Due to strict wine limits set by the EU excess wine cannot be sold on the regular market and instead ends up getting converted into environmental fuel. Besides his Aston Martin (which he only drives an average of 300 miles a year) Prince Charles has also converted several of his other cars to alternative fuel: his Jaguars, Audi, and Range Rovers all run on biodiesel made of cooking oil.
In celebration of Green Transport Week a UK based insurance company, ETA, is offering a 24K gold-plated Charge Plug bicycle complete with customized seat, handlebars and chain. Talk about pimping out your ride! This glamorous bike also comes with its own security guard. Unfortunately unless you are living across the pond you can't get in on this great opportunity. You must be eighteen years old, live in the UK, and get a free quote online for cycle insurance in order to enter the contest. One person will be randomly drawn after the contest ends on October 21st. This amazing two-wheeled ride is worth £9,500 and certainly makes the green movement a lot sexier.
The world of fine food and luxury dining has trickled into the most casual of foods -- pizza. Of course when it can be topped with anything that kind of freedom allows chefs to concoct the most outrageous of ideas into slices of heaven. But how much would you pay for dough topped with italian chicken eggs, mozzarella, onion and Beluga caviar...say, £350?! At Notting Hill's Mulberry Street that is the price you'll pay to enjoy their twenty-inch Beluga King pizza. And even though there is a credit crunch in the UK it seems the enticing ingredients are garnering wealthy customers and curious diners.
Ketchup is Catsup right? Well, in the UK it will now be considered gourmet. Not exactly in the same tier as caviar and Crystal but the new Heinz Ketchup is made with premium ingredients and promises a pleasing experience for the particular palate. You wouldn't think gourmet ketchup would be something that marketable but it is aimed at those who would never have considered the everyman's condiment before. After twelve long months of perfecting the recipe, Heinz Gourmet Ketchup will be hitting the shelves in a couple of weeks costing three times the amount of regular run-of-the-mill ketchup. Who knew the combination of plump tomatoes, demerara sugar, sea salt, spices, cayenne pepper and lemon juice could really change this special sauce.
The UK's hand-made perfumes have definitely gone in a new direction. This 21st century family-founded business, Social Creatures, is launching a new perfume: Frankfurt Kitchen. That's right -- kitchen! This sensual experience makes your mouth water and arouses desire all in the same scent. Fruity, peppermint, coffee and amber notes blend for a truly unique fragrance that is sure to turn heads. I haven't had a chance to smell this yet and although I am a gourmand-wanna-be I am not sure this combination sounds very appealing. But they do say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach! Maybe this will reel them in.
Does anybody else feel a little nauseous? That's a lot of pink.
But apparently pink is what European limo goers look for in a vehicle, as this large pink H3 Hummer is being billed as the U.K.'s most sought after limousine for hire. The inside is just as cotton-candy-crazy as you'd expect with pink and white seats, a mirrored ceiling with optic lights, and some kind of color-changing twinkling lights. And of course it has all the usual perks that come with a limo ride like champagne, flat screen TVs, and (dare we say it?) prestige.
Mouseprice.com, a property research site that is similar, in concept, to sites like Zillow, compiled a report on the most expensive streets in the UK based on average property values. The two top streets are in Kensington and Chelsea, with average home prices at over £5.5 million on Kensington Square and over £5.0 million on Chelsea Square. Fortunately for those buying into the market (but somewhat less fortunately for those selling), these areas have also exhibited some of the slowest gains in value over the last few years, meaning that those looking to purchase in the near future shouldn't worry about being priced out of the market just yet.
For a more specific look at various parts of the country, check out Mouseprice's full report, or read the full top twenty listing after the jump:
Two new cigar gift packs have been put together exclusively for the British market by a partnership between Hunters & Frankau and Habanos S.A.. Both of the companies are distributors of Cuban cigars, Hunters & Frankau in Britain and Habanos S.A. internationally. The Cohiba set (£79) comes with four individually packed Siglo IV cigars and the Trinidad set (£69) includes three individually packed Robusto Extra cigars. Each of the two limited edition sets comes in a varnished wooden box, and only 1,000 of each will be made available.
According to customer surveys, 60% of guests at Travelodge hotels in the UK said that they hated having to leave their pets at home when they traveled. In response, the chain, which is one of the largest in England, is adding pet-sized beds so owners can bring their dog or cat along. They allowed animals before, but providing accommodation specifically for the animals is a new feature. The pet beds will be 2ft 6in and 2ft wide and come complete with mattress, pillow and duvets.
Once reserved only for first class and frequent fliers, there are now private airport lounges in England where anyone can reserve space, ensuring that their time in the airport is much more pleasant than an ordinary wait in the main terminal. The lounges typically offer comfortable seating, TV, snacks and drinks, and the amenities at some can include digital music listening stations, sports lounges and bars. At Simply Lounges and Holiday Extras, travelers can book space at any one of sixteen different airports and Holideck, at Heathrow, is a lounge that has lots of family-friendly features. Travelers typically pay for a set number of hours, so it's best to book if you have a layover of more than only an hour or two.
Given the size and delicacy of most wedding gowns, even the high price tags aren't usually enough to make them targets for thieves. It seems like it would be hard to smuggle one out of the store. But if you just go for the gown closest to the door, you might get lucky. A rare designer gown was stolen from an Alderley Edge bridal shop in the U.K. when they left the door open on a warm day.
The cream-colored tulle gown was made by Italian design house Toi Creazioni and embellished with gold lace, roses and ribbons and flares into a fishtail skirt. It is valued at £2,665 (about $5,000), but because the dress is so distinctive -- only one other shop in the country stocks it - and so very few like it are sold, the shop hopes to recover it. The shop owner said "it seems a very peculiar way to start married life in a stolen dress."
The LG KG800 gets its name, Chocolate, from its shape and distinctive coloring. It proved very popular
when it was first introduced in South Korea last year and was just made available for order in the UK. The design of the phone is very unique, a winner of the 2006 IF Design
Award in Germany. Weighing just 83 grams, the phone features a full color LCD screen and allows navigation of
the phone's functions via a heat-sensitive touch pad that is designed to glow red when in use and avoid activation when
tucked away in a bag or pocket. When the phone is slide open, a full keypad is revealed in addition to a 1.3 megapixel
camera, complete with flash, that takes photos up to 1280x960 in size. The LG Chocolate also features 128 mb of
internal memory and an MP3 player.
Not yet available in the US, I have heard rumors
that a US version of the phone is in the works.
The world is experiencing shortages of natural resources and the search for alternative fuels is going stronger than ever. Prince Charles is doing his part by supporting some creative efforts and fueling his 38yr old Aston Martin with of all things, wine.
Ketchup is Catsup right? Well, in the UK it will now be considered gourmet. Not exactly in the same tier as caviar and Crystal but the new Heinz Ketchup is made with premium ingredients and promises a pleasing experience for the particular palate. You wouldn't think gourmet ketchup would be something that marketable but it is aimed at those who would never have considered the everyman's condiment before. After twelve long months of perfecting the recipe, 
According to customer surveys, 60% of guests at Travelodge hotels in the UK said that they hated having to leave their pets at home when they traveled. In response, the chain, which is one of the largest in England, is 
Given the size and delicacy of most wedding gowns, even the high price tags aren't usually enough to make them targets for thieves. It seems like it would be hard to smuggle one out of the store. But if you just go for the gown closest to the door, you might get lucky. A rare 
