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Shanghai Hotels

Choose one of our hotels in Shanghai and you’re perfectly placed to enjoy everything this frenetic city has to offer. As China’s commercial and industrial capital, it attracts many thousands of business visitors. If you’re looking for business hotels, Shanghai Marriotts are ready to welcome you with great service and all the facilities you need. And there’s plenty in Shanghai to entertain you between meetings. Check into one of our hotels in Shanghai, then take some time out to discover the city – see giant pandas in the zoo; admire the beautiful art deco buildings of the Bund; soak up the peace of the Jade Buddha temple. If the modern city fascinates you, explore the Pudong New Area, with its impressive Orient Pearl Tower, Jin Mao Tower and 101-floor World Financial Centre. Or, for a taste of a bygone time, see the Yu Gardens in Shanghai’s Old Town, the former French Concession, and the grand architecture on the riverfront Bund. The shopping opportunities are unlimited and include everything from tourist memorabilia at the Yu Gardens Bazaar to high-end retail outlets like Plaza 66 on Nanjing Lu. And wherever you need to be based, you’ll find Marriott Shanghai hotels in locations to suit you.

PointSavers offers up to 33% in point savings, depending on the hotel category and number of nights requested.This hotel is offering Seasonal Awards, so you can use fewer points when you book a stay during these dates.

Marriott For:

Best Available Rate Guarantee assures you receive the best rates when you book directly with us. If you find a lower publicly available rate within 24 hours of booking, we will match that rate plus give you 25% off the lower rate, subject to guarantee terms and exclusions. Guarantee does not apply to Ritz-Carlton Montreal, The Ritz London, Ritz-Carlton Residences®, and Starwood-Branded Hotels, including Four Points Hotels, Sheraton Hotels, Aloft Hotels, W Hotels, Le Meridien Hotels, Luxury Collection Hotels, Element Hotels, Westin Hotels, St. Regis Hotels, Tribute Portfolio Hotels and Design Hotels. Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards® members (“Rewards Members”) who book rooms through a Marriott® Direct Booking Channel, authorized travel agents or select corporate travel partners ("Eligible Channels") at hotels that participate in Marriott Rewards® and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards loyalty programs will receive an exclusive, preferred rate (“Marriott Rewards Member Rate”). Member Rates are available globally at all hotels that participate in Marriott Rewards. Exclusions apply. See our Terms & Conditions for additional details related to our Best Available Rate Guarantee and Marriott Rewards Member Rate. Hotels shown on Marriott.co.uk may be operated under a license from Marriott International, Inc. or one of its affiliates.


Can Molina upend Khan’s quest for another title?

Former IBF/WBA junior welterweight titleholder Amir Khan, of Bolton, England, has officially announced his return to the ring for Dec. 15 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena with the goal of becoming “a world champion again.”

Khan, who turns 26 on Dec. 8, will be in his first fight under 2011 Trainer of The Year Virgil Hunter against Molina, having left Freddie Roach after 10 bouts and an 8-2 mark that includes four stoppage wins.

Khan’s transition comes in the wake of a fourth-round knockout loss to Danny Garcia in July.

The loss to Garcia was the second in a row for Khan, whose winning streak under Roach ended with a controversial split-decision loss to Lamont Peterson last December.

“I am looking forward to getting back in the ring and continuing my career. I believe in myself and my abilities,” said Khan during a Tuesday press conference at The Mayfair Hotel in London announcing their fight, along with Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya.

“With each fight I learn what I am capable of doing and these opportunities afford the chance to better myself and continue to comeback stronger than before.”

Khan-Molina will be televised live on Showtime in the United States, as well as live on Sky Sports 1HD in the United Kingdom at 1 a.m. GMT on Dec. 16.

“This fight represents a major crossroads in each fighter’s career. For Khan, this is an opportunity to demonstrate that he is still one of the elite fighters in his division,” said Stephen Espinoza, executive vice president and general manager, Showtime Sports.

“For Molina, this is a chance to knock off one of the biggest names of this era and become a player in the deep 140-pound division. Showtime has upped the ante this year. This is the perfect end to an incredible run of Showtime Championship Boxing events in 2012.”

Khan began working with Roach following his 54-second knockout loss to Breidis Prescott as a lightweight in September of 2008. From there, Khan won eight straight fights, four of them by knockout, and earned two major title belts.

“Amir is eager to regain his place at the very top of the 140-pound division. This path starts against Carlos Molina, who is an undefeated fighter and someone who Amir knows he will need to be at his very best to overcome,” said Asif Vali of Khan Promotions.

“This is going to be an exciting matchup between two talented fighters and one which we believe will lead Amir to another chance at world title glory.”

In hiring Hunter, Khan will be coached by the man who has guided RING, WBA, WBC and Showtime Super Six World Super Middleweight Boxing Classic Champion Andre Ward, a 2004 Olympic gold medalist who was named Fighter of The Year for 2011.

“I fight for all of the fans that continue to support me regardless of outcome,” said Khan. “I will not be satisfied until I give them what they want. I want to be a world champion again and that is what the goal is starting with this fight against Molina.”

A former national amateur champion, Molina, 26, sees his bout with Khan as “graduation day.”

“I look forward to this fight and the opportunity to fight someone like Amir Khan. I expect him to fight with a new intensity,” said Molina. “But I will be prepared and ready. I am the undefeated fighter in this fight and I do not plan on that changing.”

Golden Boy matchmaker, Eric Gomez, and Schaefer said that among those likely to appear on one of the platforms is unbeaten heavyweight prospect Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., who will be after his 26th knockout in as many wins without a loss.

Wilder is co-managed by Shelly Finkel and Jay Deas, the latter of whom also trains Wilder with assistance from former Olympic gold medalist and ex-titleholder, Mark Breland, and, Russ Anber.

A 2008 Olympic bronze medalist who turns 27 on Oct. 22, the 6-foot-7 Wilder is coming off a second-round knockout over previously undefeated Damon McCreary (14-1, 10 KOs), of Detroit, on Sept. 8. McCreary had come up with stoppage victories in three of his previous four fights.

“I am looking forward to putting on this show, not only for boxing fans watching across the country and in the U.K., but also for the fans who will be able to attend and be part of this special Saturday of boxing,” said De La Hoya.

“Amir Khan is a fighter through and through and I believe he is taking the necessary steps to continue his career and become a champion again. Carlos Molina is not going to make that task an easy one as he is undefeated and always prepared to fight. We will see what happens on December 15.”

KHAN, YOUNGER BROTHER THWART CAR JACKERS

Khan and his younger brother, Haroon, 20, fought off a potential car jackers who attempted to steal Khan’s Range Rover on Monday. According to a report in The Sun, at least six men used a 4×4 to block the Khan’s path but were beaten back.

“These guys tried to jump Amir and his brother, but they picked on the wrong blokes…They parked their car in front of the Range Rover. At least one had a cosh,” said a witness, according to The Sun.

“One slapped Amir and clipped him on the lip, but Amir pulled back and knocked him out cold. Then five of them went for Amir and Haroon, but they stood their ground, and these guys got dropped one by one. They left these men with cuts and bruises, but all they were doing was defending their property.”

One of the fighters’ rear windows was apparently smashed during the retreat. Police are investigating the incident.


Criterion Capital

Criterion Capital is a property company which owns and manages a £2 billion property portfolio across London and South East of England, including 15 commercial buildings in the West End of London. Founded by current Chief Executive Asif Aziz, a Malawi-born developer, the company's flagship project is the London Trocadero leisure complex and Piccadilly Hotel on Piccadilly Circus in London, which was acquired in 2005. The company has announced redevelopment proposals for the site including a hotel A new plan for a 583-bedroom hotel including "pod rooms", apartments, shops and a rooftop bar was approved by Westminster City Council in August 2012. A TK Maxx retail store was also planned.

Criterion Capital is also developing projects in Croydon with the purchase of two office buildings.

References

Category:Property companies of England


Tottenham hope their training ground will next year become the London base for clubs like Barcelona ahead of key European matches.

Spurs plan to open their ‘player lodge’ – a state-of-the-art 45-room facility close to their Hotspur Way headquarters in Enfield – early in summer 2018.

The club’s plan is that the multi-million-pound facility, which is currently under construction, will be used by top clubs before Champions League and Europa League matches in London.

Instead of staying at a hotel and training elsewhere, the lodge - not to be confused with Spurs Lodge, the club’s previous training ground in Chigwell, Essex, which they left in 2012 - would allow these clubs to train and sleep on the premises.

Planning permission was granted in January 2015 and construction work is well underway, meaning the lodge may be open in time for the start of the 2018-19 season. To support their case, Spurs presented letters from Barcelona and AC Milan to Enfield councillors late in 2014.

England squad at Tottenham's Training Centre on March 25th 21 show all England squad at Tottenham's Training Centre on March 25th 1/21 Nick Potts/PA Wire 2/21 AFP/Getty Images 3/21 AFP/Getty Images 4/21 AFP/Getty Images 5/21 AFP/Getty Images 6/21 Getty Images 7/21 Getty Images 8/21 Getty Images 9/21 Getty Images 10/21 Getty Images 11/21 Getty Images 12/21 Getty Images 13/21 Getty Images 14/21 Getty Images 15/21 Getty Images 16/21 Getty Images 17/21 Getty Images 18/21 Getty Images 19/21 Getty Images 20/21 Getty Images 21/21 Getty Images 1/21 Nick Potts/PA Wire 2/21 AFP/Getty Images 3/21 AFP/Getty Images 4/21 AFP/Getty Images 5/21 AFP/Getty Images 6/21 Getty Images 7/21 Getty Images 8/21 Getty Images 9/21 Getty Images 10/21 Getty Images 11/21 Getty Images 12/21 Getty Images 13/21 Getty Images 14/21 Getty Images 15/21 Getty Images 16/21 Getty Images 17/21 Getty Images 18/21 Getty Images 19/21 Getty Images 20/21 Getty Images 21/21 Getty Images

These documents indicated that the player lodge would meet the requirements of these clubs, while there is also a strong chance England would stay there the night before matches at Wembley. The national team regularly train at Hotspur Way prior to friendlies and qualifiers.

