brummell spring 2015
DESCRIPTION
Show Media's Little Black Book for the City has taken an adventurous turn this issue. #BrummellAdventureTRANSCRIPT
Adventure-holiday accessories • Driving across Australia • Riding with mustangs Rugged timepieces • Stress busting • Off-road motorbiking • Britain’s exotic breeds
Peak practice
Spring 2015
CALIBER RM 011
FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH
BLACK NIGHT
Automatic winding chronograph movement
Power reserve : circa 55 hours
Annual calendar
12-hour totalizer
60-minute countdown timer
Chronograph fyback function
Grade 5 titanium baseplate and bridges
Rotor with ceramic ball bearings
Special tungsten-colbolt alloy rotor weight
6-positional, variable rotor geometry
With 18-carat white gold wings
Balance wheel in Glucydur with 3 arms
Frequency : 28 800 vph (4Hz)
Moment of inertia : 4.8 mg·cm²
Case in NTPT®Carbon
Finished and polished by hand
Limited edition of 100 pieces
To civilians, it may seem counter-intuitive that
City professionals working to the max in
high-pressure jobs appear to spend any downtime
immersed in adrenaline-charged activities. No
strangers to facing testing situations intellectually
at work, they push themselves to the limit
physically at playtime too.
This issue explores many guises of adventure:
we vicariously experience the dangers of speed,
cornering and mud when off-road motorbiking;
drive in a pimped 4WD along Australia’s
Savannah Way, the epic 3,700km cross-country
route linking east-coast Cairns with west-coast
Broome; meet the travel doyen who thoughtfully
teams luxury with the wild on safari; and avoid
activating the emergency rescue watch, which
could bail an explorer out of a life-threatening
situation in inhospitable conditions. Elsewhere
in the magazine, we check out stylish accessories
with which to run, climb and sail; and discover
an RIB with a retractable-wheels system that
allows it to be driven directly out of the sea.
Of course, having adventures and taking
risks doesn’t only mean diving with sharks or
base-jumping: it is as much about facing new
challenges and experiences as it is sheer thrills
and spills. We encounter a stress-buster who
explains why it’s so important to confront early
indications and take action, dine out on exotic
breeds now introduced to Britain, and enjoy
the reappropriation of vermouth by the cocktail
crowd. Stirred, never shaken.
Joanne Glasbey, Editor
Welcome to
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Juliette Hedoin
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Contents • Brummell 15
Cover illustration:
Hey
Colour reproduction by the Born Group, borngroup.com. Printed by Pureprint Group, pureprint.com. Brummell is published by Show Media Ltd. All material © Show Media Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions. The information contained in this publication is correct at the time of going to press. £5 (where sold). Reader offers are the responsibility of the organisation making the offer – Show Media accepts no liability regarding offers.
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Foreword
City professionals need to be seen to be
doing good, says David Charters
Money no object
The tiny private jet that has room for seven
– not to mention its own parachute
BEAUMONDE
News
Getting a handle on Yangon; Philippe Starck
luggage; Hermès scarves; cool knapsacks;
the latest compact camera from Hasselblad
Fragrances
The incomparable feeling of wearing a
custom-made suit now comes in a bottle,
thanks to the major tailoring houses
Off-road
Simon de Burton puts the Land Rover
Discovery Sport through its paces and
bids a fond farewell to the Freelander
Horology
Could Breitling’s updated dual-frequency
Emergency watch come to your rescue?
Motoring
Prepare to be blown away by the new
Ferrari F12 Berlinetta – it’s a future classic
After the City
How a love of cycling led Tony Coniglio
to a life organising pro-am events
FASHION
Accessories
Tackle the Great Outdoors – or a worthy
opponent in the gym – kitted out to win
Watches
Tough timepieces primed for rugged action
FEATURES
Eco travel
Georgie Lane-Godfrey is wild about the
horse safaris at a luxurious eco-resort
in the Nevadan desert
Health
Why you need to exercise more than your
little grey cells to survive life in the City
Travel
Ian Belcher gets up to speed with the
Savannah Way, coasting the 3,700km from
east to west in a souped-up 4WD
Motorcycling
You might be surprised by how much you’d
learn at a BMW Off Road Skills course with
Australian two-wheel legend Simon Pavey…
Profle
Intuition has brought the founder of
Abercrombie & Kent great success – and
given his high-end travellers great trips
EPICURE
News
Make coffee like a barista; shuck oysters
like a pro; where to eat Asian; Milroy’s
whisky bar; the latest restaurant launches
Spirits
Vermouth is having a moment – it’s now
the hippest drink bar none in the capital
Produce
They’re the critters you’d least expect
to see down on the farm
Need to know
Pray for boating weather this spring –
there’s an amphibious vehicle you might
want to take out for a spin
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Contents
52
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Offcial fuel consumption fgures for the Maserati Quattroporte Diesel in mpg (l/100km): Urban 36.2 (7.8), Extra Urban 54.3 (5.2), Combined 45.6 (6.2). CO2 emissions
163 g/km. Fuel consumption and CO2 fgures are based on standard EU tests for comparative purposes and may not refect real driving results. Model shown is a
Maserati Quattroporte Diesel at £71,647 On The Road including optional metallic paint at £660, electric sunroof at £1,560 and extended key-less entry at £192.
M A S T E R O F S U R P R I S E
MASERATI QUATTROPORTE DIESEL FROM £69,235 ON THE ROAD
Maserati has a long tradition of surprising the automotive world with innovation and unconventional thinking. The introduction
of our new state-of-the-art V6 diesel engine in the Quattroporte is just the latest example. This 3.0 V6 unit produces 275 HP and
the performance that befts the company’s fagship, whilst clever engineering has managed to reproduce the distinctive and much
loved Maserati exhaust note.
For more information on the new Maserati Quattroporte Diesel, call 01943 871660 or visit maserati.co.uk
www.maserati.co.uk
Q U A T T R O P O R T E
Imagine Masters of the
Universe submitting a score
card of the good they have
done in their lives
Do we care if bankers are actually good people
or is it suffcient for them simply not to be bad –
as long as they can do their jobs? It is already the
case that the Financial Conduct Authority checks
us all out to see if we are convicted criminals,
bankrupts or fraudsters, and rather like lawyers
and accountants, the message to prospective
entrants to the profession is, ‘Villains need not
apply.’ But the question is whether that is enough,
or whether a tougher standard should apply, at
least in respect of the senior ranks of the profession,
where signifcant authority is exercised and the
public profle of individuals is high.
In the reticent sections of government service,
such as the Foreign & Commonwealth Offce, the
Ministry of Defence and the intelligence agencies,
there are two classes of vetting. Security clearance
is a largely automatic process, whereby boxes are
ticked in order to check out a person’s past history
– county-court judgments, criminal-record checks
and so on. It looks for negatives and an absence
of negatives is considered good enough.
For more sensitive posts there is developed
vetting, previously known as positive vetting,
whereby a more active – and more expensive –
exercise is undertaken, involving interviews with
family, friends and referees in order to obtain
certainty that an individual is not only not a bad
person (for example, with vulnerabilities that
could be exploited by our enemies – a gambling
habit, say) but is actually on the side of the angels.
Vetting offcers investigate a person’s beliefs and
values, and it is an intrusive process, to which the
subject must sign up in order for it to happen.
Nobody expects bankers to be role models.
We work in our chosen profession primarily for
fnancial reasons, although the intellectual challenge
is also great, and then there is the stimulation
of demanding work with talented colleagues, the
competitive satisfaction of beating the opposition,
and occasionally we do real good as well. Just talk
to project fnanciers about some of the things they
climbing Kilimanjaro or cycling to Brighton are
all things I’d hate to do, but for which I will get out
my cheque book if done in a good cause.
Can you imagine Masters of the Universe
submitting a scorecard of the good they have done
in their lives? Unthinkable. Unless, of course, they
had to in order to get the chief executive’s job.
What if they had nothing to fll in? What if
they had done their job brilliantly, devoting spare
time to their families and to nothing more harmful
than a round of golf? Is there anything wrong with
that? Why should the do-gooder thought police
dictate to people who work hard and do no harm?
The answer is in the extraordinary position
of the fnancial services industry, the rewards
it continues to offer to those who work within it,
and most of all, the way its survival is underpinned
by the rest of the country. The words ‘too big to
fail’ incur a set of obligations towards those who
guarantee the future, and there is no better way
for the industry’s leaders to acknowledge their
obligations than by personal example.
Of course, it can be said that very few people
at the top of the profession get there without any
kind of philanthropic or charitable involvement.
It is part of the process of absorption into the
Establishment, along with invitations to make
fnancial contributions to political parties and the
dangling of Honours.
But this would be different. I would ensure
it was transparent – and thus competitive – and
I’d formalise the requirement. And for those with
nothing to say, the good family types with a decent
golf handicap? Personal interviews by a panel of
interested volunteers could be a substitute. What
fun. I’d apply to be a panel member. Just imagine
the opening question: ‘So, Mr X… what evidence
do we have that you are a decent human being?’ l
The Ego’s Nest by David Charters, the ffth novel
in the series about City anti-hero Dave Hart, is
published by Elliott & Thompson, £6.99
do in the developing world. But essentially our
motivation is – and can be – selfsh.
Or at least that used to be the case. Since the
crash, we are subject to far greater scrutiny than
ever before, and with good reason, as one scandal
after another unfolds. If you think fxing interest
rates was bad, how about fxing entire nations’
currencies? And, if it all goes wrong, what about
agreeing to a multi-billion-pound settlement using
shareholders’ money to get out of trouble?
The public can be forgiven for feeling a sense
of bewilderment in the face of all this. Who are
these guys? Who is actually in charge? Who chooses
them and who (if anyone) supervises them? And
are they actually good people?
Here is a practical suggestion. For positions
above a certain level of seniority in any regulated
fnancial institution over a given size, an additional
element could be introduced into the regulatory
approval process. Rather than ticking boxes to
rule out negatives, a narrative section should be
submitted, which seeks to prove a positive.
Examples of public service would feature:
charity trusteeships, school governorships, NHS
trust directorships and so on, but also charitable
donations and volunteering that is unrelated to
any offce or position. Does this person take a big
public profle within their industry on matters
relating to values or ethics? Have they committed
it to print or spoken on the subject?
I’d go further and look at physical achievements
relating to charitable work. Running a marathon,
Good as gold
Foreword • Brummell 21
Doing no harm is no longer enough – bankers
need to show they’re on the side of the angels
Words: David Charters
Illustration: Brett Ryder
www.gievesandhawkes.com
Brummell 23
Cirrus Aircraft’s new mini model has
all you could want from a private jet,
including its own parachute
Words: Jemima Wilson
Instead of taking the family for a standard day trip
in the SUV, why not treat them to the ultimate
adventure and take a mode of transport for which
even the sky’s no limit? Following a successful
maiden voyage, Cirrus Aircraft’s Vision SF50 is
poised to revolutionise the upper echelons of
personal transport once it becomes available to
buy at the end of the year. Much smaller than
a typical private plane, it flls the niche between
piston singles and light jets, allowing owner-pilots
more fight options than ever before.
Its compact size makes it simple to fy, yet
there’s ample room to seat fve adults and two
children in its luxurious cabin. It has a high-end
cruise speed of 300KTAS and an all-carbon-fbre
structure, and its advanced avionics include a
state-of-the-art parachute system for optimal
safety. While it may prove a tad too extravagant
for the regular suburb-to-City commute, if you
don’t currently have your pilot’s licence, the
thought that there’s a way to avoid the queues
at check-in before your next holiday might prove
just the incentive you need to acquire one.
$1.96m; cirrusaircraft.com
Action packed ↑
Fit for any cycling expedition, from the
commute to work to a day’s off-road
exploring, Brooks England’s Dalston
Knapsack is a stylish way to transport
those everyday necessities. Brooks
has almost 150 years of expertise in
producing cycling accessories, and the
Dalston is part of its latest collection,
the Utility series. The medium-sized bag
has a 15in laptop compartment, three
inner pockets and two on the outside.
The smaller version does away with the
bottle pouch and fts a 13in laptop –
perfect if you travel light. Small, £128;
medium, £145. brooksengland.com
As right as rain ↑
We have the Egyptians to thank for
its invention – however, 3,400 years
later, the umbrella still has some design
faws. Thankfully, Senz founder Gerwin
Hoogendoorn decided to challenge
these preconceptions by introducing an
aerodynamic canopy to withstand winds
of more than 60mph and an asymmetric
shape that ensures it won’t turn inside
out. As well as keeping its user dry, the
Senz6 benefts from ‘eye savers’ on its
spokes to safeguard fellow pedestrians,
while its new Monsoon collection
features cool designs by Berlin-based
artist Yoske Nishiumi. £49; senz.com
Enjoy the view in Verbier ←
There aren’t many new alpine hotels
that would go so far as to redirect the
piste into town so their guests might
get to the après bar that little bit
quicker. But that’s exactly what the
W hotel in Verbier has managed to do.
After a long day, you slide right into the
arms of an adept ski-hand who whisks
your gear away and readies it for the
next foray up the hill. The rooms are
rather special, too, each equipped
with everything you might need for
full high-altitude recuperation. If you
plump for the penthouse, you’ll even
get a rotating bed, offering some of
the best views in Switzerland. The real
feather in the W’s hat, however, is
its locale – you can see the Médran
gondola from the hotel café, allowing
you to nip out when the queues
aren’t too lengthy. A new lift across
the valley simplifes the previously
laborious access to Bruson – an
under-appreciated area that also
deserves exploration. wverbier.com
A bike that’s smarter than you think; an indestructible umbrella; superhero scarves; modern luxuries in Myanmar
Reinventing your wheels
Baidu, China’s answer to Google,
has developed a smartbike to help
you get in shape. The DuBike has
sensors that monitor heart rate as
well as how hard you’re pedalling.
