MIAMI UNCUT

This is the full version of the Miami Beach hotels article which appeared yesterday (22.12.13). The hotels here have all opened in the last year or so. Miami Beach is never cheap, especially over the next few months, but if you are flexible on dates you can usually find a decent rate at any of these – and Aloft, B2 and Freehand are good value year round and the latter is worth a pop for a drink even if you aren’t staying there (see video below).

ALOFT BRICKELL
1001 SW 2nd Ave (001-305 854 6300, starwoodhotels.com)
LOCATION? Newly opened in Brickell, a business/residential district to the south of Downtown, with good public transport links, including rail from the airport.
WHAT’S THE STORY? The rapidly expanding Aloft chain bills itself as a division of W Hotels, but the relationship to its design-conscious big brother is homeopathic – a hefty dilution is involved in terms of scale, ambition and quality of fittings. Instead, think of Aloft as a bright, good-value, much hipper version of Premier Inn that does indeed offer some ‘style at a steal’ – rooms are a fraction of W prices.
WHY STAY? Generous sized bedrooms (160, including family-friendly twin kings), 42-inch plasmas, free wi-fi, decent sized pool (albeit it in the shadow of the garage’s spiral ramps), competitive prices compared to other Brickell hotels (Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons).
SHOULD I EAT IN? There’s a funky little lobby bar but no restaurant – the Re-Fuel snack bar offers DIY breakfast (£4.20) and munchies but luckily there is a very lively local food/bar scene a block or so away at Mary Brickell Village and along South Miami Avenue. Try the new, interesting and eccentric farm-to-table Box Park (111 SW 1st Avenue 001 305 356 8385, boxparkMiami.com, mains £12-18).
BEST FOR: Fly-drive families and couples who don’t want SoBe prices.
IT’S A PITY THAT: It’s a schlep to the beach – a fifteen-minute drive.
BOTTOM LINE: from £79, room-only. Overnight valet parking £22.50 per night.

B2
146 Biscayne Boulevard (001-305 358 4555, b2miamidowntown.com).
LOCATION? Downtown on high-rise-filled Biscayne Blvd, right by Bayside shopping mall and the port.
WHAT’S THE STORY? Six months old, the first of a projected ‘value’ chain, b2 has refurbed an old property, going for no-frills functionality in 243 clean, bright rooms with very comfortable beds. There’s free wi-fi and loan of iPads and parking is £16, but you might not need a car (see below).
WHY STAY? Brilliant location if you need to catch a boat, good prices and they have a great deal with local car2go (car2go.com) car sharing scheme – registration fee waived, 38 cents a mile, free parking, fuel and insurance.
SHOULD I EAT IN? The lobby-side Biscayne Tavern calls itself a gastropub, but its more a comfort station – stick to burgers (£9.50) and ribs (£9) etc. and you won’t go far wrong, but haute cuisine it isn’t. There’s an unusually excellent selection of craft beers.
BEST FOR: pre- and post- cruise stays.
IT’S A PITY THAT: there’s no pool.
BOTTOM LINE: Doubles from £107, room-only, £119 with breakfast. B Cruisin’ packages throw in early check-in and taxi to your ship (no b/fast), from £117 per room.

SENSE BEACH HOUSE
400 Ocean Drive (001-305 538 5529, sensebeachhouse.com).
LOCATION? At the southern of Ocean Drive, away from the ‘Strip’; not right on the water, but that’s just across the street.
WHAT’S THE STORY? Another reboot of an older property, this intimate 18-room hotel, with a rooftop pool, channels New England and the Hamptons in a Ralph Lauren style. The resort fee of £9.50 per room includes everything you need for the beach (chairs/umbrellas/towels) and wi-fi. The majority of rooms have balconies and sea glimpses.
WHY SHOULD I STAY? The low-key at-the-beach atmosphere is a nice antidote to the normal SoBe posturing.
SHOULD I EAT IN? Yes. The Local House is a dine-in or –out-on-the-terrace option, which offers good vale fresh ingredients – goats cheese croquettes (£6), mac & cheese (£7), large seafood risotto (£15).
BEST FOR: Couples wanting a more relaxed Miami Beach experience.
IT’S A PITY THAT: With just 18 rooms, it fills up so quickly at peak times
THE BOTTOM LINE: Specials sometimes come in at £120 per room, including breakfast, although £180 is more the norm; valet parking is £22.