The lodge will be located at Myddleton Farm, a stone’s throw from Hotspur Way. As well as housing club and international sides, Tottenham players will use it to rest between double training sessions, which are often favoured by current manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Spurs could also stay at the lodge before home games and other fixtures in London, while prospective new signings would use it as their transfers were being concluded – the perfect scenario for those deadline-day deals that are not sealed until late at night.

The player lodge represents another step in Spurs’ attempts to join Europe’s leading clubs. Their training ground, opened in 2012, is regarded as one of the best in the country. They hope to move into their 61,000-seat stadium – a project costing about £800million – for the 2018-19 campaign.

Regarding the new ground, the picture should become clearer towards the end of the month, when Spurs will decide whether to activate their option to stage home fixtures at Wembley next season.


Don't miss out on a lower price on this hotel

Get an overview of this hotelNewly renovated 4-star hotel near London Heathrow Airport

Popular property highlights

24-hour business center

Laundry facilities

Smoke-free property

24-hour front desk

Multilingual staff

Near Heathrow Airport

Large hotel with connections to London’s city center. The property is just minutes from all Heathrow Airport terminals by way of the airport shuttle (surcharge).

High-Speed Internet Access

Complimentary wireless high-speed Internet access is available to guests in public areas (one hour of free use). Other amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, 24-hour room service, and the Orchard Restaurant, an eatery focused on locally sourced ingredients.

Interactive televisions

The hotel's 426 newly renovated, modern guestrooms feature interactive televisions with video games, Internet access, and coffee/tea-making facilities. Club room upgrades will also have access to the Club lounge, serving breakfast, all-day refreshments and hors d’Oeuvres

Sheraton Heathrow Hotel

Hotel Amenities

Hotel Amenities

The reception, lobby, restaurants, and bar areas of the Sheraton Heathrow Hotel underwent a major refurbishment at the start of 2012. The new Orchard Restaurant offers a range of steaks, burgers, and homemade pizzas fresh from a stone fire oven. The Link@Sheraton Café offers travelers the opportunity to grab something on the go. 24-hour room service is also available.

The Link @ Sheraton Internet point located in the lobby provides guests with complimentary wireless Internet access for 40 minutes either from PC workstations available on site or from their own laptops. This area offers guests the opportunity to check into their flights online and print off their boarding passes, thereby avoiding lengthy lines at the airport. Guests can also purchase WiFi and HSIA for a fee.

The hotel offers all guests complimentary 24-hour access to the fitness center, which offers a range of cardio and resistance equipment. A conference center provides 20 meeting rooms that total 11,690 square feet (1,086 square meters) of event space.

An airport shuttle is available at scheduled times for an extra fee, and limo or town car service can also be provided. Guests must contact the hotel 24 hours prior to arrival to arrange transfers. Guests can also check in for their flights and print boarding passes at the hotel.

Hotel Policies

Check-in

Airport shuttle service is available at scheduled times during limited hours. Contact the property in advance to get details.

Check-out

Check-out time is noon

Payment types

Children and extra beds

Children are welcome.

Rollaway/extra beds are not available.

Free cribs (infant beds)!

Pets

Pets stay free

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.

Government-issued photo identification and a credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.

Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges. Special requests cannot be guaranteed.

No rollaway/extra beds available

Pets allowed (no fees)

Fees

You'll be asked to pay the following charges at the property:

Shuttle transfer per adult: GBP Â£5.00 (one way)

We have included all charges provided to us by the property. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the room you book.

Optional extras

The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, check-in, or check-out.

Fee for buffet breakfast: GBP 16.50 per person (approximately)

Fee for wireless Internet in public areas: GBP 15 per night (rates may vary)

Fee for wired Internet in public areas: GBP 15 per 24-hour period (rates may vary)

Airport shuttle fee: GBP 4.50 per person (one way)

Self parking fee: GBP 15 per night (in/out privileges)

The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.

Hotel Name

Heathrow Hotel Sheraton

Heathrow Sheraton

Heathrow Sheraton Hotel

Hotel Sheraton Heathrow

Sheraton Heathrow

Sheraton Heathrow Hotel

Sheraton Hotel Heathrow

Sheraton Heathrow Hotel West Drayton, Greater London

Sheraton West Drayton

West Drayton Sheraton

Sheraton Heathrow Hotel West Drayton

Sheraton Heathrow West Drayton

We should mention

The property has connecting/adjoining rooms, which are subject to availability and can be requested by contacting the property using the number on the booking confirmation. Free in-room WiFi has a 3-device limit.

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The Kill Bill actor told the New York Times of encounter in London: ‘He tried to shove himself on me. He tried to expose himself’

Uma Thurman has broken her silence about her experiences with the disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein. In an interview with the New York Times, the actor described an attempted sexual assault in Weinstein’s suite at the Savoy hotel in London in the mid-1990s.

Weinstein has been accused of sexual harassment, assault and rape by multiple women. Thurman, the star of movies including Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, said last year she would come forward about her experiences with Weinstein when she was ready to do so.

Rose McGowan's memoir Brave details alleged rape by Harvey Weinstein Read more

Speaking to the New York Times, she said: “It was such a bat to the head. He pushed me down. He tried to shove himself on me. He tried to expose himself. He did all kinds of unpleasant things. But he didn’t actually put his back into it and force me.

“You’re like an animal wriggling away, like a lizard. I was doing anything I could to get the train back on the track. My track. Not his track.”

The actor also accused her former representatives, Creative Artists Agency, of being “connected” to Weinstein’s predatory behavior – CAA has issued an apology – and accused director Quentin Tarantino of failing to protect her when she crashed a car in Mexico while they were making Kill Bill.

The attempted assault in London, she told the Times, came after a meeting with Weinstein in a hotel room in Paris, during which he wore a bathrobe.

“I didn’t feel threatened,” she said. “I thought he was being super idiosyncratic, like this was your kooky, eccentric uncle.”

Thurman said the producer instructed her to follow him down a hallway.

“I followed him through a door and it was a steam room,” she said. “And I was standing there in my full black leather outfit – boots, pants, jacket. And it was so hot and I said, ‘This is ridiculous, what are you doing?’ And he was getting very flustered and mad and he jumped up and ran out.”

Weinstein, who is the subject of police investigations in New York, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and London, is now in therapy in Arizona. British police investigating Weinstein have received two further allegations of sexual assault, sources have told the Press Association. He has denied all allegations of non-consensual sexual contact.

Thurman said that at the time of the alleged London assault, she was staying with a friend in Fulham. The following day, she said, Weinstein sent her a large bunch of roses.

“They were yellow,” Thurman said. “And I opened the note like it was a soiled diaper and it just said, ‘You have great instincts.’”

The actor returned to the Savoy to confront Weinstein, she said, taking her friend with her. She asked Weinstein to meet her in the bar. However, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd writes, his assistants convinced her to return upstairs alone.

Thurman said she warned Weinstein: “If you do what you did to me to other people you will lose your career, your reputation and your family, I promise you.”

A spokesman for Weinstein told the Times Thurman “very well could have said this”.

According to the Times, Thurman’s “memory of the incident abruptly stops there”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Uma Thurman emerged from a meeting with Weinstein ‘disheveled’, according to a friend. ‘She was really shaking.’ Photograph: Jim Spellman/WireImage

Thurman’s friend, Ilona Herman, told the Times that when Thurman returned from meeting Weinstein, “she was very disheveled and so upset and had this blank look. Her eyes were crazy and she was totally out of control. I shoveled her into the taxi and we went home to my house. She was really shaking.”

Herman told the Times that when Thurman was able to talk again, she said Weinstein had threatened to derail her career. Weinstein apparently brushed off the incident, though, and his assistants started calling again to talk about projects.

Weinstein’s spokesperson denied any threat to Thurman’s career and said the producer thought she was “a brilliant actress” with whom he had had “a flirtatious and fun working relationship”.

“Mr Weinstein acknowledges making a pass at Ms Thurman in England after misreading her signals in Paris,” the spokesperson said. “He immediately apologized.”

Thurman said: “The complicated feeling I have about Harvey is how bad I feel about all the women that were attacked after I was. I am one of the reasons that a young girl would walk into his room alone, the way I did.

“Quentin used Harvey as the executive producer of Kill Bill, a movie that symbolizes female empowerment. And all these lambs walked into slaughter because they were convinced nobody rises to such a position who would do something illegal to you, but they do.”

Weinstein is considering legal action following Thurman’s allegations in the New York Times. Ben Brafman, his attorney, said his client is “stunned and saddened by what he claims to be false accusations”.

After her experience with Weinstein, Thurman said, Tarantino’s failure to protect her during the filming that led to the car crash was another blow. She says a “furious” Tarantino pressured her to drive a car for a shot when she thought it was a job for a stunt performer. Thurman crashed the car into a palm tree.

“Harvey assaulted me but that didn’t kill me,” she said. “What really got me about the crash was that it was a cheap shot. I had been through so many rings of fire by that point.”

Tarantino did not comment to the Times, which said producers on the film did not recall Thurman objecting to driving the car she crashed.

“I had really always felt a connection to the greater good in my work with Quentin,” Thurman said, “and most of what I allowed to happen to me and what I participated in was kind of like a horrible mud wrestle with a very angry brother. But at least I had some say, you know?”


In January of this year, a British judge, Robert Owen, said that Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, was ‘probably’ a murderer. The victim, nearly a decade before, had been Alexander Litvinenko, a former Soviet, then Russian, intelligence officer who had defected to the UK, became a part-time consultant to the UK’s MI6 foreign intelligence service and had been poisoned by two other former Russian intelligence officers in a London hotel.

