Review: My Brilliant Friend at the National Theatre

Country & Town House | 9 Dec 2019

There are few more satisfying ways to spend five plus hours than in watching parts one and two of My Brilliant Friend, the stage version of Elena Ferrante’s publishing sensation, the Neapolitan Novels. April De Angelis has deftly condensed over 1500 pages into this two-part play (one book, one intermission, another book…twice) spanning nearly 50 years. Melly Still’s production combines a study of a close and complex female friendship with the backdrop of post-war Italy.

• Culture

The Weekender: 48 hours in South Africa’s Winelands

Country & Town House | 10 Oct 2019

The mountainous territory inland of Cape Town — known as the ‘Boland’ or ‘Uplands’ — boasts sandstone peaks, verdant rolling hills and beautiful valleys. It’s dotted with over 200 vineyards, producing globally renowned bottles. The Winelands area and its historic towns – Stellenbosch, Paarl, Tulbagh and Franschhoek, the self-styled culinary capital of South Africa – are known for a high concentration of stunning accommodation, from historical Cape Dutch through to sleek and contemporary. Its restaurants are among the world’s best, stellar eateries serving inventive farm and forage-to-fork cuisine.

• Travel: Europe/ Africa

A Guide to 48 Hours in Delhi

Country & Town House | 18 Jun 2019

D for ‘daring’, E for ‘exciting’, L for ‘lovely’, H for ‘habit-forming’ and I for ‘immense.’ That’s D-E-L-H-I. Where else can you walk through history, visit one of 100-odd gardens, listen to performances by the greatest Indian classical musicians, go to museums, then bag some silk, bells, sequins and handmade lace in a market —after having your hands painted with mehendi (henna)? Delhi boasts the ruins of many cities: forts, majestic residences, churches, towers and ancient tombs. It’s where you’ll hear the sounds of the muezzin alongside temple and church bells and honking horns. And you’ll rub shoulders with Hindus and Buddhists to Islamists, Jains, Christians and Baha’i folk. It’s a city that’s buzzing with people, traffic and throngs doing politics, charity (lots of NGO’s), business and shopping.

• Travel: Asia/ Oceania

Review: The Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition 2019

Country & Town House | 5 Jun 2019

“And on the left there’s a fake customs booth. It’s got ‘Customs Arrivals from the EU’ and ‘Keep Ou…’ written on it, with the ‘T’ missing,” says a guide, leading a man with a white stick around the galleries. We’re at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. The sightless man, it turns out later, is blind artist David Johnson. And the customs booth is a Banksy, about which more later.

• Culture

Review: Theatre Royal Stratford East Presents King Hedley II

Country & Town House | 5 Jun 2019

The allure of travelling to Stratford in London’s East End for a play that’s three and a half hours long isn’t instant. But King Hedley II —written by Pulitzer-prize winner, August Wilson and starring Lenny Henry —is more than well worth the journey.

• Culture

All is Wellness

Spear’s | 11 Mar 2019

• Travel: Asia/ Oceania

Elephants Never Forget

Country & Town House | 4 Jan 2019

We’re going to search for cave elephants – the elusive quadruped Babars found ‘tusking’ salt off cave walls. There’s just basic camping on offer. And malaria and yellow fever aren’t a lure either. But I’m a mahout manqué and will do (almost) anything to see elephants. Even hike for four days from a little-explored part of Uganda to Kenya.

That’s why my 22-year-old daughter Anya and I are being driven 165 miles from Entebbe to Mount Elgon in Eastern Uganda. Past Lake Victoria, egrets and bamboo forests.

• Travel: Europe/ Africa

Beauty Test

Country & Town House | 1 Dec 2018

Facialogy? What’s that? It’s a combo of a blissful Vaishaly Signature Facial with a relaxing, health-promoting reflexology treatment.

• Health, Beauty & Spa

Burmese Days

Harper’s Bazaar | 1 Dec 2018

Tourism to Myanmar is up and the 21st century has barely intruded. There are majestic rivers, thousands of temples and Buddhism is still a way of life. It will be quite unlike any land you know about.

• Travel: Asia/ Oceania

A bend in the river

Country & Town House | 25 Nov 2018

We’re cruising downstream past majestic mist-tipped mountains, buffalo wallowing at the riverside and long tail ‘taxi’ boats. Beside rubber plantations, banana trees and bamboo stilt houses. Fishermen casting out traditional nets from deserted white beaches. Mahouts bathing their elephants. And locals sieving for gold. The stuff of Asian adventure stories or Oriental fairy tales, perhaps.

• Travel: Asia/ Oceania

A passage to India

Country & Town House | 1 Oct 2018

Peeping out above a pine forest, Oberoi’s mountain retreat in the foothills of the Himalayas can’t help but sweep you off your feet. Built on the site of Lord Kitchener’s summer residence, it’s Alpine lodge meets colonial old-world charm. The 85 rooms with marble bathrooms are calm, neutral and cosy with Burmese teak panels, roaring fires and polished parquet floors. Best of all are the floor-to-ceiling windows which max out the spectacular snow-capped view.

• Travel: Asia/ Oceania

A dog’s life

Country & Town House | 23 Sep 2018

It’s a haunting place, if not haunted. You can almost hear the Tudor hounds and patter of paws past. This is Hales Hall near Norwich, Norfolk, a drop-dead gorgeous medieval estate in formal gardens of topiary, box hedging and lavender avenues. It boasts nine acres of moated meadowland and buttercups with fairytale cottages and a Great Barn (perfect for parties) – offering overall accommodation for 25.

• Homes, Interiors & Property,
• Travel: Europe/ Africa