Welcome
Here at The Prodigal Guide, we like to eat well and as often as possible. We love great movies and a spirited drive. Oh, and we have an unhealthy, almost fanatical, interest in technology and wristwatches. Does any of that sound familiar? Then dive on in, the water's warm.Ferrari 458: “It’s about power, torque, precision, accuracy – and covering ground at a remarkable rate.”
We’ve been rather taken with the Ferrari 458 ever since we chanced upon a video of two of them racing each other through the Tuscan hills. Now, one of our favourite sources of driving news, evo Magazine, has just posted a great video of Chris Harris road-testing one.
We’re already in love with the looks but what the video illustrates vividly is both the performance (Harris calls it “absolutely mental”, the 458 delivers 0-124 mph in 10.4 secs; that’s 0.6 secs quicker than a 599) and how accessible that power is (the second half, shot almost exclusively from behind the driver is wonderfully evocative.) read more…
Those of us who are nuts about movies and watches can debate the relationship between Bond and Rolex for days.
These two greats of their respective worlds first met in the 50s and have been seeing each other off and on ever since.
Of late, Bond has been seen out in public with another: Omega. But the man who currently plays him has the good taste to stay faithful on his own time.
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We love her, we love her not; we love her, we love her not… Oh, Hell, we don’t know anymore. Porsche’s Panamera promises so much that appeals to us: incredible performance, sound driving dynamics and all the practicality – and therefore usability – that comes with a five-door design. As we’ve already said, we think the interior is fantastic but we’re really struggling with the exterior. One day we look at it and think how brutishly handsome it is. More recently, we’ve been prone to calling it a dog. And then this happens…
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In 2007 we completed the Cannonball Run: Miami to LA in five days by way of more parties and debauchery than we care to remember – or indeed can remember.
We enjoyed it but, truth be told, the whole thing lacked a certain finesse. A little too much macho posturing and not enough expertise or intellect for our liking.
So, now and again, we like to embark on our own little driving challenges that we build around some of our other interests. We call them Prodigal Runs.
And this week we’re embarking on The Prodigal Run 2009. read more…
Here’s our monthly roundup of what we’ve been writing and you’ve been reading. The top ten most popular posts in October were: read more…
Here at Prodigal Towers we spend a truly unhealthy amount of time surfing the various watch forums looking for…well, Hell, even we don’t know what we’re looking for half the time.
But you know what? It’s a bit like pornography: you may not be able to describe it, but you sure know it when you see it.
And here, ladies and gentlemen, is one such find. This stunning and extremely rare (we’ve never seen one before and didn’t even realise they existed) left-handed Rolex Sea-Dweller was posted by none other than Mr Rolex himself, James Dowling.
Head on over to TimeZone.com to read the full thread.
If you love cars then what should matter most to you is how a particular model drives. The acid test should be whether, faced with the prospect of a cross-continental trip, you’d want to pick up its keys or go for something else.
But, like it or not, how a car looks is integral to the whole experience as well. Sure, it shouldn’t matter but it does. And that’s especially true nowadays when so many cars are so accomplished from a technical persepctive. Engineering in isolation is no longer enough.
Which is why we have to ask: what are the designers at Porsche and BMW smoking? read more…
When we originally conceived The Prodigal Guide, we called it ‘How To Spend It’. A great name we thought.
Unforutnately, so did – indeed, so had – the good folk at the Financial Times. So, rather than face the prospect of a letter from Pearson’s lawyers at some time in the future, our site was swiftly re-christened.
But, despite the fact that they deprived us of our first choice of name for our site, we can’t help but admire the Financial Times’ regular lifestyle supplement. It is normally a glorious foray into the many, many ways you can spend your money on life’s luxuries.
Earlier this month, they launched a dedicated online presence for the magazine. And very impressive it is too. They’re gone out of their way to produce a site that is both stylish (gorgeous use of photography) and different (the navigation takes some getting used to but it’s worth it). Head on over to HowToSpendIt.com to check it out; we thoroughly recommend it.
