glitretind restaurant, one of Utah’s most exciting dining spots. Expect a twist on American classics, such as lobster pot pie and bison ribeye. Eating aside, there’s the 56-seat cinema, the indoor and outdoor pools and jam-packed games room. Katie Bamber PHOTOS: UNSPLASH
Chalet board basis, sleeps 8+4. thechaletedit.com
STEIN ERIKSEN LODGE, Hotel – Deer Valley Ski Resort, United States
BOOK IT: Luxury King rooms from $1,270, suites from $1,880,
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SKI SPECIAL
THE SOUND OF MUSIC Ischgl remains one of the world’s best parties, says Felix Milns
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schgl made headlines worldwide for all the wrong reasons at the beginning of the pandemic. Allegedly, this was ground zero for superspreading the virus through Europe. Criminal charges were brought against the resort but prosecutors later dropped the case. It appears Ischgl was more a victim of its own reputation as a party town, plus Covid’s winter origins and the nature of Austrian après, where revellers cram into bars and clubs in a vibrant mix of beer, oompah beats and bonhomie. This reputation is in no small part built on the town’s fantastic legacy of free mountain concerts. Every December Ischgl kicks off the winter season with a free concert at the base of the gondola, followed by spring and season closing concerts that take place high up on the Silvretta plateau in the heart of the ski area, with incredible 360-degree mountainscape views. Headliners across the last 30 years include Elton John (twice), Lionel Richie, The Beach Boys and The Killers, and this year it was Felix meets 2023 headliner George Ezra
George Ezra’s turn to bring his Green, Green Grass to the brilliant white of the mountains. Ezra was clearly impressed with the venue: ‘This is the most beautiful place we have ever played. Our view is much better than yours!’ It’s a fantastic set up for a concert. You can ski all morning then stop off for lunch and the gig, then jump back on one of several adjacent chair lifts for a few more runs. And the acts clearly love it as much as the crowd. Elton John was the first really big name to play back in 1995, and was so enamoured he came back to play again in 2008. His piano was painstakingly brought up the mountain by two snowcats, while he flew up in a white leather helicopter. The Pussycat Dolls did not make such a great impression, boldly announcing ‘Hello Australia!’ as they took to the stage, echoing a famous George Bush gaffe. While the concerts are still part of Ischgl’s DNA, it’s working hard to round out its riotous reputation. Last season was the swansong for the Pacha nightclub, the only alpine outpost of the Ibiza club night for the last 20 years, while the resort has just opened an immense public spa and wellness complex. It’s a fantastic place to visit either with friends or family, and if you can time it with a springtime concert then you will be in Paradise, to quote George Ezra. BOOK IT: From £1,469pp for a seven-night half-
board stay at Hotel Zalwonder (two sharing). zalwonder.com. Return flights from Gatwick to Innsbruck start from £76pp. Concerts on 25 November 2023, 31 March, 14 April, 30 April 2024. ischgl.com n
THREE OF THE BEST MOUNTAIN FESTIVALS
ROCK THE PISTES, Portes du Soleil, 17-23 March There are seven main lunchtime mountain-top gigs and over 40 après concerts spread across different Portes du Soleil resorts. rockthepistes.com TOMORROWLAND, Alpe d’Huez, 16-23 March This takeover brings eight indoor and outdoor stages and over 35 acts to the sunny slopes of Alpe d’Huez, including huge names from the world of electronic dance music. tomorrowland.com
ZERMATT UNPLUGGED 9-13 April For a more chilled out vibe, check out the acoustic-only sets and stages, all 17 of them, that are found on the beautiful car-free streets of Zermatt. zermatt-unplugged.ch n
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GIVE ME CHILLS
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his August, a record was set in the Alps, but it wasn’t a good one. No mountain froze overnight, because the altitude at which temperatures fell below freezing, known as the zero degree line, climbed to 5,298m for the first time since records began. The previous record of 5,184m was set in 2022 – whereas it fluctuated between 3,000m and 4,000m between the summers of 1991 and 2002. That the zero degree line has climbed so substantially has resulted in Alpine glaciers losing more than 60 percent of their volume since 1850. Ski resorts now accept the future is uncertain and know they must act immediately to change the way they operate. Some estimates suggest that by 2050, resorts under 1,200m could be entirely without snow. Sandra Picard of Compagnie des Alpes, which operates some of the largest ski resorts in France including La Plagne, Les Arcs and Val d’Isère-Tignes, said: ‘By 2055, December will be the most critical month and it will be difficult for us to open more than 50 percent of the slopes – and, to be honest, it’s not going to improve. There is not a straightforward solution for the future.’
As well as trying to future-proof the resorts with ideas such as moving beginner areas to the top of the mountains, resorts are slashing carbon emissions and reducing energy and water requirements as fast as is practically possible to limit the damage ski resorts are adding to the environment. While it’s people travelling to ski resorts that takes the largest chunk of the emissions pie, operating ski areas is also energy heavy. Compagnie des Alpes identified that during the 2021/22 ski season, 47 percent of its carbon emissions – 29,571 tonnes of CO2e – was from the ski area. By converting grooming machines to HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil, often known as ‘renewable diesel’), using renewable energy and investing in the very latest, energy-efficient snow guns, they can move towards their goal of net zero in 2050. But some areas are more advanced than others. Serre Chevalier already produces 30 percent of the energy needed to run its ski area. In Italy’s Dolomiti Superski area, where timely opening of the pistes in December has long relied on snowmaking, lift operators have for decades invested in the most modern snow guns, which use half the water and electricity of their 1980s predecessors.
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PHOTOS: UNSPLASH; © TRISTAN SHU; © MILAN VERMEULEN
The zero degree line keeps creeping up, say Abigail Butcher and Felix Milns – here’s how resorts are trying to protect your snow
SKI SPECIAL
PHOTOS: UNSPLASH; © TRISTAN SHU; © MILAN VERMEULEN
The Grand Massif became the world’s first ski area to be awarded the Green Globe label in 2016, a sustainable tourism certification
‘This means efficiency at its best and optimal use of resources – simultaneously good for business and good for the environment,’ says spokesman Dr Diego Clara. ‘All our lifts and snow guns run with renewable power from hydroelectric plants, so there is no CO2 – for us here this is normal practice, but journalists take it as sensational news.’ Another environmental pioneer, Laax will this winter open the first gondola to operate on demand, only releasing cabins onto the track when they are needed – saving energy when they’re not. Laax has been built on sustainable credentials since the 1970s and aims to become not just carbon neutral but an energy-producing resort in the future. The small, purpose-built resorts of Anzère (Switzerland) and Flaine (France) were both built around huge biomass boilers – way ahead of the sustainability game. In 2016, Flaine (with its fellow Grand Massif ski resorts) became the first ski area in the world to attain the Green Globe label, and in 2008 was the first in France to set up a study to monitor the biodiversity of the ski area, measure the impact of skiing on the mountains and understand how to improve practices.
Malvina Sculo, environmental project manager at Domaine Skiable de Flaine, said: ‘Most of our snow groomers have changed to HVO and resort vehicles will follow, snow cannons work mainly on gravity, we compost waste food where we can and have created sensitive areas within the ski area to remind skiers they are sharing the mountain with nature.’ It’s about the small details, too, she said: ‘We now produce a ski map online, or in an app, and if people want a paper one we charge €1 – we used to print 200,000 but now only 6,000. We even grow tomatoes on the magic carpet in the village during the summer months.’ So it’s an apt resort for Pierre & Vacances’ premium residence Les Terrasses d’Eos, which has been awarded the Green Key label - the first internationally recognised independent environmental label. And as Mavina eloquently put it, ‘for everyone who loves the mountains, it’s about doing what we can, when we can.’ BOOK IT: From £338pp for a seven-night stay at Pierre &
Vacances’ Les Terrasses d’Eos (four sharing). pierreetvacances.com For more information on Flaine visit en.flaine.com n November/December 2023 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | 181
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SKI SPECIAL
FUN FOR ALL THE FAMILY The resorts that cater for all. By Felix Milns
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ll-inclusive skiing is definitely on the rise, and marketleading Club Med is riding the winter wave it set in motion 65 years ago. Last winter, its bookings were up by a third, as cost-conscious families look to lock in savings. And it’s not just in the French Alps – Club Med now offers ski holidays in Canada, Japan and Switzerland, plus one very special place in the Italian Alps: Club Med Pragelato Sestrière. Sestrière is part of the Milky Way ski area in the Alps, and with almost 400km of pistes is one of Europe’s largest. Stretching across the border from Italy into Montgenevre in France, it has some excellent steep north-facing pistes as well as more gentle snow-sure slopes, with much of the skiing above 1,800m. In typical Club Med fashion, group lessons and guiding are included in the all-inclusive packages for adults and children alike. There’s something reassuring about putting your children in the care of a ‘maestro’ for their ski lessons – especially when they are as charming and professional as the instructors we had. It is becoming increasingly popular with British guests. Brits have long been drawn to neighbouring Sauze D’Oulx, but Sestrière too has been getting steadily more popular. So too has Club Med, with an all-inclusive package that seems to be striking a real chord in our more costconscious times (and it really does cover it all – ski passes, guiding, and even lunches are included, plus as much childcare as you could possibly want). Coming back to the hotel for lunch is quite an alien concept for British skiers, but the food is so good it is sorely tempting, especially for our daughters for whom the daily changing buffets were manna from heaven. There are, however, also five mountain restaurants across the ski area where you can eat free of charge. At Aquila Nera the Club Med Pragelato Sestrière is a picture-perfect skiing escape
mention of Club Med is enough to magic up a couple of glasses of prosecco and a platter of mountain meat and cheese before the menus even arrive. In fact, my only criticism of the food here is just that the sheer volume, quality and opportunities to eat are so generous that I could not remember what it was like to feel hungry. One night the mi-cuit salmon, on the live chef’s station in the bar, was so good we had practically eaten an entire dinner before going to the restaurant. The main restaurant is buffet style, with 12 stations serving something different each evening. As well as your staple fresh pasta, pizza and grill, there are dishes like beef and prune tajine, magret de canard and a different fresh fish every evening. It’s like a who’s who of French and Italian cuisine. The ‘Crazy Sounds’ disco and nightly shows are somewhat more divisive. A hallmark of Club Med that taps into the surprising French penchant for line dancing, those that want a more chilled after-dinner digestif can escape to the new wine bar across the square, for one last all-inclusive cocktail before bed.
