Birmingham Post

Retail Therapy: Trend Setter ; As Birmingham's Flagship Store Celebrates Its First Birthday, Selfridges Launches a Host of New Labels to Entice the City's Brand Flirts...

September 4 marks such an exciting anniversary for Birmingham - it's been 12 months since the launch of the Bullring and, most notably, Selfridges. It's hard to remember the mediocre days before this most gorgeous of department stores opened its doors to an excited Birmingham audience. And in its short life, it has certainly caused a stir. Love it or hate it, the iconic building - once described as a giant brillo pad - has changed the face of the city, so much so that the even national press ...

Sorry to Spoil the Party ; As the Multi-Million Pound Retail Giant That Is Bullring Celebrates Its First Birthday This Week, Consumer Affairs Reporter Emma Brady Looks at How Birmingham's Independent Traders Have Fared.

It was big, shiny and new - it even opened to the dramatic strains of Fanfare for the Common Man. Ladies and gentlemen, the new Bullring had arrived. There was excitement, genuine enthusiasm and an eagerness to see what was inside the pounds 530 million mall.

Wine Style: On the Grapevine: Artadi Rioja

Putting my cards on the table, I am no lover of traditional- style Rioja. In my opinion, what is generally regarded as an acquired taste, is simply a cover-up for bad winemaking practices, that have become the accepted norm. Let me explain. The problem lies, not so much with the mainstay Tempranillo grape, but with the treatment this receives at the winery as a result of the Spanish love affair with oak. To their way of thinking, more oak equals a superior wine, but all too often, the fruit i...

Table Talk: Blueprint for Success ; Alison Davison Visits the Latest Clone of the Orange Tree Chain Baraset Barn 1 Pimlico Lane, Alveston, Near Stratford-Upon-Avon. 01789 295510.

It's tempting when reviewing another Paul Hales/Paul Salisbury venture to say simply: 'See previous entries'. Except that that would leave rather a lot of white space on the page. After all, if you've visited the rest of their gastropub stable - the Boot, Crabmill, Orange Tree et al - you'll know the story. Modern, good looking places with equally modern and good tasting food.

Very Important Products ; Habitat Is 40 This Year. To Celebrate, They've Launched a Vip (Very Important Products) Range, Designed by Leading Names From the Worlds of Art, Music, Fashion, Sport, Design, Dance, Business, Architecture and Literature. Post Style Editor Caroline Foulkes has a Nosy at the New Range.

Bling bling Blahnik has come up with the one thing most of those who apsire to his shoes can afford - a shoe horn. But if you want the shoes to go with it, you'll just have to keep saving those pennies, honey. pounds 25Don your white suit and whisk yourself back to the heady days of disco with this Low Black Table designed by popmeisters Daft Punk. Inspired by the cover of Led Zeppelin's Presence album and the dance floor at the nightclub in Saturday Night Fever, it has a glass top - so don't...

Changing Cities ; Best Known for Her Rather Distinct Style On Tv's Changing Rooms, Anna Ryder Richardson Talks to Lifestyle Editor Lisa Piddington About How to Create the Perfect Relaxing Space

As a celebrity interior designer, the oh-so bubbly Anna Ryder Richardson has become a household name. We've all watched, sometimes mouths agape, at her creations - whether it's a bedroom inspired by a pair of frilly knickers or a lounge with steel flooring and space age lighting. Her designs on BBC's Changing Rooms have included the bizarrely titled Lizard Lounge, Choca Mocha Shocker and Beach Hut on Mars - no one can argue, Anna has certainly made her mark.

Colin & Justin: Victorian Values

Every so often, a private commission comes our way that leaves us feeling just a little uneasy. Yup, as designers who work primarily (though not exclusively) within a modern field it's seldom we settle at our drawing boards with a view to creating major period style. But that's just what's happening at the moment. And d'you know what? We're having the time of our lives. You see we've just taken on a whacking great challenge and while initially uncomfortable with our brief we're now rising to ...

Offers Style: 1000 Free Facials From Elizabeth Arden

To celebrate the launch of Ceramide Moisture Network Night Cream, Post Style has teamed up with Elizabeth Arden at House of Fraser, Birmingham to offer 1000 lucky readers the fantastic opportunity to treat their skin to an Elizabeth Arden facial absolutely free! As the sun goes down, your skin works throughout the night to replace vital moisture lost during the day and to help repair the negative effects of daytime damage. But as we age, this natural process slows down. Skin is less able to r...

Offers Style: Win Exclusive Golf Breaks at the de Vere Belfry

Post Style has teamed up The De Vere Belfry, one of Europe's leading business, golf and leisure resorts to offer readers the fantastic chance to win one of two exclusive golf breaks! Set in 550 acres of finest English countryside in Wishaw, North Warwickshire.

Archive

25 years ago The mother of ATV's Crossroads star Noele Gordon, Mrs Joanna Gordon, has died after a long illness.

Anniversaries

On This Day: 1853: The world'sfirst triangular postage stamps were issued by the Cape of Good Hope. 1878: In Boston, Massachusetts, Emma Nutt became the world's first female telephone operator. 1886: The Severn Tunnel opened for goods traffic. 1904: Helen Keller - who had been blind and deaf since the age of two - graduated from Radcliffe College with honours. 1911: In France, women attacked fruit and vegetable shops in protest at high food prices. 1928: Albania was declared a kingdom, with Z...

Culture: He's Still Behaving Badly ; Affable Martin Clunes Had to Practice Being an Irritable Curmudgeon in New Itv1 Comedy-Drama Doc Martin, but the Actor Fends Off Graham Keal's Personal Questions About Family Planning with Much More Wit and Charm

Martin Clunes plays an impatient surgeon turned Cornish country GP in new series Doc Martin, so we weren't too far off the subject when he thought the conversation had taken a bizarrely gynaecological turn. I was just trying to ask whether the blissfully happy husband of TV producer Philippa Braithwaite and the delightedly devoted father of daughter Emily was planning to add more children to the mix at some stage.

Culture: Amateur Stage: Mrs Cox Takes Her Wallop Outside City Boundaries

Birmingham's first homely, bouncy, historical musical is being prepared for its first pilgrimage beyond the city boundary. Wallop Mrs Cox, in which writers Euan Rose and Laurie Hornsby tell the story of a fictitious family of traders in the Bull Ring from the early years of the 20th Century to the start of the massive redevelopment, will be presented by Solihull Operatic Society in April - with Euan Rose directing.

Culture: Presteigne Rocks with High Energy ; Christopher Morley has a Ball at This Year's Presteigne Festival

Not often does a soloist's footwear merit discussion in a concert review, but Gemma Rosefield really should have been wearing Doc Marten boots instead of smart stilettos for her performance of Judith Weir's Unlocked at the Presteigne Festival on Saturday afternoon. One of these five fantasias for unaccompanied cello on songs collected from American jails requires the soloist to stamp on the floor - just one of several fascinating explorations of sound resources - but here the effect was decid...

Dine Out Chung Ying Style

The Birmingham Post has teamed up with Chung Ying Garden to offer every Birmingham Post reader the opportunity to dine at Chung Ying or Chung Ying Garden with a fantastic special deal 'Buy One, Get One Free' promotion, where you can choose from a full mouth-watering menu. Chung Ying and Chung Ying Garden provide the largest Cantonese restaurants in the city, offering an East meets West culture with a renowned reputation within both the English and Chinese communities for fine service, authent...

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