An innovative laser indicator on
the handlebars, powered by a GPS,
tells you which direction to turn,
and you can share routes with
other cyclists via its social-media
system. The DuBike is set to
launch in China later this year
before arriving in other major cities
worldwide. £POA; dubike.baidu.com
Beaumonde
Town and country ↑
Despite its English-sounding name,
JM Weston, founded by Frenchman
Edouard Blanchard in 1891, is a symbol
of Parisian style – and it has certainly
learnt a thing or two over the years
about crafting fne-quality footwear.
Giving a frm nod to rural life
but retaining an urban elegance, its
latest collection, aptly titled Country
Gents, is just as suited to a bucolic
stroll as to a metropolitan meeting.
Its Boot with Eyelets has a streamlined
shape that features rear gaiter work
and its construction is strengthened
by leather pieces and rivets for added
resilience against the rigours of both
city streets and country terrain.
£710; jmweston.com
Cape crusaders ↑
Over the years, Hermès’s iconic scarf
designs have drawn on everything from
Pop Art and paisley to surrealist and
equestrian motifs. For its most recent
collection, by Dimitri Rybaltchenko,
the company looked to comic books,
releasing a short fashion flm that
sees six Minuit au Faubourg scarves
soaring through the sky as comic-book
superhero capes. There are six bold
colour variations to choose from,
each featuring a night-time Parisian
rooftop scene that depicts the
action-packed adventures of ‘Super H’.
£235; uk.hermes.com
Great escape ↑
Myanmar’s former capital, Yangon, is an
exciting place to visit right now. Foreign
investment is creating a buzz, but with
cranes looming overhead and – in the
manner of many Asian cities – smells,
noises and sights abounding, your
senses can feel bombarded. The Sule
Shangri-La hotel provides a luxurious
antidote to all the freneticism.
Formerly the famous Traders Hotel,
the Shangri-La is an oasis of calm.
It has a pool, a ftness and recreation
centre, and complimentary wi-f that’s
said to be the speediest in the country
– not a selling point in most places,
perhaps, but a precious commodity in
Myanmar. Then there are all the other
indulgent details you’d expect of a
Shangri-La hotel: authentic Burmese
dishes and excellent international fare,
well-poured drinks and comfortable
rooms with sumptuous beds.
Special mention has to go to the
hotel’s concierges. With little English
signage, Yangon can be diffcult to get
to know. The team will advise not only
on nearby major attractions such as the
astonishing Shwedagon Pagoda – but
also extraordinary places off the regular
tourist trail. Sule Shangri-La, Yangon
can be booked through Abercrombie
& Kent; abercrombiekent.co.uk
Bags of innovation
Philippe Starck has always
created objects that demand
the most from the least,
so it’s no surprise the new
Starcktrip luggage collection
by Delsey, though simple
in appearance, is packed
with hi-tech features.
The 16-strong line of bags
and cases benefts from
nanotechnology that protects
them from dirt and bacteria,
while special fabric offers
anti-theft data-protection.
More prosaically, effective
waterproofng ensures
belongings stay dry at all
times. From £70; delsey.com
Beaumonde • News26
1 0 O L D B O N D S T R E E T , 1 0 1 J E R M Y N S T R E E T , D A K S . C O M
If I had to name one pervading theme in men’s
perfumery over the past 15 years, it would be
neither the enlivening Mediterranean-ness of
citrus fruit, such as bergamot and grapefruit, nor
the amberous and exotic allure of the increasingly
ubiquitous oud; rather it would be that clean-cut
staple of all things sartorial, the suit.
Run a Google image search for ‘men’s
fragrance advert’ and you’ll get an idea of just
how well-worn a visual reference tailoring has
become in selling the aspirational lifestyle attached
to masculine eaux de toilette. Yet this is as logical
as it is lazy. At their best, fragrances are genuinely
empowering mood-enhancers that bring us
out of ourselves. In other words, they have much
the same effect psychologically as donning
a well-tailored suit, tie and polished Oxfords.
The rational progression of this natural
alliance is, of course, fragrances devised for the
tailoring houses themselves. Brioni, the de facto
practitioner of the Italian made-to-measure style,
was an early pioneer of sartorial scents, having
launched its frst eau de cologne, Good Luck, in
1959. Now it’s following suit with an eponymous
formula that refects the brand’s classic masculine
elegance through a blend of wood, forals and
citrus. ‘When a man wears a custom-made Brioni
suit, he exudes sexiness because he feels confdent
and protected,’ explains the house’s creative
director, Brendan Mullane. ‘We wanted to bottle
that feeling with a sensual and elegant scent.’
To capture those hedonic yet refned qualities,
perfumer Raymond Matts eschewed the familiar
building blocks of an eau de cologne, preferring
three distinctive accords. The frst is a sparkling,
cold-pressed Sicilian lemon designed to give
the overture a refreshing ‘fzz’. This is followed
by a sharply foral amalgam of magnolia, Italian
iris and violet inspired by a buttonhole. The
fnish is intensely smoky and laced with saffron,
Scents of style Fine tailoring and perfumery have always been cut out for
each other – as these sharp sartorial fragrances attest
Words: Henry Farrar-Hockley
Photography: Emma Job
oud and liquorice. As for the bottle, it was
conceived by avant-garde designers Patrik
Fredrikson and Ian Stallard, and is both hefty
and sculptural, glass and bronze – a tactile, fuid
form approximating a tumbler of whisky.
Over on Savile Row, meanwhile, Richard
James – who ruffed feathers back in 1992 when
he set about creating a new establishment of
tailors on the street, vaunting brightly coloured
fabrics and slim silhouettes – has just announced
the relaunch of his self-titled men’s fragrance,
which is back (literally) by popular demand.
First introduced in 2003, it has lost none of
its urbane charm in the intervening years, nor
the dichotomous quality of its constituent parts
– from the intense freshness of its ‘clean, starched
shirt’ note, through its beguilingly feminine
middle ground of evening-dew tuberose and
lily of the valley, to the more familiar alpha-male
territory of tobacco, vetiver and musk.
From its London headquarters at Bourdon House,
in Mayfair, Dunhill has arguably acted on this
entente sartorial between scent and suit a little too
often: between 2000 and 2006 alone, it released
a not-so-magnifcent seven of style-focused eaux
de toilette: Desire, X-Centric, Desire Blue, Fresh,
Signature, Pure and Pursuit – all incongruous with
the house’s reputation for assiduous craftsmanship,
and none so memorable as Dunhill’s exemplary
1984 fougère, Edition. Its licence recently transferred
into the hands of Inter Parfums Parfums (which
also creates and distributes perfumes for Brooks
Brothers and Paul Smith). Earlier this year, the
partnership’s inaugural launch, Icon – a worldly
concoction of Neroli Absolute, Provençal lavender
and earthy vetiver, composed by Carlos Benaïm –
hinted at a return to form for the olfactory offshoot
of this British luxury marque.
Last of all, mention must be made of those male
fragrances inspired by tailoring houses rather than
commissioned by them. Sartorial was created four
years ago for Penhaligon’s by the perfumer Bertrand
Duchaufour, yet, to date, hasn’t had the attention it
deserves. Dubbed ‘the scent of Savile Row’, it’s a
paean not to the suit but the cutting rooms beneath
the Row, specifcally those of Norton & Sons – the
heritage tailor that was recently revitalised under
its ebullient creative director, Patrick Grant.
The ingredients replicate the manual process of
constructing a suit from scratch, from the block
of beeswax across which each thread is run before
stitching, to the oiled shears for cutting the cloth to
size. Hence, the formula requires a blend of old
and new, with conventional notes such as lavender,
white musk and leather married with engineered
facsimiles of old wood and honey. It’s an olfactory
refection of centuries of Savile Row craftsmanship
and, just as importantly, it smells terrifc. l
brioni.com, richardjames.co.uk, penhaligons.com,
dunhillfragrances.com
The right notes
Above, from left: Brioni eau
de toilette, £215 for 75ml;
Richard James Savile Row eau
de toilette, £60 for 50ml and
£76 for 100ml; Penhaligon’s
Sartorial eau de toilette, £85 for
100ml; Dunhill Icon fragrance,
£55 for 100ml and £73 for 100ml
December 2015 marks the end of the road for the
Land Rover Defender, the legendary off-roader
that evolved directly from the original Land Rover
of 1948. There’s sure to be a fond farewell to this
British national treasure, which, over the decades,
has emerged from the muddy ruts of ruralism to
become the last word in statement-making
transport for everyone from Hollywood A-listers
to school-run mums with an attitude.
But while the Defender looks set to go out with
a bang, a less cherished member of the Land Rover
line-up is being sidelined almost without mention.
We speak of the Freelander, the compact SUV
that frst appeared in 1997 and fast established a
bad rep for reliability before being replaced with
the better-all-round Freelander 2 in 2006.
I, for one, shall miss the Freelander 2, which
combined rugged looks with decent road manners.
During the past seven years, Freelander 2s have
faithfully carried the small de Burtons to school
through the worst Dartmoor weather, dragged
trailers across felds, boats out of the sea and
less-capable cars out of ditches – all without protest.
Equally willingly, they’ve cruised autoroutes in
search of summer sun, tackled snowy alpine passes
and, on more than one occasion, served as passable
overnight accommodation when Mrs de Burton’s
suggestion about booking ahead was overruled by
my more brilliant idea of ‘playing it by ear’.
With all that history, I was ready not to like the
Freelander’s replacement, the Discovery Sport,
which carries the signature look already applied
by automotive design maestro Gerry McGovern
to its higher-end stablemates – the Range Rover,
Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Evoque. But
Land Rover was clearly confdent that this latest
product was more than a match, because it chose
to launch the Disco’ Sport not just in Iceland, but
in Iceland in the very middle of winter.
Unsurprisingly, it was almost dark when we
touched down in the afternoon at Kefavik airport
and learnt that most of the roads are made from
gravel and invariably battered by howling winds;
that standard snowfalls can rapidly turn to blizzards,
and that ‘einn bjor, takk’ means ‘one beer, thanks’
– but if you take a single sip and get behind the
wheel, you’ll be slung in jail, no questions asked.
We were then issued with expensive-looking
parkas, made by Icelandic frm 66 Degrees North.
Several people delayed donning them, recognising
their eBay potential in an unworn state – but minds
soon changed once we stepped into the wind, which
made even the short walk to the waiting feet seem
on a par with the last journey of Captain Oates.
Once we had wrestled the doors open against
the gale, my co-pilot and I clambered into our
Discovery Sport’s welcoming, pre-warmed interior,
which quickly allayed my fears that it was going to
be too luxuriously appointed to be properly practical
Disco’ feverThe new Land Rover Discovery Sport
is a nifty mover, up to tackling anything
from tundra to the school-run
Words: Simon de Burton
for the sort of things we country bumpkins use
our four-by-fours for. But no. ‘Premium but not
precious’ is how the Discovery Sport is offcially
described. This means you can have things such
as touch-screen technology, with smartphone app
connectivity, if you want it, but there’s also plenty
of wash-down plastic and thick rubber matting.
And in the back, there’s loads of load space, even
with the rear seats in position. Take a look under
the foor – there are seats you weren’t expecting,
a couple of handy ‘occasionals’ arranged, like the
others, tiered-style so everyone gets a decent view.
Underneath, the newcomer is based on the
platform of the Range Rover Evoque and is ftted
with a slightly outdated but willing 2.2-litre, turbo
diesel engine driving through a choice of a six-speed
manual or nine-speed automatic gearbox.
The four-wheel-drive system is equipped with
Land Rover’s excellent, fully electronic Terrain
Response device which, combined with a set of
studded tyres, made our journey through the
tundra seem a doddle – although it must be said
that some of the more gung-ho drivers did need to
invoke the services of the apparently unstoppable
Land Rover Defender ‘Big Foot’ tow vehicle.
Which just goes to show that, even with DSC
(Dynamic Stability Control), HDC (Hill Descent
Control) and RSC (Roll Stability Control), having
an IBW (Idiot Behind the Wheel) can bring any
car to a grinding halt. Even one as good as the
new Discovery Sport. l
The Land Rover Discovery Sport costs from £32,395
(SE) to £42,995 (SE LUX); landrover.co.uk
‘Premium but not precious’
is how the Discovery Sport is
officially described
The appeal of a rugged watch is not only its
resilience against everyday impacts, but in the
implication that the wearer is predisposed to a life
of adventure. While it’s doubtful many of us will
ever push our super-strength timepieces to their
self-proclaimed extremes, it’s reassuring to know
that, whatever the adversity, your trusty watch
won’t fail in its duty to maintain punctuality.
But imagine if it could go a step further and
bail you out in a tricky situation? Even in today’s
connected world, it’s still easy to get lost. In 2003,
this was the scenario facing British explorers Steve
Brooks and Quentin Smith, who were attempting
to be the frst to pilot a helicopter to both Poles.
Having conquered the north, the duo were
forced to ditch their Robinson 44 Raven in the sea
en route to Antarctica. Despite raising the alarm
on their satellite phone, they were only able to
alert the Chilean navy of their whereabouts when
Brooks activated his wedding present: a Breitling
Emergency. Eight hours later, they were picked up.
Breitling launched its inaugural ‘rescue’ watch
in 1995. At the time, it held the record for being
the world’s smallest personal locator beacon – a
device able to transmit SOS signals via the 121.5
MHz International Air Distress frequency to a
network of satellites tasked with pinpointing the
location of globe-trotting explorers. That system
has helped save 26,000 lives in the past 30 years.