PHOTOS: UNSPLASH
BOOK IT: From £6,463 for a seven night all-inclusive stay
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at Club Med Pragelato Sestrière for a family of two adults & two children under 11 years old, including transfers and return flights from London (LHR). clubmed.co.uk
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KIDS GO FREE AT HOTEL LE MOTTARET
BOOK IT: From £1,400 for a seven-night stay at the Hotel Le
Mottaret (four sharing a family room, kids go free), on a halfboard basis. ski-france.co.uk
THE MAGIC OF OZ
Though it’s more winding mountain than yellow brick road, there is definitely something wizard about Oz-en-Oisans, a small satellite village in the adjacent valley to Alpe d’Huez. One of the lesser-known treasures of the Isère region of the Alps, Oz is a small family-friendly village, a quick seven-minute gondola to the heart of the Alpe d’Huez ski area. Famed for its 300 sunny days per year, the mountains stretch up to a mighty 3,300m. Bolstered by the most snow cannons per hectare in Europe, it’s an exceptionally snow-sure choice for a family getaway. We were staying in the Timberlodge, a contemporary alpine hotel with a large panoramic swimming pool in the heart of what is a small laid-back village, oozing charm and authenticity while offering great value for money. So it seemed a good place to try ‘Snowga’, yoga in the snow, on the hotel terrace overlooking the valley. Carrying on the relaxed vibe we also did a sunset walk to Pré Reynaud, for a glass of wine and hunk of Beaufort cheese as we watched the sun set over the ravine. Though the favourite family après activity had to be the biathlon-style laser target shooting, set up at the foot of the nursery slopes. BOOK IT: From £197 per person per night for a seven night stay at Timberlodge (four sharing a family room, room only). timberlodge.fr BA return flights from £101 (Heathrow to Lyon). For more information about Isère resorts, visit alpes-isere.com
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PHOTOS: UNSPLASH
Who doesn’t love a pool party? Certainly all the kids who were staying at Hotel Le Mottaret last Easter gave it a resounding thumbs up, even though it faced stiff après competition from tubing high into the air onto an airbag just outside the hotel. But such are the delights of staying at Hotel Le Mottaret. This quietly unassuming ski-in ski-out hotel has been offering great value family holidays in the heart of the Three Valleys for over 30 years, and they have nailed the concept. With a focus on affordable flexibility, this is three-star holidaying that feels like five-star. Not constrained by Saturday to Saturday bookings, kids go free in family rooms (up to 18 years old), and overall the hotel offers exceptional value for money. There’s a relaxed vibe in the crushed velvet, antique mirror and chandelier-strewn lounge. Downstairs, the restaurant serves up nightly buffets. We had oysters, giant prawns, smoked salmon and sushi on the seafood night. Outside of the weekly pool party, the spa and pool area is more chilled, with a hammam and indoor hot tub. You can also book a slot in the outdoor jacuzzi on the terrace and soak up the last rays of the day with a glass of bubbly, raising a toast to affordable luxury in the Alps.
SKI SPECIAL
100 YEARS YOUNG
Celebrating its centenary this year, Hotel Gardena Grödnerhof is still owned by the same family, with its Michelin-starred restaurant, the Anna Stuben, named after the current owner’s grandmother and the original chef of the hotel. Ortisei is something of a hidden gem to British visitors, most of whom head for neighbouring Val Gardena, but Ortisei is second only to Cortina for pedestrianised Dolomiti village charm, and the Gardena is the Grande Dame di Villaggio. This being the South Tyrol, any self-respecting fivestar hotel has to seriously overdeliver on the spa, and the Gardena is no exception. A separate building linked to the hotel, the spa spans two floors with multiple organic, barklined saunas, relaxation rooms, cold plunge and infinity edge outdoor hot tub, as well as a ladies-only sauna. Kids will love the large black slate swimming pool, complete with underwater tunes, as well as the play land, where they can play 3D interactive video games, try out the climbing treadmill or do arts and crafts. The hotel’s timeless style and grace is epitomised by the seamless Italian service. The restaurant staff are so attentive and friendly, without ever overstepping the mark, and there are three different and interchangeable six-course menus to choose from every evening. Pretty much spot on as the Gardena turns 100. BOOK IT: From €360 (for two sharing) on a B&B
basis. gardena.it
PHOTOS: UNSPLASH
MOVING ON UP
Nestling at the base of the totemic Sassongher mountain in Corvara, home to some of the best views in the Dolomites, the new Movi Family Apart-Hotel is aimed squarely at families. Blending form and function with cosy comfort, the 33 apartments are beautifully thought through, with dedicated lobby space for outdoor gear and open-plan kitchen living areas with pine banquette seating softened by rugs, throws and furnishings in earthy mossy tones. The apartments, all of which have two bedrooms plus the option of a fifth bed, may not be huge but every space is perfectly considered. The kids rooms are cosy, with wallpaper of misty hand painted pine trees and iconic owl wall lights above the beds. The hotel offers an excellent breakfast, complete with kids’ organic tea bags, but evening meals are either DIY or ordered in from three local restaurants. There’s also Salvan, a fantastic and great value pizza place, right next door. Kids will love the waterworld pool area, spanning two floors and coming with micro water slides, a splash zone and a family sauna. The excellent kids club, with soft play, interactive iWall gaming and climbing wall, is open and supervised from 9am to 10pm, so you can find time to relax in the darkly cocooning adult spa, with its large relaxation room, two saunas, steam and hot tub. BOOK IT: From £4,140 per week (for a family of four) on a B&B
basis, including flights and transfers. skisolutions.com
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PISTE OFF
Take a walk on the wilder side with these off-the-beaten-track heli-skiing adventures
FUN ON THE FARM
Up for a real adventure? Retreat to the remotest valleys of Iceland for exhilarating heli-skiing, says Felix Milns
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(Above) Felix makes tracks in Iceland; Deplar Farm, a remote hotel in the heart of the country
PHOTOS: UNSPLASH; © FELIX MILNS
here is nothing quite like crouching down on top of a beautifully remote peak and watching the helicopter soar away, with the noise of the rotors thundering in your ears. Especially when that summit is part of the Troll peninsula in the remote north of Iceland, with distant views of saline fjords. The heli touches down for the least amount of time possible on drop-off, just allowing time for your guide to unload the skis and skiers to dismount into a ‘heli-huddle’. Then the belly of the heli rises majestically above you in a flurry of fresh snowflakes. The rest is silence, and you stand rubbing your eyes and looking down a pristine valley of snow, the sense of anticipation second to none. And the views were quite unlike any I have seen before. As we soared high above the summits it seemed like a Norse god had taken a giant scythe to the mountaintops, decapitating them all to leave a series of flat-topped mountains that run down into the sea. The mountains in the north are glacial, not volcanic, with the folds of the many valleys eroded from the old sea bed. Skiing the flat-tops is just as rare a treat. This is not a place for waist deep pow – save that for Japan or deepest BC – rather, it’s all about skiing the cappuccino froth of spring snow, where the top few centimetres of snowpack soften like butter. It means it’s accessible for intermediate skiers. Levi, our deadpan Canadian guide, took us for run after run of beautifully creamy ‘corn’ snow as we followed the sun round to the north faces and steeper terrain. It takes real commitment to get to Deplar Farm. After flying to Reykjavik you transfer across town to the domestic terminal. Then it’s 186 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | November/December 2023
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SKI SPECIAL an internal flight north and a two-and-a-half hour drive along epic, ethereal and empty coastal roads that sporadically turn into single lane tunnels. These passages, lit by hanging lanterns every 39 steps or so, feel like a dwarfine palace and only add to the sense of awe and wonder that is at the heart of Icelandic adventure. Yet it is this very remoteness of Deplar that makes it so special and unique. At 66 degrees north this is one of the world’s top hotels for experiential adventure. In the summer, the lure is fly fishing, horseback riding, hiking and kayaking. Come winter it is all about heli skiing and the northern lights. The heli season runs from mid-March to early June, and there are over 100 landing points, many of which have multiple descents. And with the private helicopters based at the lodge it is about as exclusive as it gets. This being Iceland, though, you are always at the mercy of the weather. For the first two days a thick pea-souper hung over the valley, making flight impossible. It did not matter – rolling with the weather is very much in the Icelandic DNA, and down days here are just as spectacular as the bluebirds. For a start, the lodge itself is absolutely stunning. Clad in black timber with a grass-eaved roof, it appears to have grown out of the landscape. I spent my first afternoon in the spa and gym, alternating between sauna and ice-cold plunge pool. Wim Hof would approve. Floor to ceiling windows frame the surrounding peaks while effortlessly stylish interiors feature local stone and driftwood. It’s possibly the coolest and most luxurious ‘farm’ in the world. Quite apart from the landscape and the adventure, all the staff here are so personable that you feel more like a guest in a private home. The skies had not cleared on day two, so we drove over to the next valley to ride some Icelandic horses, famous for their shaggy hair and peculiar gait, the tölt, halfway between a trot and a fast walk. One of the oldest purebred horses in the world, Vikings are thought to have brought them over 1100 years ago. It’s a perfect way (and pace) to explore the frozen waterfalls and barren landscape. Then, finally, the skies dawned clear and we were ready for an epic day of heli. After close to fifteen runs we heli’d down to Ghost Farm, a one bed outpost of Deplar where honeymooners can spend a romantic night alone, and heli skiers drop in for lunch. Food is excellent, and after a typically great lunch followed by a spot of axe-throwing, we were back in the bird for a final couple of runs before heading back to the farmhouse for ice baths, pool, table tennis and shuffleboard. Quite simply out of this world. BOOK IT: Rates at Deplar Farm start from $3,560 pp per night, inclusive
Deplar Farm has its own helicopters, for a truly private heli-skiing experience
PHOTOS: UNSPLASH; © FELIX MILNS
of full board, house alcohol and customised adventure itineraries, plus heli-skiing and airport transfers to/from Akureyri. elevenexperience.com
The northern lights shine over Deplar Farm