Owen had been tasked with doing a report on the murder. His flat statement that Putin was likely to have been the instigator went further than expected, and brought some relief to Litvinenko’s widow, Marina, who — with her husband — had always believed that the president had marked out the former spy for punishment.

As Luke Harding recounts in his thriller-like history of the murder, Marina called on Prime Minister David Cameron to expel all Russian spies from the UK, and for a range of economic sanctions and travel bans to be put on several figures close to the murder. The list included the Russian president himself.

“It is unthinkable that the prime minister would do nothing in the face of the damning findings of Sir Robert Owen,” as Harding comments, but “the unthinkable was entirely thinkable.”

A few weeks later, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Cameron asked rhetorically if Britain had to carry on “some sort of a relationship” with Russia, to find a solution to the crisis in Syria – and answered himself, “Yes we do, but we do it with clear eyes and a very cold heart.”

Most hearts are cold toward Russia now, from President Barack Obama’s, early rebuffed in a first-term attempt to “reset” Russian-U.S. relations, to recently close allies like Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, enraged by Russia’s military assistance to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The country has few close allies who are not also dependencies. Even Cuba, a Soviet and Russian client, is now seen as drifting into the U.S. sphere.

The cold-hearted calculation in many of the world’s foreign ministries is whether to wait Putin out or confront him. A democratic leader would long ago have faced a challenge: incomes continue to fall; inflation rises as the rouble declines; sporadic strikes and small demonstrations break out more often. But the president remains mostly untouched. Vladimir Putin is making Russia great again – a spectacle staged in some form or another every night on the TV news.

Putin hasn’t much of an ideology, but that which he has, is ferociously pursued. He thinks the West, led by the United States, is out to get him and diminish Russia. He is determined to push back against the West, and emphasise that Russia is not just a state, but a separate civilization. Gleb Pavolovsky, a former presidential aide, now a critic, says that Putin strives to place the West in the box of the aggressor, while he defends truth and global justice.

The opposition to this may be growing, but it remains weak and much of it is in exile (if not necessarily safety, as Litvinenko’s fate shows). At a gathering in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius earlier this month, some 400 members of the opposition, most living abroad, debated in what state Russia now finds itself. Some, according to the writer Masha Gessen, one of the participants, thought it a “hybrid,” combing dictatorship with small doses of democracy. Others, including Gessen, saw it more as a “mafia state,” defined by the Hungarian sociologist Balint Magyar, as one governed by a “family” headed by a “patriarch,” who “disposes of positions, wealth, statuses, persons.”

Patriarch Putin has drawn a small, tight group around him. Alexei Venediktov, head of the still-operating liberal radio stationm Ekho Moskvy, says only two really count: Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, and Sergey Ivanov, head of the Presidential Administration, both former intelligence officers. “They are close to him both educationally and mentally. The more years pass by, the more influential they become.” To have such narrow influences indicates that the course is set, and won’t change.

In this system, everything depends on the tsar-patriarch-president. In testimony to the U.S. Congress in February, Fiona Hill, director of the Brookings Center on the United States and Europe and a formidable expert on Russia for two decades, said that he and his team have “worked very hard to increase (their) tactical advantage by making the Russian President — and thus the Russian decision-making system — as inscrutable and unpredictable as possible… No-one outside the inner circle is supposed to know what is going on.”

This close secrecy surrounding the insiders’ deliberations means that the pullout from Syria was a surprise to all: a nasty surprise to Assad, one could guess. Assad had talked grandiosely of re-taking his entire country, but needed Russian firepower to do so. That may have been a prompt to Putin to get out, before being dragged into a war likely impossible to win, and certainly draining of already depleting resources.

His initiative also secured him respect and status, one of his main aims. The most propagandist, and among the most popular, of Russian TV’s presenters, Dmitry Kiselev, crowed in February that “Finally America has swayed towards us. This is definitely a Russian victory,” which demonstrated that victory is measured, in important part, by the depth of American respect.

It was, definitely, a Russian victory. It was achieved with Putin’s now familiar tactical skill, playing on the confusion and divisions in the West over how to deal with the Syrian crisis. Yet, the long-term question remains. How long can the president, and the economy, last without a serious challenge? How secure would he be in that event? And if insecure, who is next?


Firefighters place the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, where cardinals will gather to elect the new pope, at the Vatican. The conclave date was set during a vote by the College of Cardinals, who have been meeting all week to discuss the church's problems and priorities, and the qualities the successor to Pope Benedict XVI must possess.

Artists dressed as the Hindu Lord Shiva read a message on a mobile phone as they prepare to participate in a religious procession ahead of the Mahashivratri festival in Jammu, Nepal. Hindu women across the country celebrate Mahashivratri, better known as Lord Shiva's wedding anniversary, so that their husbands will be blessed with long lives.

Anti-nuclear activists take part in a street performance during a protest in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. Tens of thousands of anti-nuclear activists around Taiwan marched the streets to urge the government to terminate the controversial fourth nuclear power plant project and to stop using nuclear power.

A Balinese family stand at the beach as they attend the Melasti ceremony prayer at Gianyar beach on the Indonesian island of Bali. Melasti is a purification ritual held a day before Nyepi (or the Day of Silence). During Nyepi, Hindus in Bali observe a day of meditation and fasting, and are not allowed to work, cook, light lamps or participate in any activity.

In this photo released by Miraflores Press Office, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad kisses the flag-draped coffin of late Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez during the funeral ceremony at the military academy in Caracas, Venezuela, Mar. 8, 2013.

Egyptian soccer fans of Al-Ahly club celebrate in front of their club headquarters in Cairo after an Egyptian court announced a verdict confirming death sentences against 21 people for their role in a deadly 2012 soccer riot that killed more than 70 people in the city of Port Said.

Fans scream as singer Justin Bieber appears at the window of a hotel in central London. The singer recently had a check-up in hospital after suffering breathing problems while performing on stage in the capital, during his tour.


Dislikes:

Sound of other guests passing - inadequate insulation; sound of traffic on Balham Hill all night, although the hotel provided ear plugs; lack of a blackout blind to block the light from the street.

Gateway Hotel, Clapham

christineGroup of AdultsStayed: Nov '14

4

Would recommend to others.

Rooms:

4

Value:

4

Friendliness:

5

Cleanliness:

4

Facilities:

3

Staff service:

5

Location:

4

"Welcoming and comfortable"

Our room was spacious and beds very comfortable. It was quiet considering location on a main road.... Read more

"Welcoming and comfortable"

Our room was spacious and beds very comfortable. It was quiet considering location on a main road. Read less

Likes:

Being welcomed warmly by friendly staff

Dislikes:

There was no heating in the bathroom and the floor was extremely cold to stand on.

Gateway Hotel, Clapham

DanielGroup of AdultsStayed: Nov '14

5

Would recommend to others.

Rooms:

5

Value:

5

Friendliness:

5

Cleanliness:

5

Facilities:

5

Staff service:

5

Location:

5

"Very friendly staff good location"

Brilliant service from staff rooms high quilaty and clean rooms... Read more

"Very friendly staff good location"

Brilliant service from staff rooms high quilaty and clean rooms Read less

Likes:

So close to tube and good quality beds very impressed as price was very good

Dislikes:

None

Gateway Hotel, Clapham

HelenGroup of AdultsStayed: Nov '14

4

Would recommend to others.

Rooms:

4

Value:

4

Friendliness:

5

Cleanliness:

5

Facilities:

4

Staff service:

5

Location:

5

"Good location with friendly and helpful staff."

Very comfortable and conveniently located hotel for our stay in London. Staff very friendly and efficient.... Read more

"Good location with friendly and helpful staff."

Very comfortable and conveniently located hotel for our stay in London. Staff very friendly and efficient. Read less

Likes:

Location and staff

Dislikes:

None

Gateway Hotel, Clapham

EithneGroup of AdultsStayed: Nov '14

5

Would recommend to others.

Rooms:

4

Value:

4

Friendliness:

5

Cleanliness:

5

Facilities:

4

Staff service:

5

Location:

4

"Friendly, HELPFUL staff"

2 mothers & 2 adult daughters were in London for long weekend. We wanted an affordable hotel in a charming nieghbourhood away from & close to city center & we got it! In Gateway, service w... Read more

"Friendly, HELPFUL staff"

2 mothers & 2 adult daughters were in London for long weekend. We wanted an affordable hotel in a charming nieghbourhood away from & close to city center & we got it! In Gateway, service was great from start: we were given early access to our clean and comfortable rooms. For departure young woman on desk got a good quote for taxi to Gatwick and ensured the taxi company stuck to their word. She then loaded our bags into taxi before we had returned from walk; all done with a smile! Read less

Likes:

Location was great and staff were so helpful.

Dislikes:

None

Gateway Hotel, Clapham

MadeleineMature CoupleStayed: Nov '14

4

Would recommend to others.

Rooms:

4

Value:

5

Friendliness:

4

Cleanliness:

5

Facilities:

3

Staff service:

3

Location:

4

"Reasonable stay at the Gateway"

Overnight stay... Read more

"Reasonable stay at the Gateway"

Overnight stay Read less

Likes:

Good size room, comfortable bed,

Dislikes:

Poor shower. Radiators switched off and windows open only able to turn one radiator on. Noise of kid running up and down on floor above very intrusive fortunately it didn't wake until 7am next day.

Gateway Hotel, Clapham

PhillipMature CoupleStayed: Oct '14

5

Would recommend to others.

Rooms:

4

Value:

5

Friendliness:

5

Cleanliness:

5

Facilities:

4

Staff service:

5

Location:

5

"Visiting family"

A very pleasant stay in an excellent budget hotel. Compact but immaculate room. Staff went out of their way to help wand get my coat back to me when I left it behind. Thank you very much. Would defini... Read more

"Visiting family"

A very pleasant stay in an excellent budget hotel. Compact but immaculate room. Staff went out of their way to help wand get my coat back to me when I left it behind. Thank you very much. Would definitely stay with you again. Read less

Likes:

Friendliness of staff and cleanliness of room.