In the pre-smartwatch era, the Emergency was the
acme of such technology, with around 40,000 sold.
In 2009, satellite processing at 121.5 MHz was
phased out in favour of 406 MHz – a newer digital
frequency able to provide more accurate location
data. As the old-style format remained a reliable
distress signal for land, sea and air, Breitling set
about achieving another world frst: a watch with a
dual-frequency locator beacon. Cue Emergency II.
The challenge proved no mean feat. The Swiss
house not only had to fnd a way to miniaturise a
micro-transmitter to reliably operate from inside
a watch, but also to leave room for an additional
battery and antenna. It succeeded: the micro-circuit
transmits the digital frequency for 0.44 seconds
every 50 seconds and the analogue one for 0.75
every 2.25 over a constant 24-hour cycle.
The antenna comprises two aerials housed in
the lower part of the watch. Manually deploying
the spring-loaded devices activates the distress
signal. To ensure you don’t accidentally call in the
rescue services from your pool lounger, it requires
the larger of the two crowns to be unscrewed in
two stages. To keep the transmitter fully powered,
Help is at hand
High time
The new Breitling Emergency II – an
investment that could save your life
Breitling’s new dual-frequency
Emergency II wristwatch
summons help fast – however
far-fung your location
Words: Henry Farrar-Hockley
Breitling also invented a rechargeable battery small
yet powerful enough to operate in temperatures
down to -20°C and at 50m below sea level.
The Emergency II includes both analogue and
digital displays, a 1/100th of a second chronograph,
alarm, timer, dual time zones, and calendar and
battery-life indicators. Its ‘thermocompensated’
SuperQuartz movement is 10 times more accurate
than the ‘regular’ certifcation required by the
Swiss Offcial Chronometer Testing Institute, while
its case is made from aeronautical-grade titanium
– renowned for its strength and lightness and its
resistance to magnetic felds and corrosion.
If you take your life in your hands, with this
pioneering instrument on your wrist, survival is
very much at your fngertips. l
£12,400; breitling.com
Wild thingOne look at the new Ferrari F12 is enough to make
your heart sing. Now, imagine yourself driving it…
Words: Simon de Burton
Photography: Jonathan Glynn-Smith
If your motoring choices tend to be based on the
theory that ‘less is more’, you might as well turn
the page now – because Ferrari’s F12 Berlinetta
blissfully and unashamedly carries the concept
of the GT supercar to the max.
The 599 that went before was impressive
enough – I once enjoyed a magical blast in one from
London, through France and Switzerland and on
to Ferrari HQ at Maranello – but it was instantly
and vastly overshadowed by the F12, which frst
growled onto the supercar scene in 2012.
The frst thing that hits you about the F12 is
its size. This is no nimble Latin lightweight, but
a pumped-up, luxuriously appointed grand tourer
in the old tradition. Although it weighs in at a comfy
1,630kg, it still boasts blistering performance, with
the ability to complete the time-honoured 0-60
sprint in a lightning 3.1 seconds and carry on to
a top speed of 210mph – a true continent-shrinker.
The secret of the F12’s warp-speed capability
lies, of course, beneath the bonnet. There lurks
a masterpiece of Ferrari engineering, in the form
of a stupendous, 6.3-litre, V12 engine mounted in
the ‘front-mid’ position for perfect balance. Although
normally aspirated – ie, there are no turbochargers
– the engine churns out a vast 730 horsepower at
a screaming 8,250 rpm, with the result that, bar the
€1m, limited-edition La Ferrari, this is the fastest
road-going ‘prancing horse’ ever built.
All that power is laid down through an ultra-
high-tech seven-speed, semi-automatic gearbox –
and the driver can control just how exciting he
or she wants the delivery to be by adjusting a tiny
switch, called a manettino, on the car’s steering
wheel. Settings range from ‘position one’ for ‘normal
driving’ to ‘position two’ for more spirited progress
(frmer suspension, higher revs between gear
changes), and so on up to ‘position fve’, meaning
‘driver, you are on your own’: 730 horsepower at
the command of your right foot and all electronic
safety devices disabled.
In the latter setting and in the wrong hands,
the F12 could easily become nothing short of a wild,
uncontrollable animal. But for those who know
exactly what they’re doing, the combination of that
magnifcent powertrain, a superb alloy chassis,
a low centre of gravity and aerodynamic bodywork
based on F1 wind-tunnel tests makes this among
the greatest ‘driver’s’ cars ever built.
And with ‘classic’ V12 Ferraris from the Sixties
now commanding tens of millions at auctions
throughout the world, you might even say that the
£240,000 F12 is something of a bargain.
But if you can afford to buy one, do you really
need another reason for doing so? l
ferrari.com
The world awaits
Continents shrink under the
wheels of the new F12
Berlinetta – one of the fastest
Ferraris ever built
Motoring • Brummell 35
HUNTSMAN
FLAGSHIP STORE LONDON
95/96 NEW BOND STREET
LONDON W1S 1DB
T: 020 7647 9070
Led by the unlikely fgure of Mayor Boris Johnson, thousands of Londoners have taken to two wheels in recent years in a bid to fght both traffc congestion and their sedentary city lifestyle. Tony Coniglio was one of them, but for him, it went further than pulling on the Lycra for the morning commute. As commercial director of Cosaveli, he now helps organise major pro-am cycling events that raise millions for charity and help convert part-time two-wheelers into proper athletes.
Growing up in Bristol, Coniglio, now 49, was a talented athlete, playing football at county level, and he kept up his interest in ftness when he moved into the City. After joining NatWest Markets, he made use of his Italian heritage in Milan, before returning to London to join UBS. He was there for 16 years, until 2013, when he decided it was time to move on. ‘I always felt the City was a great place, but it has a fnite life,’ he says.
One of his projects was to help set up a business for old friend Theo Williams, the former creative director of Habitat and head of design at John Lewis, but what was to become his major concern began as a distraction. In 2012, Coniglio had taken part in Cosaveli’s very frst event, the Trois Étapes Tour in the Alps. In a team of eight, led by a professional, he rode for three days, experiencing the exhilarating highs and gruelling lows of the Tour de France route. Even now he is wistful at the thought of it: ‘We fnished on a climb that ended with a view of Mont Blanc. It was just beautiful.’
Rather than simply tick it off the bucket list, he joined the company. Set up by Niels Bryan-Low and Richard Gorman at the end of 2011, Cosaveli was growing fast, expanding from 60 entrants in the frst year to 105 the next, then adding a further event in the Italian Dolomites for its third. Teams are sponsored either by charities or by the likes of Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg, and the professionals are of the calibre of the 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre and ex-Ironman Triathlon world champion Chrissie Wellington. Plus there’s all the support of the real tour circuit, from team cars to soigneurs (those who take care of the riders en route). It’s already helped raise $6.5m for charities, including Teenage Cancer Trust, Kids Company, Walking With The Wounded and the Anne Frank Trust UK.
Coniglio began to volunteer his services until, around the middle of 2014, Bryan-Low asked him to help develop the business. Cosaveli now has
seven staff and, this year, has added another two events – one in Mallorca for individual riders and a further team event in Belgium.
So far, support has come largely from the City, but Coniglio sees possibilities elsewhere. ‘I’d love to have other industries involved, too – advertising and construction, say. Lots of them generate as much money as banking.’ He also wants to move beyond charity donation to corporate sponsorship. To this end, his City experience has given him more than a contact book, he believes: ‘I think people from the City generally have that desire and drive to do things. I’m one of those who don’t see an obstacle; I see a solution.’
Another ambition is to expand the number of women taking part. Despite the fact there has always been a female presence, it has so far been something of a man-venture event – a kind of 21st-century update on the midlife crisis. ‘Men have dusted down their old bikes and tried them, then gone out with friends, then bought themselves new bikes… Now cycling is strong among women,
Wheeler dealerAfter 16 years in the City, Tony Coniglio
found his next investment passion
on the route of the Tour de France
Words: James Medd
Photography: Trent McMinn
too. We’ve had women at every event, and our frst all-female team competed in 2014.’
Still, he makes no bones about how tough it is. ‘Richard’s always described it as being on a par with a four-hour marathon, and I think that’s about right,’ he says. He trained for six months before taking part. ‘There are some teams that are very competitive, but it varies quite dramatically. And the one that came last in the recent event still had such a good time – the climbs are amazing, the atmosphere is electric, and you can’t fail to enjoy these incredible views.’
While the sums raised are impressive, the appeal of the Trois Étapes events is the classic challenge of amateur sport: how far can you stretch yourself? ‘When you get on that mountain, you’re all equal,’ he says. ‘It doesn’t matter if you’re a multi-million-pound trader or a teacher or a pro cyclist, you’re going to suffer.’ He smiles, perhaps remembering his own Trois Étapes: ‘I think “humbling” is the word.’ lcosaveli.com; troisetapes.org
After the City • Beaumonde 37
THE NEW NAVITIMER 46 mm
A N I C O N J U S T G O T L A R G E R
Adventure • Brummell 39
‘Life is an adventure… not a package tour,’ wrote Eckhart Tolle,
the man The New York Times calls the most popular spiritual
author in the United States, and we couldn’t agree more. Which
is why, in the pages that follow, we focus, unapologetically,
on the special, the bespoke, the one-of-its-kind. From holidays
galloping with wild mustangs in the Nevadan desert, to courses
in the motorcycling skills that could lure you to off-the-radar
destinations, we bring you the experiences of a lifetime. We also
profle the man who organises safaris in the Serengeti, where
fresh lobster fown in for supper is standard fare, and tell you
what to wear wherever you’re going. Bon voyage!
Adventure
Land
& sea
Good sportsWhether squaring up to an opponent, meeting
Nature head-on or beating your personal
best, you need kit with the competitive edge
Photography: Andy Barter
Styling: David Hawkins
OPEN ROAD
Top row, from far left:
Belvoir-print iPad case, £135, PAUL SMITH; Pro Team
jersey top, £120, and cap, £30. both RAPHA; silk cravat,
£210, MULBERRY
Second row, from far left:
Climbers’ shoes, £280, RAPHA; B17 leather saddle,
£87, BROOKS ENGLAND; Phoebus polo shirt, £75,
VICTORINOX; Revitalising Face Serum, £49, ACQUA DI PARMA;
deodorant, £23, AESOP; leather wallet; £170, PAUL SMITH
Third row, from far left:
Manhattan leather wallet, £1,220, HERMÈS; leather gloves,
£250, and belts (from left), £250 and £210, both DUNHILL
Fourth row, from far left:
Flex iPad case; £175, RICHARD JAMES; Maxwell messenger
bag, £595, MULBERRY; cotton-canvas shoes, £480,
HERMÈS; manicure set, £198, CZECH & SPEAKE; leather
messenger bag, £575, DAKS
INDOOR ARENA
Top row from far left:
Leather holdall, £1,065,
MONCLER; fencing mask, £206,
LEON PAUL; boxing shorts,
£495, MONCLER; calf-leather
trainers with elastic insert,
£POA, DOLCE & GABBANA;
leather basketball, £170,
SHINOLA; Phoebus polo
shirt, £75, VICTORINOX
Second row from far left:
Cesar trainers, £285,
MONCLER; fencing foil, from
£180, LEON PAUL; Milk
Spice Soap Bar, £8, and Matt
Putty for hair, £14, both
MURDOCK; Soho mid-year
diary, £155, SMYTHSON;
Electimuss Platinum Muscus
Pure Perfume, £135 for 50ml,
ROULLIER WHITE; Suunto
Ambit3 sports watch, £325,
RUNNERS NEED; wool jumper,
£395, GIEVES & HAWKES
Third row from far left:
Shirt, £140, DKNY; wash bag,
£125, PAUL SMITH; calf-leather
A5 Panama folder, £250,
SMYTHSON; Chevron silver-
plated fountain pen, £165,
CARAN D’ACHE; tweed Fox
notebook, £45, THE MERCHANT
FOX; Black Pepper Anti-
Perspirant Stick, £16, MOLTON
BROWN; Shaving Soap, £21,
CZECH & SPEAKE; San Remo
duffel bag, £795, TUMI
ROUGH TERRAIN
Top row from far left:
Beacon Hill backpack, £595,
TUMI; Ariel down gilet, £170,
RLX RALPH LAUREN; cotton
jumper, £135, and shorts,
£199, both PAUL SMITH;
stone-coloured leather billfold,
£140, HARDY AMIES; The
No. 25 handmade leather and
aluminium briefcase, £1,878,
PASSAVANT AND LEE
Second row from far left:
La Sportiva Nepal Extreme
climbing boots, £330,
SNOW + ROCK; Field Notes
graph-paper notebooks,
£8 for a set of three, LONDON
UNDERCOVER; leather belt,
£95, ANDERSON & SHEPPARD;
plaid shirt, £125, POLO
RALPH LAUREN; Matterhorn
hiking boots, £610, MONCLER;
Cross-Terrain 24-Hour
Deodorant, £14.50, KIEHL’S
HIGH SEAS
Top row from far left:
Cadet weekend bag, £2,350, RALPH LAUREN; pocket square,
£50, RICHARD JAMES; chambray-cotton trousers,
£250, HARDY AMIES; Alnwick jumper, £250, BELSTAFF
Second row from far left:
Swim shorts, £135, ORLEBAR BROWN; polo shirt, £85, HARDY
AMIES; cotton-braid belt, £55, POLO RALPH LAUREN;
webbing belt, £95, ANDERSON & SHEPPARD; Le Moc calfskin
shoes, £390, JM WESTON
Third row from far left:
Ocean Pro jacket, £675, HENRI LLOYD; preppy belt, £75,
POLO RALPH LAUREN; leather moccasins, £290, BALLY;
Eucalyptus Deodorant, £18, MALIN+GOETZ at MR PORTER;
leather wallet, £170, PAUL SMITH; Mirto di Panarea eau de
toilette, £57 for 75ml, ACQUA DI PARMA; Cap d’Antibes
aftershave, £125 for 100ml EIGHT & BOB at HARVEY
NICHOLS; Panama notebook, £45, SMYTHSON; Novilo calfskin
Victoria III Cabine 45 tote bag, £3,480, HERMÈS
FOR STOCKIST DETAILS, SEE PAGE 80
Towards the end of my time with explorer,
broadcaster and photographer Levison Wood,
I pick up a crucial piece of advice for anyone who
intends to emulate his travels along the world’s
lesser-beaten paths. It is this: smoking may damage
your health, but cigarettes can save your life.