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ON THE ROAD Annabel Illingworth takes a road trip through British Columbia in search of thrills and (hopefully) no spills
FROM TOP: Waiting for the helicopter at the end of a run; landing in Purcell; cosy Home Lodge, just outside Golden, BC
PHOTOS: © ANNABEL ILLINGWORTH
S
kiing and champagne. Wonderfully evocative words that conjure up happy memories for so many of us. Taking the dream to the next level, British Columbia puts a whole new spin on things, for the Canadian territory is the home of champagne powder: wonderfully light and fluffy snow that’s as dry as the best fizz. In the 1960s, Austrian mountaineer and ski guide Hans Gmoser set up the very first heli-skiing operation out of an abandoned lumber camp in the Bugaboos range and ended up making history. Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH) Heli-Skiing now operates in 11 locations throughout the Columbia Mountains, which run parallel to the Rockies, with three million acres of terrain – a third the size of Switzerland. It’s arguably a rite of passage to ski with CMH. However, up until recently, skiing with them came with a caveat – stump up for one of the luxury remote private lodges, commit to a full week of drops and accept down days due to poor weather as par for the course. It’s been the preserve of incredibly good, incredibly fit skiers. With their latest acquisition of territory in Purcell, however, the bar has just been lowered enough to appeal to a wider range of skiers and budgets, making finding fresh tracks in BC a degree more accessible. Based out of Golden, CMH Purcell offers daytrips for those keen to dip 188 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | November/December 2023
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SKI SPECIAL a toe into heliskiing, with around eight to ten drops a day covering 3,000 vertical metres. There’s the added benefit of being able to choose one’s accommodation and schedule, so any trip can be much more tailor-made. With that in mind and having never been to Canada, I put together my dream ski road trip with the expert help of Charlie Brooksbank from Pure Powder, whose family business has long represented CMH in the UK: a couple of days warming up and shaking off jet lag in Banff and Lake Louise, three days’ heliskiing and then on to the steeps of Kicking Horse and Revelstoke. Banff was close enough to Calgary airport that I could drive there and be on the slopes the next morning. Dazed and confused with the time change, the SnowHost orientation tour in Sunshine Village proved a remarkably good recommendation. As was the Mad Trappers saloon bar for lunch, which set the cultural tone with Coors beer on tap, ice hockey on television screens and vintage photos of pelt hunters. Driving onwards, along Highway 1 from Banff to Lake Louise, the jagged mountains covered in pine forests loomed majestically to either side. Arriving at the cozy Post Hotel & Spa, a fire was roaring and a stuffed moose gazed down from above the mantel. Well rested the next day, this time the Ski Friends showed me around – a friendly service set up by the wives of the ski patrol in days gone by. The sun-softened moguls on the back bowl were remarkably pleasant, as was the pace of the loop around the various hills – just the right warm up without overdoing it. Purcell was going to need all the energy stores I could muster! My next stop felt familiar, with a fold of Highland cattle grazing outside Home Lodge, set in the hills outside Golden. As I sank into the hot tub, a herd of mule deer wandered past completely oblivious to my presence, making a beeline towards the fresh hay in the snow. Après ski proved a relaxed affair – flop on the sofa or catch some live music in the local craft brewery. The heli-skiing days flew by, with two small groups of us taking turns to jump in and out on a constant rotation. The glaciers were my comfort zone, with endless fresh tracks. The other half was tree skiing, where
TOP TIPS
PHOTOS: © ANNABEL ILLINGWORTH
1 CMH Purcell has a comfortable basecamp lodge for less eager companions to relax by the fire. 2 Mountain Galleries at Fairmont Lake Louise, a specialist in local talent and First Nations art from the coast and plains, including masks and sculptures. 3 For cultural heritage, the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff.
Swooshing down a slope in Banff; Moose Hotel in Banff; al-fresco art in Revelstoke
you can fall down the hollows around the trunks if you turn too close. Groups buddy up in pairs and loudly whoop or yodel to each other whilst dodging the trees, signalling all is well. I mentioned to guide Randy that it was my first real tree experience and felt in good hands. Also a lumberjack, he explained how the trees are thinned each summer to provide adequate spacing for skiers, while also reducing wildfires and encouraging lichen to grow, a key food source for the endangered mountain caribou. This deep connection with nature mirrors how diligently CMH works with government scientists and First Nations communities, tracking animals, protecting biodiversity, measuring the snow conditions for a national database and helping create rural job opportunities. Above Golden, an orphaned grizzly bear called Boo is the star of the show at Kicking Horse Resort, whose refuge is almost as popular as the steep chutes and gullies. Also known for its steep powder runs, Revelstoke draws the hip and adventure-loving crowd. The redbrick railroad town and slopes are dotted with colourful artworks, such as the Masterpiste Gallery by the Revelstoke Outdoor Art Movement, a playful open-air gallery to amuse skiers amongst the trees. I went to BC looking for something different and it delivered in spades. One day I might easily be tempted to do the whole remote lodge thing, although I loved the sense of adventure and discovery of all the different resorts. The mid-west rail town vibe coupled with the awesome national parks, kind souls and sublime indigenous art offered a subtle yet powerful thrill I didn’t quite see coming. BOOK IT: Annabel was a guest of Pure Powder and CMH.
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HIDDEN SIDE OF THE 3 VALLEYS Thirty years down the line, Méribel is still a haven for partygoers and plongeurs, says Felix Milns
Trying out the icy water at the Lac du Lou refuge
PHOTOS: UNSPLASH
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n December 1992, I set out to Méribel as a precocious 18-year-old to work my first winter season. Three decades down the line, myself and four now lifelong friends revisited to celebrate our 30-year anniversary. Gone but not forgotten were our jobs of plongeurs – washing up raclette and fondue sets – chalet boys and general dogs’ bodies, but the memories of that halcyon season were still to be found in every glorious corner of Méribel. While many ski resorts have radically transformed in the last 30 years, Méribel is more of a classic case of ‘plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose’. Yes – the town has grown, but all very much in the style laid out by Méribel’s pioneering forefather, Peter Lindsay. Unquestionably the reason why the resort remains so popular with British visitors, Lindsay first discovered Méribel before WWII, returning to the area immediately after the war to set up the original lift company and design a masterplan for its development, which insisted on all buildings being stone and timber clad with sloping slate roofs. Rob Smart is still on the radio, Ronnie’s remains one of the top après spots in the French Alps, and, after a 60-year run, Chez Kiki’s has just reopened as Fifi’s, the next generation of family rebooting the famous steakhouse as an Italian brasserie. Toffee vodka in Le Pub remains a right of passage. Indeed, the night we arrived, retro sustainable skiwear brand OOSC Clothing (specialising in bright onesies made from fully recyclable materials) was sponsoring the party at Le Pub, so it was not long before we ended up on the dancefloor in watermelon neon 190 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | November/December 2023
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SKI SPECIAL
PHOTOS: UNSPLASH
suits, a strong look for one-time saisonniers approaching 50. Yet with age had come a modicum of wisdom, so we managed to swerve the late-night Sully’s stop off (previously an outpost of Dick’s Tea Bar) as we had a rendez-vous with Hervé from Méribel Alpine Guides in the morning. There is nowhere quite like the Three Valleys for the sheer extent of off-piste terrain. The world’s biggest lift-linked ski area has just as much allure away from the pistes and we were celebrating with two days of off-piste guiding and an overnight stay in a remote mountain refuge. We had timed it well with fresh snowfall and, once we were fully kitted up with touring skis, avalanche transceivers and safety gear, we made our way to the head of the Méribel valley and the Côte Brune chair, the launchpad for some of our favourite off-piste runs as 18-year-olds. Yet the beauty of having a guide is that he will always find you somewhere new, and we kicked off with some tight steep turns down the ‘speedball gulleys’, a series of chutes we had always looked at but never braved. We were soon dropping into Val Thorens and riding the cable car to the summit of Cime de Caron, at 3,193m the highest point in the Three Valleys. From here we traversed along a ridge then strapped our skins to our skis for a 90-minute climb up the aptly named Mont du Chat (with two peaks like cat ears), leaving the main ski area behind us in favour of an entire hidden valley of pristine powder. This is the beauty of lift- accessed ski touring: a relatively short skin either in or out opens up sensational terrain, and we were soon lapping up late March powder turns on our way down to the Lac du Lou refuge and the adjacent frozen lake. With hot showers, smaller dormitories (sleeping six per room) and a reputation for great food, the refuge is renowned as the top spot for on-mountain overnighting in the Three Valleys. We arrived just before the late afternoon sun dipped behind the distant peak, and the prospect of a hot shower, a real luxury in the world of mountain refuges, inspired several of us to take an ice-cold plunge into the small unfrozen end of the lake. It was the coldest water I have ever experienced, unsurprising given we were at 2,000m and surrounded by ice and snow, but the adrenalin rush of the icy needles biting into your skin was indescribable. I am not sure my 18-year-old self would have got his kicks this way, but 30 years on it was a fitting end to an incredible day. n
Felix and his friends explore the off-piste slopes of the Three Valleys
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HOTELS &
TRAVEL Serpents in Paradise
Teresa Levonian Cole gets back to nature at The Datai Langkawi – although she could have skipped the encounter with the reticulated python
The Datai was designed to blend into the tree canopy
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FROM TOP: The resort is hidden on the jeweldrop island of Langkawi in Malaysia; The Datai Pledge includes educating local children about the environment; the hotel’s resident naturalist, Irshad Mobarak (left) and model
‘W
