It was the smartest shopping emporium I have ever encountered and it may be the sign of things to come. The Coronation Festival in the gardens of Buckingham Palace last week showcased the very best of British; smart marquees housed the Royal Family's favourite things. Every stallholder there held a Royal Warrant, which can only be granted by The Queen, The Prince of Wales or The Duke of Edinburgh.
Looking for leather goods? You can't go wrong with Ettinger. Somewhere to stay in London? You could do a lot worse than The Goring-it only recently received its warrant, a rare honour for a hotel, after the excitement of the Royal Wedding.
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You could nibble on Paxton and Whitfield cheeses and conclude with a Bendicks bittermint, before washing it down with a Tanqueray gin, unless you were driving off into the sunset in Jaguar's new F-Type. It was the kind of place you would expect to see Bond looking for something to give Moneypenny and there were many on Her Majesty's not so secret service as The Monarch viewed everything that was on offer.
There is talk of the concept going abroad to places such as the Far East. The Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee fired the starting pistol-now, the Royal Family has found a way to continue celebrating Brand Britain.
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Uniquely unique? The Yorkshire grain silos transformed into a home that's a symphony in glass, steel and curvesAmid the beautiful countryside of North Yorkshire, on the edge of the Castle Howard Estate, The Silos is a property for which the word 'house' simply doesn't cut it. And that's not the only way in which it's made us throw out the dictionary.
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Polluting water executives now face up to two years in prison, but will the new laws make much of a difference?The Government has announced that water company executives caught covering up illegal sewage spills could now be imprisoned for two years, under new laws — but many still have their doubts.
