In June I appeared on a local radio show called Profiles. Inspired by the iconic Desert Island Discs and hosted by Gillie Revill, this Talk Radio Europe programme profiles guests while allowing them to make a selection of six of their favourite songs.

I thought it would be fun and have to admit that the real draw was the chance to have a selection of my all-time favourites played. A bit like having your own show, and for the many frustrated DJs out there (myself included) it’s just the thing.

I’m too much of a talker to get very nervous, so I settled in and let Gillie ask me about my life and times – meanderings that have taken me via Holland, South Africa and Portugal to Spain. I suppose it’s not surprising that I ended up in a cosmopolitan place like Marbella, given that I feel pretty international myself. Read the rest of this entry »

In a world saturated with self-proclaimed experts and art dealers few can truthfully claim to be buyers and sellers of Picassos, Chagals and Kandinskys. For Helly Nahmad, it is part of a proud family dynasty that spans over 50 years.

A man with such a diverse background could not do something banal for a living. Born in Lebanon of Syrian origin, Helly Nahmad grew up in Italy before living in France, Brazil, Argentina, Switzerland, and now in Marbella, Southern Spain. The result is a lively and inquisitive personality that has served him well, for it is his ability to connect with a broad range of people that has proved a particularly valuable asset in his unique line of work.

“My family set up the business when I was still very young, so I grew up with it and was exposed to it for as long back as I can remember,” says Helly. “My uncles, who still play a very active role today, chose to locate their first gallery right next to La Scala, in Milan.” It was from here that they built up one of the most renowned art dealerships in the world – one that specialises exclusively in the very pinnacle of art and the very greatest names. Read the rest of this entry »

Nestled amid undulating terrain halfway between Marbella and Sotogrande is Finca Cortesin, a country club where golf and the art of refinement take centre stage.

For those fortunate enough to call it home a country club is not only a good address, but also a privileged environment to live in. Many pretenders have sprung up around the world over the years, but the characteristics of a true country club are space, quality and planning – the latter courtesy of a master plan.

The reason why country clubs are so desirable is that, unencumbered by the normal limitations of city planning, its developers can create an idyllic environment in which security, living and entertainment go hand in hand. For this reason golf is an almost integral part of country club life, not only because a golf club and its clubhouse provide a sporting and social hub for a private community of this kind, but also because the sense of living enveloped within the greenery of beautifully kept fairways adds considerably to one’s quality of life. Read the rest of this entry »

With the exquisite Hyperion – an ode to the sumptuous pre-war limousines – Pininfarina have truly outdone themselves. For once not designed to the brief of a large car manufacturer, but made to measure for a private client, this Rolls Royce-based car is the epitome of elegance and hand-built quality in our era.

Take a Rolls Royce Drophead Coupé, a private motoring enthusiast with financial means and a team of Pininfarina’s finest designers. What you get is the Pininfarina Hyperion – a dream car whose bespoke design and handmade quality hark back to an age when Ettore Bugatti would build the finest chassis and engines in the world, and Jacques Saoutchik or H.J. Mulliner would fit the most exquisite bodywork onto it. Read the rest of this entry »

Having earned this nickname because of its famous connection with Roman Abramovitch, Chelsea FC lies in one of the most desirable parts of London – an area that is also home to a small but prominent Russian community.

Before June 2003, Chelsea was known above all for three things: Chelsea Football Club, a privileged address within the British capital and the Chelsea Pensioners. Since then, it has become associated with glamorous football, glamorous lifestyles and glamorous Russians.

Situated on the edge between the boroughs (districts) of Chelsea and Fulham, this is a club that uncharacteristically finds itself not in the middle of a sea of red brick workers’ houses but surrounded by spacious parks and the leafy streets of one of London’s most genteel suburbs. Fine cars parked in front of grand old city homes would not normally go hand in hand with bi-weekly crowds of over 40,000 that pack into Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s historic ground, but here it has become something of a tradition. Read the rest of this entry »