JAMES ROYAL PALM
1545 Collins Avenue (001-305 604 5700, jameshotels.com/Miami)
LOCATION? Right on the sand, in the middle of the South Beach action.
WHAT’S THE STORY? £27m has been spent on the former Royal Palm to create a large (393 rooms) resort that harks back to the Miami glamour of the ’60s, with touches of MiMo (Miami Modern) in public areas and clean Scandinavian influences in the spacious rooms.
WHY STAY? It’s a one-stop resort, with free bikes, surfboards, paddle boards, skateboards, wi-fi, multiple bars and food outlets, lots for kids, two pools, fancy spa, huge gym, good service. Only the high prices might deter.
SHOULD I EAT IN? The Florida Cookery restaurant has fancy fusion cuisine – the oyster, oxtail
and alligator empanadas (one of each, not mixed together, £8.50) were certainly different and my South American-influenced spicy Mahi-Mahi (£18.50) had a welcome kick.
BEST FOR: well-heeled families and active couples.
IT’S A PITY THAT: It’s such a big resort – those pool areas can get crowded at peak times.
BOTTOM LINE: From £220 per night, room only. It levies a £21 resort fee per room for two loungers, umbrella, towels and fruit. Valet parking is £26 a night (although unlike some hotels they do tell guests they you can get public parking for £10 across the road). Featured by British Airways (see below).

THE GALE
1690 Collins Ave (001-305 673 0199, galehotel.com).
LOCATION? Next to The Lincoln Mall shopping/dining/nightlife area.
WHAT’S THE STORY? This elegant, family-owned 87-roomer is a chimeric fusion of two historic hotels, The Gale and The Regent, with a rooftop pool and a basement nightclub added in the link. Rooms are compact but not claustrophobic, the best with terraces, all done in classic deco B&W, but very high tech with 55-inch plasmas with a pay per view you can download onto iPod/laptop.
WHY STAY? An atmosphere that feels a step up in sophistication from its generic art deco neighbours, at a reasonable price, on hippest corner in SoBe (opposite the SLS and Delano)
SHOULD I EAT IN? There is a good Italian on site for fresh pasta and wood-fired pizza (both from £11.50), but the star of the show is the dark, clubby Regent Cocktail Bar where the barman make daiquiris just like Papa Hemingway drank (£9).
BEST FOR: 24-hour party people (there’s that nightclub on site, open to 5am on weekends)
IT’S A PITY THAT: it doesn’t have direct beach access – you get squatting rights in front of the Setai up the street.
BOTTOM LINE: from £120 room-only, plus £16 per room resort fee- includes wi-fi, beach chairs, shuttle to and from beach or restaurants, and a £10 food credit. Valet Parking is £26 a night.

SLS
1701 Collins Ave (001-305 674 1701, slshotels.com).
LOCATION? Grand – on the beach, right opposite the Delano on Collins Avenue.
WHAT’S THE STORY? A typically striking (and somewhat muddled) design job by Philippe Starck, with a little help from Lenny Kravitz, has rapidly turned the old Ritz Plaza into the local party scene du jour. There’s two pool areas, one for guests (it’s the one with a giant fibre glass duck), the other open to the public – for a minimum spend – at the cool Hyde Beach bar/club/gardens. Rooms, of which there are 140, are not huge by any means, unless you get a ‘villa’, and are mostly white with some Louis XIV styled screen prints to suggest a touch of decadence.
WHY STAY? It’s currently the epitome of South Beach bling, if that’s your thing. But the bar/pool scene is worth a bit of rubbernecking, even if you’re not staying.
SHOULD I EAT IN? Food is a big deal here – it’s open kitchen season. There’s gussied-up tapas at Bazaar by Jose Andres in two adjacent dining rooms, although I prefer the terrace of the Bar Centro, which serves a selection from his menu (platter of Spanish meats, £15; patatas bravas, £6.50), with drinks such as liquid nitrogen caiprinhas (£3.25). There is also a branch of Japanese sushi chain Katsuya. The bargain in the latter is the ‘Social Hour’, 6-9pm daily, at the hidden Dragon Lounge upstairs, when all appetisers are half price (tuna on crispy rice, £4.50) and the cocktails a very reasonable £5.
BEST FOR? Celeb spotters (Beckhams, J-Lo, assorted Kardashians), pool poseurs, people watchers.
IT’S A PITY THAT: The extras add up. There’s a £13 per room per day resort fee, but you have to pay extra for umbrellas (£6) and there is a minimum spend on drinks/food for the front row of pool chairs at the public pool (from £47.50pp, more on pool party days) even for hotel guests, which is very cheeky. Valet parking is £29.
BOTTOM LINE: Room-only from £160. Featured by Virgin Holidays + Hip Hotels (0844-573 2451, viphotels.co.uk)

