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Daily Mirror
06-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
'I stayed on a historic estate and fell in love with the place'
I lost my heart to this beautiful part of the country and now I can't wait to return Tucked away in the undulating hills of Suffolk, The Wilderness Reserve offers a quintessential English summer experience. I recently had the pleasure of spending a weekend there and was utterly charmed by this tranquil corner of the county, bathed in the glow of a June heatwave sun. The walled garden was a riot of colour as I watched a couple tie the knot, and while enjoying elderflower cocktails, I felt like I'd stepped into a Merchant Ivory film. But it wasn't just the stunning venue that captivated me to be honest, the entire region truly stole my heart. Suffolk, with its gently rolling hills, expansive skies, and patchwork of fields, meadows, and ancient woodlands, epitomises rural England. The 8,000-acre private estate near Saxmundham is just one of many highlights in the area, with attractions such as Framlingham Castle, Sutton Hoo, RSPB Minsmere, and Yoxford Antiques Centre and Gardens all within easy reach. Scattered with picturesque villages, timber-framed cottages, medieval churches, and quiet lanes, much of Suffolk is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Then there is the stunning Suffolk coastline with its mix of sandy beaches, rugged cliffs and pretty seaside towns. Southwold is known for its beautiful beaches, iconic lighthouse and Victorian pier, while Aldeburgh Aldeburgh offers a more artistic atmosphere with its historic high street and rich cultural heritage, including the famous Aldeburgh Festival. Nearby, there lies the 12th-century Framlingham Castle, while the town of Woodbridge is home to the impressive Tide Mill and a charming blend of Georgian buildings and independent shops. While a visit to the Wilderness Reserve was a delicious treat, there are so many other ways to explore the region, along with a multitude of places to stay. Take Winkle Cottage for instance - a fishermans cottage bathed in Aldeburgh's seaside charm. This classic fisherman's cottage offers snug living spaces and can comfortably accommodate five guests. It has been praised by visitors as "a great place to stay." The village of Campsea Ash also hosts an ideal spot for larger family reunions, offering a glorious barn conversion on a private estate. Quill Farm Barn is touted as a "delightful" holiday home, nestled away in "the perfect setting." Then there's the Sea Tower, a chic apartment boasting sea vistas that has earned accolades as "a special place" or the grand Holly Lodge - a robust five-bedroom countryside house capable of hosting group getaways for up to 10 individuals. For something completely different, the Pound Farm Mirror Houses in Framlingham offer contemporary dwellings in the heart of the countryside. An upscale alternative to traditional 'tiny homes' each house comes with its own hot tub. boasts a diverse array of accommodation options in Suffolk. The Swan Hotel in Southwold, a four-star establishment nestled within a historic building just 200 metres from the seafront, is one such gem. For those seeking a more traditional vibe, The Ship at Dunwich serves up home-cooked fare and real ales in an authentic inn setting. Adventure-seekers drawn to RSPB Minsmere will find Moonlight Lodge an ideal retreat close by. Available through it's set against the backdrop of Dunwich beach and surrounded by woodlands - a nature lover's dream. For a touch of grandeur, The Great House in Orford stands as a majestic Grade II-listed holiday home right in the village's heart. This quintessential country haven sleeps 12 and has been hailed as "a stunning house" and "absolutely perfect for larger parties" by visitors. The tranquil beauty of Suffolk has garnered thousands of glowing reviews on TripAdvisor from enamoured visitors. One tourist said: "Loved our afternoon in Southwold especially the pier! Such a pleasant surprise to have a clean characterful pier with a brilliant quirky water fuelled clock at the end! The beaches looked amazing, beautiful clean sand and so pretty with the huts behind!". Another visitor, charmed by Aldeburgh, shared: "It was a dream in July to swim in the early hours of the morning and have fish and chips looking out to sea." Of course, the accommodation is key to any memorable holiday, and Sykes Cottages are dazzling holidaymakers, boasting a 4.6 out of five-star rating. One chuffed guest remarked: "We wanted a quiet weekend getaway and we found exactly that in Suffolk. Perfect for young and cottage we booked we know it's a fabulous place and beautifully presented." Another satisfied customer shared: " Suffolk in the sunshine. This was an important family holiday following my dad being very unwell last year, our holiday with Sykes gave us the quality time we needed and the chance to make some wonderful memories." However, not all feedback was glowing. A less impressed guest posted a three-star review: "Sykes offer a vast range of holiday accommodation. From experience so far, the description and photos of accommodation are fairly accurate, however, the cleanliness of the accommodation is another matter. It is difficult to get hold of anyone from Sykes by telephone." But praise continued with another beaming five-star critique: "We were looking for pet friendly cottages in Suffolk, Sykes cottages came up with the goods. A nice cottage plenty of details about the cottage giving us all the details we needed. So many thanks looking forward to our holiday."
