Boutique of the Week: The Hambledon, Winchester
‘A shop should be a place, not only of discovery and theatre and fun, but also of comfort and familiarity,’ says Victoria Suffield who opened her award-winning independent boutique, The Ha...
Travel
A weekend in Le Marais: where to shop, eat and drink
Watching World Cup football over the last month on mainstream TV has been one of my highlights of summer, so far. Having played football every Sunday for many years (in the Greater London Women’s Fo...
Join me at a creative retreat in Italy
Designer, maker and old friend Ros Badger is one of the most entrepreneurial people I know. She’s always busy planning new endeavours – from designer fairs around this country to creative ...
Don’t miss Magdalene Odundo ‘The Journey of Things’ at the Hepworth Wakefield
I’m due a trip up north and hoping that there’ll be time to cross the Pennines and visit friends in Wakefield. As well as a walk in the glorious Yorkshire Sculpture Park, world-reno...
Jeff Koons at The Ashmolean, Oxford
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology is Britain’s first public museum and the world’s first university museum. Now housed in a late 19th century golden stone building with a...
A new grown-up place to shop: Coal Drops Yard
The days when London’s King’s Cross was a seedy no-go zone are long gone (though I can still remember the nerve-jangling walk from the Tube station to the Scala nightclub in the late 1980...
A beautiful city break: 48-hours in Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a beautiful city in a picturesque setting on the River Garonne. It’s like a more laid back version of Paris with equally handsome limestone buildings that, given the right light, emanate...
The best beauty travel bag
On holiday, the low-maintenance beauty regime slips even lower. No make-up, hair tied back, sun screen (either Avene or Ultra Sun; for my sensitive skin), plenty of shower gel and a decent moisturiser...
Where to find a good kaftan
Every summer, I operate a two-tier kaftan system: cotton versions that go over a wet bikini on the beach (try Boden and Zara for these), which get softer and better with age, and the posher kaftan dre...
The Shop at Bluebird and atelier 75: two new, grown-up London stores worth a look-in
At a time when high street footfall is down and online spending is up, retailers are focusing on the customer’s in-store experience. Say hello, then, to The Shop at Bluebird, Covent Garden.
Seaside entertainment, sinuses and other stuff
This week’s unexpected intermission was due to the unfortunate combination of a WiFi malfunction and a viral infection. Once my sinuses had joined the party, I was scuppered.
Sounds of silence: the benefits of spending time alone
Recently, I spent two weeks on my own in Mallorca, says Elaine Kingett. I went for one short business meeting but decided to stay on for a bit, to get my head together on an island I lov...