ould you like to see a serpent?’ asks Mukhris, the marine biologist, as we kayak through the mangroves. I like the biblical implication but, on balance, no. The serpent, in this instance, is a reticulated python – the longest snake on earth – that likes to while away the hours on branches that hang low from the huge mangrove trees in this eerie, silent world. But then, Langkawi is known as Paradise Island, and serpents in paradise go back a long way. I duck and paddle on through the water, and don’t look up… As a visitor to The Datai Langkawi in Malaysia, which champions local flora and fauna indiscriminately (arachnids and reptiles included) I can’t complain, provided the creatures do not stray within the confines of my jungle villa – a stilted construction of balau wood with belian (diamond wood) shingle roof, on which long-tailed langur monkeys like to party. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, The Datai was the pioneering creation of architect Kerry Hill and designer Didier Lefort. Intended to blend into the surrounding jungle, its buildings cascade from a ridge, through dense jungle, to the beach 40 metres below. Measures to conserve this pristine biodiversity of rainforest, mangrove swamp and beach have grown over the years, culminating with the creation, in 2019, of The Datai Pledge. This commits to protect not only land, sea and airborne creatures, and their environment, but also to educate youth and work with local communities, while implementing sustainable business practices. If this sounds like hot steam whistling from a worthy bandwagon (for who has not
tired of fig-leaf claims of conservation and sustainability?), the reality comes as a pleasant surprise. I bow out of a backstage tour of the hotel’s rubbish dumps, where up to 93 percent of waste is recycled, and instead visit The Lab – itself built entirely of recycled plastic and 7,968 bottles – for a practical class in making soaps and candles from recycled wax and oils: an activity that invokes all the joyful abandon (and competitiveness) of kindergarten. I also visit the hydroponic and organic gardens. In this fragrant, butterfly-filled enclosure, I discover an unlikely superstar: a small, black bee that looks like a fly. This is the wild, stingless bee, Trigona itama, which produces a pale watery honey that is liable to ferment, imparting a sour, lemony flavour to its creation. What impresses me is not so much that this honey is said to contain more antioxidants than Manuka honey, but that the hives – there are ten of them each with 2,000–
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Malaysia | HOTELS & TRAVEL 4,000 inhabitants – are such an ungodly mess. These bees defy nature’s symmetry. Forget neat hexagonal honeycombs. Here we have what looks like a tangle of dried seaweed, whose ‘pods’ are in fact honey pots, made entirely of propolis, from which I learn to extract the golden liquid. From syringe to teaspoon… it is quite delicious. And, according to the beekeeper’s calculations, I consume more than 12,000 flowers-worth of pollen. Rainforest tours prove equally educational. Naturalists Irshad Mobarak and Dev Dass are a mine of information. I see rare colugos – AKA flying lemurs, the only primates that can ‘fly’ – camouflaged within the cleft of a tree. Another unique primate is the slow loris – with poison stored in its elbow, it is the only venomous primate, ‘and not that slow’. In the primary rainforest that surrounds the resort, 35 security guards are employed to protect creatures such as the endangered mouse deer, the magnificent hornbills that nest here, and its rare trees. Agarwood, Dev tells me, can fetch £2,500 per kilo – and this forest is home to four trees per acre. I also learn the unique and clever means plants use to protect themselves. Take Lagerstroemia speciosa, whose seeds are a narcotic: ‘Monkeys chew the seeds, get high and fall off the branches. They won’t be back!’ says Irshad. As for the ingenuity of fungi – there is no doubt that if it had opposable thumbs, it would rule the world. With Irshad, I trek to a forest pool beneath Mount Machinchang at dawn and learn that the benefits of ‘forest bathing’ are not merely psychological, but measurable. ‘Trees release phytoncides, which have been proven to boost the immune system,’ he says, ‘and dawn, when the dew is still on the ground, is when the benefits are most potent.’
FROM TOP: Relax to a chorus of forest sounds in the spa; a Canopy Garden room ; the spa is open to the surrounding jungle; a visit from an oriental pied hornbill
One of the rare trips I take beyond the resort’s 65 acres is to the Kilim Geoforest Park, with its contrasting landscape of karst limestone cliffs, reminiscent of Guilin. I go with Dr Luisa of MariCet – an NGO with whom The Datai has teamed up for the protection of Bryde’s whales, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, and finless porpoises. We sail along the Kilim river into the open sea – a world apart, with opaque, jade waters, mangroves, and sheer, undercut cliffs to which trees somehow manage to cling. A brown-winged kingfisher takes a dive, to emerge with a fish in its huge beak. Overhead, brahminy kites and whitebellied sea eagles soar. We spot pods of porpoises porpoising, as they do. It is so beautiful I’m not too disappointed that the dolphins remain elusive today – no doubt holidaying in nearby Thai waters, where we cannot follow. In such an environment, wellbeing is a given – from the freshest fish and delicious cuisines of the four restaurants, to a menu of exotic medicinal herbal teas, devised by the late Dr Ghani. But one of my most memorable experiences takes place indoors, while I am supine. As I arrive at the spa for a traditional Malaysian healing massage using local and natural ingredients, an almighty thunderstorm breaks out, which lasts for the duration of the treatment. With lightning electrifying the sky, I ask for the doors of the spa villa to be opened, the better to experience the drama of the thunderclaps, the pelting rain in the jungle and the rush of the swollen stream beneath my terrace. And in this hallowed wooden space, surrounded by nature’s theatre, I feel completely at one with the world. BOOK IT: Seven nights B&B at The Datai, including
flights from London with Singapore Airlines, private transfers and UK airport lounge passes from £2,210pp with Elegant Resorts. Includes two complimentary nights and a ten percent discount. Must be booked 30 days in advance and blackout dates apply. Valid until 31 March 2024. elegantresorts.co.uk n
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TRAVEL SOLO – BUT NOT ALONE
With 70 percent of its guests travelling solo, adventure tour operator Wild Frontiers has introduced a new collection of tours with them in mind. From walking amid the natural beauty of Georgia’s Caucasus Mountains to exploring the epic summits of Pakistan, they will only comprise nine to 12 participants, which means people can benefit from independent travel, but with the opportunity to make friends with like-minded people. To boot, the company continues to prioritise responsible tourism leaving a positive impact on both the people and places they visit. As founder Jonny Bealby says: ‘Once they have tried a solo trip with us, they all wish they’d done it sooner! I don’t see solo travel as a trend at all, but rather as an evolution of the way we all approach travel.’ wildfrontierstravel.com
The ESCAPIST
Lauren Ho selects the best effortless adventures, with the planet in mind TRAVEL AS A FORCE FOR GOOD
CATHAY PACIFIC GOES VEGGIE
Teaming up with Hong Kong-based plant-forward restaurant, Veda by Ovolo Hotels, airline Cathay Pacific is now offering a menu of curated plant-based dishes on select premium economy and economy long-haul flights departing from Hong Kong. From Kerala-style coconut curry with mushrooms, red bell peppers and cumin rice to the roasted vegetable tagine with halloumi cheese and pearl couscous, the dishes take their cues from Veda’s vibrant and flavourful menu. Ovolo Hotels is the first hotel brand to globally commit to a vegetarian-led offering. cathaypacific.com; ovolohotels.com
PHOTOS: KLEINBERG; STUDIO UNFOLDED; GETTY
As the trend for sustainable, conscious travel continues to grow, Beyond Green – a global portfolio of planet earth’s most sustainable hotels, resorts and lodges – has teamed up with luxury adventure tour operator Nomadic Expeditions for its four new itineraries. Part of the brand’s Plan Your Trip programme, where you can book complete itineraries or create your own custom adventures, each meticulously crafted journey can take travellers to Mongolia, Bhutan, Nepal and India. The perfect partnership that draws on Nomadic Expeditions’ expertise, while underscoring Beyond Green’s commitment to making travel a force for good. staybeyondgreen.com; nomadicexpeditions.com
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News | HOTELS & TRAVEL
A FOODIE TOUR OF JAPAN
Home to the iconic Mount Fuji, the Japanese prefecture of Shizuoka has recently launched a series of new ecotourism experiences focused on supporting the small, independent producers of green tea, wasabi and soya beans. From learning the art of calligraphy using matcha green tea ‘ink’ from leaves that would otherwise be discarded during the manufacturing process, to learning about the 270-year-old cultivation process of wasabi, directly from the local producers (Shizuoka is the producer of more than half of all wasabi grown in Japan) the region has made it a breeze for responsible travellers to delve into the local community and help preserve their age-old traditions. exploreshizuoka.jp
PARADISE GOES GREEN
It’s no secret the Great Barrier Reef is under pressure from multiple threats. Operators in Tropical North Queensland have launched a series of new sustainable tours and initiatives with a focus on reef education. Among others, the Cairns Aquarium has unveiled the world’s first living coral biobank where visitors can view and learn about the 181 species (out of 415) the facility has so far preserved. Meanwhile, Dreamtime Dive & Snorkel has launched a series of Reef Recovery Days, where travellers can participate in assisting marine biologists to help coral rebuild and regenerate after extreme weather systems. As they say, a little goes a long way and when it comes to protecting the reef, everyone plays a part. cairnsaquarium.com.au; dreamtimedive.com
FIVE HOT NEW OPENINGS
THE BOTREE, London, UK London’s newest five-star hotspot with 199 rooms, including 30 suites. A new social hub with bars, two restaurants, a live music club and a boutique screening room. From £660. thebotree.com
TRUNK(HOTEL) YOYOGI PARK, Tokyo, Japan Located in Shibuya, this 25-room property unfolds with a clean Japanese-Scandinavian sensibility, and includes a restaurant and a rooftop pool with a lounge. From $404. yoyogipark.trunk-hotel.com
MATCA, Transylvania, Romania Transylvania can now be explored from this hotel overlooking the Bucegi and Piatra Craiului mountains. With 16 rooms over two farmhouses, and ten villas. From €254. matcahotel.com
TAKE IT SLOW IN AMSTERDAM
PHOTOS: KLEINBERG; STUDIO UNFOLDED; GETTY
Visitors to Amsterdam can relax and take a break for the city lights at De Durgerdam, a stylish new countryside hideaway that has just launched a series of ‘slow’ bike routes together with local bike guide Roos Stallinga. From meandering through tranquil villages, marshlands and open fields, to exploring the lesser-known parts of Amsterdam Noord and Oost on the hotel’s fleet of electric and non-electric Veloretti bikes, the routes – accessible via QR code – are the perfect accompaniment to this laid-back 11-room hotel, which is housed in a restored 17th-century building. From €305. dedurgerdam.com
