“Caroline Phillips is a tenacious and skilful writer with a flair for high quality interviewing and a knack for making things work.”
It has been attracting attention from the rich and famous lately, but the lush and beautiful Greek island of Meganisi is still “firmly off the tourist radar”, says Caroline Phillips in The Times. Part of the Ionian archipelago, just off the country’s west coast, it feels lost in time, with patchy mobile reception and a population of just 1200, none of whom locks their house or car.
These are the islands on the edge of the world. You may see porpoises, basking sharks or dolphins. Or perchance a peregrine falcon or sea eagle. You’ll pass rivers of moss and mushroom colours of plaid, and bens and glens cloaked in bracken and tradition. ‘It’s the last great wilderness,’ declares our ship’s chief purser, Charles Carroll. It’s as if we are lost in time. Welcome to the Hebridean Islands.
Rossano Ferretti is that rare breed: a hairdresser-cum-architect with a good splash of the designer in him. In fact, he has designed twenty salons across the globe – from New York to New Delhi – and is a world-renowned crimper. He’s known for a way of cutting hair that’s not simply described as a ‘haircut’ but instead is dubbed ‘The Method’ – a unique and patented technique of cutting tresses that apparently has something to do with snipping the hair based on its ‘natural fall in motion.’
Super-jumbo aviation arrived this summer in the UK with the delivery to Heathrow of British Airways’ first A380. The arrival of an all-new, swings and bells airliner is a bigger event than things from Outer Space hitting earth, (unless you’re talking the 650kg Chelyabinsk meteor that hit Russia in February). Small meteorites hit earth daily; whereas it was as long ago as 1970 when the last aerial megastar – the then Queen of the Skies, the Boeing 747 – first landed.
Christmas? Pah! It’s hard to forget the childhood memories of my mother getting up in the night to baste the eight-hour-shrivelled turkey. And those moments of sipping festively hot diesel – otherwise known as cherry brandy. Things are little different these days. Have you ever tried following Delia’s culinary countdown, particularly on the day itself? I’d rather eat my own spleen. Even a boil-in-the-bag kipper tastes better than the fifteenth turkey serving of the month. And find me someone who says he likes Brussels sprouts, and I’ll show you a liar.
Sometimes you find a place so good you don’t want to tell people about it. The Samling is one such. But its restaurant has just won a Michelin star, so it’s too late to keep schtumm…. The hotel can accommodate 24 lucky guests – in rooms and six cottages – in a gabled 1780s house in Windermere, the Lake District. All set on a steep hill and in 67 acres of gardens with giant genera, lavender and hemp. You may inadvertently walk past ‘reception’ – simply a bureau desk in the hall – but soon enough you’ll encounter the young, smiley, ever-solicitous staff. They’re doing great things. Since changing hands in 2011, The Samling has been snapping up awards. (‘Best boutique dining hotel in the world’ type monikers.)
The iconic E -Type Jag was the most beautiful car ever made. Or so said Enzo Ferrari. Jaguar hasn’t made a sports car since. So it’s a tough act for the F -Type to follow. Will it succeed? We’re given the entry-level V6 model. You can hear us coming – which is great. We set off with a ROAR from its centre-mounted twin exhaust pipes. It causes stirs of excitement and ripples of attention – especially from men. After all, it’s the most talked-about British sports car of the moment.
Two crofters turn the hay by hand, beside woods of rowan, wych and grey willow. These are ancient woods and ancient people. Nearby a sign warns of bulls and calves roaming free – but you may also meet wildcats and pine martens. We’re amid bens and glens covered in bracken and purple thistles, the air heady with wild thyme.
Want to learn to skipper a super yacht? Or have an intimate week-long stag party with a difference? Perhaps you’re looking to entertain your business associates with real panache? Or have a memorable off-site meeting? Or do you just feel like throwing everything in a weekend bag and jetting off to Greece for some last-minute sun and sailing? And perhaps doing some water-skiing, wakeboarding and fishing too?
Extracting secrets about services used by the ultra wealthy is like pulling teeth – although the latter will be easy now with the cosmetic dentistry clinic recommendation below. So how has journalist Caroline Phillips managed to compile a Secret Address Book of the country’s 20 leading practitioners in the arts of everything from hair colouring to curtain cleaning?
He’s being dubbed the Mini Medici. That’s Michael Cioffi, everyone’s favourite American lawyer. He’s bought part of a medieval Tuscan hilltop village – it boasts just 30 houses and a year-round population of 10 – and he’s turning it into an upmarket holiday spot cum cultural hub.
The owner takes ‘guests’ for a spin in his Porsche and bundles them off to Prada in the company of a stylist. No, it’s not the latest boutique hotel but arguably the most exclusive – and wackiest – centre going. Caroline Phillips meets its aristocratic founder.
Facialogy? What’s that? It’s a combo of a blissful Vaishaly Signature Facial with a relaxing, health-promoting reflexology.
I am lying on a wooden massage bed as two women rub my naked body with hot pouches of cooked rice, milk and medicinal herbs.…
Every week ‘The Week’ selects the best features from the world’s press