Dislikes:

None

Gateway Hotel, Clapham

GrantYoung CoupleStayed: Oct '14

4

Would recommend to others.

Rooms:

4

Value:

5

Friendliness:

5

Cleanliness:

4

Facilities:

4

Staff service:

5

Location:

5

"Great service and convenient location"

We stayed in the Gateway overnight as we were at the O2 Brixton Academy to see a band. Hotel staff were super helpful especially Alex. Room was good and shower great. Double glazing stopped road noise... Read more

"Great service and convenient location"

We stayed in the Gateway overnight as we were at the O2 Brixton Academy to see a band. Hotel staff were super helpful especially Alex. Room was good and shower great. Double glazing stopped road noise so we had a good sleep in a comfortable bed. Would definitely recommend as close to Clapham South so super easy for getting into London. Thanks! Read less

Likes:

Alex was really helpful with bus and train info and a cab number if we needed it. Would recommend to friends


BANGKOK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The family of actor David Carradine has asked U.S. authorities to help unravel the mystery of his death, amid conflicting reports about how his body was found hanging naked in a Bangkok hotel.

David Carradine arrives at the London premiere of "Kill Bill Volume 2" in a 2004 photo. REUTERS/File

Mark Geragos, a Los Angeles attorney who represented Carradine’s brother, Keith Carradine, said on Saturday the family has contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation and filed a formal request to have the FBI contact authorities in Thailand for further information.

“They’ve done it because of the conflicting reports and the nature of those reports that have given the family great pause,” Geragos told Reuters.

Speculation about the death of Carradine, 72, who starred in the 1970s-era U.S. television show “Kung Fu” and the more recent “Kill Bill” movies, has deepened since his body was discovered on Thursday by a maid in the Bangkok hotel suite where he was staying while filming the movie “Stretch.”

With coroners awaiting results of toxicology tests, Thai media pointed to suicide or accidental autoerotic asphyxiation as possible causes of death. Some reports have said a cord was wrapped around Carradine’s genitals and others that his hands were bound behind his back. None could be confirmed.

Geragos said Carradine’s family had no more information than what had been written and said in the media, which was why they were seeking the FBI’s help.

“I wish for them, and their sake, that they did (have more information), but it’s the opposite,” Geragos said. “They are getting reports that both seem conflicting and evolving.”

Slideshow ( 2 images )

FAMILY SEEKS HELP

Geragos said Thai authorities must invite the FBI into the investigation and he did not know how long that might take.

The family has hired forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, a former chief medical examiner for New York City who appears on HBO cable TV show “Autopsy,” to look into the death when Carradine’s body returns to the U.S.

Thai television said the body was flown home to Los Angeles early on Saturday, which Geragos confirmed.

Representatives for the family in Los Angeles were not immediately available for further comment Saturday evening.

In Bangkok, police said it could take several weeks for coroners to confirm exactly how Carradine died.

“What we’re doing right now is interviewing more witnesses,” Police Colonel Somprasong Yentuam told Reuters.

“It should take roughly three weeks for the blood test result, then we can wrap this case up.” Somprasong said he believed the likely cause of death was asphyxiation.

A maid found Carradine hanging in the closet of his hotel suite at Bangkok’s Swissotel Nai Lert Park hotel. Initial reports indicated a possible suicide, but family representatives have repeatedly denied that possibility.

Carradine, the son of the late character actor John Carradine, enjoyed a long career on Broadway, TV and in films. But he was most famous for his role in “Kung Fu,” playing Caine, a martial arts specialist who wandered through the American Old West seeking wisdom and beating up bad guys.


There is a swimming pool surrounded by loungers, parasols, sun terraces, water falls, beautiful gardens, pool/beach towels, beach access, water sports on the beach. Relax in the spa with various treatments, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, massages in spa and on the beach and a gymnasium. There is a 9-hole golf course, tennis court and a multi purpose court.

Enjoy a meal in one of the 15 restaurants including 3 buffet style, Mexican A la Carte, Italian A la Carte, Mediterranean A la Carte, Seafood A la Carte, Asian specialties, 2 sushi restaurants, A la Carte snack restaurant and a Brazilian style lunch A la Carte restaurant. There are 12 bars and an entertainment programme.

Local charges may apply to some hotel facilities and others may be seasonal.

Rooms

Grand Oasis Cancun comprises of 488 rooms and suites. All are equipped with bathroom with bath/shower, WC, hairdryer, bath amenities, king size or 2 queen size beds, cable TV, telephone, mini bar, safety deposit box rental, air conditioning and a balcony or terrace. The suites also have a whirlpool.

Local charges may apply to some hotel facilities and others may be seasonal.

All Inclusive

The All Inclusive information is a guide only and is subject to change and/or availability.

The All Inclusive programme includes breakfast from 06.30-10.30, lunch from 12.30-16.30 and dinner from 18.30-23.00, all served buffet style in the main restaurant. Specialty restaurants are available with prior reservation. Snacks are available at various times throughout the day.

Locally produced alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, beer, wine, juices, soda and fruit cocktails are served from 10.00-00.00.

Non-motorised water sports, green fees at the 9-hole golf course and the fitness/leisure facilities are all included.

The All Inclusive information is a guide only and may be subject to change and/or availability.

Special Information

Please note: A compulsory departure tax of approx 800 Mexican Pesos (42-45GBP per person (Scottish pounds not accepted)) will be payable locally at the airport.

Please note: A compulsory departure tax of approx 1120 Mexican Pesos per person (approx £50, Scottish pounds not accepted) will be payable locally at the airport on your departure.

This accommodation has previously been known as : Be Live Grand Cancun

Map of Grand Oasis Cancun

In a central location, right in the heart of Cancun hotel zone, this modern hotel occupies a prime location, amidst tropical gardens that lead directly onto Cancun's white sandy beach.

Please note: the hotel locations shown are to be used for guide purposes only.

Grand Oasis Cancun Reviews

Customer Rating3.5 / 5
from 4Customer Reviews

Miss L Pratten, Liverpool

Holiday Date:

24th Jul 2016

Accommodation:

Grand Oasis Cancun

Room:

Double Or Twin

Board:

All Inclusive

(5 suns)

Amazing place. Great food, beach amazing. Pool massive; a lively side and quiet side for families. Don't listen to the bad trip advisor reviews. They're all written by Americans who haven't stayed in European hotels and don't know what a bad or normal hotel is.

Mr A Stone, Burnley

Holiday Date:

8th Apr 2016

Accommodation:

Grand Oasis Cancun

Room:

Standard Room

Board:

All Inclusive

(3 suns)

Everything about the Grand Oasis was 5* idyllic, it was paradise on earth. The rooms nice, big, clean, lovely touches. Pools were plentiful with areas for those being loud and drinking throughout the day, and areas for quiet sunbathing and chill. Staff were generally lovely. A few time share personnel around trying to give you a free gift but just say no and they don't bother you. Location was perfect. Not far from Cancun or the nightlife on the strip (Coco bongos etc) if you seek that. Beach was lovely. White sand with sunbeds a plenty. Entertainment was OK, few bars catering for different needs and two clubs with burlesque in one and bands in the other etc.

The only let down here was the food. Hence 3*, it wasn't the best. There was plenty of choice with all the different A la carte restaurants but each and everyone could have been better, food was often bland, tasteless or cold. Nowhere did we eat more than once and none were of proper restaurant quality, large scale cafeteria food. The breakfast buffet was beyond a joke with endless queueing for a table, whilst many tables unoccupied. For a 5* hotel you should not have to queue or come back later for your table. The rodizio was much the same, queue for an hour to be told to come back an hour later. Ridiculous. Visited the Bahia Principe chain for a few days on the same holiday where food in comparison was 5*, it oozed with quality products, food was amazing and not a queue in sight. Grand Oasis you really need to sort the organisation of meal times out. Apart from this the hotel was amazing but food is a big big deal to us.

Mr M Deroua, London

Holiday Date:

28th Mar 2014

Accommodation:

Grand Oasis Cancun

Room:

Double Or Twin - Ocean View

Board:

All Inclusive

(3 suns)

Great hotel, beautiful beach and an amazing swimming pool. Nice room in the Pyramide. This hotel is not a 5 star hotel, far from it, but overall was nice, apart from the staff, who are not very helpful, and sometimes even rude.

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The Montague On The Gardens (4 Star)

Address: 15 Montague Street Bloomsbury
England Phone number: 44-2076371001 (Reservation can be made right now online for The Montague On The Gardens)

The Montague On The Gardens 15 Montague Street Hotel details and room rates

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The Montague On The Gardens is Situated nearly three miles from London City Airport. nearly 18 miles from London Heathrow Airport. and nearly 27 miles from London Gatwick.

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Joseph McCann is accused of raping, sexually assaulting or kidnapping 11 women and children aged 11 to 71

A serial rape suspect bound a mother with electrical cable and forced her to listen to the screams of her children as he raped them both, a court heard today.

Hours later Joseph McCann allegedly held a 71-year-old and a girl aged just 13 prisoner in the pensioner's car while he sexually assaulted them.

McCann, from Harrow in north London, went on to goad police, telling them: 'If you caught me for the first two, the rest would not have happened.'

The 34-year-old was arrested hiding up a tree after a reign of terror during which victims aged 11 to 71 were kidnapped, raped, and sexually assaulted, the Old Bailey was told.

In a two-week spree between April 20 and May 5, he is said to have carried out attacks across London, Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire.

On the second day of his trial, prosecutor John Price QC gave an account of the dramatic events leading to McCann's arrest on May 6.

Jurors heard he kidnapped his first victim, a 21-year-old woman, as she walked home from Pryzm nightclub in Watford in the early hours of April 21.

After kidnapping her with a knife to her throat, he told her: 'I don't agree with hitting women', before raping her in her own bed.

