Halcyon Sues Sarah-Jane Szikora

The Art Newspaper has reported on intriguing wranglings between the Halcyon Gallery and an artist who worked under contract for 11 years. Sarah-Jane Szikora was receiving only 25% of the achieved price for her artwork and following the end of her contract, she decided to exhibit and sell her work herself at the Arndean Gallery in Cork Street.

A high court injunction stopped the planned exhibition going ahead and Halcyon is now suing the artist for breach of contract. The dispute seems to rest on works undertaken whilst she was still under contract with Halcyon, which they claim they should have had first refusal on.

Find out more about the case from the ArtNewspaper.com.

Police Seek Arab "Playboy" Over Martine Vik Magnussen's Murder

Last week, beautiful young Norwegian socialite, Martine Vik Magnussen, was murdered and her body left in the basement of a flat in Great Portland Street. She had been partying at the ultra trendy Mayfair club, Maddox - the subject of a fascinating profile in today's Observer - in the hours before her death with Arab "playboy" Farouk Abdulhak, who it is believed has left the country shortly after on his father's private jet.

Police are wanting to question Abdulhak in connection with the murder, and the Sunday Telegraph is reporting that in the absence of any extradition arrangements between Yemen and the UK, British prosecutors may be invited to try the young man in his home country, where a death penalty exists.

Afternoon Tea For Two In Mayfair

Afternoon Tea is seen as a quintessentially English tradition, where a pot of tea is served, firstly with thin cut sandwiches, and then followed with a sweet item, like a cake, a pastry or a scone ("Cream tea"). Once upon a time this might have been a daily ritual but now it's more of a special treat. If you are visiting Mayfair, there's a few places where you can enjoy an exquisite afternoon tea.

Afternoon tea at Claridge's, Brook Street, Mayfair
Claridge's is probably Mayfair's most famous hotel, and sets the standard for others to follow. Afternoon tea is served in the art deco foyer and in the reading room restaurant. There are over 30 varieties of tea, including the hotel's own blend. Claridge's was one of the Tea Guild's Awards Of Excellence for 2007.


Afternoon tea at Elizabeth Arden's Red Door Spa
Situated in Davies St, Mayfair, the Red Door Spa from Elizabeth Arden is the perfect place to unwind, relax and be pampered. Following that, enjoy a spectacular cream tea.
Pampering and tea for two at the Elizabeth Arden Spa costs £139 - Find out more

Afternoon tea at Flemings Hotel, Mayfair
Built in 1730, Flemings Hotel in Half Moon street in Mayfair is a superb choice for an afternoon tea with gorgeous sandwiches, and fresh cream scones. It's ideally placed for shopping before and/or after in Bond street and Oxford Street.

Afternoon tea at the Chesterfield Hotel
Enjoy afternoon tea at one of Mayfair's premier hotels, in Charles Street. Choose between a Champagne tea (£24.95), traditional afternoon tea (£19.95), Chocolate Lover's tea (£19,95) or a Devonshire Cream tea (£12.95)

Have you enjoyed an afternoon tea in Mayfair? Use the comments form to share your tips on the best place to visit for a great afternoon tea.

Mayfair Casino Fails To Recover Debts

The Clermont Club in Berkeley Square, owned by Grosvenor Casinos, has failed in its High Court attempt to recover a reported £7million from a prolific gambler.

The gambler, named as Ahmed al-Reyaysa, had gambled £99 million in 18 months, and accued millions of pounds worth of debt. He presented two cheques adding up to £7million, but the cheques weren't honoured. When Grosvenor Casinos failed to recover the money from al-Reyaysa, now in UAE, they turned their fire on his bank, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.

The plaintiffs complained that they only accepted the cheque because NBAD assured their bank, the Natwest, that the payment would be honoured. The High Court rejected their complaint, with Mr Justice Flaux saying in a written statement, “It seems to me inherently improbable that [the NBAD employee] was lying . . . it is much more likely that he meant something slightly different from what [the NatWest employee] meant and understood.”

Related Articles
The Times
Gulf News

Mayfair's Hedge Funds Feeling The Credit Squeeze?

The UK's Hedge Fund sector had made its home in Mayfair, and according to reports, they could be facing a wave of closures and job losses as the global credit crunch takes its toll.

The Evening Standard speculates that a double whammy of lenders tightening their credit facilities, and nervous investors seeking to get their money back could have a potentially disastrous effect on many funds.

Read the report in the Evening Standard

Live Property Information Added to About Mayfair

We're pleased to announce that we have now added live property data to AboutMayfair.co.uk. Using an aggregator service, we are able to present a great selection of properties for sale and for rent from across a wide range of leading estate agents.

Properties For Sale In Mayfair
Properties To Let In Mayfair

40th Anniversary Of Anti-Vietnam Protest in Grosvenor Square

March 17th marks the 40th anniversary of the anti vietnam war protests that took place in Grosvenor Square, and where 91 police officers were injured and over 200 protestors were arrested. To mark this important date, there is lots of coverage in the media. Here's a round up:

Television
South Bank Show, March 16th
This South Bank Show also includes extracts from two never before broadcast interviews from 1968: one with Mick Jagger, shortly after he attended the rally in Grosvenor Square, and another with an angry John Lennon as he responds to attacks from the far left at the end of 1968.