IZZA, Marrakech, Morocco Known as a ‘House of Friends’, this is inspired by the 1960s counterculture of spiritual escapism, with seven riads inside the city’s Medina. From €160 B&B, inc transfers and treatment. izza.com
LE GRAND MAZARIN, Paris, France Designed by Martin Brudnizki in his signature maximalist style (think colour, texture, pattern), this Accidentally Wes Anderson, 61-room hotel is set to be a star. €690 B&B. legrandmazarin.com n
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Blossom viewing in Kyoto is essential if you’re visiting in the spring
The Land of the
RISING SUN J
Luke Abrahams uncovers Japan’s myths, legends, and dazzling reality apan’s story began when the celestial gods of legend were born. Izanagi and his younger sister (and wife) Izanami were the greatest and most powerful of all. One day, as they walked high above the earth, they looked down on to the newly formed ocean and wondered what lurked beneath it. Curiosity got the better of Izanagi and he thrust his staff into the earth’s raging waters. As he pulled it back up towards him, the islands of Japan slowly began to form. The elements mixed, the heavens moved, fires raged, and their two daughters became the sun and the moon, and their unruly son was condemned to the great storms of the sea. Japan, like its celestial story, is truly timeless. It’s a matrix of constant creation, where ancient ruins and folklore fuse with mind-boggling modernity, as if it were the most naturally pre-ordained thing in the world. Everyone, from friends to family, insisted it was one of those places that ‘changes you’. I dismissed it all as corny chatter… until I touch down in Tokyo. The spring breeze of Japan’s bustling
A meiko (apprentice geisha)
and, at times, joyfully crazy capital brings with it a myriad of emotions. The previous year had not been a good one. My mental health was at its worst: a string of tragedies had left me in tatters; my job became more of an exhaustive burden than it was a luxury. You often hear stereotypical stories of lost westerners travelling to Asia to find themselves. They are the kind I used to sneer over and yet here I am bucking the trend. I craved a change and this city is the beginning of a long drip-fed Japanese antidote infused adventure. Lost in translation on the city subway, there is something so liberating about being in a part of the world where not a single person looks like me, speaks like me, or even dresses like me. There is gleeful solace in the silent loneliness of it all. I quickly learn that Tokyo is one of those cities that adds a spring to your step. My home for this stint of my short-andsweet nine-day trip is the newly opened Bulgari hotel set within the ultra-trim glass walls of the 45-storey Midtown Yaesu Tower in Ginza. It’s a blend of modern Italian design infused with
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Japan | HOTELS & TRAVEL the locale. Think nods to Japanese style topped off with a dash of storied Bulgari bling: slabs of signature black granite, bejewelled heritage pieces and drawings in the windows, vintage prints featuring Italian legends (Sophia Loren, of course) and Japanese temple-esque corridors that stretch out into cosy snugs full of coffee-table books and fancy lamps. The next few days are spent exploring the dive bars of Golden Gai, where most locals head for booze-infused no-frills debauchery; Nakameguro, a lively district full of cult shops, indie coffee houses and sexy boutiques; bolting around Harajuku, Tokyo’s street-fashion (and trendsetting) laboratory; and bobbling in an onsen bath for a spot of wellness at the supremely decadent Aman Tokyo, recently named one of the best hotels in the world. The giant sprawl also brought with it a soiree of temples, perhaps the most impressive being the lesser-explored (by the western tourist at least) Shinto shrine Meiji-jingu. Dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, whose reign (1868–1912) coincided with Japan’s transformation from isolationist, feudal state to modern nation, much of it is hidden by the 120,000 or so trees that make up the temple’s forested grounds. The impressive wooden torii (entrance gates) tower over me as I clap my hands, bow and make an offering at the main shrine in the hope of bringing a slice of good fortune to my life. However, while Tokyo was a true eye opener, it’s further south in Kyoto where the ancient art and traditions of hanami (flower viewing) takes a greater spiritual hold over me. Travelling through Japan you’ll hear stories of sacred cherry blossom trees, often the tales of Shinto and Buddhist folk stories. To this day, many Japanese regard Sowaka hotel in Kyoto Shinto and Buddhist temples abound across Japan
A suite in the Bulgari Hotel
them as the fleeting symbol of human life, its transience and nobleness. Some are even said to possess people’s souls. At every corner of Kyoto, they tower over traditional teahouses, above atmospheric temples and in sublime gardens. Among them all, tourists swarm, scurrying geishas swoop and there is me, all boggly eyed and transfixed walking down Tetsugaku No Michi, popularly known as the Philosopher’s Path. Hundreds of pink, white and red petals gleam in the soft spring light between traditional ryokans, independent boutiques and artists sketching scenes under all the buds. Between all the ’grams, there’s something eerily beautiful about the whole spectacle as each floral mise-en-scène reveals itself like a portrait, as rich, lush and poetic as those painted by the late Japanese artist Kawase Hasui. As I circle the city’s Unesco core, spring’s awesome arrival is greeted with a humble respect rarely seen in the west. Ancient traditions continue at my digs, the storied Sowaka hotel hidden away in Gion, Kyoto’s most famous geisha district. The hotel’s name translates from Sanskrit, literally translating to ‘happiness’ or ‘wellbeing’. A blessing, it’s often spoken at the end of Buddhist sutras that echo throughout the grand temples of the city. Nostalgic, yet new, the former teahouse turned demure luxury ryokan offers a good schooling in Japanese culture. Picture corridors of wooden craftsmanship, tatami floors, and ancient ceramics alongside tea ceremonies and meditation sessions. Its prime location means it’s a good springboard to experience the city’s culture at full force. Come nightfall, I dine with a maiko (an apprentice geisha), an honour normally only reserved to locals or paying Japanese business types in the November/December 2023 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | 199
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HOTELS & TRAVEL | Japan Michiko-san tells me. Beyond the healthy diet, the chef says that the villagers in these parts live under the mindset of nankurunaisa, which means ‘things will work out somehow’. It’s their stress buster and, no matter how tough things are or how chaotic the world gets, she insists with her last parting words that ‘the beauty of community and looking out for others’ always prevails. It’s an optimistic point of view I instantly get behind. Returning to Tokyo for the flight back to London, my pilgrimage ends at Senso-ji temple in Asakusa to get my parting fortune. I pay the small fee, popped my token in a box and the number 99 appears. I shimmy over to the trays, open my one up and the beautifully embossed paper reveals the following words: ‘You have the best fortune… your wish will be realised; the sick person will get well; and the person you are waiting for will come.’ With nothing but the warmth of the temple fire, the caress of the spring breeze, a myriad of blossoms and a sea of other lost souls to keep me company, these words couldn’t have been more poetically welcome.
Geishas in Kyoto
know. We all sit for a Kaiseki-style dinner at Mansion House: Takasegawa, once the home of wealthy merchant Ryoi Suminokura in 1611. Surrounded by a garden flecked by the Kamo river, the maiko schools me in the art of her transformation into a geisha. ‘Everything I own is not mine, it belongs to my mother now,’ she tells me. By mother, she refers to her okami-san, her maternal figure for five years at the teahouse she lives in currently. As the night unfolds, the young 19-year-old explains her disciplined training in great detail from the difference in her hair, to the colour of her lipstick and the cultural significance of her exquisite kimono. Becoming a geisha is the ultimate sacrifice, she slyly notes, and one she herself made to help preserve her culture and the storied traditions of Japan that come with it. Leaving the teahouse to return to reality, I can’t help but admire all her strength and determination. It is desperately humbling to an otherwise privileged Londoner such as myself. The island of Okinawa is my next stop, a place where the locals refuse to die. The Japanese archipelago, a so-called Blue Zone, has one of the highest percentage of centenarians on the planet. Okinawa comprises several chains of semitropical, coral-fringed isles that are far removed from the mania of its mainland sister. Here, the slow life reigns supreme and the cultural, relaxed heritage of the former Ryukyu kingdom endures as a lifestyle. My destination is the village of Kunigami, where I meet local chef Michiko-san, the woman tasked with revealing the secrets of a long life to me. We begin to make a traditional Okinawan meal together with root veg packed with antioxidants. ‘It’s the ingredients we use that are key to our lifestyle… fresh, picked from the earth, and seasonal… it’s medicine for the soul,’ she says. Mental health is also an important aspect of daily life,
BOOK IT: Inspiring Travel offers an eight-night stay in Japan, based on two adults sharing a Palace Garden View Room at Aman Tokyo for four nights B&B, and four nights at Bulgari Tokyo in a Premium Imperial Garden View room B&B, with return economy-class flights from London Heathrow with British Airways, from £10,725pp at inspiringtravel. co.uk. A private geisha experience can be arranged via Japanese hospitality consultancy Luxurique. luxurique.com n
A fallen statue in temple grounds
Minna Island, part of the Okinawa archipelago
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FOOD&DRINK Bite Me Tuck into delicious family-favourites this Christmas, like Rick Stein’s super quick cheat’s tiramisu
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FOOD & DRINK | Recipe
PICTURED ON PREVIOUS PAGE
SERVES 4 Obviously there is nothing that can beat a proper tiramisu, but this is so quick and so lovely and it really does take just minutes to make. — 150ml whipping or — double cream — 250g mascarpone, at room temperature — 40g icing sugar, sifted — 50ml Baileys or Marsala — 150ml espresso coffee, cooled — 8–12 sponge fingers or 4 trifle sponges — Cocoa powder, for dusting or a chocolate flake, crumbled
METHOD
Lightly whip the cream in a bowl until it’s only just starting to thicken. Whisk the mascarpone with the Baileys or Marsala to soften, add the icing sugar, then fold into the cream. Pour the coffee into a separate bowl. Dip the sponges into the coffee and then divide half of them between four glasses or small bowls. Add half the cream mixture, again dividing it between the bowls, then repeat the layers of sponge and cream. Dust generously with cocoa powder or crumbled chocolate. Refrigerate until ready to serve or serve immediately if making at the last minute.