On April 25, he abducted a 21-year-old woman in broad daylight in north-west London. Already inside the car was another woman, 25, who had been abducted in east London and held captive for 14 hours.

Both were repeatedly raped, but escaped after smashing a vodka bottle over McCann's head.

McCann then allegedly travelled north where he held a family of three prisoner.

McCann pictured in a petrol station buying condoms after 'snatching another victim'

Timeline of abductions and rapes believed to be linked to McCann 1. Sunday, April 21, 3.30am. A woman in her twenties, was abducted and raped in a car in Watford, Herts. 2. Thursday, April 25, 12.30am. A woman in her twenties, was abducted and raped in a car in Chingford, London. 3. Thursday, April 25, 12.15pm. A woman in her twenties, was abducted and raped in a car in Edgware, London. 4. Sunday, May 5, 8am. A teenage girl, 17, and her 11-year-old brother were raped in Haslingden, Lancs. In the same incident a woman in her thirties was falsely imprisoned. 5. Sunday, May 5, 1.30pm. A woman aged 71 was abducted and raped in Bury, Manchester. 6. Sunday, May 5, 3.30pm. Two 13-year-old boys and a 13-year-old girl were abducted in Heywood, Manchester. The 13-year-old girl was sexually assaulted. 7. Sunday, May 5, 6.30pm. Two 14-year-old girls were forced into a car in Congleton, Cheshire. They were not sexually assaulted. On Monday, May 6 Joseph McCann was arrested in the early hours of the morning. Advertisement

McCann met a woman in a bar in Haslingden, Greater Manchester in the early hours of Sunday, 5 May and took advantage of her drunken state to take her home, jurors heard today.

When they arrived at her house, he tied to her bed using electrical wiring.

He then woke her 17-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son as he raped them both in the next room and forced the other to watch, jurors heard.

The family only escaped when the daughter jumped from a window naked and ran to a neighbour's house to call the police.

Jurors were shown distressing footage of the moment the girl jumped out of the window after being raped, to run for help.

The teenager then made a harrowing 999 call, part of which was played to the court.

Sobbing, the girl told the operator: 'He's been keeping us hostage.'

Later that day he forced a pensioner to drive him around as he snatched children from the street, it is alleged.

He punched the 71-year-old woman in the face before forcing her to drive around over five hours as he inflicted 'gross sexual indignity and violence upon her'.

He then snatched a 13-year-old girl and forced the pensioner to take the wheel as he sexually assaulted the teenage girl, the court heard.

On the final day of his spree he is accused of stopping at a petrol station to buy condoms with two teenage girls held hostage in her car.

After passing a marked police car on a roundabout McCann 'crashed the car into a Mercedes before he ran away, leaving the two teenage girls behind'.

They were 'shocked, very frightened, and distressed. But mercifully unharmed,' said Mr Price QC.

Detectives investigating the abduction and rape of two other women previously released CCTV images of the suspect, believed to be McCann, as he attempted to book a hotel

This map shows how the spree unfolded across London. After a several hour stand-off McCann was arrested

The 34-year-old is on trial at the Old Bailey accused of raping, sexually assaulting or kidnapping 11 women and children aged 11 to 71 during a sickening two-week rampage in April and May

McCann was then said to have taken a mountain bike to escape, which was later found outside a restaurant in Scholar Green, south of Stoke-on-Trent where staff told police a man came into to ask to borrow a phone.

The court heard how the man, said to be McCann, was overheard ordering a taxi which arrived shortly afterwards to take him away.

Mr Price QC said: 'The police had put up roadblocks. PC David Reed was manning one on the A34 just to the south of Congleton.

'At 20.40pm he caused a taxi to stop. By that time the police had the name and a very good description of the man they were searching for.

'They also knew he had a distinctive tattoo on his stomach. Looking into the back of the taxi PC Reed suspected the passenger was the man they were looking for.

'The man had a pint glass in his hand and stated to the officer he had been drinking in pubs with his mates all day long and was on his way home. Asked if he had a tattoo on his tummy, he said, 'No, you're not f*****g seeing.''

McCann was arrested following a car chase in Cheshire, which ended with his vehicle colliding with another

He fled from the taxi and police pursued him into a field where he was later found in a tree. After a several hour stand-off he was arrested and taken to London.

Today, prosecutor John Price QC told the jury: 'Though he refused to be interviewed after he arrived in London, Joseph McCann did say something of relevance to an officer involved in accompanying him on that journey.

'This was perhaps a little closer to the truth. He told DC Foxwell: 'If you had caught me for the first two, the rest of this wouldn't have happened.'

He is not present in the dock. The trial continues.


Last March, [artist id="1102"]Michael Jackson[/artist] announced plans for his "This Is It" residency at the O2 arena in London. The 50-performance comeback bid would have been the King of Pop's foray back into the mainstream, and after he'd virtually disappeared from the music landscape for several years, the anticipation for his return to the stage was immense, with tickets for the first string of shows selling out almost instantaneously.

In reality, the singer had begun planning his return to the limelight much earlier, and with a characteristically Jacksonian flash that was both outrageous and improbable. In October 2005, only months after he was acquitted in his child-molestation case,

Jackson had already begun work with fashion designer André Van Pier on costume and set designs for a Las Vegas residency. A longtime friend of Michael and the Jackson family, Van Pier had previously designed costumes for sisters Janet and La Toya. But that wasn't all ...

In 2007, Van Pier, his partner Michael Luckman and artist Timothy Patterson garnered attention when New York's Daily News reported the team was working on a 50-foot Michael Jackson robot that would roam the Nevada desert. Visible to tourists landing at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport, the monolith would be a walking advertisement for Jackson's show. "Michael's looked at the sketches and likes them," Luckman told the Daily News at the time.

But, as with many of Jackson's more over-the-top ideas, neither the show nor the robot ever came to fruition. (A rep for the Jackson family had not responded to MTV News' request for comment at press time.)

Living in Nevada during this time, Jackson reportedly entered talks with a number of Las Vegas investors, including casino owner and longtime friend Steve Wynn, but "Michael just couldn't raise enough money," Luckman said. Colony Capital, the Las Vegas equity firm that purchased much of Jackson's Neverland Valley Ranch debt, also was reported to have considered recurring a Las Vegas show as an option for repayment. However, investors were reportedly reluctant to enter such a deal with Jackson in the wake of the trial.

Based on the increasingly extravagant promotional designs for the robot from the Van Pier design firm, the announcement of the project was intended in part to attract financiers as an early attempt to rehabilitate Jackson's public image, as well as satisfy his lifelong fascination with magical, childlike ventures.

It's unclear whether the robot would have — or could have — ever been built, although "Michael really liked the initial designs and wanted to use them somehow," Luckman explained. With Jackson living in Nevada, Van Pier worked with artist Patterson to repurpose his original robot concept into the design of a Michael Jackson hotel and casino that incorporated a "Transformers"-like Michael Jackson robot at its entrance.

"The idea came up as a proposal to build a giant robotic hotel," Patterson explained. "The face would move, shooting laser-beam-looking lights. The whole building would be covered with spotlights." Though André Van Pier passed away in August of 2008, Luckman and Patterson continued to develop the hotel/ casino concept after his death.

While Jackson's plans for a Las Vegas show came to a halt when he prepared for the "This Is It" concerts earlier this year, he remained interested in settling down in Las Vegas after the conclusion of his London engagement in 2010. In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun, Jackson realtor Zar Zanganeh spoke of a $16.5 million home in the same neighborhood as Wayne Newton and casino owner Phil Ruffin that Jackson intended to purchase.

"For some time, he was looking for additional lease properties — he wasn't sure if he was going to be staying in Vegas long-term — and when things looked like they were shaping up, we started looking at homes for him to purchase," Zanganeh told the Sun.

Just as Jackson remained hopeful about returning to Vegas, Luckman and Patterson also hoped the pop star would come back to the desert, where they were confident that he might one day be able to use the monolithic robot design Van Pier had come up with.

"We were supposed to meet with him in London this November," Patterson explained. "But then André died," and, on June 25, Jackson himself died. The London meeting would have been Jackson's first viewing of the re-imagined robot/hotel concept.

The duo can't say how interested Jackson might have been in becoming a Las Vegas casino owner after his return from London, and there are currently no known plans to build either the robot or the casino.


Royal Hotel, Norwich

The Royal Hotel is a Grade II* listed building and was a former hotel located in the English city of Norwich in the county of Norfolk. The hotel closed it doors in 1977 and is now used as a business centre.

Hotel origins
The building is located at the eastern end of Prince of Wales Road,  at its junction with Agricultural Hall Plain. The building you see today was built to replace an old coaching inn of the same name which stood on Gentleman's Walk overlooking Norwich marketplace and was approximately  from the present building. The previous inn was one of a number of old inns in that area which had originally been built to providing lodgings for travellers on the stagecoaches to the city up until the mid-19th century, when the stagecoach gave way to rail travel, the old Royal coaching inn was demolished and in its place the Royal Arcade was constructed. The new shopping arcade was designed in the Art Nouveau style by Norwich architect, George Skipper in 1899.

New site
The new site in the area now called Agricultural Hall Plain was at the heart of Norwich's commercial district. The site of the new hotel had to be cleared of buildings previously occupied by a firm of solicitors, Fosters, Burroughs and Robberds and the yard of the stonemason company of Barnabas Barrett. During the site clearance in 1896 discoveries were made of sections of Norwich Castle outer precincts. The new hotel was designed by the Norwich architect Edward Boardman, who was one of the most successful Norwich architect in the second half of the 19th century.

Builder
A local building company called John Youngs and Son was used for the construction and the building was completed, along with the demolishing and clearance of the old Hotel in Gentlemen's Walk, for the sum of £23,905.