Just returned from a couple of weeks in Hong Kong – including a lunch at the two Michelin starred BO Innovation – we are currently London’s most obnoxious, self-proclaimed dim sum experts. We can wax lyrical about the little parcels all day long.
We are also, incidentally, the most frightful snobs and instinctively wary of restaurant chains. It’s just not our scene, daaarling.
In all honesty, ordinarily we’re not sure we would have given Ping Pong a try. But here’s the thing: in addition to being annoying and a little stuck-up, we also suffer from fragile yet easily inflated egos. So, when the very nice people at Ping Pong emailed us recently to invite us to come and try their new autumn menu as their guests, two things happened pretty much instantly. Firstly, we convinced ourselves that it wouldn’t be long before A A Gill was pestering us for advice and, secondly, we nearly pulled a hamstring in our haste to get over to the computer to send back our acceptance. read more…
Omega’s new Liquidmetal Seamaster Planet Ocean continues the brand’s impressive renaissance
In April 2007, Antiquorum put on the ‘Omegamania’ sale in Geneva. The sale of vintage Omega achieved two things. Firstly, it brought in an impressive CHF 6.5m – that’s more than three times the pre-sale estimate. Secondly, and far more importantly, it set the scene for an incredible renaissance of the Omega brand that continues to this day.
Although it has a history that is just as impressive as Rolex, Omega has for decades been seen as the big R’s poor relation. No more.
Omegamania reminded the world what a rich heritage the brand enjoys and the value of used examples of most of its models has been climbing ever since. read more…
We loved, loved, loved Bedford & Strand! It’s difficult to put a finger on why exactly, but the combination of location, atmosphere, service, menu and company on the night certainly had something to do with it. The evening started off in the fantastic Skylon bar above Festival Hall where a couple of (perfect) Martinis were washed down with a setting sun over the Thames in the background. We were due to go our separate ways for dinner but three rubber-armed companions were easily convinced to ditch their plans for a bite to eat in Chinatown and join us. A quick call to the restaurant to amend the booking, and we were off.
What follows is a response to a post we published a few days ago, asking whether it could ever make sense to trade in a diverse collection of practical watches for just three vintage – and rather similar – pieces. Here, Straight-Six, the man who did exactly that, explains why he did:
We’ve become obsessed with defying time itself.
Pleasantly ironic when applied to us maniacs who collect timepieces, this malady now permeates every nook and cranny of our society. It appears that being time-worn is no longer a badge of honour, no accumulation of hard-won wisdom and physical experience but instead a ghastly reminder of just how vulnerable we really are. And it scares us silly.
A former defender of the age-defying abilities and mechanical perfection of today’s watches, it took less than 72 hours and two weighty, espresso-fueled conversations with a vintage watch dealer for me to undergo nothing less than a conversion. An entire modern watch collection, lovingly built up over five years, was traded for two vintage timepieces, the youngest of which is almost 30 years old. Oh, and a wad of cash is also due by Xmas.
So, what the hell happened? And why?
“Twenty years ago, this neighbourhood was the red light district, just full of prostitutes,” declared our local friend over a drink at The Pawn in Hong Kong’s Wanchai district, “and today…nothing much has changed!”
In fact, a lot has changed and he knew it. Most notably, some of Hong Kong’s greatest restaurants have set-up shop in Wanchai. The one that’s created the most buzz of late is probably BO Innovation. We were staying ‘round the corner so how could we resist? Just a few days later around lunchtime, we found ourselves walking the few short blocks from our hotel to its door. read more…
A Prodigal team member trades in his entire watch collection for two vintage Subs and a Swatch: Admirable or insane?
Would you ever consider trading in a diverse collection of practical and yet classic watches for just three vintage pieces that, although eminently desirable, are both too valuable and too similar to offer so much as one ‘daily wearer’ amongst them?