FREEHAND MIAMI
2727 Indian Creek Drive (001-305 531 2727, thefreehand.com).
LOCATION? Way up at the top end of SoBe – much further and you’d be in NoBe.
WHAT’S THE STORY? Hard to believe that this shabby-boho enclave (once the Island Creek Hotel) is part-owned by Ace Hotels, but some of that brand’s magic has certainly rubbed off- this place is hugely popular, especially the bar and tropical gardens with pool.
WHY SHOULD I STAY? For the laidback, freewheeling atmosphere, the lots of activities organised/suggested and The Broken Shaker, a great and currently very hip hangout, with cutting edge cocktails from £9.
SHOULD I EAT IN? There are only wraps (£5-6) at the moment, but restaurant coming next year. Nearby Indomania (131 26th St, 001-305 535 6332, indomaniarestaurant.com) is good bet: blow-out Dutch-Indonesian rijsttafels from £15.50pp.
BEST FOR: Hipsters of all ages – but be aware that it’s a hostel, not a hotel.
IT’S A PITY THAT: It’s so far north of the main drag, but bike hire (£9.50 day) is reasonable. Street car parking only, but they have vouchers (£6.50 day)
THE BOTTOM LINE: A shared quad (with solid, Amish-built bunks) from £16pp; basic doubles £64 per room, both with breakfast included.

* I travelled to Miami as a guest of British Airways (0844 493 0758, ba.com), which features both The James (three nights from £819pp, room-only, with flights) and SLS (three nights, £789pp) and Starwood Hotels (starwoodhotels.com).

Robbery with a side order of pheasant

The route from Bridego Bridge to Leatherslade Farm in Bucks is the featured Great Drive in this Sunday’s (15.12) Drive section of the Sunday Times. To celebrate, we have a fresh version of the film, now with a racy B&W section:

The pub mentioned in the article, The Hundred of Ashendon (01296-651296, http://www.thehundredofashendon.com), is well worth a detour even if you aren’t chasing the shades of robbers past – the chef, Matt, produces robust, seasonal, well-flavoured food (I had the pheasant and bacon pie, my co-pilot a lovely piece of turbot) without being over-fancy. If I tell you he has spent time in Fergus Henderson’s kitchen, you’ll get the idea.

In The Tyre Tracks Of The Train Robbers

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I recently did a Great Drive through rural Buckinghamshire for The Sunday Times Drive section. It was to follow the route taken by the Great Train Robbers as they took their haul of £2.6m from Bridego Bridge (off the B488) to their ill-fated choice of hideout, Leatherslade Farm near Brill. As Bruce Reynolds, chief planner, said in his memoir, Autobiography of a Thief: ‘The next morning Paddy and I set off in his 3.8 [Jaguar], driving up and around the target area. The more I saw, the more I liked it. I plotted a route which took us south in a dogleg onto the Thame Road. It was a great route, B-roads all the way, crossing two main roads in all.’ He isn’t kidding about the dogleg – in fact, there’s more doglegs in the 28 miles than Battersea Dog’s Home in January. You can read the results of following Reynolds and the robbers in The Sunday Times soon. Meanwhile, here is a short film we shot at the bridge (go full screen to see the captions properly – sadly it also makes my face bigger):

Thanks to Tony O’Keeffe of Jaguar Cars and Jagmeister Michael Byng, who brought along one of his Mk 2s. This is a rough version of the final film – although I am still hoping the moment when I tried to start the 3.8 with the cigarette lighter button doesn’t make the final cut.