Design and construction
The new hotel was designed by Boardman to be spacious, luxurious and to have installed the latest modern fixtures and fittings of the time. Boardman also incorporated into the design of the new hotel part of the interior decoration of the former solicitor's offices which had stood on the site. The offices had contained a particularly fine example of a plasterwork ceiling laid on oak lath measuring  by . This section of ceiling had been very carefully removed and was installed in the new first floor drawing room in the hotel, along with French casements to the balcony. The Hotel was six storeys high which included a basement. Many of the front elevation windows were mullioned. Over the front entrance to the Hotel there is a balcony with intricately sculpted brick latticework. This exterior decorative brickwork is known as Costesseyware, with the materials for this work being supplied from the brick works of George Gunton in Costessey. These bricks are to be found on many building in and around Norwich and were used and promoted by local architects such as Boardman and George Skipper. This method of brickwork was easily rubbed and shaped to form intricate patterns and sculptures. The front elevation of the building is a built in a semi circular curve running from the top of Prince of Wales Road into Bank Plain and has three gable end incorporated into the curve all of which have further alternating brickwork decorative detailing. The front elevation at street level was constructed from stone masonry of a colour to match the brickwork, which begins at the first lift at ground floor level. The roof of the hotel was originally tiled with green slate.

Interior
The interior fixtures and fitting of the hotel were of the most modern and up-to-date of the era and providing the very latest in technology and building standards, whilst the design intent was to create the feel of a comfortable country mansion. The hotel was fully electrified and the staircases were fully fire-proofed. The hotel also had a large ventilation shaft included in the design. The storeys were also connected by lifts which were installed by Laurence Scott & Co, who also installed the lighting and bells. Some of the hotel windows were illuminated with stained glass windows which were made by the Norwich firm of J & J King stain glass painters. The heating system and the Kitchen cookers and equipment was supplied by R. and A. Main
of Edmonton, London. Boardman's design gave the hotel a total of 65 guest rooms over four of the storeys with the semi- circular shape of the frontage creating the attic bedrooms to have angular corners and sloping ceilings. The hotel's first floor dining room was to facilitate private dinners and wedding receptions and consisted of a suite which could accommodate twenty people.
The basement floor contained the servants' hall, and included a pantry, pastry room and several kitchens along with a suite of rooms allocated to the plate man. There were also a plate room and office rooms, including a further bedroom.

Naming
The new hotel wanted to retain the name of Royal Hotel of the demolished hotel. The new company had to seek permission and approval for the Royal designation from the Sovereign. An application was sent to Queen Victoria at Balmoral for Her Gracious Majesty's permission, which was duly granted. The hotel owners also applied to the Norwich Brewster Sessions in August 1896 for a provisional licence to sell spirits and despite some objections from local restaurateurs a licence was granted. The Manager of the new Hotel was to be Mr Charles Butcher who had previously managed the previous Royal Hotel in Norwich marketplace.

The opening
The Royal Hotel was officially opened on the 16 November 1897 with a grand luncheon which was hosted by the Company Chairman, Mr T. C. Blofield. There were one hundred and ten Invited guest who included the Local Member of Parliament Sir Harry Bullard, many civic dignitaries, senior members of the local clergy, leading industrialists and many local businessmen. Sir Harry Bullard proposed a toast to the hotel's success and praised "the very elegant palace that had been erected". The contractors involved in the construction along with Mr Edward Boardman, Junior,  the architect were all thanked and commended for bring the completion of the hotel ahead of its scheduled completion date.

Room tariffs
According to information quoted in a guide book which was published for the hotel owners in 1899, room tariffs for a private suite in the hotel costs from 15 shillings. Each suite comprised a sitting-room, dressing room and bedroom and also included attendants. Single bedrooms were priced at 4 shillings. Patrons would also be required to pay extra charges for fires, lights and baths. The 1899 guide book, which was printed for the Hotel by Jarrolds & Sons, also described  the main entrance of the hotel to contain marbles of various colours beyond which there was a winter garden with mosaic floor.

Peak period
For the first 75 years of the 20th century, the Royal was at the heart of the city's social and political life. The hotel hosted such events as socialite weddings, political and business conferences. The hotel was also popular for reunion lunches and also held occasional property auctions. Local MPs used the hotel's hospitality during election campaigns, and was frequented by several prime ministers. In 1964 Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan stayed at the hotel. On one occasion the Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson and some members of his cabinet stayed at the hotel. He is recorded as not being very impressed with the hotel's beer and sent out to the Bank Tavern across the road for a beer more to his taste. The regional television company Anglia Television began its operations from the old Agricultural Hall, renaming it Anglia House, across the road from the hotel in 1959. For the next 20 years the hotel became popular with actors and actress who appeared in Anglia's network drama programmes or in their regular local series. The hotel was often used by the first chairman of Anglia Television, Lord George Townshend.

Decline
During the 1970s the hotel's fortunes began to fall into steep decline. This was mainly due to the fact that there have never been any car parking facilities at the Hotel nor was there any prospect of providing such facilities in the future, given the location and environs of the hotel. Things came to a head when the hotel's owners applied for planning permission to demolish the building and replace it with glass towered office block. The application was refused after much consultation. In 1977 the hotel was no longer receiving guests. The third and fourth floors of the hotel had been leased to Anglia Television as offices. The ground floor bar and restaurant continued in business but in March 1986 both these business closed down. Today the hotel is used as various offices and a business center.

References

Category:Defunct hotels in Norfolk
Category:Hotels in Norwich
Category:Grade II listed buildings in Norfolk
Category:Grade II listed hotels
Category:Hotels established in 1897
Category:Edward Boardman buildings


Sopranos convention: Who will be there and what you need to know if you go

Jim Beckerman | NorthJersey

Show Caption Hide Caption 'The Sopranos' at 20 On the bus with "The Sopranos" sites tour

A "Sopranos" convention in the Meadowlands? Of course.

Where else would you hold a "Sopranos" convention?

This particular party, however, doesn't take place under six feet of swampy ground — or in the concrete supports of a truss bridge. This first SopranosCon will be at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus on Nov. 23 and 24.

And you'd best be there. You wouldn't want to disappoint Tony.

Story continues below the gallery.

"It's the perfect setting," says Michael Mota, co-founder of the event. "We had a choice to pick anywhere we wanted. But when you think of 'The Sopranos,' you think of the Meadowlands."

The Meadowlands is where the show's very first victim, Emil Kolar, is buried in Episode 1, season 1. And though the hit HBO show about Jersey mobsters, over six seasons, ranged as far away as the Pine Barrens, Asbury Park and Italy, the Meadowlands and the surrounding North Jersey towns remained its center of gravity.

"The theme of this event is: for the fans, by the fans," says Mota, an event creator from Rhode Island who has staged several "Sopranos"-themed affairs in the past. But nothing on this scale: two days of celebrity guests, panel discussions, screenings and memorabilia displays in a 65,000 square-foot space.

The guest list alone is epic: more than 45 of the original cast members, including Dominic Chianese (Uncle Junior), Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts), Federico Castelluccio (Furio Giunta), Vincent Pastore ("Big Pussy"), Vincent Curatola ("Johnny Sack"), Andrea Donna de Matteo (Adriana La Cerva), David Proval (Richie Aprile), Kathrine Narducci (Charmaine Bucco), Ray Abruzzo ("Little" Carmine), Maureen Van Zandt (Gabriella Dante), Jerry Adler (Hesh Rabkin), Diana Lynn (Bada Bing dancer), and even the horse Goldee (Pie-O-My).

The English Band Alabama 3 will be making their first trip to America in 10 years in order to perform "Woke Up This Morning," the 1997 single that became the "Sopranos" opening theme. Though minus Jake Black, the song's co-writer, who died in May.

Also on the musical menu: '60s rocker Tommy James, of Tommy James and the Shondells ("Mony Mony," "Hanky Panky," "Crimson and Clover.") The Cedar Grove resident was, back on the day, signed to Roulette Records — the label of Morris Levy, the gangster-entrepreneur who was the basis for "The Sopranos'" Hesh Rabkin.

Naturally, there will be a few no-shows. Michael Imperioli (Christopher), Edie Falco (Carmela), Lorraine Bracco (Dr. Melfi) and Steven Van Zandt (Silvio) had other commitments, Mota says.

Did you know?: Häagen-Dazs, rooted in Bergen County, built an ice cream empire on a little white lie

For subscribers: Should Archdiocese forbid eulogies to avoid cringe-worthy moments? Ban being reconsidered

How they got to 'Sesame Street': Interview with original cast member from NJ, Bob McGrath

And of course Tony Soprano — the irreplaceable James Gandolfini, who died in 2013 — sends his regrets. But several members of the Gandolfini family will be there, Mota says. "They asked me not to say who was coming," he says.

Panel discussions, meet-and-greets, Q&As and autograph opportunities will abound over the weekend. "Sopranos" sightseeing tours, by bus, will be available from the convention site courtesy of On Location Tours. But that's just the beginning.

Sensing a theme

"We're going to have a lot of themed things," Mota says. "When you walk into the convention, you're going to walk into the show."

Visitors, he says, will begin their experience by walking through a toll booth and emerging from a mockup Lincoln Tunnel. There will be a re-creation of Dr. Melfi's psychiatrist office, a mockup of Hesh Rabkin's stable and a Pine Barrens-themed maze. There will be an Italian feast: sausage, peppers, mozzarella.

"This is a very experiential-type event," Mota says

This year marks the 20th birthday of the show that was, in some ways, a watershed in pop culture history, the beginning of TV's new "golden age."

"The Sopranos" turned cable into TV's premier platform. It set the bar for all the must-see shows that came after: "The Wire," "Deadwood," "The Americans," "Game of Thrones." And its fan base remains, two decades later, as intense as ever — and not likely to abate, now that a movie prequel, "The Many Saints of Newark," starring Michael Gandolfini in his late father's old role, is scheduled for release in September 2020.

The story continues below the gallery.

Some 10,000 people, some from as far away as Australia, The Netherlands and London, are expected to turn up in Secaucus this month. Four hotels, Mota says, have already been sold out.