Foodie TALES
Red mullet is Rick's favourite ingredient that's in season now
Recipe from Rick Stein's Simple Suppers (£28, BBC Books), out now n
PHOTOS: GETTY; © SAM HARRIS
LAST-MINUTE CHEAT’S TIRAMISU
What’s your food philosophy? There’s nothing more exhilarating Rick Stein than fresh fish simply cooked. What was the first dish you learnt to cook? Egg mayonnaise, at The Great Western Royal Hotel in Paddington. Your comfort food? I know it sounds too simple but I love fresh Cornish crab meat, homemade mayonnaise and sourdough bread. Most vivid childhood food memory? Grilled mackerel, new potatoes and runner beans at our house on Trevose Head near Padstow. Favourite ingredient that’s in season now? Red mullet from Cadgwith in Cornwall. We stuff it with white crab meat and roast it. Biggest mistake you’ve made in the kitchen? We poached a whole turbot in a turbot kettle on Christmas Eve last year with Hollandaise sauce. I had recently installed an InSinkErator and put the turbot bones down it after the main course. The blades turned the bones into the consistency of sand, which blocked everything, and turbot water poured out all over the floor everywhere. Most memorable meal? A simple risotto of cuttlefish cooked in cuttlefish ink in Croatia, when we were filming From Venice to Istanbul. I still have a picture of me with black lips looking like The Joker. When was the last time you sent something back? At a Rick Stein on kitchen disasters and restaurant in Balmoral in Sydney. an unforgettable cuttlefish risotto All the starters and the main courses arrived at once, some mistake surely. When you’re not in the kitchen, where are you? I remember a cartoon ages ago in The Guardian: a guest asked waiter ‘where’s the chef?’ Answer: ‘He’s doing his main job, signing books’. Do you have any unusual rules in your kitchen? Pete Murt, our Head Chef at The Seafood, has put this up in large letters: ‘Do or do not, there is no try’. What’s in your fridge right now? There are some langoustines left over from fi lming, some cold pot roast brisket, tartare sauce and about 48 eggs. Least favourite ingredient? I’m not that fond of truffle oil. Who would you most like to take out for dinner ? My wife Sas. We’d go to Riva in Barnes, London and since we don’t like to choose the same starters we’d fight over who’d get the vitello tonnato.
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Tidbits | FOOD & DRINK
MAMBOW NO 2
Mambow is opening its first permanent site following a successful run in Peckham’s Market Stalls. Abi Lee’s punchy Malaysian cooking finds a new home in Clapton – and while London might be chilly now, the menu is hot, hot, hot, so it’s well worth braving the weather for a bite. mambow.co.uk
Gastro GOSSIP Have a gourmet end to a good year, says Tessa Dunthorne
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
Prestat’s limited edition Alice in Wonderland collection is a sweet treat. Made in partnership with the V&A Museum, these fine strawberry-and-elderflower truffles absolutely scream ‘eat me’. £31.90, prestat.com
EGGCELLENT
BIG BREAKFAST
On the ’nog this year? Make it a dairy-free one – Black Lines is bringing back its limited-edition oatnog for a second year in a row. A heady mix of golden rum, oat milk and festive Christmas spice is sure to be the perfect pre-Santa tipple. From £20, blacklinesdrinks.com
This festive season, we’ll be making just as much fuss over our big day breakfast as we do the turkey – and we’re fans of any meal that allows us to crack out the champagne before midday. Coombe Farm’s breakfast range of nitratefree sausages and oak smoked salmon hits just the spot. coombefarmorganic.co.uk
STOCKING STUFFERS CITRUS TWISTS Put a modern spin on the orange in your stocking this Christmas by mixing up your aperitifs with Nicholson’s Blood Orange gin, a crisp, dry and delicate pour. £39.50. nicholsongin.com
GO PORTY Rococo x Symington Estate Port Dark Chocolate Truffles (62 percent dark chocolate). £29.95. rococo chocolates.com
WHISTLE-STOP WINE TOUR New book from Berry Bros & Rudd, Exploring & Tasting Wine, is the kind of lifelong learning we can get behind. £30. bbr.com
DON’T BE A TOOL No3 x Artesian’s ready mix gimlet, £27.66. no3gin.com
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FOR FANCY COCKTAILS – WITH A VIEW
SHANGRI-LA, at the Shard
Suitably swish for the fashionistas of the office, the chic Shangri-La at the Shard occupies the 34th floor and boasts the most astonishing panoramic view of the city – expect a truly dizzying night (to remember). There are a few options here. For guest lists of up to 100, plump for the Ren ballroom, and dance the night away under amber chandeliers; smaller parties can also lounge away in the 30-guest capacity Li room for a more intimate affair. The food at the Shangri-La is British with an Asian twist, all sourced locally, and the kitchen is adept at creating bespoke menus to accommodate diverse dietary needs. From approx £2,500 to £22,000. shangri-la.com
ACCESS ALL AREAS
FOR THE SLOANE RANGERS
THE HELENA, at the Sloane Club
This is the super exclusive, newly opened private dining room that hides behind a heavy velvet curtain in this historic members’ club, and seats an intimate 20 guests. From the interiors you can expect an old school – but relaxed – grandeur: portraits from the club’s heritage collection sit proudly on display, while you’ll feast comfortably around a table underneath a twinkling chandelier. The menu can be totally personalised according to taste, whether your guest list is fanatic for fine dining Italian or enjoys casual Thai street food. £POA, sloaneclub.co.uk
FOR PASTA LOVERS
PAPER MOON, at The OWO
The just-opened London outpost of the Milanese favourite, this elegant restaurant can be hired in its entirety for a glitzy affair in Westminster’s imposing Old War Office. For something smaller, we’d suggest its private dining room, Salone. Hosting 40 people for a seated dinner, you’ll need to pick a set menu in advance – choose between a mouthwatering array of options (think incredible homarus lobster linguine for your primi piatti, and Milanese breaded veal for secondi), washed down with Paper Moon’s signature cocktails. £POA, papermoonrestaurants.com
PHOTOS: GETTY; MIKE GARLICK; DAVID CHARBIT
The party venues to book this festive season for a fabulous Christmas soirée. By Tessa Dunthorne
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Parties | FOOD & DRINK FOR SPORTS ENTHUSIASTS
FITZDARES, Cotswolds
If your group chat is more about the latest rugby or cricket scores than anything else, the Fitzdares Club in the Cotswolds offers the perfect venue for your soirée. State-of-the-art screens dot the walls of the Naunton Downs Estate-situated club, and you can tuck into a brilliant meal from the farm-to-fork Willoughby’s restaurant while watching daily sports (with a particular emphasis on racing). What’s more, the warm eclectic interiors (designed by Rosanna Bossom) emphasise the relaxed home-from-home feel. £POA, members.fitzdares.com
FOR MUSIC LOVERS
THE TOP FLOOR LOUNGE, at 12 Hay Hill
The striking penthouse space in this Mayfair club can happily swing its doors open to 150 guests in a standing reception (but only to members and friends of the club). The room itself is set up with a private bar and projector, but you’re encouraged to BYODJ (bring your own DJ), although the club has a brilliant black book of contacts, including an in-house events planner, to help you curate the perfect celebration of the year gone by. The food menu shouldn’t be missed, either – the head chef is previously of Fortnum & Mason, so knows a thing or two about masterful seasonal British fare. £POA, 12hayhill.com
PHOTOS: GETTY; MIKE GARLICK; DAVID CHARBIT
FOR NATURE NUTS
WILDING KITCHEN, Knepp Estate
If your party vibe is more back-to-nature than shouty cocktail bar, what could be better than going wild at Knepp, the world’s most pre-eminent and pioneering rewilding project, created by Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell. Their son, Ned, trained at Ballymaloe Cookery School just before lockdown, and now presides over Wilding, a restaurant housed in a beautiful converted Sussex barn (think reclaimed and upcycled materials as far as possible). With a seasonal menu inspired by the estate’s own Wild Range meat and organic produce from the kitchen garden next door, Wilding is the latest iteration of the estate’s conversion from non-profitable industrialised farm to thriving and sustainable ecosystem. It’s a joy to behold – and will offer you a wild evening to remember. £POA, knepp.co.uk
FOR OENOPHILES
CHATEAU LATOUR DISCOVERY ROOM, at Ten Trinity Square at the Four Seasons
Château Latour is one of the world’s greatest wine estates, and it has lent its name exclusively to the private members’ club Ten Trinity Square, situated in the Four Seasons hotel. The Discovery Experience, led by one of the club’s award-winning sommeliers, involves tasting 45 wines by the glass including the prestigious Grand Vin de Château Latour 1982, plus carefully selected vintages direct from the cellars of the estate. It takes place in the club’s dedicated Discovery Room, with its classic wood-panelling, ornate carvings and atmospheric low lighting. For a grown-up (but boozy) do, this will hit the right spot. From £4,000 room hire plus £3,000 minimum food and drink spend, fits 60 standing guests. tentrinitysquare.com n November/December 2023 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | 207
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UNPARALLELED FESTIVE DINING Elevate your festive dining experience at Galvin at Windows. Savour the season with our exclusive 3-course 'Taste of Christmas' menu offering breathtaking skyline views. Book now at reservations@galvinatwindows.com quoting 'TOC23' and enjoy a complimentary glass of Galvin’s champagne. Available for lunch Monday - Saturday, November 20th - December 30th, 2023.