Incidentally, as well as the usual outlets, you can now get the novel that started all this malarkey, Signal Red, through iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/pwmo8zj.

First Great Train Robbery Trailer Released

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The BBC has released the first trailer (below) for the two-part Great Train Robbery film, ‘inspired by’ (as the credit have it) my novel Signal Red (as in ‘kickstarted’, which was its actual role; the finished product isn’t a film of the book). The first of the pair, A Robber’s Tale concentrates on Bruce Reynolds (Luke Evans); the second, A Copper’s Tale, centres on the dour but dedicated policeman Tommy Butler (Jim Broadbent). The screenplays are by Chris Chibnall (Dr Who, Camelot, Law & Order, United, Broadchurch), but with different directors, DOPs and editors, each has a strikingly different feel, although they both have at their core a powerful central performance from the lead actor. They are scheduled to be shown ‘soon’ – most likely before Christmas. STOP PRESS: Films now due to be shown on December 18th and 19th.

The Walls Have Ears (and eyes and tentacles and pigeons)

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Every time I go to another city I usually end up taking a tour of some description. Not the hop-on hop-off buses but something to do with food, architecture or music. But I very rarely do it on home turf. Recently, however, I took a walking tour with Alternative London, concentrating on the history, art and architecture of the East End and how it has changed. And changed it certainly has. When I worked in Wapping I used to walk up to Spitalfields Market for lunch from the rather ramshackle but tasty stalls. It was a shock to see the gleaming (and ubiquitous) Wagamamas, Leons, Canteens etc in their place. The old market now looks like a clone of the new King’s Cross Station concourse, albeit with out the trains.

But the main point was to look at the street art. The guide was a young Australian called Keir Ralph, who knew an impressive amount about everything from Hugeunots to hip-hop pigeons (as placed around the streets by artist Ronzo). He also pointed out otherwise hard-to-spot works, including diminutive sculptures and plaques by ‘Jonesy’, rumoured to be a sixty-odd-year-old Welshman, who must be pretty fit for his age, given some of the climbing involved in placing his installations.

Hanbury Street was an early stop – it has Belgian artist Roa’s crane, Guy Denning’s lady’s head and (not shown) Alexis Diaz’s elephant-cum-octopus, which could be an early seventies prog-rock album cover.

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Below is a portrait of Charlie Burns, a Brick lane legend, on Bacon Street, who died in 2012, aged 96, by Ben Slow.
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On the same street, another tribute, this one to Lou Reed, by Dscreet.
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On Brick Lane, one of New Yorker Colette’s augmented street signs.
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And a giant hand (aka David and Goliath) by Argentinean Martin Ron on Holywell Lane, which took eight days to complete.

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You’ll also see work by Swoon, Monster, Mighty Mo, Cranio, the Burning Candy collective, Gold Peg, Sweet Toof, Citizen Kane, Space Invader.. it’s a very worthwhile two hours of re-educating yourself where to look for (and how to look at) street art. At the end you pay what you think the tour is worth – most people gave five or ten pounds. Details on: http://www.alternativeldn.co.uk. Also see: http://streetartlondon.co.uk. Given the ephemeral nature of the art, though, expect there to be a whole new catalogue when you go.

The Dead Can Wait: The Return of Dr Watson

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The cover for the next instalment of Dr (now Major) Watson’s continuing adventures as a medic in WW1 is now out. There isn’t, as you can see, the familiar thriller/mystery trope of a solitary figure walking away from the viewer. There’s a pair of men. And they are running – apparently into the sea. Which does reflect one episode in the novel, when Watson has to take ‘the most lethal road in England.’
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Set mostly in Suffolk and Essex but with a return to the Western Front for the finale, it concerns Watson being blackmailed into investigating why Britain’s new ‘wonder’ weapon has killed seven men and driven an eighth insane. It is out in January from Simon & Schuster.