"People still have such a passion for it," said Mota, who has joined with two other partners, Dan Trader and Joe Fama, to create SopranosCon.

'The Sopranos': When it launched 20 years ago, it made TV hip and New Jersey cool

Restaurant Review: Go to Nori in Wayne (and not just because the Sopranos filmed there)

Quiz!: Bada Bing, Bada Boom - here's a 'Sopranos' quiz you can't refuse

"This show broke all boundaries," Mota said. "Nothing like it had ever been done before. It didn't glamorize the mob, but it humanized it. And it was on HBO, which allowed them to have vulgar language that wouldn't have been allowed on network TV. And the casting was perfect. There isn't a single person you would recast. I think all those things were the perfect recipe."

Jim Beckerman is an entertainment and culture reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to his insightful reports about how you spend your leisure time, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: beckerman@northjersey.com Twitter: @jimbeckerman1

SopranosCon

When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 23 and 24, with a special VIP event Saturday from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Where: Meadowlands Exposition Center, 355 Plaza Drive, Secaucus. sopranoscon.com

Tickets: $50 per day for basic admission. VIP tickets, with various levels of perks, range from $150 to $700 per person


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Planning your trip to London can be quite stressful - what neighborhood to stay in, hotel v. B&B, what to see, and where to go. Group tours can be easier, but many travelers do not prefer that option. We have partnered with Monograms, a Globus family of brands company, to provide an all-inclusive trip to London to one lucky subscriber and guest!

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Seven years ago I wrote an article entitled “I hate puzzles: am I still a programmer? This article resurfaced a few times over the years on Reddit and Hacker news. A year ago I even appeared in a podcast because of it. The premise was roughly the following: I’ve been programming most of my life (since I was 9), and at the time of that writing, started to look for my first full-time industrial job. Many of the tech giants interview primarily testing algorithmic puzzle solving skills — so I faced an identity crisis of sorts — am I really a programmer if I don’t like such things?

The popularity of the article made it clear that there are many more people “like me.” That was good to hear, of course.

But the key question was: is not liking puzzles a blocker for a successful career in software development?

For this reason, I thought I’d share a bit about what happened to me over the last 7 years, to see if things worked out after all, or if today I’m a giant-ass failure eating old crap out of a dumpster.

I suppose answering this all depends on your definition of success. Did I end up in one of the tech giants? I did not. Did I try? A little little bit.

About 4 years ago I thought: “screw it, I’m going to try to get into Google.” And you will never believe what happened next. Actually, you will, but that’s not the cliche headline.

So let me start there.

I decided to finally respond to one of those Google recruiter emails and apply for a job as a Developer Advocate in London, something I always considered close to my skill set and interests. But like any Google job in engineering, this role, too, includes the usual suspects of technical questions. I knew this, so way too late I started to work through parts of the “Cracking the Code Interview” book. I later found out others start preparing for their interviews many months in advance, I started about a week before or so. Doing the exercises in this book was like reliving the first two years of my studies, specifically the parts I did not like at all. But hey, it’s Google.

I had a phone screening, I passed, then was invited to the London office, then had 4–5h of interviews after a night of no sleep (they put me in an excellent hotel the night before, but for the first time in my life whatever I tried I couldn’t sleep). I think I did quite well with most parts of the interviews, but the “technical” questions were a struggle. I bet I signed something ensuring I won’t disclose what they asked, but (ironically) you can Google this stuff :-)

After a few days, I got a call saying that I was highly rated for most aspects, also I came highly recommended from the the people I know at Google, but I failed the technical part. So it was a “no.” Funny enough (for some definition of “funny”), about a week later later I got another call, because apparently there was some internal pushback, resulting in yet another tech-only phone screening, but the final decision was still a “no, please try again in a year.”

Giant slap in the face.

Too bad. Today, years later, I think it was for the best, considering what our life would have looked like in London (small kids, long commute), but it would have been interesting for sure.

So, what did I do instead?

Before the whole Google intermezzo, somewhat related to the PhD I was finishing 7 years ago, I got in touch with a startup called Cloud9 IDE (now acquired by AWS) that were newly funded, and needed a guy to build their IDE’s language tooling. They did not really interview me, because I demoed what I had been building during my PhD (a programming language that compiled to JS designed specifically for mobile web apps) and were already sold on my skills #interviewhack. I joined as senior developer and built the initial versions of their JavaScript tooling implementing features such as semantic code completion and some basic refactoring. While there’s definitely algorithms involved here, I managed just fine (they’re not really rocket science).

However, a few months in, I got my first glimpse of what my career would become.

At the time we had major stability, quality and reliability issues. Basically the (node.js) backend would crash constantly and basic functionality like loading and saving files in the IDE wasn’t reliable. My code completion was getting better by the day, but given I was building on a very unstable foundation — what was the point? So I “shared my observations” (= complained) with the CEO, and in a true startup style he said: “ok, go fix that.”

My first attempt was just to do this all myself — trying to fix things, scale the system, but this wasn’t sustainable. I needed to sign up the rest of the team. Long story short, within a few months I was promoted to VP Engineering and spent my time leading our development teams and spent little time coding. I fully understood most of what was happening in the system at a technical level, but no longer wrote the code myself.

I joined a later company, STX Next as a Python developer, observed a gap, was promoted to team lead, showed a different way to approach things, was promoted to VP Engineering responsible for around 100 engineers. Then, at Egnyte, started with a small, stable team as engineering manager, contributing code. Moved on to a team developing a new product, got that close to launch the 1.0, saw an opportunity to take over the core teams that produces their main product and ran that. At OLX I also started a role that involved coding initially, but as my scope has increased — less so.

The original question was: do you need to like puzzles to be successful in software development? I’d dare say no. Except for this one interview at Google, I never felt my lack of puzzle solving skills were hindering me. In fact, the roles I’ve had over the last few years gave me a pretty broad perspective on the type of software projects that exist, and very few rely on such skills. As a result, I also make sure that none of the interviews we do with candidates rely heavily on testing such skills, I still think checking for this is silly and would result in many false negatives that we cannot afford.

The reason I decided to go into leadership roles was because I realized that they allow me to have a far greater impact than just me typing code really fast.

Looking back, I’m very satisfied with my career so far. The only path that my puzzle-hating personality blocked was Google, but looking back at that opportunity, I’m not sure I would have been able to grow at the pace that I have in other places. I wouldn’t have been able to make as much of an impact there.

At Google, I would have just been a tiny piece of an enormous puzzle. I bet I would just have hated that.


Anne Ku writes
about her travels, conversations, thoughts, events, music, and anything else that
is interesting enough to fill a web page. She has written and produced two chamber operas, premiered in Utrecht, Netherlands. See her publication list for more.

Bon Journal

Part 4: train connections to Brussels

From Utrecht to London (part 4)

I never dreamed I'd be typing this story from my hotel room directly opposite the Brussels South train station. At 1 am, I should be asleep in bed, in central London at this time, if not for the wind.

Yes, it was the wind that blew a nation to nearly a complete halt.

On Dutch radio, all the traffic chaos and train delays were attributed to a single cause: the wind from the northeast. The strong gusts blew entire trees down, blocking railtracks and creating unforeseen havoc on an already busy Friday afternoon.

Less than 20 hours before this quiet moment, I saw dry leaves being visibly blown across roads and canals in Amsterdam. It was a sight worth mentioning, for never had I seen such fervour and determination. The ferocious wind cooled the earth a few degrees. Autumn turned to winter in an hour.

I had planned a good four hours to pack for my London trip and even have some slack for checking e-mails and practising some piano. After much waiting on chilly platforms for trains that never arrived, going up and down the stairs to queue with other impatient passengers, and eventually catching a ride somewhere between Amsterdam and Utrecht, I was left with only 15 minutes to pack a week's worth of luggage.

My 99-euro return train ticket which I had booked online in mid-October entitled me to travel from any station in the Netherlands to Brussels and connect to a Eurostar train to central London. I never thought that I'd actually train hop, so-to-speak. On this unpredictable day, the usual intercity train from Utrecht to Rotterdam didn't exist because trees got in the way of intercity trains originating further east. As soon as I arrived at "Utrecht Centraal" I scurried with my green roll-on suitcase and jumped into the first train to Den Haag in hopes of connecting to a local train from Gouda, the next stop.

A damsel in distress is quickly detected. A kind Dutch gentleman told me he was going to Rotterdam, thus follow him. Almost as soon as we got off in Gouda, the Dutch city famous for cheese, we spotted an empty train following behind, on the same platform. He assured me that trains were not the only ones delayed. His son, who was doing his hotel internship in Southampton, was supposed to have arrived in Schiphol Airport at 9 am but landed only at 1 pm. A four hour delay -- imagine that!

Once in Rotterdam Central, despite the kind gentleman's leading me over the bridge on a short-cut away from the maddening crowd, I felt something was amiss. The station was nearly empty of trains. A conductor told me that I had missed my southbound connection by one minute. The next train was not due for another hour.

The domino effect of late trains and backlogged passengers meant that each stop was prolonged as passengers tried to get on board. I looked around for someone who might be going my way to find out which end of the train to wait and get on, as my final attempt to "save time." An American lady with an English accent cheerfully replied that she was also going to London. Having someone else to share the pain was definitely worth the gain.

As we boarded our 18:55 train, we were hit by hail. So far, I had seen wind, rain, and now hail. What next? There was nowhere to stand or sit if not for my noticing someone leaning against a fold-up seat. I motioned that I'd like to sit in it. The Belgian man dutifully, in front of his two female colleagues, got out of the way to allow me to sit. Every stop of the way, I glanced at my mobile phone for the time. I had booked the last train to London. At Antwerp, I knew it was difficult to catch the 21:02 Eurostar to London.

When we approached Central Brussels, an inspector checked our tickets. "You won't make it to London tonight," he said. "Just go to the Eurostar office and ask them to get you on a train tomorrow morning."