Before that revelation, however, we spend quite
a considerable amount of time discussing what it
means to be an explorer in the 21st century. Surely,
like being a hot-metal typesetter or a lamplighter,
it’s a calling that belongs to another age?
‘On the face of it, yes,’ he agrees. ‘In the era
of Google Earth, who needs to actually go off and
discover places? And, of course, we are now beyond
that colonial idea that somewhere is somehow
undiscovered until a white man sets foot there. But
I’m as interested in people and their culture as I am
the physical environment, and Google Earth won’t
give you that. What I try to do is bring back a
snapshot of a place at a certain moment in time,
because it won’t necessarily be as it is now forever.’
Levison, who was born in Staffordshire in
1982, is best known for Walking the Nile (the title
of both his Channel 4 TV series and book), from
its source as a mere trickle in the forests of Rwanda
to the mighty river that splays into a delta and then
disgorges into the Mediterranean. That’s a journey
of almost 4,000 miles, on often blistered and swollen
feet. So how did he become a professional traveller?
‘My father was a historian, not an adventurer
of any description, although he was a reservist in
the Army. When I was a teenager, he encouraged
me to study the great Victorian explorers: Burton,
The
Age of discovery
The Burberry Prorsum
S/S15 collection is inspired
by novelist and travel
writer Bruce Chatwin
Opposite: Merino-wool
roll-neck, £357, Burberry
London. Cashmere-twill
topcoat, £2,695; mohair
virgin-wool tailored trousers,
£495; and calf-leather shoes,
£450, all Burberry Prorsum
Adventurer Levison Wood’s audacious journey
on foot from the source of the Nile in Rwanda
to the Mediterranean sea in Egypt, saw him
walk into the annals of history
Words: Rob Ryan
Photography: Marius W Hansen
Styling: Olie Arnold
extramile
Livingstone and Stanley. Reading about their
expeditions defnitely had an impact on me.
‘When I was 18, I took a gap year, which
nobody I knew had ever done, and it was Africa
that called to me. I’d been on a holiday to Kenya
with my parents when I was young and, as many
people know, it’s a continent that somehow gets
under your skin. So my frst trip was to South
Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia, on a very limited
budget. It was a risky thing to do – mainly because
travelling is so addictive that you may spend the
rest of your life doing it.’ Which, of course, is
exactly what happened.
‘When I was 21, in 2003, a friend and I thought
we’d go to Egypt and Israel. Then someone blew
up the UN building in Jerusalem, and the borders
were closed, except to Jordan, so we went there.
And the only border open from there was into Iraq.
The Americans had just invaded, but we decided
to hitchhike to Baghdad anyway. You could say it was
reckless, but one thing I have learnt over the years
is that risk assessment is important when deciding
whether to go somewhere. And, in fact, it was like
a little safe window – the combat operation was
over and the insurgency hadn’t yet started.’
After that, he travelled to the Hindu Kush and,
with a bushy beard and robes, into Afghanistan,
where he was often mistaken for a dodgy Pashtun
horse trader and got to stay with the Mujahideen.
Ironically, he would be back as a captain in the
Parachute Regiment a few years later – without the
beneft of a beard or local costume. Did his previous
experience help? ‘As far as understanding the bigger
Brummell + Burberry 51
picture, and why they were fghting, I think it did.
Without wanting to do my colleagues a disservice,
frankly, a lot of them didn’t do their homework. The
political situation in Afghanistan hasn’t changed in
150 years, and I think if more people had realised
that, then we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in now.’
Wood credits the Army with instilling in him
a certain mental robustness and pragmatism that
has stood him in good stead. ‘At Sandhurst, they
tell you that being in the Army is 98 per cent
boredom and two per cent adrenaline. And there
is an element of that in what I do – it can be
a week of slogging and then, suddenly, something
happens that either makes it all worthwhile or
really challenges you.’ He also admits that exploring
might be a way of extending the kind of intermittent
excitement the Army provided.
We have to speak about one of the biggest
challenges that occurred on the Nile walk. He was
joined in northern Uganda by photographer Jason
Florio and an American journalist, Matthew Power.
Despite being an experienced traveller (K2, Costa
Rica, the Amazon), Power suffered debilitating
exhaustion and heatstroke and, in a devastating
section of the TV programme, viewers witnessed
the moments before his death, as the others
desperately tried to keep his temperature down.
After the tragedy, was Wood tempted to quit?
He was caught on camera asking the rhetorical
question ‘Is it worth it?’. ‘Of course I considered
giving up. It was horrifc, especially when I had to
break the news to Matthew’s wife. The whole
episode made me question the ethics of such a trip.
But if we’d given up, all of it – including his death
– would’ve been for nothing. It was a tough few
days, but after that, my resolve never wavered.’
Levison Wood is good company, thoughtful
about what his profession means, about the
challenges of being so far away from home for so
long (‘especially when your mates are off to Ibiza’),
the shock of reintroducing yourself to normal life
after an expedition – something else with parallels
to the Army experience – and the risks involved in
visiting remote places. ‘At one point, before walking
the Nile, I did some river-rafting on it with friends.
After going past a police training camp, we were
chased by armed men in canoes and pulled over,
then thrown face-down in the dirt with guns to
our heads. They thought we were mercenaries.’
Was he scared? ‘Concerned. But the thing you
have to do is to humanise the situation. I don’t
smoke, but I always carry a pack of cigarettes,
because if you can offer one and smoke together
– I pretend – it establishes a rapport. Once you
have that connection, they’re less hostile, and less
likely to put a bullet in the back of your head.’
There you have it. Even abstaining adventurers
like Levison should make sure that, under ‘S’ on
their checklist, it says sunglasses, sleeping bag,
spare socks and, just in case, smokes. l
Levison Wood will be in conversation with journalist
Ash Bhardwaj and signing copies of Walking
the Nile at Burberry’s Regent Street fagship store
from 7 to 9pm on 18 February. RSVP to
[email protected]; burberry.com
The explorers’ club
Burberry has dressed
explorers and adventurers
since the 1800s, and continues
to reinterpret the theme
in its current collections
This page: Navy felted rabbit-
hair The Campaign Hat, £225;
and burgundy double-cotton
feld jacket, £1,195, both
Burberry Prorsum
Opposite: Gabardine trench
coat with cashmere detail,
£1,395; Burberry London.
Showerproof feld jacket, £995;
and leather The Travel Satchel,
£1,495, both Burberry Prorsum
Paper trail
Walking the Nile (£18.99, Simon & Schuster),
the book of the Channel 4 series, is out now
I try to bring back
a snapshot of a place at a
certain moment in time,
because it won’t necessarily
be as it is for ever
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Brummell + Burberry52
Time & motionSturdy timepieces, combining durability,
complexity and elegance, make for
rugged companions on great adventures
Photography: Andy Barter
Words: Simon de Burton
Clockwise from top left:
RICHARD MILLE RM58-01;
BREMONT Supermarine
Terra Nova; BLANCPAIN
Speed Command; CHOPARD
Superfast Chrono Porsche
919; BELL & ROSS BR-X1
Hypersonic Chronograph;
BREGUET Marine Dual Time
Brummell • Watches56
Chopard Superfast Chrono Porsche 919 ↑
Chopard followed the announcement of its backing
of Porsche Motorsport last year with the creation
of this limited-edition version of the Superfast
Chronograph, which pays homage to the marque’s
919, hybrid-powered endurance racer. The watch
features the 45mm case and fyback movement of
the ‘standard’ Superfast, but the dial is decorated
with a vertical grid pattern and the ‘919’ logo.
A look through the sapphire-crystal case back
reveals an oscillating weight, inscribed with ‘Offcial
Timing Partner Porsche Motorsport’. Only 919 will
be produced, all with ‘slick tyre’ rubber straps.
£8,320; chopard.com
Richard Mille RM58-01 ↑
Futuristic and ultra high-tech in typical Richard Mille
style, the RM58-01 is a sophisticated world-time
watch with a nifty rotating bezel. Simply turn it so
the city of your choice is aligned with 12, and the
hands instantly synchronise to show the correct time
in 24 time zones. The black-and-white inner bezel
shows whether it is day or night, and an indicator at
two o’clock shows the amount of power remaining
in the hand-wound 10-day movement. The RM58
is not for the feeble of wrist, however: its 200-part
gold and titanium case measures a mighty 50mm
in diameter. Its price, too, is fairly substantial.
£350,000; richardmille.com
Bremont Supermarine Terra Nova ↑
British brand Bremont’s Supermarine, although
named after the legendary aircraft company, is
actually a rugged dive watch offering 500m water
resistance. Back in 2013, Bremont created this
special Terra Nova version, which polar explorers
Ben Saunders and Tarka L’Herpiniere wore for
their record-breaking 1,795-mile Antarctic trek.
The pair used the compass bezels and secondary
GMT hands of their titanium-cased watches to
navigate through the type of conditions in which
battery-powered GPS devices quickly fail. It is
now available in a 300-piece limited edition.
£4,495; bremont.com
Bell & Ross BR-X1 Hypersonic Chronograph ↑
Bell & Ross created a cult watch with its hefty,
square-cased BR-01 a decade ago. Designed
to look like an instrument from the cockpit of
a fghter jet, it has since appeared in numerous
guises – the latest of which is this, the BR-X1
Hypersonic Chronograph. Inspired by the Bell X-1
rocket plane of the late Forties, it combines a
45mm titanium case, protected by a rubber and
ceramic buffer with ‘rocker’ push pieces made
from red ceramic. The self-winding chronograph
movement has been seriously skeletonised for a
pared-down look. Just 250 examples will be made.
£13,000; bellross.com
Breguet Marine Dual Time ↑
Mention the Breguet name and most horologists
think of tourbillons, but the legendary 18th-century
clock and watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet also
supplied accurate and sturdy marine chronometers
to the French navy – a fact that lends legitimacy to
the simultaneously rugged and beautifully fnished
Marine Dual Time, pictured here. Although replete
with such Breguet signatures as an engine-turned
dial, blued-steel hands and the classic futed case,
this 42mm steel watch is water-resistant down to
an impressive 100m. The highly legible, dual-time
display lends a further touch of practicality.
£16,900; breguet.com
Blancpain Speed Command ↑
Blancpain’s racy Speed Command combines the
high-end fnish and mechanical sophistication
for which the house is renowned with one of the
most eye-catching sports watch designs around.
Its brushed-steel case is coated with a tough,
Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) fnish, while the dial,
made from a sliver of carbon, is equipped with
individual counters for 30 minutes, 12 hours and
60 seconds elapsed time recording. The ultra-thin,
self-winding chronograph movement features a
fyback function, which enables it to be stopped,
reset and re-started with a push of the button.
£14,180; blancpain.com
Studios, 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments and penthouses available - prices from £650,000 to £4million
Call: 020 3642 6790 or email: [email protected]
www.250cityroad.co.uk
250 City Road Marketing Suite
Goodman’s Fields, 39 Leman Street, London, E1 8EY
Open 7 days a week 10am - 6pm (Until 8pm on Wednesdays and 4pm on Sundays)
Here at 250 City Road
there will be just under
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For Your Future
In the last ten years, the Berkeley Group
has created 436 acres of public space
Prices correct at time of press and subject to availability. Computer Generated Image of 250 City Road is indicative only.
250 City Road is a landmark development designed by world renowned Architects Foster + Partners. These spectacular apartments offer
stunning City views as well as a host of residents’ facilities including a rooftop gym and terrace, swimming pool, spa and residents’ lounge.
The development is located between Old Street and Angel, with the City and Shoreditch on your doorstep.
250 City Road: ideally placed for work or leisureShow Apartment now open - arrange a viewing today
Proud to be a member of the
Berkeley Group of companies
Horse powerWhere better to savour adventure in the saddle than in the middle of
the Nevadan desert, where the scenery is as breathtaking as the ride
Words: Georgie Lane-Godfrey
In the middle of the Nevadan desert, a cloud of
dust is rising. Despite the clear, piercingly blue sky,
a thunder rolls across the plain, echoing off the
mountains in the distance. At once, the horses we
are riding begin to stir, dancing on the spot as the
air becomes thick with anticipation. And then we
see them – the herd of mustangs charging across
the landscape, dusty manes and tails streaming
in the wind – and we gallop off in pursuit.
But chasing the herd is like chasing a ghost;
a hazy apparition in the distance that you can
never quite reach. We gallop fat-out across the
scrubland, weaving through scraggy bushes and
gopher holes, even jumping crevices where the
hard ground misaligns. It’s a fast, adrenaline-
fuelled ride – the horses we’re astride are former
mustangs themselves and you can sense their
excitement as they chase down their wild cousins.
The horse safaris are run by Mustang Monument,
a luxurious eco-resort situated in the high desert
of Nevada. Created by billionaire animal-rights
campaigner Madeleine Pickens, it operates as more
than your average ranch, providing a sanctuary
for 1,000 wild mustangs. The horses are all rescue
animals, many saved from cramped, government-
controlled corrals from where they’re often illegally
sold to the European meat market, or to cartels
looking to transport their drugs across the borders.