Kyle Eastwood: New York, Paris and Ken Clarke

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The latest issue of Man About Town features a piece by me about Kyle Eastwood, Clint’s bass-playing son, which includes a look at the history of jazz on Manhattan, as well as a recommended list of ‘Live in NYC’ jazz albums. Also what happened when Ken Clarke turned up to see Kyle play at Ronnie Scott’s. Plus a lovely illustration by Liselotte Watkins.
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And you get James McVoy:

mat2See http://www.manabouttown.tv.

Ms Janie Dee reads Dr Watson and Mrs Gregson

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The event at St Bart’s pathology Museum went well – a crazy French silent film featuring Sherlock and Watson, by the charming Celine Terranova (who turned up in a lovely steampunk bustle dress) followed by me waffling about Watson until I could show the new trailer/extract for the book. There is still a slight volume adjustment to be made around the time the sodium citrate appears, but I think you’ll agree Janie Dee does a tremendous job. Thanks also to Sue Light for (most of) the photographs, to Bella Ryan for editing/assembling and to Carla Valentine for organising a night for Dr Watson to shine.

The above is an edited extract from this section of Dead Man’s Land:

“Careful with the solution bottles, Staff Nurse Jennings,’ Watson warned, as she unwrapped a glass cylinder from its cocoon of corrugated cardboard and newspaper. ‘That’s our secret ingredient. Hand it here, please.’
The flap of the tent snapped back with a crack like a whiplash. Standing in the opening was the Sister-in-Charge, her face almost as crimson as the red cape which proclaimed her a full member of Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps. The sound of the German guns was momentarily lost beneath her impressive bellow. ‘Major Watson!’
Watson carefully laid down the precious jar of sodium citrate solution on the tabletop before he turned to face her. ‘Sister? How may I be of assistance?’
‘What is the meaning of this?’ She pulled back the canvas further to reveal his two members of the Voluntary Aid Detachment each holding an Empire medical kit. ‘Experience dictates that travelling with one medical kit in a war situation is somewhat risky, sister,’ Watson explained patiently. ‘I always pack a spare.’
Now the colour on her cheeks was a perfect match for the cape. ‘I am not referring to your travelling preferences, Major,’ she almost snarled. ‘You have brought VADs into my Casualty Clearing Station. VADs!’
She made it sound as if Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses were some kind of vermin ‘When I was at the hospital in Calais,’ Watson said calmly, ‘I requested some assistance during this tour of the clearing stations and field ambulances. The MO suggested Nurses Gregson and-’
‘They are not nurses, Major Watson, as you well know. Not qualified nurses. They are auxiliaries. Orderlies. And the Matron-in-Chief herself has forbidden VADs to work this far forward-’
There came another explosion, short and sharp, that made everyone’s heads turn to the source. It had come from Mrs Gregson, the older of the VADs. Her companion, Miss Pippery, a tiny thing who looked to be barely out of her teens, took a small step backwards, as if retreating from a ticking bomb.
Mrs Gregson bent at the waist, put down the medical chest, and stepped over it, so that she stood eye to eye with the Sister. Miss Pippery lowered her own case but stayed firmly behind it, as if it could act as a barricade. She yanked out a tiny gold rosary from beneath her collar and kissed it, briefly, in prayer, before tucking it away once more.
Mrs Gregson, Watson estimated, was thirty or thereabouts, with striking green eyes and, beneath the white VAD headdress, a crown of fiery red hair. The Sister was probably two decades older, pipe-cleaner thin with a mouth pinched by years of keeping her charges in line. Now the opening was reduced further, to a razor cut in a rather sallow face.
When Mrs Gregson spoke, it was with a quiet but stinging force. ‘Sister, I may not have your qualifications, but I have been out here for more than two years. I was running first-aid stations when the worst the men faced was a turned ankle from trying to march in hobnail boots on French and Belgian cobblestones. I drove for McMurdo’s Flying Ambulance Brigade at Mons. Perhaps you have heard of it? I have treated trench foot, venereal disease, lice infestations and lanced boils in men’s buttocks the size of macaroons. I have stuffed men’s entrails back in place and held the hands of boys who cried for their mothers, such was their pain, and of grown men weeping in fear at the thought of going back up the line. I have watched men drown in their own fluids from gas, carried men’s mangled arms and legs to the lime pit, told a private he will never see again, spent weeks wondering if I will ever smell anything in my nostrils other than the stench of gas gangrene. I have shown pretty fiancées what German flame-throwers have done to their future husbands’ faces. Then had to deliver the letters that tell the disfigured soldiers that they have lost those sweethearts. I have seen enough pus to last me a lifetime, Sister, and my hands are likely ruined forever from all the scrubbings with carbolic and eusol because, of course, only a Sister can wear rubber gloves and I do believe, no matter what your dear Matron-in-Chief thinks, that I have earned the right to go where my betters think I am needed in this war and I also believe that Major Watson’s new method of blood transfusion will save the lives of many who have to this point died for want of fluid and warmth.’ She finally took a breath. ‘Of course, I am not a nurse, nor would I claim to be. I am a VAD and proud of it.’
Mrs Gregson’s short speech never increased in volume throughout its course, but somehow, like a great flywheel pressed into motion, gathered power and momentum as it went. Watson, about to object that is wasn’t strictly speaking his new method of blood transfusion, decided to stay out of the contest. It would be like trying to separate two Siamese fighting fish.
The guns seemed even louder and much closer in the brittle silence that descended on the tent.
Sister took her time composing her reply. The heightened colour in her cheeks faded, but she twisted the piece of paper she held in her hands as if she were wringing Mrs Gregson’s neck. ‘I did not intend to impugn the service you have given. But there are few here who haven’t performed the same tasks. Isn’t that right, Staff Nurse Jennings?’
‘Yes, Sister,’ she agreed softly, eyes downcast. ‘Although I can’t drive-’
But Sister had turned her attention back to the VADs. ‘You will assist Major Watson, of course, in his important work, and I assume move on with him once the technique for this wonder treatment has been demonstrated. But I do not want you on the re-suss, pre-op or evacuation wards. Or on the officers’ wards in The Big House. It will only confuse the men. I don’t want them to think they are getting..’ She paused for moment and actually smiled before delivering the blow ‘.. second-rate care.”