@galvinatwindows | galvinatwindows.com | +44 207 208 4021
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PROPERTY Edited by Anna Tyzack
HOUSE OF THE MONTH
Lyndhurst Road, Hampstead Village, £7.95m 7 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 2 reception rooms, 5,132 sq/ft Garden flat: 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 reception room
Sell it to us in a sentence... This Blue Plaque house is the former home of Hollywood legend Richard Burton, and represents a rare opportunity to purchase a proud family home near Hampstead Heath. How would you describe its design? Originally built in 1862-1864 by Henry Davidson, the Victorian house has been fully modernised and combines period features with modern fittings in the kitchen and bathrooms. At the rear, there’s a large terrace and a 60ft garden. Any juicy history? In 1949, following their wedding, Richard Burton and his first wife Sybil purchased what was initially a large one bedroom apartment occupying the ground floor of the house. Eventually, they also purchased the remaining floors to create a grand home, but the couple sold the property in 1956 and relocated to Switzerland in 1957. During their time there, the couple entertained guests including film director Alexander Korda; actress Honor Blackman, who Richard starred alongside in 1951 film Green Grow the Rushes; actor John Gielgud, who Burton worked with in the 1949 Globe Theatre play The Lady’s Not for Burning; and – when he visited London – Hollywood star James Mason. Perks of the location? Lyndhurst Road is one of the most sought-after addresses in Hampstead Village. The elevated road ensures far-reaching views over London, including landmarks such as St Paul’s Cathedral and The Shard. The property is a short walk away from Hampstead Village, Swiss Cottage and St John’s Wood. Aston Chase: +44 (0)20 7724 4724, astonchase. com; Knight Frank: +44 (0)20 3918 4413; knightfrank.co.uk
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Our changing climate is already prompting buyers to look for homes at higher elevations to mitigate flood risk
HOTTING UP
he British love making small talk about the weather, but in an era of climate consciousness it’s set to become the biggest deciding factor when buying a house or apartment. A study by the Crowther Lab in Switzerland shows that in 30 years the climate in London will resemble Barcelona today, while Edinburgh will feel like Paris, which sounds pleasant enough until you factor in that these rising temperatures will be coupled with extreme weather systems such as prolonged heatwaves, cold snaps and torrential rain. Indeed, research by Bayes Business School’s Real Estate Centre suggests that one in six properties in England will be at flood risk by 2050. The property landscape could thus look very different, with buyers choosing to settle in Cheshire and Merseyside, which are at the lowest risk of climate damage, and avoiding counties such as Kent and Somerset, where damage is more likely. In the West Country, Knight Frank is already witnessing climate consciousness among buyers. ‘Progressively buyers are engaging with structural engineers before going ahead with a purchase and we’re seeing hilltop properties and those on high ground holding their value and in some cases commanding a premium compared to those that might in the future be at risk,’ says Louise Glanville of Knight Frank. For the time being, however, climate consciousness within the housing market is still largely centred on how rather than where we live. As it stands, the housing sector contributes to around 40 percent of the UK’s carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions, which means we all have a duty to make our homes more sustainable. Rushing out and installing air conditioning units to cool our stuffy homes will only make the situation worse. ‘As one of the biggest contributors to the problem, our industry can also make the biggest difference – it’s only right that climate
consciousness influences every aspect of the market,’ explains interior designer Katharine Pooley. Buyers, according to Flora Harley of Knight Frank Research, are getting the message: they’re more interested in how buildings perform in terms of energy efficiency and withstanding extreme weather. They want to know, she says, not just how they will perform in the future but how they perform now as it takes substantial investment to improve efficiency and resilience to heat and cold. This is why the once-derided EPC certificate is gaining weight during the selling process, says Matthew Morton-Smith of Tedworth Property. ‘Buyers take the suggestions and considerations more seriously in order to make their homes more environmentally friendly and energy efficient,’ he says. It won’t be long before EPC ratings are a deal breaker. Already around 59 percent of homebuyers are willing to pay more for a property where at least 75 percent of its energy comes from renewable sources, according to figures from Savills. At the top end of the market developers have been pioneering sustainable building practices and green energy systems for some time. The new Chelsea Barracks neighbourhood in London, where properties cost from £3.3 million, is constructed of Portland whitbed from the Jurassic Coast, a long-lasting and energy efficient building natural stone; there’s a centralised energy system, removing the need for disruptive future retrofits in individual homes, as well as green roofs and grey water recycling systems. It’s one of only 16 schemes in the world to be awarded the green building certification LEED Platinum and is proof that with careful planning, a whole neighbourhood can be built and run sustainably. It’s not the case that Britain’s housing stock should be flattened to make way for this kind of development, though. Older buildings might have
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T
Is the climate crisis changing Britain’s property market for good? asks Anna Tyzack
PROPERTY poor EPC ratings but knocking them down creates dangerous emissions – far more than is saved by replacing them with sustainable modern buildings. ‘Our buildings have a significant amount of locked-in carbon, which is wasted each time they get knocked down to be rebuilt, a process which produces yet more emissions,’ explains Philip Dunne MP, chair of the Commons' Environmental Audit Committee. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) estimates that 51 percent of the lifecycle carbon emissions from a typical residential premises occur before the building is first used, suggesting it will be decades before the carbon debt is repaid. At The OWO, Churchill’s former war office in Whitehall, which opened as London’s first Raffles hotel and residences this summer, developers have proved that it is possible to futureproof crumbling period architecture on a grand scale. They retained the majority of the stone façade, reused steel trusses and recycled concrete as hardcore. The modernised structure was then fitted with high specification glazing and insulation, energy efficient lighting and a fresh air ventilation system. In the future the building has the ability to be connected to the district heating system in Whitehall, further reducing carbon. The residences, which cost from £5.8 million, have been designed to be timeless and durable. ‘Shortlived trends are over; people want timeless elegance that will last for generations, which means avoiding The OWO has been redesigned non-biodegradable furnishing to stand the test of time and choosing natural finishes and weaves,’ says Pooley, whose sustainable design ethos informed the interiors at The Gainsborough, an £18 million penthouse at 9 Millbank, a renovated Grade II listed apartment building in Westminster. Meanwhile in Dorset, heritage architects SPASE Design have transformed Athelhampton, a Places like Liverpool in Merseyside Grade I listed Tudor stately home, are less likely to be affected by into a carbon neutral building, climate change, experts say eliminating 100 tonnes of CO2
Athelhampton has been transformed into a carbon neutral building, despite being Grade I-listed
per year and saving the owners a six-figure energy bill. ‘Old buildings need to breathe and so many modern materials are just not suitable; by installing renewable technologies, however, you can hugely increase the sustainability and improve running costs,’ explains Managing Director of SPASE Stefan Pitman. The barrier, of course, to adapting period buildings like this will be the cost: even to bring the EPC rating of a £500,000 London house from D to C costs around £15,000; the owners of The OWO are estimated to have spent around £500 million. Yet Marc Schneiderman of Arlington Residential is confident that at least at the top end of the market buyers and developers are prepared to spend more for the sake of the environment. ‘It’s a mindset as much as anything,’ he says. ‘We can all control our carbon footprint and reduce energy wastage. My clients are increasingly fitting properties with meters to inform them of their daily energy consumption and installing efficient irrigation systems to monitor and reduce water usage outside. It’s about finding ways to make our homes tackle the cause.’ n
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
ON THE MARKET
Godalming, Surrey, £1.4m This five-bedroom house is in an award-winning residential development. It boasts an EPC B rating, and it’s brimming with energy-efficient features including solar panels, triple-glazed windows and solid concrete floors, all designed to reduce energy costs and environmental impact. knightfrank.co.uk
Axminster, Devon, £1.95m Inspired by nature's golden ratio (think the spiral you find in ferns) and the fossils found on the nearby Jurassic Coast, this five-bed masterpiece was completed in 2017. It has an EPC A rating and is powered mostly by solar energy. It's surrounded by 7.6 acres of wild meadows. themodernhouse.com
Knutsford Road, Cheshire, £2.5m This private family home has five bedrooms in the main house, plus a self-contained two-bed annex. Set in around 5.5 acres, with a swimming pool and a tennis court, it's surrounded by beautiful Cheshire countryside, and has been recently stylishly renovated. savills.com
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PROPERTY | Five of the Best
New Developments The projects transforming the UK property scene. By Martha Davies
Chelsea Creek by St George, from £810,000
St George is behind some of the most impressive regeneration projects in London. Here you’ll find elegant canalside apartments and incredible facilities including a spa, fitness centre and 24-hour concierge. stgeorgeplc.com
Knightsbridge Gardens, rent from £1,250 per week