Here, they can roam free across 600,000 acres,
allowing visitors an authentic glimpse of one of the
most iconic symbols of the American West.
Yet Pickens’s altruism has garnered some heavy
opposition. Local cattle ranchers object to the
competition, viewing the wild horses as pests that
threaten their livelihood, while government bodies
argue that without a natural predator their numbers
will become unsustainable. So heated is the debate
that some sabotage attempts have been made,
from wires being cut – allowing the mustangs
to stray into neighbouring lands – to stallions
being planted in the castrated herd so breeding
regulations are breached. Pickens has remained
undeterred, however, striving to establish the
ranch as a luxurious tourism destination in order
to spread the word of the mustangs’ plight.
For guests looking for the thrill of a fast ride,
these safaris really are the best way to get up close
and personal with the horses. But adventure isn’t
restricted to speed, and riders of any level can
hack out over Spruce Mountain to explore the
valley’s untamed wilderness. As we follow dirt
tracks in the shadow of the pinyon pines, the
fragrant scent of wild sage flls the air. It’s eerily
quiet. We pass abandoned gold mines and the
We gallop flat-out across
the scrubland, weaving
through scraggy bushes. It’s
an adrenaline-fuelled ride
Jo
Dan
eh
y; K
rist
i Jo
hn
son
; M
ich
ae
l P
art
en
io
Wild at heart
Opposite and below: Mustangs
roam free across the untamed
Nevadan desert. Above: One
of the luxurious cottages and
handpainted tepees, set in
majestic mountain ranges, at
eco-resort Mustang Monument
shells of remote villages, deserted by the pioneers
who failed to tame this raw, rugged landscape.
Verging off the track onto the hillside, we emerge
out of the trees to fnd a breathtaking view of
the Goshute Valley, stretching as far as the eye
can see into the blue-skied distance. We also fnd
a sumptuous picnic awaiting us – this is a
billionaire’s take on ranching, after all.
But riding doesn’t have to be the only thing
you do here. Ex-Navy SEAL Monty Heath runs
the more high-octane activities, including rock
climbing, shooting and off-road buggy-driving.
Your regular GI Joe, he will teach you how to use
the ranch’s extensive range of guns, from smaller
pistols to larger assault rifes. You fre at targets in
the shape of various villains, including zombies and
Grand Theft Auto-inspired gangsters, that squirt
red paint when you make a hit. But Heath’s military
training really kicks in when he takes you out in the
Maverick, an off-road buggy complete with roll
cage that can reach speeds of up to 70mph. Clad
in crash helmets, we career around the dirt tracks
across the Goshute Valley, hearts racing and dust
fying as we narrowly avoid rolling on every corner.
Back on the ranch, things take on a slower,
more swaggering pace. Mustang Monument
has a decadent approach to ranching, with its
Ralph Lauren-adorned cottages and sumptuous
hand-painted tepees. The candlelit dinner is taken
in traditional communal style, with everyone
swapping saddle stories from their day’s riding.
The four courses of home-cooked food are all
hearty – pumpkin soup, roast chicken, corn on
the cob, cherry crumble – and are served in
typically American-sized portions. After dinner,
everyone retires to the saloon – a huge bar that
looks like a movie set, with its Western saddle bar
stools and country music crooning out of the
stereo. Here, the bourbon fows, the tequila
gets slammed and, as the night goes on, the talk
turns whimsical with the promise of tomorrow.
Tomorrow, we’ll catch the mustangs. l
Steppes Travel (steppestravel.co.uk) offers a
seven-day itinerary with four nights at Mustang
Monument in Nevada (mustangmonument.com)
and three nights at the Sundance Resort in Utah,
from £2,725 per person, based on two sharing
and including economy fights to Salt Lake City,
car hire, full-board and all activities at Mustang
Monument, and room-only at the Sundance Resort
Eco travel • Brummell 59
Paul Pester, CEO of TSB Bank plc, used to be
a junior international swimmer and still competes
in triathlons. Indeed, he’s so convinced of the
importance of ftness that, in 2013, the night
before he launched TSB as a separate business
from Lloyds, he was competing in a triathlon in
Norfolk. ‘Leaders must be ft,’ he says simply.
Given his belief in ftness, it’s no surprise Pester
was one of the frst to support Fit for Leadership,
an initiative started by City insider Ker Tyler
that aims to re-educate hard-working executives
about their health. The Bank Workers Charity
recently found that more than half of bankers
suffer from job-related stress and don’t sleep
properly. Since the high-profle cases of Andy
Hornby at HBOS and António Horta-Osório at
Lloyds, it’s been marginally less taboo to discuss
stress-related absence and illness in the Square
Mile, but while recognising it is one thing, doing
something about it is another.
‘Fit for Leadership has come along at exactly
the right time,’ continues Pester, who has worked
on and off with Tyler over the years. ‘I think the
whole City went through a period of excess, but
now there’s a realisation that balance is important
in our economy. I’m determined to build a work-life
balance into the DNA of the “new” TSB bank.’
He describes exercise as ‘escaping all that
stuff going on in your head’ and says, ‘I will run,
even on a grey morning in the rain. It’s not about
physique but about enjoyment and listening to
your mind. In the middle of the investor roadshow,
running up to the TSB IPO, Ker used to send me
texts to check I’d been on my morning run!’
Last summer, I found myself among 350
women at Willis Group’s offces in Lime Street,
listening to one of Fit for Leadership’s early
presentations. The main message was that what’s
stopping women from being at the top of our
game has little to do with the glass ceiling and
much to do with health. While we can’t always
dictate our load of responsibility, we can control
our coping mechanisms. We heard from Olympic
athlete Dr Cath Bishop, life coach Pete Cohen and
Simon Shepherd MSCP (Member of the Society
of Chartered Physiotherapists), who has pioneered
Heart Beat Technology and got me to wear one of
his monitors for three days and keep a lifestyle diary.
My report at the end of those days revealed the
impact of alcohol, stress and lack of cardiovascular
exercise. The monitor diagnoses the quality of sleep,
so it’s no good having 10 hours if you’ve knocked
back half a bottle of wine. Shepherd made it plain
that, without being ftter, I am going to fnd it hard
to achieve the levels of resilience necessary to
reach – I’d like to say ‘stay at’ – the top of my game.
Sally Bramall, COO of the Financial Institutions
Group at Willis, was also persuaded to wear a
monitor. ‘It was so enlightening, and I was staggered
by how varied my recovery was,’ she says. ‘It’s not
just about sleep – the monitor showed that, even
in important meetings, you can relax. If you’re in
your element and confdently enjoying your work,
you’re probably in recovery mode. I’ve become
more diligent about walking round the building
when I have a spare 10 minutes and was delighted
at confrmation of the positive benefts of a glass
of wine in relaxation. After all, no-one wants to
be on a grim, joyless ftness regime.’
She explains why Willis embraced Fit For
Leadership’s mission: ‘Since the fnancial crisis,
our industry has changed so much. New regulations
and restructuring bring stress to people at all
levels of a business – if we can enhance the
resilience of our people, then we can enhance our
business’s resilience too, and we all stand to beneft.’
A few days later, I meet Tyler for lunch. Already
in his early sixties, he knows a thing or two about
Fighting ftA new City-wide initiative is helping those
on the fast track stay healthy and beat stress
Words: Charlotte Metcalf
Illustration: Daniel Frost
Health • Brummell 61
stress, having collapsed from it himself and
recovered using his own methods. Now a couple
of stone lighter, he is the embodiment of Fit for
Leadership’s effcacy as he orders a plain chicken
salad and eschews orange-favoured San Pellegrino
in favour of still water.
‘Stress remains hugely misunderstood and
a real taboo,’ he says. ‘People think mental collapse
or “burnout” can’t happen to them, but there’s
clear evidence that stress can trigger and escalate
mental illness. They become mentally, emotionally
and physically exhausted – as I did. Recovery
is not just about having a few days off but about
changing your lifestyle – and we can put in place
programmes for businesses to empower their
employees to do just that.’
‘Ker is breaking the mould,’ says Tony Powis,
CEO of Willis UK Employee Benefts. ‘Our people
are our greatest asset, so we need strategies to
limit risks. Absenteeism costs the British economy
£14bn per annum, so it’s increasingly important
to focus on presenteeism, ensuring people at work
are capable of giving 100 per cent.
‘The number-one people risk in the fnancial
institutions sector is stress,’ he continues. ‘So how
do we ensure leaders are making the best decisions
when they are very likely working too late? If you’re
employed by a bank or other fnancial institution,
you’re hardly going to telephone your boss and
tell him you’re stressed as a result of the pressure
he’s put you under. It’s still taboo, meaning many
employees go to the edge. You can’t wire up 700
people in Canary Wharf to heart-rate sensors to
help managers identify stress, so how do you do it?’
Willis has already started, by introducing risk
management solutions such as EAPs (employee
assistance programmes) to help identify and
control stress. Employees can make a confdential
telephone call to a qualifed person who is able
to detect the onset of stress early enough to
prevent it from taking hold.
Managing director of Russam GMS Interim
Management Jason Atkinson, who worked with
Tyler at Pearl Assurance in the Nineties, already
has fve of his staff, including junior executives,
wearing Shepherd’s monitors. ‘It sends a message
that we’re investing in the wellbeing of our troops.
If our people are getting on a train at midnight
or getting off a plane after a long fight to Dubai,
it’s important that they know how their body is
doing, because they have only one chance to give
their presentation to a client or their lecture at an
international convention.
‘Lots of people are doing bits of what Ker’s
doing, but it’s fragmented. He has the expertise
to scale it up,’ Atkinson continues. ‘All of his
If we can enhance the
resilience of our people,
we can enhance our
business’s resilience, too
products and speakers deliver more than you
expect. He’s one of the few who undersells and
over-delivers, and his enthusiasm is contagious.
It’s absolutely the right time for what he’s offering.
‘Every dinner I go to, people are talking about
detoxing or dieting or exercise. There are more
“mamils” [middle-aged men in Lycra] than ever
before and everyone wants to be ft. People used
to think smoking was fne, but medical advances
mean we know more – there’s no going back.
We’re already giving free gym membership to
new employees. If I had to invest in any industry
now it would be in healthcare, food and ftness
– wellbeing is crucial for our future.’
Tyler is on a crusade to conquer burnout,
perceived as the City’s deadliest plague. ‘Our
programmes help avert the kind of exhaustion
that leads to breakdowns and can ultimately have
a catastrophic effect on the bottom line,’ he says.
When Horta-Osório collapsed, Lloyds was
left temporarily rudderless as share prices
plummeted from 63p to 30p (between March
2011 and July 2012). At the time, the Daily
Mail wrote: ‘The big question now is whether
the star banker will ever be robust enough
for the challenges ahead.’ Tyler’s answer to that
question is a resounding, confdent ‘yes’. l
ftforleadership.net
Brummell • Health62
THE
PENTHOUSES
ROMAN HOUSECITY OF LONDON
Relax & enjoy
city livingAcquire the last penthouse
at Roman House
Augustus 3 Bedroom Penthouse £4,250,000
A boutique hotel lifestyle can be enjoyed from Roman House, within walking distance of
the square mile’s renowned restaurants, luxury shops and world-class cultural venues.
The Augustus Penthouse is without doubt one of the most desirable private residences
in London. This luxury 3 bedroom penthouse offers a vast amount of entertaining space
complete with fl oor to ceiling glazing and a private wrap around terrace.
020 3411 7956
www.roman-house.co.uk • [email protected]
Proud to be a member of the
Berkeley Group of companies
Pri
ces c
orr
ect
at
tim
e o
f pre
ss a
nd s
ubje
ct
to a
vailability.
Photo
gra
phy d
epic
ts t
he p
enth
ouses
at
Rom
an H
ouse a
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only
.
By appointment only.
Roman House, Wood Street,
London, EC2Y 5BA.
It’s farming, Mad Max style, and it’s seriously
intimidating. My pimped 4WD, top hacked off,
sides ringed by protective iron bars, is about to
pursue feral bulls across Queensland’s Outback:
a violent sideshow to the seasonal cattle muster.
‘We’ll hit them up the butt,’ says Casey
McGrath, a giant, sun-scorched stockman. ‘Knock
’em over, pin ’em down with the bar then tie
their legs together. Just like you do with cyclists.’
He opens his shirt, revealing a 36cm chest scar.
‘Watch those horns. The bulls get a bit winky.’
You can’t blame them – they’re facing
castration. I fear a similar fate. The radio blares.
Our spotter chopper hovering overhead has
identifed a target on the 600,000-acre Escott
estate. We hammer through branches and vines,
obliterate metre-high termite mounds and sail
over spine-jarring ridges. I’m splattered with
sap, dust and twigs, and damn near decapitated
until, 35 obscenity-fuelled minutes later, the
bull breaks cover for open land.
RSPCA offcers, look away now. We hit it
side-on at 45km per hour. The stockman leaps
Hard
driveFor diverse terrain, astonishing panoramas
and exhilarating experiences, hit the gas for
an epic road trip across northern Australia
Words: Ian Belcher
Illustration: Robert G Fresson
Escott cattle station doesn’t help. Its showers
play host to cane toads, its trees to snakes, its
garden to kangaroos. I escape onto a single-strip
road (steering two wheels onto the dirt to avoid
oncoming traffc) lined by shimmering gum
trees. Around Gregory Downs, where the course
widens, I sample a classic Outback bar with
near-frozen beer and astonishingly tasty meat
pies. The community noticeboard sports a snap
of ‘JB and his girlfriend’: a blood-drenched
man with a dead pig.