JANIE DEE, DR WATSON AND ME

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Well, talk about last minute, but we finally got a working edit of the new promo trailer for Dead Man’s Land. It features actress/singer Janie Dee reading Mrs Gregson’s little ‘rant’ early on in the book. It was recorded in her kitchen, with builders above and children doing homework, making drinks and chatting below and it is remarkable that it came together at all. Yet after every interruption, the talented Ms Dee dropped seamlessly back into character (about which she had extracted more than I knew I knew from me). There were a few volume issues, mainly because I kept moving the microphone (yes, I should have done it in a studio – everyone, including Janie, told me that), but I think that is sorted. So, I am going to show it (there are visuals as well) at the Barts event on Wednesday 13th, along with the new silent Sherlock short. Book here: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/autumn-seminar-6-dr-watson-in-the-spotlight-tickets-7847286445?aff=eorg

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A little housekeeping on the event from organiser Carla Valentine if you are coming along:

Dear All,
To those who have not attended before (and also those who have) there are some works going on in the courtyard at Barts Hospital. They won’t cause a problem for you entering the museum but may make visibility of the correct entrance more difficult. 

All the directions are on our museum info page as usual: http://www.potts-pots.blogspot.co.uk/p/museum-info.html and they will make it incredibly easy for you to find the entrance to the museum from the Main Gate (Henry VIII Gate)
If you don’t enter the courtyard via the main gate (which is the one on West Smithfield, opposite the meat market, consisting of a huge concrete arch) then I suggest just circulating the courtyard until you reach it and going from there.
I look forward to seeing you tomorrow,
Regards,
Carla