Nobody at the Cure EB Silver Butterfly Dinner could tell me what I'd arrived in. Damian Lewis was there, the evening was compered with great charm by Dominic Holland — introduced everywhere, to his evident amusement, as Spider-Man's father — and DS had generously donated a week with the N°8 as a lot in the charity auction, which gives you some idea of the company it keeps. Yet the question I fielded most often that night concerned the long, low, faintly menacing machine parked outside. Nobody knew the badge. Everybody wanted one.

Quinze Ans de Grâce

Some evenings stay with you. Not because of the champagne — though the champagne was excellent — and not because of the company, though the company was as distinguished as any room in London. This evening stayed because of one young woman who stood up, sang like an angel, and reminded two hundred of the city's finest that there are more important things in this world than being important.

We were invited specially to the launch of A Taste of The Championships, an exclusive seasonal menu tasting celebrating the very best of Britain’s larder, thoughtfully sourced, sustainably led, and inspired by the diverse restaurant experiences that will define The Championships 2026 at Wimbledon.

The 2026 Aprilia SR GT 400 is a City Adventurer that Aprilia says rewrites the rules of the mid-displacement GT scooter segment by blending urban functionality with a genuine spirit of adventure. Dubbed a crossover, this bike brings a fresh, fun attitude into the maxi scooter genre.

The Freshness of Thinking: Why Rosé is No Longer Just a Seasonal Footnote

There is something wonderfully liberating about drinking pink wine without pretending it has to justify itself. Rosé has spent decades being underestimated, lightly dismissed as a sugary summer seasonal or a simple patio sipper. Yet, away from the clichés, the category has quietly become one of the most dynamic corners of modern viticulture.

There are some vehicles that suit Salisbury Plain. A Porsche 911 does not. A Bentley Flying Spur might, provided you had someone following in a support vehicle with a calming herbal tea. A Fiat 500 would just look as though it had taken a wrong turn on the way to a garden centre.

The Toyota Land Cruiser, however, looks entirely at home.

It could be straight out of Jane Austen novel – the winding treelined drive, the crunch of gravel under foot as one navigates the carriage circle in front of a stately façade. The architecture blends 17th century Jacobean and Victorian Gothic features of red brickwork, octagonal turrets and finished-off by a duo of mythical stone griffons perched on the roof. 

The first thing you notice about the Maserati GranCabrio Trofeo is not the speed, although with 542 horsepower and a 196mph top speed it has quite enough of that to rearrange your hairstyle permanently. Nor is it the noise, though the Nettuno V6 produces a soundtrack so gloriously operatic that nearby pheasants briefly consider filing noise complaints. No, the first thing you notice is how astonishingly beautiful it is.

So naturally we took it touring through Wiltshire valleys and along Dorset’s coastal roads, to show it off.

Glide the Streets, Own the Journey

It isn’t about just arriving at your destination; it's about savouring every mile with a smile.

Some cars impress me. Some cars intimidate me. Some cars arrive on my drive, sit there for half a second and then immediately reorganise the chemicals in my brain at first glance. The Lotus Emira V6 SE is one of those.