As tarmac mutates into dirt, my ute trails a
honey and red-dust plume. I pull over at sunset,
transfxed by feathered clouds garlanding a
hillside of termite mounds. It’s nature’s Terracotta
Army – a sight to inspire a better man to poetry.
Time to stop. Adels Grove Campsite (nights on
the Savannah Way usually involve tents or basic
cabins) is perfectly placed for the exotic fauna and
seductive water holes of Lawn Hills National Park.
‘There are seven-foot “freshies” in there, mate,’
says my guide, Rick White. ‘They won’t harm you.
Unless you disturb their nest around mating time,
out, straps its legs and grunts loudly: ‘I win!’
Actually, Casey, we both do. We’re still alive.
Testicles and no-claims bonus intact.
The off-road bovine lunacy is an optional
excursion when you drive along Australia’s
Savannah Way – the epic cross-country route
linking east-coast Cairns with west-coast
Broome. But that doesn’t mean the 3,700km
web of tarmac, dirt and gravel isn’t a high-octane
blast. Indeed, how could it be anything else?
Embracing two oceans, three time zones, fve
World Heritage sites and 15 national parks, it is,
quite simply, one of the planet’s greatest road trips.
After rising through Queensland’s hilly
Pacifc coast, my pick-up – locals call them ‘utes’
(short for ‘utility vehicle’) – bisects coffee and
fruit plantations, before entering widescreen
yellow-and-ochre savannah. I study a map
showing Talawanta, Waggabundi and Wondoola,
drive past massive wedge-tailed eagles feasting on
wallaby roadkill and am overtaken by 150-tonne
road trains transporting livestock. The Lucky
Country is already swallowing me whole.
It is, quite simply,
one of the planet’s
greatest road trips
or stand on their heads.’ I’ll risk it. Catfsh roll,
cockatoos shriek – it’s a revelation.
For a fat, straight road, the Savannah Way
provides a steep learning curve. I engage 4WD to
navigate shallow creeks, and deviate into felds
to avoid cattle snoozing on the mud. But my most
important lesson is about timing. After a lengthy,
lazy lunch at Hell’s Gate Roadhouse, I lose half an
hour on entering the Northern Territory time zone.
Light’s fading. I’ve a way to go and kangaroos
and wallabies are drawn to my headlights as if in
a trance. I can’t avoid them. To swerve is to roll
is to most likely die. I wince at two deafening
bumper smacks from suicidal wallabies.
By Cape Crawford, I’ve driven 700km in a
day and have a screaming headache. Time for
my Deliverance moment. I’m drinking alongside
miners and stockmen in the Heartbreak Hotel’s
rough-as-guts tin walled bar when I decide it’s
time to select a suitably macho rock track on the
video jukebox. Only I enter the wrong code. As
I saunter back to my beer, the giant screen flls
with Geri Halliwell and several male dancers in
tights writhing suggestively to ‘It’s Raining Men’.
Not here it’s not, you Pommie bastard.
I survive. Just. To celebrate, I sample a few
local excursions. There’s a heavenly swim beneath
sheer mudstone cliffs in 27ºC Poppy’s Pools,
and creamy witchetty grubs with the Mara tribe
– a bushtucker aperitif for a Northern Territory
main course: The Lost City. One of four rock
formations claiming the title – losing one
metropolis is unlucky, losing four is plain lazy
– it’s a vast forest of towering sandstone phallus,
eroded and sculpted over 1.4 billion years.
After several days of dry empty wilderness it’s a
shock to hit the two-lane Stuart Highway. It leads
to Katherine, home to soft motels, fat pizzas
and decadent lattes – the end of a 1,800km
macchiato-free zone. And the end of fat earth.
The landscape now rises, dips and rolls – a
surrealist vision of fat-topped buttes, deep-red
escarpments and baobab trees, their branches
tangled like Medusa’s hair.
I lose another hour and a half entering Western
Australia. The Kimberley region seems to know,
packing show-stopping sights into shorter days.
A scenic fight crosses the 980sq km Lake Argyle
and takes me to the world’s largest diamond
mine: a kilometre-deep open cavern with steeply
terraced sides resembling an inverted pyramid.
El Questro’s peachy homestead provides a
luxury aperitif for the home strait. Its highlight?
The 250m-high orange and black beehive-like
peaks of the Bungle Bungles. I witness their
cliffs, domes and gorges burning in the dawn
sun, drenching our hired helicopter canopy in
soft, honeyed light. It should be the trip’s most
memorable colour. Should be. But that comes
30 hours later, when sunglasses are required to
handle Broome’s glaring white sand and turquoise
Indian Ocean. It’s time for Speedos and a
celebratory dip. I’ve just crossed Australia. l
Drive the Savannah Way between dry, cool May
and September. Flights to Cairns via Brisbane,
returning from Broome via Perth, from £807;
expedia.co.uk. 4WD hire from europcar.co.uk.
For information, including accommodation,
visit savannahway.com.au
Sunglasses are required to
handle Broome’s glaring
white sand and turquoise
Indian Ocean
Brummell • Travel66
The trailblazer
Simon Pavey puts riders
through their paces around
the many dirt tracks and trails
at the 4,000-acre Walters
Arena in Wales
Brummell • Motorcycling68
‘Unlike Superbike racing or
Formula 1, this is something
anyone who has the means and
the time can take up’
to the bottom without bursting into tears; how to
make a controlled descent down a stone-covered
slope; how to ride through ruts that seem to go on
forever (answer: sit back, power through and steer
with the foot pegs, not the handlebars).
At the end of the day, we were undeniably
weary, but completely revved-up and wanting
more – which didn’t surprise Pavey. ‘What people
have discovered about this type of motorcycling
is that, unlike a sport such as Superbike racing
or Formula 1, this is something anyone who has
the means and the time can take up,’ he explains.
‘People are now looking for an alternative to
what everyone else is doing. Travel has become
too easy and the sense of adventure is often lost.
Taking a motorcycle around exotic countries
on dirt roads and having to explain yourself to
a border guard in the middle of the night in some
remote place has an air of mystique about it that
promises far more excitement than you get from
just jumping on an aeroplane. And all we want to
do is give people the confdence to go down that
frst gravel path – but the beautiful thing is that
they often go on to discover the world.’
As for English, he took what he had learnt
to Africa and soon appreciated that Pavey’s
instruction had been invaluable. ‘Having him
by your side when you get it wrong – and then
having him show you how to put it right again
– helps you realise that, with a little bit of
knowledge, plenty of logic and a calm attitude,
you should be able to get yourself out of most of
the diffcult situations you’re likely to encounter.
‘Whenever I got into a tricky spot while we
were riding in Africa, often in the middle of
nowhere, I would just think back to what Simon
had taught us and, nine times out of 10, it enabled
me to ride smoothly through the problem.
‘Now I’m just looking forward to getting back
to Wales and learning some more.’ l
The BMW Off Road Skills Level One course costs
£495, including bike rental. A range of motorcycling
holidays is also available from BMW Motorrad
(bmw-motorrad.co.uk) in destinations such as Africa,
Portugal, New Zealand and Peru, or you can tour
Africa or Australia on an adventure led by Charley
Boorman, who organised the trip undertaken by Nick
English and is an ambassador for Bremont watches.
Towards the end of last year, I was invited by
Nick English, co-founder of the Bremont watch
company, to take part in an arduous expedition:
a six-day motorcycle ride along some of the most
beautiful roads and trails in South Africa.
Unfortunately (for me), the dates clashed with
another, rather less exciting assignment I had
already agreed to, so I was forced to decline. As
they say in the modern vernacular, I was gutted.
What I did have time for, however, was to
accompany English on a pre-trip, off-road riding
course in Wales under the tuition of a man called
Simon Pavey, who, in adventure motorcycling
circles, is nothing short of a legend – not least
because he has taken part in the famously
gruelling Dakar Rally no fewer than 10 times and
lived to tell the tale. Having lessons from him is
equivalent, in off-roading circles, to being taught
to drive a Formula 1 car by Lewis Hamilton.
I frst met Pavey back in 1999, when he was
running a motorcycle project for south London
‘yoofs’ who had strayed from the straight and
narrow. Shortly after this, he joined forces with
BMW to set up the specialist Off Road Skills
course as its founder, owner and chief instructor.
Pavey, now 47, looked at dozens of potential
UK sites for the school before fnally settling on
a vast, 4,000-acre area outside Swansea called
Walters Arena. This was once an open-cast coal
mine, but has now been reclaimed to provide
endless tracks, trails, hill-climbs and forests that,
quite simply, add up to dirt-bike heaven.
There are more than 40 courses a year at the
site and Pavey works with six other instructors, all
of whom are carefully selected for their combined
talents of riding skill, patience and teaching ability.
Most of the motorcycles are supplied by BMW
and examples of every model in the off-road range
are available, right up to the giant, land-eating
R1200GS, which is far and away the best-selling
large-capacity motorcycle on the market.
Much of the bike’s success is down to the fact
that it (and its predecessor, the R1150GS) was
ridden by Ewan McGregor and his long-time
biking buddy Charley Boorman on their Long
Way Round and Long Way Down trans-global
rides.The trips sparked a fre in people who had
harboured thoughts of getting out there and really
discovering the world by following its roads less
Fast track
Lle
we
llyn
Pave
y
An adrenaline-fuelled, off-road motorcycling course
will gear you up to see the world rather differently
Words: Simon de Burton
travelled, not from the enclosed environment of
a four-wheel-drive car but from the open-to-the-
elements, breathe-in-the-smells vantage point
of a motorcycle designed specifcally for the job.
The result is that sales of so-called adventure-
sports bikes – tall machines with soft suspension,
long-range fuel tanks, comfortable riding positions
and off-road capability – have rocketed, with many
buyers accessorising them with ‘overlanding’ gear
ranging from capacious aluminium luggage to
GPS systems and auxiliary lighting.
More than 1,000 people a year now take part
in Pavey’s Off Road Skills courses – which is exactly
10 times the number who signed up in year one.
We were extraordinarily privileged, though: the day
we turned up, no one else was booked in, so we had
the maestro to ourselves – and lesson one began
with Pavey laying his enormous BMW R1200GS
motorcycle gently down on its side.
‘Like it or not, anyone who rides a motorcycle
off-road is faced with this situation sooner or later,
so you need to know how to pick it up and carry
on,’ said Pavey in his good-humoured Australian
drawl, before explaining the physics of the
situation and demonstrating just how easy it is to
single-handedly return a 200kg motorcycle from
‘prone’ to ‘upright’ using the handlebars as a lever.
We were then taught to understand the balance
of our machines, to ride them in ever-decreasing
circles and how to travel not as fast as possible but
as slowly as possible. We were even encouraged
to lock the brakes in order to learn how the bikes
reacted, and were schooled in how to maintain
control while accelerating with the front brake
applied – scary stuff, but all confdence-inspiring.
Then, we simply roamed the vast acreage of
Walters Arena, stopping at regular intervals to
learn something new: how to pick your motorbike
off the side of a one-in-four hill and get it safely
Geoffrey Kent has to be one of the most widely
travelled people in the world. Raised in Kenya,
he’s always been a nonconformist, a pioneer,
even in his teens. At school, aged 16, he was the
proud owner of a two-stroke motorbike. But as
students weren’t allowed to have them he was
asked to leave. After a ferce argument with his
father, he got on his bike and headed for Nairobi.
There, he bought a tarpaulin and a sleeping
bag from the Salvation Army and built a frame
for the bike to hold petrol on one side and water
on the other. He bought biltong and a map and
rode all the way to Cape Town, 3,000 miles away.
It transpired he was the frst person to make the
trip by motorbike. Enterprisingly, he sold his story
to a South African newspaper and the payment
was enough to sail back, frst-class, to Mombasa.
Some years later, he was back with his family,
organising safaris. The entrepreneur in him
started asking questions, such as: how do you
make a guest feel at home in the middle of
nowhere? He soon hit on the answer: with a hot
dinner and a cold drink. What they needed was
a refrigerated truck so the ice wouldn’t melt and
the meat wouldn’t spoil. ‘That,’ he says, ‘is how
we became known for offering unexpected luxury
in exotic places. It’s all about logistics, impeccable
standards and a refusal to settle for second-best.’
Kent says they soon learnt the way to guarantee
quality is to control as much of the end-to-end
experience as possible. ‘Every single part of it is
managed – nothing is left to chance.’
Kent is completely focused on providing the
very best adventure-experience holidays. Since
establishing Abercrombie & Kent in the early
Adventure capitalist
Call of the wild
Clockwise, from left: Geoffrey
Kent’s intrepid spirit spurred
him on to set up safaris, such
as a trek in Zambia that takes
travellers close to wildlife
A passion for seeking out what the world has
to offer, plus a daredevil streak, motivates
Geoffrey Kent, founder of Abercrombie & Kent
Words: Joanne Glasbey
Ala
my
World classKent’s latest travel recommendations
Myanmar
Interest in Myanmar has increased
dramatically since the National League
for Democracy, founded by Nobel
Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi,
welcomed responsible tourism. A truly
spiritual destination, the Burmese
countryside is largely untouched by
Western civilisation. The rivers take
you deep into the heart of Burma and
almost to the borders of China and
India. Travel in style on boutique river
cruiser Sanctuary Ananda through
stunning landscapes that have
changed little in 1,500 years.
The Arctic
The best way to experience the
breathtaking landscapes and wildlife
of the Arctic (above) – untouched
by man – is on an adventure cruise
aboard Le Boréal, which Condé Nast
Traveller likens to a ‘Gold List’ hotel.
Discover polar bears in their natural
habitat; and view the now extinct
Snaefellsjökull volcano, setting of
Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre
of the Earth. Le Boréal’s compact size
enables it to get closer to fjords,
glaciers and bays than big ships.