Radio
Desert Island Discs, March 16th
Tariq Ali, historian and author, talks to Kirsty Young including his memories of the protests at Grosvenor Square

Newspapers
Independent: Jagger vs Lennon: London's riots of 1968 provided the backdrop to a rock'n'roll battle royale
Guardian: Power to the people

Blogosphere
Coming soon - if you know of a related post, please email it. address is in the side bar.

Were you at the protest in Grosvenor Square? Post a comment and share your memories.

Mulberry Bond Street Becomes Gallery Space

Mulberry, the luxury English fashion brand, is transforming its New Bond Street store every month this year, with the help of emerging artists, designers, florists, cake makers and even talented, under privelleged young people from Kids Company.

The series of exhibitions begun last night with the launch party for "Unfolded": a selection of dramatic, colourful paper sculptures from Gethin Moller. Moller's works will be on display throughout March and April.


Agyness Deyn and Gethin Moller at the launch party


Jaime Winstone at the "Mulberry Unfolded" Launch

New York's Met Opera Live at Mayfair Curzon

This Saturday you can enjoy a live screening of the New York Metropolitan Opera's performance of Peter Grimes, at the Curzon cinema in Mayfair. The event is taking place in New York and being beamed around the world to a cinematic audience, who can enjoy the performance in brilliant HD. The performance will start at 5.30pm in the UK.

This is the first in a series of live operas being shown at the cinema in Curzon Street - visit the website for more information on upcoming events.

Bond Street To Benefit From Makeover

Westminster City Council has announced a £40 scheme to give the capital's premier shopping streets - Bond Street, Regent Street and Oxford Street - a makeover in time for the 2012 Olympics.

Pavements will be widened, new lighting and signage will be installed and some street furniture will be removed to make it less cluttered. Barriers will be removed from the Oxford Street / Regent Street junction to make it crossing much easier when traffic is halted at the lights. Westminster council decided against Mayor Livingstone's preferred option - total pedestrianisation, with a complementing tram service.

The project will be funded by TFL, Westminster Council and the New West End Company.

Salvatore Ferragamo Hit By Motorbike Raiders

The Evening Standard reports today that Salvatore Ferragamo on Old Bond Street was hit by raiders on motorbikes last night. They smashed through a glass door and made off with thousands of pounds worth of handbags. Witnesses saw a man and a woman on a motorbike making off at speed with handbags around their arms. They were seen heading through Berkeley Square towards Piccadilly.

Last night's robbery makes it the third time in two years that Salvatore Ferragamo has been hit. The store at 24 Old Bond Street specialises in high end Italian fashion and accessories.

Full story in the Evening Standard

Madonna Rubbishes Punch Bowl Reports

A week ago we reported on stories in the Sunday papers stating that Madonna had purchased the freehold for the Punch Bowl pub in Farm Street, Mayfair, for £2.5million.

Digital Spy have since reported that the story isn't true at all, with her spokesperson saying, "pure fiction. I know Mr and Mrs Ritchie enjoy their pub visits but they don't own one."

Danny Cipriani Rues Night Out In Mayfair

Up and coming rugby player, Danny Cipriani, may be regretting a visit to Mayfair's 50 Dover Street nightclub last night, after he was sensationally dropped by the RFU ahead of Saturday's England match against Scotland.

The 20year old - talked up by many as a successor to Johnny Wilkinson - was pictures leaving the venue in Dover Street at 12.15am - fifteen minutes after the RFU's curfew time for players.

Head coach Brian Coach has replaced Cipriani with Iain Balshaw, and said: “I’ve taken the decision regarding Danny and the matter is now closed. I will keep an open mind on selecting him for future games.”

Meet Marion Molteno at Mayfair Library

Author Marion Molteno is attending Mayfair Library on Tuesday 4th March, between 6.00pm and 7.30pm to give a talk about her work.

The South African born author won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 1999, and her latest novel is titled, "Somewhere more simple".

Entry to the event is free and refreshments are provided. For more information, call Mayfair Library on 020 7641 4905

Find out more about Marion Molteno by visiting her website.

Madonna "Buys" The Punchbowl

Image taken from Crouching Badger's Photostream

The Sunday Papers have reported that Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie, have bought their very own Mayfair pub - The Punchbowl in Farm Street.

The Sunday People claims that "Madge" paid £2.5million for the freehold of the notorious pub, which is popular with celebrities and was once owned by London gangster, Freddie Foreman. The People quotes Foreman as saying: ""It's great news. Madonna and Guy are a lovely couple and I've met them a few times at the pub. It's a gorgeous place. Guy likes to have a pint and watch Arsenal". The paper goes onto claim that the couple are considering turning it into a gastro pub or a members club. One can only imagine what the regulars may make of that.

Report in Sunday People
Report in News Of The World
Read reviews of The Punchbowl

The Punchbowl actually featured in the Madonna documentary, I'm Gonna Tell You A Secret. See her and Guy relaxing at the pub in the videoclip below, and she even pulls a pint. Is this a case of, "I liked it so much I bought the pub" ?

UPDATE: Madonna Rubbishes Punchbowl Reports

Firmdale Seeks Location For Mayfair Hotel

CatererSearch.com has reported that hotel company Firmdale is seeking a location in Mayfair for a new hotel. The website quotes owner and chairman, Tim Kemp, as saying:

We are looking for a development site in Mayfair which has luxury hotel potential. The site should be between 50,000 and 100,000sq ft and be freehold or long leasehold.

Firmdale currently seven hotels in central London, in locations like Soho, The Haymarket, Covent Garden and Kensington.