Well, that’s exactly what Straight-Six, one of The Prodigal Guide’s contributors, did last weekend. What we want to know is: was it admirable or insane? read more…
London has gone crazy for Mexican market eating. Opened in 2007, there are now two Wahacas and a third is on the way in chain-mad Canary Wharf. So, how do former Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers and business partner Mark Selby fare? Well it took three attempts (damn those no reservations policies) but one Wednesday night after work we finally got a table for two in the heart of the Covent Garden restaurant. Having won the first battle, we were ushered to the bar and encouraged to order a drink to pass the 35 minute wait for our table. If that doesn’t sound like a great start, the hibiscus margaritas (and classic margarita, and another hibiscus margarita) that were presented more than made up for it. read more…
So look, we’re not exactly snobs when it comes to our movies. We’ve praised classics like The Searchers, loved more modern epics like There Will Be Blood but we’re not above salivating with excitement at the latest Batman or Indiana Jones instalment.
That’s just who we are. But if you take your films a little bit more seriously than we do, if you want to watch old foreign classics and discuss them with like-minded film-buffs, then there’s no better place on the internet than The Auteurs.
In their own words: “The Auteurs is not just about discovering wonderful new cinema or classic masterpieces. It’s also about discussing and sharing these discoveries, which makes us like a small coffee shop—… a place where you can gather and talk about alternative endings, directors’ cuts, and whatever those frogs in Magnolia meant. Heated debates and passionate arguments are welcome.” read more…
Look, there’s no two ways to say this: this is naff. We love the TAG Monaco and the Rolex Submariner. They’re both classic watches with peerless lineage. So, why does Bamford & Sons feel the need to bling them up?
The London-based gentlemen’s outfitters have been offering this service since 2004: applying a black “military grade” PVD layer and bespoke dial colours. They’ll also inscribe the dial with lettering of your choosing. And while they’re busy robbing your classic watch of its subtle good looks, they’ll brag about being “driven by our passion for engineering excellence and innovation, inspired by the demands of our clients to wear watches that are exclusive and individual…” But surely, you wouldn’t want them to, would you? read more…
We told you a while ago about how impressed we were with Nokia’s upcoming N900. Well, last week, the Finnish phone giant released a new video showing in further detail how the N900’s Maemo operating system works. In particular, the video reveals a lot of the new finger gestures they’ve introduced in their bid to de-throne the iPhone.
As always, we’ll reserve judgement until we get our hands on one, but it’s certainly looking good so far.
Could Nokia have knocked it out of the park? Perhaps if they’d used a capacitive screen, 8MP camera and a slightly thinner form-factor…
Just because we were surfing the interwebs this morning and chanced upon this little video that rather blew us away, we thought we’d share it with you.
Some have criticised the Ferrari 458’s styling for being two modern, too edgy, but, to our eyes, it treads the right line between respecting traditional Ferrari stlying cues and looking new and forward-thinking. We like it.
Once thing’s for sure, there’s no arguing about the performance of the thing. And what director Alexander Paul has done very well in this video is capture the excitement of being behind the wheel of one of these little terriers. Match the startling performance with the beauty of these two gorgeous cars making their brisk way through the Tuscan hills and you have three minutes of petrol-head heaven. read more…
His name is inevitably associated with gangster movies – both contemporary and historic. And rightly so.
From Mean Streets to The Departed, through Goodfellas, Casino and Gangs of New York, no one peers inside the lives of the lawless as shrewedly or as stylishly as Martin Scorsese.
But what sometimes gets forgotten while we’re praising his work on gangster flicks is that Scorsese is a hugely talented filmmaker who can turn his hand successfully to almost every genre. He’s done costume drama (The Age of Innocence), music videos (Michael Jackson’s Bad) and – most notably, he’s an absolute master of the suspense thriller. Check out his remake of Cape Fear in case you’re in any doubt. read more…
The Prodigal Fool
Straight-Six
Patito
saffygirl
