June 2006

CHAINSAW JUGGLING – WORLD RECORD!! PHOTO OPPORTUNITY CANCELLED

CANCELLED

Photo opportunity for The Book of Cool (Wednesday 14th @2pm) cancelled due to health and safety.

A scheduled photocall attempt to break the world chainsaw juggling record in Trafalgar Square has been banned by the Greater London Authority.

‘Mad Chad Taylor’ from California, USA was to attempt to break his previous WORLD RECORD of 79 consecutive chainsaw juggling rotations with real life buzzing chainsaws.

Chad was due to fly over to the UK to promote a new book , THE BOOK OF COOL - a teach-yourself-manual-with-a-difference which brings you up-close-and-personal with essential and super-cool skills, usually the domain of the West Coat surfing fraternity or the Mountain Men of Montana.

‘Plans though have been scuppered by the Greater London Authority who said ‘it is unfeasible to assess this event at such a late stage with regards to health and safety in the first instance and in the second instance whether it is an appropriate activity for Trafalgar Square’ Paul Cavanagh, Greater London Authority Management

www.bookofcool.com

Gerry Junior (07747 70 32 32) or Paul McEntee (07917 167 810) at BORKOWSKI on 020 7404 3000

or email gerry@borkowski.co.uk or paul@borkowski.co.uk

CHAINSAW JUGGLING – WORLD RECORD!!

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
At 2 PM on WEDNESDAY 14th JUNE
In Trafalgar Square

CHAINSAW JUGGLING – WORLD RECORD!!

No…..your eyes are not playing tricks on you!!

On Wednesday 14th June ‘Mad Chad Taylor’ from California, USA will attempt to break his previous WORLD RECORD of 79 consecutive chainsaw juggling rotations with real life buzzing chainsaws.

After hours spent cutting down tree’s to build his stamina, he’s ready to go for a massive 100 rotations with 3 chainsaws!

Chad really is ‘cutting edge’ as he is one of only a handful of performers in the world who juggles chainsaws. One slight misjudgement, or a mistimed throw and Chad puts his life, and his limbs, on the line.

Chad is here to launch the THE BOOK OF COOL - a teach-yourself-manual-with-a-difference which brings you up-close-and-personal with essential and super-cool skills, usually the domain of the West Coat surfing fraternity or the Mountain Men of Montana.

“It's amazing how many people want to watch you do something stupid!" says Mad Chad, as he juggles three running chainsaws, sets his fingers on fire, and catches a 15-pound anvil with his head.

Mad Chad’s performed his outstanding "L.A." act on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC's World's Most Dangerous Acts, America's Funniest People and television shows in Japan, Germany, and Spain, and now he brings this breathtaking act and hopefully a piece of history to the streets of London.

Asked if he has ever hurt himself while performing Chad replies,
“Yeah. I’ve nicked myself with the chainsaw twice. Nothing serious”

After hours spent cutting down tree’s to build his stamina, he’s ready to go for a massive 100 rotations with 3 chainsaws!

Chad really is ‘cutting edge’ as he is one of only a handful of performers in the world who juggles chainsaws. One slight misjudgement, or a mistimed throw and Chad puts his life, and his limbs, on the line.

Chad is here to launch the THE BOOK OF COOL - a teach-yourself-manual-with-a-difference which brings you up-close-and-personal with essential and super-cool skills, usually the domain of the West Coat surfing fraternity or the Mountain Men of Montana.

“It's amazing how many people want to watch you do something stupid!" says Mad Chad, as he juggles three running chainsaws, sets his fingers on fire, and catches a 15-pound anvil with his head.

Mad Chad’s performed his outstanding "L.A." act on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC's World's Most Dangerous Acts, America's Funniest People and television shows in Japan, Germany, and Spain, and now he brings this breathtaking act and hopefully a piece of history to the streets of London.

Asked if he has ever hurt himself while performing Chad replies,

“Yeah. I’ve nicked myself with the chainsaw twice. Nothing serious”

www.bookofcool.com

PHOTOCALL
WEDNESDAY 14th JUNE 2005 at 2 pm
Photographers and Crews to meet at Fourth Plinth

For accreditation please contact Gerry Junior (07747 70 32 32) or Paul McEntee (07917 167 810) at BORKOWSKI on 020 7404 3000

or email gerry@borkowski.co.uk or paul@borkowski.co.uk

LOWER MILL ESTATE - SPA OPENING

A place in the country – or the creature comforts of city life?
It’s the classic conundrum for urban dwellers seeking the rural idyll without sacrificing their metropolitan lifestyles.