Sri Lanka
Successive waves of Indian, Arab and
European traders have focked to Sri
Lanka’s palm-fringed shores, drawn
by rare spices, precious stones and
magnifcent elephants. Ancient cities,
tea plantations and hill stations vie for
attention alongside amazing wildlife,
temples and golden beaches. A&K
has recently opened a local offce to
ensure guests experience the country
in its inimitable style.
Sixties, all the excitement of his upbringing in the
Kenyan highlands has been translated into the
trips. The company was the frst to offer luxury
mobile-tented safaris and canoe trips down wild
African rivers, along with adventure cruises,
horseback safaris and gorilla tracking. And it
has always aimed to do it with style.
‘So, if Abercrombie & Kent’s clients are in the
middle of the Serengeti, surrounded by migrating
wildebeest, then they must have beautiful camps,
fne wine and fresh lobsters fown in every day,’
explains Kent. ‘It always comes back to the same
thing: take people to extraordinary locations so
they can experience something they’d never have
done otherwise, in a cocoon of luxury.’
But for Kent, it’s more than just commerce.
It’s personal. He craves adrenaline and the travel
business provides his daily fx, particularly after
an accident ended his international polo career
in the early Nineties. He claims to have tried out
nearly every one of A&K’s trips before deciding
if it can be offered safely. This has involved
travelling from the source of the Upper Amazon
in Peru to where it enters the Atlantic Ocean
(a hairy experience with a swift current and
moving sandbanks) and cruising to the North
Pole. ‘I’ve always had fun – and survived,’ he laughs.
And he’s still having adventures today. ‘I’m
now leading our portfolio of glamorous journeys
by private jet. We cross the globe and stay in
exclusive hotels on several continents. From the
start, I planned the trips to include those exotic
destinations I’d always wanted to see, such as
Nosy Be in Madagascar, Easter Island and
Komodo, where you fnd the Komodo dragon,
the world’s largest lizard. Usually, such places
would be impossible to visit in one journey, but
our jet brings them in reach in comfort and style.’
A&K prides itself on its local guides, who have
an intimate knowledge of a destination’s culture,
history and wildlife: ‘There is no substitute for
having our own people on the ground – experts
with beyond-the-guidebook knowledge. Their
deep roots and long-established relationships
allow us to offer authentic experiences.’
One of the newest additions to Kent’s inventory
of adventures is a walking safari in Zambia. His
description of the experience makes you feel
almost there: ‘There’s nothing more thrilling than
approaching big game on foot,’ Kent says. ‘All
your senses come into play as you approach
from downwind, slowly, carefully, moving closer,
following in the footsteps of your guide, being
careful not to make a sound. Sometimes, the
animal will sniff the wind, perhaps sensing your
presence but not alarmed enough to take fight.
If you take your time, you’re often able to get as
far as within 20ft of an elephant. You can hear the
rhythm of their almost constant chewing as they
browse on grasses and twigs, their ears slowly
fapping as they make their way through the
brush. You can see their long eyelashes, the rough
texture of their skin and the wiry brush of their
tail. Then, if someone snaps a twig or brushes up
against a tree trunk, the elephant will sense your
presence, turn in your direction – much faster
than you thought possible – trumpet loudly, ears
out, and… run off in the opposite direction. It will
all be over in a matter of seconds.’ l
abercrombiekent.co.uk
Profile • Brummell 71
The Brummell website – brummellmagazine.co.uk – is an
essential resource: your edited selection of the very best
in style, culture, travel, watches, food, drink, technology
and motoring. Featuring exclusive interviews, videos and
reportage, it’s the indispensable daily update of
the little black book for the City.
brummellmagazine.co.uk
Epicure • Brummell 73
In a ceaseless quest to satisfy our appetite for adventure
and our adventurous appetites, at Brummell we dine, sniff,
sip and quaff, issue after issue. The most intriguing aperitif
to enjoy right now is vermouth and, much to our delight, the
capital’s coolest drink is available in variations that extend way
beyond the mere sweet or dry. One of our all-time-favourite
amuse-bouches, oysters, is now child’s play to open, thanks
to the launch of a clever new knife. Spoilt for choice by the
number of restaurant openings, we go for an Italian, visit an
eaterie specialising in baked-egg dishes, and, with the Chinese
New Year in mind, feast on fne Asian food. To bring proceedings
to a splendid conclusion, we road-test the ultimate home
espresso machine and sample the awe-inspiring array of malts
on offer at Soho’s newest whisky bar. Chin chin!
Epicure Wining & dining
Epicure • News74
Whisky galore
London’s oldest whisky specialist,
Milroy’s is opening a new shop and
bar, with a basement cocktail bar
named Simo’s (after its new owner)
and a private barrel room for
groups of up to 12 people beneath
Soho’s cobbled streets. The retail
space will sell own-brand whisky
alongside rare fnds. More than
250 whiskies will be served in the
shop’s bar, and there will be casks
available so customers can make
bespoke blends. Milroy’s, 3 Greek
Street, London W1D 4NX
Class acts ↑
The chefs at London’s fnest dining
establishments rarely reveal the tricks
of their trade, but for those looking
to hone their culinary skills, Caprice
Holdings is offering a series of classes
with the head chefs from J Sheekey
and Daphne’s at the Cookery School on
Little Portland Street. On 27 February,
J Sheekey’s head chef James Cornwall
joins Tim Hughes to teach the art of
flleting fsh and preparing a three-
course meal, including the famous
Sheekey’s fsh pie. If perfect pasta is
your thing, Hughes is joining Daphne’s
head chef Michael Brown on 27 March
to cook up a feast of Italian staples.
27 February and 27 March,
10am to 1.30pm, £150 per session;
cookeryschool.co.uk
New kids on the block ↑
M (mrestaurants.co.uk) is the frst solo
project from Martin Williams, formerly
of the Gaucho Group, which sees two
new restaurants launch in the City.
Head to M Grill for steak and M Raw
for tartare and tiradito. Bocconcino
Pizzeria (bocconcinorestaurant.co.uk)
launched in Moscow, but recently
opened on Mayfair’s Berkeley Street.
Its menu of authentic wood-fred
pizzas and fresh pasta follows the
Italian phrase ‘l’appetito vien
mangiando’ (‘the appetite comes by
eating’). Sure to comfort and intrigue,
niche opening Bad Egg (badegg.london)
specialises in an eclectic mix of
baked-egg dishes and hashes from
around the world. Open all day from
8am, this modern Moorgate diner is
an ideal breakfast stop. New in the
City, chef-patron Guglielmo Arnulfo has
opened Italian wine bar and restaurant
Enoteca Rabezzana (rabezzana.co.uk)
with Italian winemakers Rabezzana Vini.
Its wide selection of Italian dishes is
complemented by an extensive wine list.
Oh, shucks ↑
Malle W Trousseau has a simple
approach to kitchenware: no frills, just
genuine, quality cooking utensils that
are well designed and made to last.
A vital piece of kit for any oyster lover,
La Lancette is a professional-quality
knife designed to ease the often-painful
process of oyster-shucking. Made in
Thiers, a region of France renowned for
its cutlery, it is sturdy yet elegant and
has a strong blade and rosewood
handle. It comes with a natural-leather
hand shield that’s suited to both
left- and right-handed users. The
shield covers the whole hand, providing
better coverage than a glove and
making it easier to open as many
oysters as you can eat. La Lancette
oyster knife, £43; mallewtrousseau.com
News • Epicure 75
I should cocoa ↑
The Chocolate Festival is the UK’s
biggest celebration of all things
chocolatey, showcasing some of the
country’s fnest chocolatiers and
artisan-chocolate producers. Taking
place at the Business Design Centre
the weekend before Easter, it’s an ideal
occasion to stock up on gifts, while
surreptitiously snaffing as many
samples as possible. There will also be a
chance to try a range of cocoa-butter
based beauty treatments at the cocoa
spa, and a health trail will provide
information about the benefts of
chocolate and a selection of free-from
and raw-chocolate products. 27–29
March; festivalchocolate.co.uk
Hotshot gadget →
Introduced in Italy in 1970, the
pioneering GS series espresso machine
by La Marzocco was the frst of its
kind to use two independent boilers
– one for hot water and steam and
the other for extracting the coffee.
Forty-fve years and many espressos
later, the new GS/3 is an impressive
piece of equipment that incorporates
original GS technology with modern
design to allow you to make top-notch
espressos in the comfort of your own
kitchen. Designed with perfectionists
and coffee connoisseurs in mind, the
revolutionary dual-boiler system
optimises espresso brewing and steam
production, with portaflters and
precision baskets improving cup quality
and consistency, and an economiser
fne-tuning the water temperature for
tea. La Marzocco GS/3 espresso coffee
machine, £5,760; lamarzocco.com
All in good taste
Since 1959, the Il Cucchiaio d’Argento
(The Silver Spoon) cookbook series
has preserved for posterity dishes
passed down through generations
of Italian families. The latest region
it explores is Puglia – home to
bountiful olive groves and benefting
from an impeccable climate for
growing fresh produce. The calendar
of food markets and festivals offers
a real taste of the region and is an
excellent guide to the specialities
to be found off the beaten track.
Puglia, £24.95; phaidon.com
Asian array ↓
Coinciding with celebrations for the
Chinese New Year, Harrods has opened
Chai Wu (chaiwu.co.uk) on its ffth
foor. The colourful modern menu has
been created by Asian cuisine experts
Jason Seeming Wa and Ian Pengelley,
with specialities including Alaskan king
crab with soy glaze, and lotus root and
lily bulb in a spicy toban sauce. Design
company Harrison masterminded the
interior space, which features a
charcoal grill surrounded by a dining
bar to give guests a prime view of the
action in the kitchen. Meanwhile, East
Asian barbecue restaurant Bó Drake
(bodrake.co.uk) is one of Greek Street’s
newest additions. It’s the brainchild of
Jan Lee, previously at Roka, and serves
a mix of Asian and Korean dishes made
with seasonal British produce.
N O Ë L C O W A R D , W H O S E P L AY
‘ D E S I G N F O R L I V I N G ’ W A S
F I R S T P E R F O R M E D I N 1 9 3 3 .
W W W. B A N D A P R O P E R T Y. C O . U K
D E S I G N L I V I N GF O R
At Banda we set the scene,
the script is up to you.
Banda. Design for living.
To make a classic dry martini, one must frst wash
the inside of the glass with vermouth, then pour it
away. But, with vermouth fast becoming the drink
of choice across London, this year might see more
bartenders retaining it in the glass.
Many of the recent drink trends – among them
sherry, Aperol and Campari – have hailed from
Spain and Italy, and vermouth is no different.
It, too, is a classic enduringly popular in its own
country and enjoying renewed life in Britain,
where it had been neglected for years. A fortifed
wine made with the plant wormwood, it is a key
ingredient in three other cocktails: the Rob Roy,
Negroni and Manhattan.
It frst returned to prominence in 2013, thanks
to the Italian brand Martini, which celebrated its
150th year of producing vermouth and sparkling
wines with a host of glamorous parties, celebrity
endorsements and a collaboration with Dolce &
Gabbana. But it is Spain that has really led the
charge in making the drink fashionable once more.
Dedicated bars have been springing up along
Barcelona’s most fashionable streets, and the city’s
hip alternative-music festival Primavera even has
a vermouth tent, where it is served with soda, or
deliciously cool and fragrant over ice. Catalonians
have been drinking it for centuries, of course, and
it has long been the tipple in Tarragona’s squares
in the evening. However, it has only recently been
seen as a drink for tastemakers.
In London, many of the vermouths in vogue
are of an artisanal variety – after all, authenticity,
or at least the appearance of it, is a consistent
element in the city’s drink trends. Mele e Pere,
the Italian restaurant in Soho that is home to the
capital’s frst vermouth bar, is at the centre of
the revival and keen to promote its variations,
which run beyond just sweet and dry. Its resident
expert offers classes in creating the fortifed wine,
with tastings of the different varieties, and also
demonstrates how he blends his dry white and
bittersweet red into cocktails (£25; meleepere.co.uk).
Tony Conigliaro, the man behind one of
London’s fnest cocktail bars, 69 Colebrooke Row,
recently opened Bar Termini on Old Compton
Street – a venture dedicated to the art of the
Italian aperitif. An ideal place for drinks before
dinner, its small selection of cocktails features no
fewer than three Negronis, as well as a Marsala
martini made with gin, Marsala wine, bitters and
dry vermouth (bar-termini.com).
Create a stir
Ala
my;
Ge
tty
Ima
ge
s
Vermouth, the infused-wine cocktail stalwart,
has made a surprise return to Britain’s hippest bars
Words: Jane Fulcher
Other locations where vermouth is treated with
due respect include Jason Atherton’s Social Eating
House in Soho (socialeatinghouse.com) and City
Social in Tower 42 (citysociallondon.com), the
Artesian Bar at the Langham (artesian-bar.co.uk)
and the excellent Sager + Wilde in Hackney
(sagerandwilde.com), which celebrates retro chic
with an aperitif of Cinzano on ice.
Along with those created by Mele e Pere, there
are several other vermouths made here in the UK,
including Blackdown Sussex Bianco Vermouth
from the South Downs, and Sacred Vermouth,
made in Highgate using Somerset wormwood and
herbs from the New Forest. Other brands to look
out for include Cocchi – especially its amberous
Vermouth di Torino; Dolin, from Chambéry,
the only region in France to have an Appellation
d’Origine Contrôlée for vermouth; Antica Formula,
which is sweet without being cloying and every
bit as good for drinking as it is as in a cocktail;
and the bartender’s favourite, Noilly Prat, which
has stood the test of time.