India.com
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
THIS Panchayat Season 4 Star Almost Bagged Christopher Nolans Film But Lost It After Audition, She Is...
2 / 6 Veteran actor Neena Gupta from Panchayat Season 4 is the very actor who almost landed a role in Christopher Nolan's film. Yes, you read that right! Known for her striking contribution to Bollywood and international cinema, did audition for a role in the Hollywood film Tenet, directed by Christopher Nolan. She auditioned in Los Angeles for the role of Priya Singh, but ultimately, the part went to someone else. Neena Gupta Hollywood Films: She has apperared in several international films, including Gandhi (1982) and Merchant Ivory productions like The Deceivers (1988), In Custody (1993), and Cotton Mary (1999).
New York Times
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
David Lynch Is an Unexpected Fashion Week Influencer
Outside the Coach show on Monday, a woman was marching around topless on Park Avenue. Her semi-nudity was a little startling, given the snow still piled on the sidewalks, but it went with the animal rights sign she was holding while shouting: 'Coach leather kills! Coach leather kills!' These days you have to be pretty extreme to get people's attention. Maybe that's why Stuart Vevers, the creative director of Coach, and Catherine Holstein of Khaite said they were thinking about David Lynch, the master of the surreal and the extreme who died last month, when putting together their collections. Well, that and the fact that fashion loves a bit of cinematic inspiration. Retrospectives of Mr. Lynch's most striking imagery have been ubiquitous. Technicolor normalcy taken to an absurd, terrifying length is apropos at the moment. Not that the results of either collection were that obviously Lynchian. But the shows did offer the sense that there was something unsettling lurking just under the leather. And each of them had a lot of leather. That the shows took place in the cavernous Park Avenue Armory was a coincidence, though Mr. Lynch might say there is no such thing. Ms. Holstein went very literally dark, setting her collection in a black circle that looked like an alien landing site encompassed by a circular runway/yellow brick road. (In a preview, she said that 'The Wizard of Oz' was Mr. Lynch's favorite movie, and she threw in some other movie citations, including Merchant Ivory and the costume designer Edith Head, for good measure). Out paraded models in a lot of black with the occasional shot of blood red, though it was unclear where everything was leading. Not to the Emerald City. Maybe 'Twin Peaks.' Or 'Mulholland Drive.' Her silhouette was blouson on top and skinny on the bottom. Slick leather greatcoats and exaggerated blousons mixed it up with giant boa constrictor-like knits. Cool deconstructed corsets were deboned to function more like little tubes you could shrug on over a tee, and puff-sleeve Edwardian frocks were remade in felted wool and fraying a bit at the seams. Inexplicably, everything was accessorized with black newsboy caps and leather opera gloves. The problem with the Lynch connection is that, while he was always an original, it becomes more obvious with every collection that Ms. Holstein is just … well, not. Her skill is in sensing which way the sartorial trend is blowing and digesting other designers' work in a more palatable way. This season she ticked all the developing trend boxes, including thigh-high boots, fringe and leopard, as well as hitting notes previously played by Saint Laurent, the Row and Bottega Veneta. That's not necessarily a bad thing — she has a lot of customers who appreciate the translation — but dressed up in the bombast of creativity, the effect is insincere. Mr. Vevers set his show in the New York of the 1990s, when he arrived in the city, papering the walls of the Armory with images of brick tenements amid which live musicians — the synth-pop trio Nation of Language — played the eerie strains of a Lynchian tune. They set the scene for Mr. Vevers's band of disaffected youth wearing plastic neon-framed sunglasses and toting teddy bear bag charms (the kind that are guaranteed to be best sellers). The shrunken leather jackets were cropped to show a Y2K band of flesh, and giant, puddling jeans (all made from reconstituted denim) were not so much low-rise as appearing to cling desperately to the hips. The models looked like the remnants of an all-night rave, spilled out onto empty streets in the wee hours of the morning. The sense of dirtied up innocence was Lynchian, albeit the G-rated version. It was also very well done. Everything was layered atop the giant trousers, which had the flow of evening skirts, including sheer 1920s frocks in sugary pastels and floor-length argyle sweaters in which the diamonds were more like moth-hole patches. Sometimes they were worn with big, fuzzy bunny rabbit slippers. The slippers turned out to have soles so they could be worn outside. You almost wanted to take a pair to that protester, shouting out in the cold.
