Latest Homes magazine

The Paul O’Grady Show’s Marc Abraham explains why Crufts has more to offer than just dog shows

If you’re a dog lover too, the chances are that you’ll be well-aware of the greatest canine convention on the planet happening in exactly a month’s time.

Last year’s winner – Fabulous Willy

The Kennel Club’s world-famous Crufts Dog Show 2008 will once again be filling all five main halls of Birmingham’s giant NEC. A staggering 25,000 dogs are expected to compete this year, easily securing its place as the world’s largest dog show.

As well as being the biggest show yet in the event’s illustrious history, Crufts 2008 offers visitors much more than just seeing different shapes and sizes of dogs all competing with one another. Dog lovers and prospective owners will also have the chance to meet and greet over 190 different breeds of potential pedigree partners in the ‘Discover Dogs’ area, and cross breeds and mongrels will be taking part in the various obedience, agility and training competitions that will take place over the four days.

These days many factors influence an individual breed’s popularity, including price, size and of course, celebrity endorsement – especially Chihuahuas, Pugs and Bulldogs. The Kennel Club keeps a strong focus on those less sought-after breeds that it feels are vulnerable, even ensuring that they are protected from the threat of extinction. And recently, several traditional British breeds in particular – such as the Fox Terrier – are under threat, as more and more overseas breeds become popular with the British public.

Named after its founder, Mr Charles Cruft (an ambitious young travelling salesman way back in 1878), Crufts as we know it began in 1891; a show run solely for profit until it was sold to the Kennel Club in 1942. Since then, Crufts has increased in stature year after year, continuing to grow in success and size for both its exhibitors and public.

Crufts really has so much for all the family, from a host of fast and furious displays including agility and the famous Flyball, to heelwork and music competitions, dog displays, and much much more. And if that hasn’t satisfied your canine cravings, this year there are nearly 500 trade stands packed with everything for you and your dog, and they come from all over the world too!

I visited Crufts for the first time last year and absolutely loved it. And I’m really looking forward to going back up to Birmingham next month to witness even more canine craziness this time around. It’s massive, and with so much to see and do, I can’t recommend a trip to Crufts enough. Best in Show – the top dog in the world – as always will be decided on the Sunday when we’ll see which dog will take the ultimate canine crown from last year’s winner – the five-year-old Tibetan Terrier Fabulous Willy (not a bar on St James’s St!)

Hope to see you all there!

Crufts, Birmingham NEC, March 6-9 2008.

For more information call 0870 6066750, or visit www.crufts.org.uk

The Italian lodger who doesn’t quite fit in

Since the New Year, life has settled back into a rather dull old routine at Landlady Towers. My Italian lodger, who is here for another two months, I find deeply irritating. He has not done anything wrong at all, but in spite of the huge language barrier, I know that he’s not my kind of person. For a start, he perpetually wears dayglo sweaters over open-necked shirts giving him a distinct air of Wogan-meets-Tinky-Winky, which wouldn’t look out of place on Cbeebies. On a Monday morning, before he goes to English school, he piles these jumpers up on his bed with a note on top saying “clean all this please”. At least he says ‘please’. If I could be bothered, I would leave him a note in return saying something like: “actually, the verb English people normally use is ‘to wash’”, but I am too busy ‘cleaning’ said hairy horrors to worry about grammatical errors.

“There is an unspoken suspicion that, even if his English were perfect, he would be woundingly dull”

Then there’s the fact that he never seems to listen to music or read books and appears to regard our familial viewing of soap operas and reality TV with derision. However, on the rare occasions he’s left with the remote control and the living-room to himself, he immediately switches to previously unheard-of channels which seem to be devoted to obese men pulling milk-floats with their teeth. Hmmm, macho-man wearing dayglo – are you beginning to see where I’m coming from now?

He doesn’t seem to drink either. I’m absolutely fine if people choose not to drink, but he seems to indulge in ‘selective drinking’. That is, he only seems to drink (and fairly copiously at that) if someone else has provided the alcohol. When he first moved in, he quite happily quaffed almost an entire bottle of my Pouilly Fume, then pulled a face and insisted that French wine was far inferior to Italian. I invited him to one of my parties and told him that he should bring a bottle of wine and he arrived on the evening empty-handed.

Perhaps I am protesting too much, because in spite of the fact that my lodger’s never going to be my best friend, he is actually the perfect house guest. He doesn’t make any noise (beyond a little nasty snorting in the bathroom), is out of the house for the main part of the day, politely eats all the food I provide and has now stopped following me around as he did during his first weeks of residency. I think the main problem is that no one who lives in our house wants to talk to him, not because of the language barrier, but because there is an unspoken suspicion that, even if his English was perfect, he would be woundingly dull. Unfortunately for him, there are no other foreign students currently in residence at Landlady Towers.

What traditionally happens with the foreign students who stay here, is that they seem to all pal up on the first night over dinner and spend their entire visit virtually joined at the hip, speaking reprehensible English to each other, which handily masks the fact that they don’t actually have anything in common, bar their chosen accommodation. By the time they get to go home, it dawns on them that they have spent the past month not improving and possibly even damaging their poor English by hanging around with a total loser, and have therefore wasted their entire visit. Perhaps I should find another lodger with a penchant for Dayglo sweaters.