So, what’s set to arrive next on these thirsty
shores from the Med? Well, Catalonia – Tarragona
in particular – also has something of a chartreuse
habit, serving it with sharp lemon sherbet, which,
when combined with the herbal favour of the
spirit, makes for a refreshing summer drink. Less
likely, perhaps, is Kalimotxo, the red wine and
Coke drink favoured in the Basque region, which
is probably a step too far even for Londoners.
Or will we take up the Spanish tradition of serving
chilled red wines in the summer? Whatever the
next trend, the capital’s early adopters will
certainly be the frst to order at the bar. l
That’s the spirit
From top: A Martini advert from 1953,
when vermouth was frst in vogue
internationally; Cinzano is enjoying a
revival in the trend-setting East End
Spirits • Brummell 77
Buffalo meat – a tasty
alternative to beef – makes
rich, tender steaks, juicy
burgers and moreish jerky
Where once it was only cows, sheep and pigs,
it’s now not unusual to spot more exotic animals
grazing Britain’s green and pleasant land. Buffalo,
llama, alpaca, ostrich, wild boar and crocodiles are
all currently being raised and farmed in the UK,
resulting in an intriguing array of products, and
providing a new source of income for farmers.
The appeal to customers comes not just in the
desire to try something new, but also in the quality
of meat or dairy from herds that have been raised
sensitively in small groups and cared for by farmers
willing to go the extra mile for their animals. That
has seen expensive breeds become more viable
to raise here – as evidenced by a British farmer’s
investment in a very special herd from Japan.
Highland Wagyu (wagyu.co.uk), established
in 2011, is now Europe’s biggest provider of
the prized cattle. The wagyu’s extraordinarily
favoursome meat is said to be 70 per cent down
to genetics and 30 per cent attributable to diet,
so the ready supply of fresh Highland grass is
almost certainly the key to why the Scottish
farm’s produce is coveted by top chefs such as
Tom Kitchin and Adam Handling.
Closer to London, Laverstoke Park Farm,
in Hampshire (laverstokepark.co.uk), raises all
its animals in organic, biodynamic surrounds
and is part of the Slow Food movement, which
promotes natural, unharried husbandry. One of
Laverstoke’s most popular products comes from
its 1,500-strong water-buffalo herd, which is raised
in grassy paddocks and fed only natural grains.
Its buffalo meat – a tasty alternative to beef, made
into rich, tender steaks, juicy burgers and moreish
jerky – has garnered many awards. Its mozzarella,
meanwhile, is the only buffalo version made in
the UK and is justly celebrated for its soft texture
and delicate favour. As well as selling its products
online, Laverstoke Park also has a butcher’s shop
in Twickenham. Its meat and cheese is on the
menus of restaurants across the capital, including
Bistrot Bruno Loubet and Cinnamon Club.
Another unusual breed that has seen real
success in the UK is wild boar, which produces
a richly favoured meat that is leaner than pork,
is correct. White House Farm in Lincolnshire
(oslinc.co.uk) has raised the birds for meat
for 20 years and also sells their eggs. Ostrich
meat from Nottinghamshire’s Gamston Wood
Farm (gamstonwoodfarm.com) is available to
buy at Borough Market.
Food source aside, exotic breeds have other
purposes. Llamas are bred not only for their feece,
but as companions for other livestock, because
they will fercely protect sheep, chickens or goats
by chasing off predators. They are also popular
trekking companions – and those walking with
Surrey Hills Llamas (surrey-hills-llamas.co.uk)
are fuelled by a luxurious picnic and champagne.
The llama’s cousin, the alpaca, has a gentle
nature that makes it ideal for trekking too. Butlers
Farm (butlersfarmalpacas.co.uk) in Essex and the
Isle of Wight’s West Wight (westwightalpacas.co.uk)
both produce a range of alpaca clothing and yarn
as well as offering animals for stud.
The frst crocodiles were introduced to a UK
farm in 2011, when Andy Johnson brought them
to Cambridgeshire (johnsonsofoldhurst.co.uk).
Rather than being bred for their meat or skin,
their job is to eat the carcasses of the farm’s other
animals and thus help with waste disposal. And
of course, they’re a big draw for visitors, too.
At the same time as foreign or formerly wild
breeds are increasingly being farmed, many
traditional and heritage British ones are now close
enough to extinction to be considered exotic
themselves. Slow Food’s UK Ark of Taste project
aims to preserve those animals once native to our
farms but now all but wiped out due to intensive
practices. They include cattle – the Blue Grey,
with their unusual ombré curls, and the red-haired
Devon Ruby Red; three pig varieties – russet
Tamworths, silky Lops, and Gloucester Old
Spot; and sheep – the wonderfully named Badger
Face Welsh Mountain and the large Lincoln
Longwool – to name but a few.
It seems that, going forward, with British
farmers looking to tradition as much as to exotic
breeds, our plates are set to retain the same
splashes of colour as our countryside. l
making it ideal for stews and sausages. Well suited
to the UK’s wooded landscapes, wild boar were
thought to be extinct here for some 700 years,
but have recently returned in numbers now deemed
high enough for the Government to consider
introducing traffc signs warning of their presence
in some rural areas. And hunting boar has become
increasingly popular – meaning you may no longer
need to travel to Tuscany if it’s a pursuit you favour.
For those who prefer their pig ready-prepared,
the Real Boar Company based in the Cotswolds
(therealboar.co.uk) is one of the country’s fnest
suppliers. Its animals are of Polish and German
origin and roam 20 acres of Cotswolds’ woodland,
gobbling all the acorns, berries and mushrooms
they can forage. These contribute to the favour
of the company’s outstanding charcuterie, adopted
by chefs and fne restaurants across the country
and beyond. Try the salami with sloe gin – the
sloe berries provide an excellent balance to the
rich meat – as well as the haunch cuts for roasting,
or the spicy chorizo. The Real Boar helpfully
provides excellent recipes, such as the delicious-
sounding roast boar with chocolate and wild-cherry
sauce, and spiced honey-roast shoulder of wild
boar, for those needing further inspiration.
Another surprisingly lean and versatile meat
is that from ostriches. Surprisingly dark and juicy,
it’s excellent for burgers or steaks, and doesn’t
need much more than a good grinding of black
pepper and garlic. Although ostrich-farming saw
a boom in the Nineties, it fell out of favour with
UK farmers for its lack of sustainability, and the
bubble burst. However, a few small, dedicated
farms have shown it can work, as long as the focus
A new
breedBritain has no shortage of exotic meats and
unusual fare, should you wish to diversify, as
well as native species in need of a bit of TLC
Words: Jane Fulcher
Illustration: Mark Long
Produce • Brummell 79
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Stockists
If you’ve ever wondered what survival expert Bear
Grylls and omnipresent designer Philippe Starck
might have in common, the answer is that they
both have sea legs. Or, more accurately, Sealegs
– an amphibious marine craft that promises
to take much of the aggravation out of boating.
Launched a decade ago in New Zealand,
Sealegs is a rigid infatable boat (RIB) with the
useful addition of a retractable wheel system that
enables it to be driven directly into or out of the
sea, avoiding the need for a trailer or slipway
and eliminating worries about tide times.
Until recently, Sealegs boats were mainly the
preserve of military units and search-and-rescue
teams, but the versatility and convenience of the
design has now brought the frm to the attention
of the civilian market, with the vessels proving
especially popular with island-dwellers.
Unlike many amphibious craft, a Sealegs boat
performs on the water in exactly the same way
as any other high-performance RIB, because its
wheels, which can be retracted or extended at the
push of a button, are driven by their own power
source, independent of the boat’s main engine.
Like most great ideas, it’s simple, yet brilliant
– although the price isn’t exactly a drop in the
ocean. A basic, 6.1m-long Sealegs will set you
back around £90,000, rising to more than
£120,000 for the 7.7m version. l
salternsbrokerage.co.uk
The launch of a high-performance
amphibious vehicle is set to leave
other boat manufacturers all at sea
Words: Harley Sprocker
Ocean drive
Brummell • Need to know80
www.blancpain.com
BLANCPAIN BOUTIQUE 11 NEW BOND ST · LONDON · W1S 3SR
Villeret Collection
Andrew Ben-Salem was in his frst year at Bow
Boys secondary school when the shiny steel-framed
buildings of Canary Wharf began to make their
mark on the east London skyline – a stark contrast
to the buildings at his school, which at the time
needed modernisation and expansion.
Although the rapidly growing fnancial district
of Canary Wharf was being constructed on the
doorstep of Andrew’s home town of Poplar, it felt
as if it were a world away. ‘It was a place that was so
close, yet so far,’ he says. Ben-Salem was ambitious.
He looked at the gleaming new skyscrapers and
wanted a future inside one of them. But as he
attended a school that was struggling to lift itself
from a four per cent fve-GCSE pass rate, it seemed
his dreams were destined to remain just that.
However, Ben-Salem’s destiny changed in 2005,
when Bank of America Merrill Lynch launched a
pioneering education and employability programme
in conjunction with the Tower Hamlets Education
Business Partnership. Targeted at 12- to 16-year-old
schoolchildren in one of London’s most deprived
boroughs, the bank’s schools programme was
designed to teach students about fnance as well
as the practical skills needed in the world of work.
Volunteers from the ranks of City professionals
(employees from the bank, clients and vendors)
continue to deliver the three-year course aimed at
raising achievements and encouraging students
to aspire to higher education and the multitude
of possible careers within a bank.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch chose three local
schools – Swanlea, Mulberry School for Girls and
Bespoke promotion • Brummell 11
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is helping tackle youth
unemployment in east London through carefully curated
mentorship and assistance programmes for young people
Words: Maria Yacoob
The future looks bright
Changing lives
Some of Bank of America
Merrill Lynch’s 200 volunteers
Bow Boys – as partners for the new programme.
Ben-Salem seized the opportunity to enrol. He
relished the chance to learn about business and
the economy, to develop his public-speaking skills
and to gain experience of teamwork, leadership
and problem-solving situations. He soon learnt
about Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s summer
business schools and took part in them for six years
running. He went on to achieve the highest GSCE
results in his year group, completed four A-levels,
and later graduated from LSE with a frst-class
honours degree in accountancy and fnance. He is
now working in commodity trading in the City.
Stories like Ben-Salem’s make it immediately
clear how corporate involvement in the local
community can help change lives. As Ben-Salem
says: ‘Taking part in the bank’s schools education
programme provided me with a great introduction
to the fnancial sector. Even more signifcant were
the valuable skills it taught me, such as networking,
presentation and entrepreneurship, all of which
have guided me to where I am now. Overall, the
programme helped raise my aspirations.’
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has expanded
its schools programme over the past decade, making
a variety of free teaching resources available online
for other schools and companies to use. It has also
partnered with Teach First and City Year to help
promote fnancial education and employability as
widely as possible. Since its inception, the schools
programme has helped more than 6,000 students,
many of whom, like Ben-Salem, have progressed
to higher education and employment.
The schools programme is a central plank
of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s support for
education and skills-based training in the local
community of Tower Hamlets and, indeed, across
the UK. Head of Corporate Responsibility for the
Europe, Middle East & Africa region at the bank,
Andrea Sullivan, knows that its involvement in
‘The programme provided me with skills and helped raise my aspirations’
Leading the way
Opposite: Trading analyst
Andrew Ben-Salem, whose
career choice was inspired
by the schools programme
This page, from top: The bank
hosted more than 600 pupils
from 10 schools across London;
the programme teaches fnancial
and employability skills in its
local community of Tower
Hamlets and beyond
these kinds of projects is more crucial now than
ever. ‘Youth unemployment remains high, and if
young people today lack the right skills to do the
jobs that will be needed in the future, it will be a
great loss – not only for those individuals, but also
their communities and our economy.’
A big part of what Bank of America Merrill
Lynch does is philanthropic, donating to charities
that help to raise standards of education. It recently
partnered on the Young Foundation’s £3m project
to fund and support social entrepreneurs tackling
inequality in education. The bank has also joined
the Social Mobility Foundation’s City Talent
Initiative, which encourages high-achieving young
people from low-income backgrounds to consider
a university education and a career in the City.
However, for Bank of America Merrill Lynch,
community engagement is not just about donating
money. It’s also about employees volunteering
both time and expertise to teach and inspire in the
local community. More than 2,000 employees
have given their time to the schools programme,
and 1,000 have so far registered for another project,
Inspiring the Future, of which Bank of America
Merrill Lynch is the lead corporate partner.
Since it began in 2012, Inspiring the Future
has sought to provide insight into the type of roles
that are out there. It builds on the evidence that
young people who hear directly from employees
about the world of work while they are still at school
are more driven, have higher aspirations and are
more likely to be fnancially better off. Almost
two-thirds of all secondary schools in the UK have
signed up, with more than 7,000 teachers and
more than 18,000 volunteers already registered.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch employees are
encouraged to submit their profle to Inspiring the
Bespoke promotion • Brummell 13
Future and to offer an hour of their time to talk
about their job in a local school.
One such volunteer is Jennifer Boussuge, Head
of Global Transaction Services EMEA, who says,
‘The world of work is changing rapidly and young
people in the UK need to be prepared for future
opportunities. Our aim is to help broaden both their
horizons and their awareness of the many types of
careers open to them. I actively encourage my team
to sign up and share their skills and knowledge with
the next generation. What we get out of this initiative,
in turn, is the opportunity to interact with the young
people who will ultimately be our future leaders.’
Andrew Ben-Salem has also taken the time to
teach local schoolchildren about business through
initiatives supported by Bank of America Merrill
Lynch. He says: ‘Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s
programmes changed my life, so now I believe
it is my turn to pass on the baton and to be a role
model for others.’ l