"What about tonight? Where will we sleep?"

The American lady and I rushed to the Eurostar terminal at Brussel South train station. Obviously we had missed the last Eurostar train to London. Were there others from the Netherlands? The rest of Europe? "Just the Netherlands," a Belgian train officer replied. "It only happens on the Amsterdam - Rotterdam - Brussels line, whenever there's a weather problem."

His colleague took over and calmly reassured us that he'd book us the nearby hotel for the night. "Which train would you like to catch tomorrow morning?"

Not the earliest, I thought. Enough time to get a good night's sleep --- and perhaps grab a nice dinner in central Brussels.

He booked us on the third train departing next morning. And sure enough, it snowed.


Holland House (New York City)

Holland House was a New York City hotel located at 274–276 Fifth Avenue at the southwest corner of 30th Street in NoMad, with a frontage of  on Fifth Avenue. The architects and designers were George Edward Harding and William T. Gooch. A mercantile building by the 1920s, in the present day, it is a loft building.

The Holland House opened in 1892. It was a large building of Indiana limestone, . Special interest was attached to it as it was a careful reproduction of Holland House of London. It contained the coat-of-arms of Henry Rich, the first Earl of Holland, with the decorations and historic features of the Kensington mansion. The house was one of the architectural features of Fifth Avenue. The facade, which had little decoration, was broken with a portico  in length, supported upon four columns, four rows of bay windows, and other windows set in embrasures and arches. Two features of the interior were the large dining-room and a long promenade in the second story. The house was ten stories high, and had 350 rooms.

Architecture and fittings
The style was a modification of the Italian Renaissance; and the material of the walls was a gray Indiana limestone. The portico was decorated with stone carvings. The main staircase and corridors were carved in Siena marble and bronze. A London magazine characterized it as the handsomest staircase of its kind in America. The hotel office, in Italian Renaissance, and encased in Siena marble, contained a large safe, in which are a number of steel safe-deposit boxes for the use of the guests. On the main floor was the restaurant, with a seating capacity of 300 persons. On the same floor was the cafe, with its furnishings in the manner of Holland House in London with screens of glass, marble and bronze in tones of gray and pale yellow. The buffet, in a soft yellow and golden brown, had high wainscots of panelled wood. The foyer, on the parlor floor, was lit by four immense torchères, bearing electric lights. The ladies' reading-room, with pale satin and plush hangings, contained files of newspapers and writing-desks. The drawing room was in the style of Louis XVI., with its walls covered with salmon-tinted satin damask, embroidered portieres, furniture in the Adams and Chippendale styles, and fawn-colored Axminster carpet. The Gilt Room was a reproduction of the Gilt Room in London's Holland House, in Elizabethan architecture, with carved wainscotting, heraldic devices, gold-crown ornaments, antique furniture in natural cherry and gold, fire-places, English parquet floors, Flemish chandeliers, and plush curtains embroidered with fleur-de-lys.

One of the bridal suites was in Louis XV style, with satin brocade hangings and furniture, and curtains of Brussels point lace; and the other was in the style of the First Empire, with upholstering of French tapestry, and curtains of point lace. Each of the 350 rooms was furnished and decorated in a distinctive style. A special feature of each was an electric indicator by which a guest, without waiting for a bell-boy, could signal direct to the office for any of 140 various articles. This indicator, known as the Herzog Teleseme, was one of the conveniences of Holland House, serving as a signalling system. It consisted of a dial sunk into the wall, and connected by electricity with the office; upon this dial were printed 140 articles at times needed by travellers, and the guest moved the pointer until it pointed at the desired object, and then pressed an electric button, whereupon the clerk in the office sent up the desired newspaper, or bottle, or food, or any other needed thing. The rooms had brass bedsteads, red-birch woodwork, Wilton carpets, and modern furniture. Holland House was fire-proof, and contained sanitary plumbing. Its walls and floor-arches were of porous terra cotta, a nonconductor of heat, cold or noise. The heating pipes are encased in asbestos.

Holland House Bouquets
In 1892, the proprietors of the Holland House sought an injunction against a cigar manufacturer to prohibit him from selling a certain brand of cigar which he called "Holland House Bouquets". At the time the manufacturer registered the "Holland House Bouquets", the hotel proprietors had not opened the Holland House for business, but at that time, the building was in process of construction, and it was well known in the City of New York as Holland House. The court enjoined the cigar manufacturer from using the aforesaid term, even though there was no proof of actual or special damage.

References

Bibliography

Category:Defunct hotels in Manhattan
Category:Fifth Avenue
Category:Demolished buildings and structures in New York City


15th Empire Awards

The 15th Empire Awards ceremony (officially known as the Jameson Empire Awards), presented by the British film magazine Empire, honored the best films of 2009 and took place on 28 March 2010 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, England. During the ceremony, Empire presented Empire Awards in 11 categories as well as four honorary awards. The Done In 60 Seconds competition was opened for the first time to international entries from this year. Irish comedian Dara Ó Briain hosted the show for the second consecutive year. The awards were sponsored by Jameson Irish Whiskey for the second consecutive year.

In related events, Empire and Jameson Irish Whiskey held the 1st Done In 60 Seconds Competition Global Final on 26 March 2010 at 24 Club, London, England. The team of judges consisted of Empire editor-in-chief Mark Dinning, English actor Jason Issacs and English film director and television director Edgar Wright, which selected from a shortlist of 20 nominees the five Done In 60 Seconds Award finalists that were invited to the Empire Awards where the winner was announced.

Avatar won the most awards with three including Best Film and Best Director for James Cameron. Other winners included Harry Brown, In the Loop, Inglourious Basterds, Let the Right One In, Nowhere Boy, Sherlock Holmes and Star Trek with one. Jude Law received the Empire Hero Award, Ian McKellen received the Empire Icon Award, Andy Serkis received the Empire Inspiration Award and Ray Winstone received the Outstanding Contribution to British Film award. Mark Wong from the United Kingdom won the Done In 60 Seconds Award for his 60-second film version of Top Gun.

Winners and nominees
Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Notes

Multiple awards
The following film received multiple awards:

Multiple nominations
The following 13 films received multiple nominations:

Done In 60 Seconds films

References

External links

Category:Empire Award ceremonies
Category:2009 film awards
Category:2010 in London
Category:2010 in British cinema
Category:March 2010 events in the United Kingdom
Category:2010s in the City of Westminster


Two men who are accused by United Kingdom police of being spies who tried to kill a former Russian soldier have become the center of speculation over their sexuality in Russian media.

Law enforcement in the UK believe that Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov went to Salisbury, England, this past March in order to kill Sergei Skripal, a former Russian colonel who spied for the UK, but failed and ended up killing a woman they didn’t even know.

UK police believe that they traveled from Russia with a bottle of Novichok – a Soviet-era nerve agent – and spent about two days in a cheap hotel in East London this past March. They then went to Salisbury twice to allegedly try to kill Skripal.

Police believe that they put the Novichok on Skripal’s door handle, poisoning him, his daughter, and a police officer who also touched the door handle. All of them have recovered.

But the Novichok – which was stored in a bottle of Nina Ricci’s Premier Jour perfume – ended up three months later in a thrift store and a man bought it as a gift for his partner, who sprayed the nerve agent on her wrists and died.

The two men were back in Russia at that point and they have become the center of an international incident.

Last week, a surreal interview of them appeared on RT, a Russian state-sponsored media outlet. Talking with RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, they said that the entire thing was just a bizarre set of coincidences, that they were in Salisbury as tourists and somehow they’re being accused of an attempted assassination.

Simonyan, though, wanted to know more about their travel accommodations. The two spent a weekend in a hotel room together, on vacation, they said.

“Speaking about normal men, on the security video you are shown always together,” Simonyan said. “You were together, lived together, walked everywhere together.”

“What does in fact connect you?” she asked.

“Let’s not pry into our private lives,” Boshirov responded.

“No need to justify yourselves. Whether you had a single or double bed is the least of the world’s concerns right now,” Simonyan said before moving on to other topics.

That was enough to start speculation in Russian media.

“The LGBT community has come out in defense of Petrov and Boshirov,” was the headline on Life News‘s website, a Russian 24-hour news channel.

“Instead of dangerous killers – timid gays,” a column in the conservative paper Zavtra said.

Moskovsky Komsomolets, a daily paper, blared: “The GRU’s coming out.” (The GRU is a Russian military intelligence agency.)

Rossia 24, a major news channel, aired a report about Salisbury’s “modern European tolerance,” as if the town of 40,000 is full of gay bars and clubs.

Hours after the #Skripal suspects' farcical interview, a flagship news program on Russian state TV broadcast a lengthy rant about #Salisbury's spirit of "modern European tolerance", portraying it as a city overrun by gay clubs and parades. https://t.co/h7jGytGio2 pic.twitter.com/RiFaIxtFUI — Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) September 14, 2018

Simonyan, 38, hasn’t stayed away from fanning the rumors. “I do not know if they are gays or not,” she said.

“They are quite fashionable – with little beards, hair cuts, tight pants, sweaters tight over big biceps. They did not harass me. Anyway I’m already out of the harassable age.”

Because if a man doesn’t harass every woman he sees, then he’s gay?

And there are a lot of words to describe their sweaters in the RT interview, but “fashionable” isn’t one of them.

Russian blogger Rustem Adagamov said that the point of portraying them as gay is to punish them for failing to assassinate Skripal, as well as to back up their cover story, since two gay men couldn’t possibly be spies.

“To punish Petrov and Vasechkin for their failure to execute, they’ve clearly decided to [provide a cover story for] them as a couple of gays,” he wrote.

Prime Minister Theresa May insists that there is a mountain of evidence against them – including security camera footage putting them near Skripal’s home but far away from any tourist destination in Salisbury. Vladimir Putin, though, denies that they are anything but the fitness instructors they claim to be.