Inside the home of property developer Ed Deedman

When a property comes on the market that has been created by a property developer and expert builder to live in himself, you might expect a high level of finish. That is exactly what you get in this stylish three bedroom apartment close to fashionable Seven Dials.

Owner Ed Deedman has completely refurbished and quite simply re-invented the upper floor space in this large late Victorian property, and the effect is impressive. When you open the front door your expectations are more than fulfilled, and his clever use of the space and creation of new space is impressive. Read the rest of this article »

Andrew Kay faces up to a sartorial and ethical dilemma – with style

You might think that as I get older, my appearance might have become more moderate, perhaps more staid and, should I suggest this, more mature. Well the latter would only be quantifiable if maturity was easily measured. If you calculate maturity on a scale of being sensible then I am somewhat immature. If however you choose the cheese scale as I do, basing it on richness, strength and occasionally being a little blue, then I am very mature indeed.

I recently attended the opening party for Holiday on Ice, one of my favourite events of the year and one for which I always dress up. I wore grey-ish tartan trousers, red boots, a cream frilled shirt and my grey, red and pink overcoat. My hair of course is kept in fine form by the lovely Louise at Trevor Sorbie and was a mass of silver curls. I thought I looked pretty good as I breezed into The Grand for a pre-party pint. That was until my mate Mr L joined me.

‘‘As far as I can recollect, were man’s first clothes not fig leaves followed closely by furs?’’

A few weeks prior he had emailed me asking what my views were on fur. Well to be honest, I don’t really approve of farming fur, but as a meat eater I guess that can be seen as somewhat hypocritical, as is wearing leather shoes or jackets I suppose. I told him so. Not for me to judge I reckoned, and as far as I can recollect, were man’s first clothes not fig leaves followed closely by furs?

Anyway, a few weeks on and there I am in The Grand with my drink (no nuts I would like to point out and why not at £4 a pint?), when in walks Mr L in a full length racoon coat. Talk about one-up-manship. It raised a few eyebrows too and lowered a few jaws.

“What do you think?” he asked. Well I have to be honest – it looked great. Fur does, and is very beautiful. It is, of course, most beautiful when still on the animal – there’s little denying that moral argument.

“What do I say to people who disapprove?” he asked. I pondered and suggested that for the sake of safety he lied. “Tell them it’s a fake, they look so real anyway.” It was a useless idea as it so clearly looks real.

I later came up with another thought. The coat is second hand, clearly, in good nick but from a time gone by – vintage should we say?

“Why not say it’s a rescue fur. After all it would heighten the injustice for animals to die and not for any purpose.” It’s a lame argument I know, and a cynical view. Were I a vegetarian I would feel more free to comment, but I am not. It’s a difficult question and one, in the end, that I have no answer for.

I now await the arrival of a fabulous new suit from Oliver Woo – yellow and blue check with a velvet collar. I can’t wait, after all I can’t afford to have Mr L upstage me in that way too often.

Give your home a stylish, modern touch, with Latest Interiors’ guide to choosing the right tiles

‘Moderna’ ceramic floor tiles and black terracotta floor tiles, £POA, all at www.firedearth.com

Flagstones, limestone, slate, ceramics, encaustic or even quarry: tiles are one of the big flooring trends for 2008. The sheer range of materials and finishes is a major factor, but there are also practical reasons for choosing tiles: safe, hygienic and easy to clean, they even provide a layer of insulation. Modern, affordable under-floor heating systems mean that they need never be cold underfoot. Whether you choose natural stone or manmade ceramic, the vast range of colours, textures and finishes available mean that floor tiles are fast becoming a must-have finish. Where did we get those tiles? Read on and find out…

Natural stone

Natural stone tiles give a beautiful finish. Limestone – a soft, sedimentary stone formed over millennia from shells and bones settling on the sea bed – is a classic finish for period hallways. Popular with designers, it comes in a variety of shades from parchment to a soft
honey colour. Travertine has a more variegated appearance, and is also available in a variety of forms, including polished, honed and tumbled.

Marble – a crystalline material that is the result of extreme heat and pressure applied to limestone – gives a high gloss polish, adding depth and light to rooms. Slate, granite and quartz are also back in vogue.

‘Moderna’ ceramic floor tiles and black terracotta floor tiles, £POA, all at www.firedearth.com

Ceramic tiles

As versatile as stone, ceramic tiles can be more affordable, easier to work with, and offer a greater choice of colour and finish. Unlike natural stone where colour and texture may very, ceramics offer uniform, clean lines – perfect for a contemporary look. Terracotta, encaustic and mosaic tiles are perfect for halls, bathrooms and conservatories. A smoother, uniform finish can also make them easier to clean and maintain.

What’s new?

Size is a key trend: larger tiles add space to small rooms, but smaller styles and mosaics are gaining ground. Lived-in encaustic tiles are also an excellent finish to period properties, bestowing a certain vintage chic to hallways and kitchens. Fussy textures are over: go for smooth chocolate browns, glossy reds, matt blacks or simple neutrals.