These newly completed and gorgeously furnished rental homes stand proudly in a prime Knightsbridge location, providing a curated, hassle-free service for residents through premier residential management company Rhodium. rh-45.com
Chelsea Barracks, townhouses from £38m A stunning residential development comprising apartments, penthouses and brand new townhouses, offering the very best in 21st-century living: think gorgeously landscaped gardens and a bespoke membersonly offering, The Garrison Club. chelseabarracks.com
The Founding at Canada Water, from £696,500
Developed by sustainable property firm British Land, The Founding is Canada Water’s new flagship residence consisting of 186 gorgeous apartments, surrounded by 160 acres of land including parks, woodland and waterways, and including a town square and high street. thefounding.co.uk
Broadoaks Park, from £750,000
Built by Octagon, Surrey’s premier luxury house builder, this exclusive development in West Byfleet comprises 125 beautiful homes ranging from new-build apartments to terraced houses – not to mention the reimagined Grade II-listed Broadoaks Mansion. broadoakspark.co.uk
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NORFOLKNORFOLK BROADS BROADS NORFOLK NORFOLK BROADS BROADS NORFOLK BROADS NORFOLK BROADS Mautby -Mautby 2 miles -Norfolk 2 milesCoast Norfolk Coast Mautby - 2 miles Norfolk Coast Mautby - 2 miles Norfolk Coast Mautby - 2 miles Norfolk Mautby Coast - 2 miles Norfolk Coast
INVESTMENT/OWNER INVESTMENT/OWNER OCCUPIER OPPORTUNITY OCCUPIER OPPORTUNITY INVESTMENT/OWNER INVESTMENT/OWNER OCCUPIER OCCUPIER OPPORTUNITY OPPORTUNITY Holiday Cottage Holiday Complex Cottage comprising Complex 8comprising cottages (23 8 cottages beds, sleeping (23 beds, 45) sleeping and OPPORTUNITY 45) and INVESTMENT/OWNER OCCUPIER INVESTMENT/OWNER OPPORTUNITY OCCUPIER Holiday Cottage Complex comprising 8 cottages (23 beds, 45) and Holiday Cottage Complex comprising 8 cottages (23 sleeping beds, sleeping 45) and 3/4 bed Manager’s 3/4 bed accommodation; Manager’s accommodation; Self/contained Self/contained flat with AST; flat with AST; Holiday Cottage Complex comprising Holiday 8 cottages Cottage Complex (23 beds, comprising sleeping 45) 8 cottages and (23 beds, sleeping 45) and 3/4 bed accommodation; Self/contained flat with 3/4Manager’s bed Manager’s accommodation; Self/contained flatAST; with AST; Indoor Pool Indoor Complex; Pool Play Complex; Barn/Function Play Barn/Function Room/Conference Room/Conference Facility; Facility; 3/4 bed Manager’s accommodation; 3/4 bed Self/contained Manager’s accommodation; flat with AST; Self/contained flat with AST; Pool Complex; Play Barn/Function Room/Conference Facility; IndoorIndoor Pool Complex; Play Barn/Function Room/Conference Facility; 5 Touring Caravan 5 Touring pitches. Caravan Set pitches. in 4.26 acres Set in 4.26 acres Indoor Pool Complex; Play Barn/Function Indoor Pool Room/Conference Complex; Play Barn/Function Facility; Room/Conference Facility; 5 Touring Caravan pitches. 4.26 acres 5 Touring Caravan pitches. Set in Set 4.26inacres 5 Touring Caravan pitches. Set 5inTouring 4.26 acres Caravan pitches. Set in 4.26 acres T/o in excessT/o of in £325,000 excess of for£325,000 the year for ending the year December ending2022 December 2022 in excess of £325,000 theending year ending December T/o inT/o excess of £325,000 for thefor year December 2022 2022 Freehold Guide: Freehold In for excess Guide: of In £2,500,000 excess £2,500,000 T/o in excess of £325,000 theT/o year in endingof December £325,000 2022 for the year ending December 2022 Freehold In excess of £2,500,000 Freehold Guide:Guide: In excess of £2,500,000 Freehold Guide: In excess of £2,500,000 Freehold Guide: In excess of £2,500,000
Humberts Humberts Humberts Humberts Humberts Humberts T: 01603 T: 661199 01603 661199 E: norwich@humberts.com E: norwich@humberts.com T: T: 01603 01603 661199 661199E: norwich@humberts.com E: norwich@humberts.com T: 01603 661199 T: E: norwich@humberts.com 01603 661199 E: norwich@humberts.com Humberts.indd 1
25/10/2023 15:07
H T
OCTAGON DEVELOPMENTS LUXURY AT EVERY LEVEL Renowned for its unmatched reputation across London and Southern England for building homes of the highest quality, Octagon have pioneered the concept of luxury housebuilding.
With three established brands under the Octagon name, Octagon, Octagon Bespoke and Chancery Homes, as well as an in-house interior design service, the Group is continuing to scale and expand, both in terms of development and client base – from selling luxury mansions through to upper mid-market apartments, as well as the design and build of custom-built homes through Octagon Bespoke.
Homes at Broadoaks Park
The Surrey-based luxury developer continues to see record demand for both their properties and unrivalled service; with speculatively built homes and flagship developments still very much the cornerstone of the housebuilder’s offering. The award winning development at Broadoaks Park in West Byfleet, Surrey, will see a total of 126 homes once complete, and has been one of the luxury developers’ most successful developments to date. Now with a bustling community living in the parkland
Laurence Holder, Bespoke Director, comments, “Our turnkey Design and Build service offers clients a dedicated and collaborative approach that turns their self-build dreams into reality. With over 40 years’ experience, we have built up excellent relationships with quality brands, suppliers and craftsmen, which means we are able to secure and source favourable products and have perfected the delivery of incredible homes.”
CGI: Interior at Luna Place
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Recently completed Octagon Bespoke home
estate, extensive restoration work on the site’s pinnacle Mansion House has begun, splitting the 15,000 sqft house into two large unique and spacious homes. Headquartered on the River Thames just moments from Hampton Court Palace, Octagon has an outstanding track record in the area having built some of the South East’s most impressive properties – this year marking their 32nd property on the Wentworth Estate in Virginia Water. Octagon continue to push the boundaries in all sectors of the property market, seeing their upper mid-market brand, Chancery Homes, launch with resounding success in 2020, with an award winning scheme of 22 apartments and 36 townhouses in Buckinghamshire. The third development for Chancery Homes – Luna Place in Esher, Surrey, is set to have the same impact. Recently launched off-plan in Summer 2023, the design-led, red brick development will offer buyers a range of 25 one- and two-bedroom apartments, ideal for first time buyers and young professionals through to small families and those looking to downsize.
The acquisition of multiple competitive sites across the South East will ultimately deliver over 100 apartments under the Chancery Homes brand in the next few years, marking a significant commitment by the Octagon Group to the continued growth of the brand, with a vision of extending and diversifying their offering. The Octagon Group are actively looking for design-led sites for low rise developments, from 10 units through to 100+, throughout Southern England. Octagon Bespoke undertake self-build projects from £2m, with their in-house planning, design and interiors teams working closely with clients to deliver their dream homes.
OCTAGON DEVELOPMENTS, WEIR HOUSE, HURST ROAD, EAST MOLESEY, SURREY KT8 9AY 020 8481 7500, OCTAGON.CO.UK @OCTAGONDEVELOPMENTS
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LAST WORD Sitting in his garden, Lord Heseltine (left, with Michael) says the trees he planted will be his true legacy
Tales of our Time
Find what gives you joy. Lord Heseltine gives Michael Hayman some sage advice
‘D
o s ome t h i n g that makes you look forward to a Monday morning.’ Meaningful advice from a titan of British politics and public life, Lord Heseltine.
Looking back over a long career in business and public service affords Heseltine, our former Conservative Deput y Prime Minister under Sir John Major, a unique perspective: find your purpose; find what gives you joy; find what gives you the determination to go on. On one level, his career as an entrepreneur, founding and building the publishing empire Haymarket, has provided part of the answer. At heart he is a person who likes to strike a deal and in so doing it has kept his pulse quickened throughout his career. Politics was a partial answer too, but he felt the Left-Right split too nullifying to be
defined by it. In truth, it was a city to which he was despatched to try and help, which actually ended up helping him. ‘Liverpool without any doubt changed me,’ he says, not least because ‘the people were marvellous.’ He found there a sense of comradeship and an ability to get stuck in that the aloofness of Westminster had thus far denied to him. For a person whose life has been defined by action he sees his superpower as something a good deal more sedentary: sleep. Ten hours a night beginning the moment his head hits the pillow. It’s a marked contrast to his then-boss, who as Prime Minister would fret into the early hours. Heseltine recalls, ‘John would ring me asking if I had seen the news when I’d been asleep, which I never had.’ It is also in nature that he has found so much that has defined him. He and his wife Anne moved into Thenford House in
Northamptonshire in 1976 and embarked on what many see as the creation of the most significant English garden in modern times. In many interviews, Lord Heseltine has claimed that it will be the trees he planted there that will be his true legacy. Some have doubted the sincerity of the claim but to sit with him at Thenford is to get a glimpse of paradise found and a person defined. In Parliament he earned the nickname Tarzan. But it is in the grounds of his home that he has found a jungle to tame and has spent time, creativity and joy doing so. It is also an environment where he has ‘no authority’. Having seen his command of his three dogs Fred, Fritz and Fergus, I can attest to that. Of it all, he says, ‘this will last and this is the difference with the political memories. This will be around.’ And that is surely something worth celebrating. n
GARDENS TO EXPLORE
Wentworth Woodhouse
Thenford, Oxfordshire. An arboretum to remember. Incredible in scale but intimate in style (thenfordarboretum.com). West Horsley Place, Surrey. Home of Grange Park opera and the BBC show Ghosts, it’s also an incredible place to relax (westhorsleyplace.org). Wentworth Woodhouse, South Yorkshire A ‘big house, bigger ideas’ is the pitch. It’s an unforgettable restoration West Horsley Place project and community asset (wentworthwoodhouse.org.uk).
216 | COUNTRYANDTOWNHOUSE.COM | November/December 2023
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