At Lower Mill Estate, Britain’s first architect-designed Second Home Community, all those problems are solved at a single stroke. Its 550 acres of abundant wildlife in the heart of the Cotswolds are also home to the country’s largest collection of cutting-edge modernist homes.

Now they boast the world’s first ‘art spa’ - offering everything from tai chi at dawn to pilates at sundown, candlelit swimming and aromatherapy treatments, and regular exhibitions of paintings and photography. There’s even the unique chance to swim amid lilies and reeds in the UK’s first commercial Eco Pool.

“The £6 million Artspa underlines our commitment to harmonise people, art and nature,” explains estate owner Jeremy Paxton, who is selling an exclusive collection of luxurious second homes on his lakeside estate. “It’s the first art spa in the world and it has the world’s first spa eco pool.”

To celebrate the opening of the spa, Paxton is launching a new collection of 21 unique homes – the Spa Village and the Reid Nine - at prices from £395,000 up to £1.4 million.

Like everything else at Lower Mill, the Artspa and private health club – opening in June 2006 – is built with design to the fore and the environment in mind.

The entire complex has been designed to use only natural light during daylight hours, with its three pools illuminated by candlelight once darkness falls, when the soothing scent of burning frankincense will waft across the water.

At its heart is an innovative ‘eco pool’ purified entirely by plants instead of chemicals – the only place in Britain where you can take a swim alongside kingfishers taking a drink.

The Artspa is the centerpiece of Paxton’s bold vision of creating a stylish and secure rural vacation community for well-heeled city dwellers in search of second homes.

“I am convinced that Lower Mill will become to Londoners what the Hamptons are to New Yorkers, and what Palm Springs is to people in Los Angeles,” says Paxton.

“The spa is just part of what makes Lower Mill a destination, making it the only spa-driven real estate in the world. Residents can turn up on a Friday night with their families, following a long working week in the city, and find a social hub where they can unwind.”

In keeping with Paxton’s overall vision, the spa has been designed in harmony with nature, blending ecologically sound materials like natural slate and sustainable oak with the highest specifications in luxury and comfort.

Oils and treatments are provided exclusively by Michelle Roques-O’Neil, whose acclaimed ‘Pure Alchemy’ range will be used throughout the spa. Trained by Micheline Arcier, the Frenchwoman who introduced aromatherapy to Britain, Michelle has a devoted worldwide following for the unique blend of spiritual and psychological dimensions in her therapeutic treatments.

At night the spa’s three swimming pools, lined in green slate, are lit up at night by chandeliers of flickering candles, while clouds of sweet-smelling frankincense float through the building. Outside, on the patio, a California-style ‘fire pit’ creates a focal point for barbecues and cocktail parties.

In addition to a large indoor swimming pool and identical outdoor pool, there’s an outdoor ‘eco-pool’ hidden in a water garden filled with reeds and lilies, its water purified entirely by plants instead of chemicals.

The spa also boasts its own art gallery and library, in addition to the expected treatment rooms, steam rooms, sauna and gymnasium, with individual treatments and personal trainers available by appointment.

Lower Mill Estate, whose extensive grounds include two official Sites of Special Scientific Interest, has quickly grown into Britain’s biggest collection of architect-designed modernist homes.

Sales were launched last year at the Victoria & Albert Museum with a collection of extravagant lakeside ‘landmark homes’ set in stunning scenery. Designed by some of the world’s top architects, their price tags run as high as £10 million for what is, essentially, a one-off bespoke home.

But other houses on the estate, where affluent city dwellers have swiftly established their own weekend colony, come in more affordable sizes, with prices starting at around £395,000 for a four-bedroom, four-bathroom home designed by one of the world’s leading architects… cheaper than a plot of land in Gloucestershire.

All of them are ‘made to measure’ under Paxton’s innovative way of selling homes to order – a process he calls ‘house couture’ – so that buyers can choose exactly what they want from their new vacation home.

SPA VILLAGE / REID NINE

New Yorkers have the Hamptons. Los Angeles has Palm Springs. Now, Londoners can have their own away-from-it-all “weekend utopia” in the heart of the Cotswolds.

Country living combines with cool urban style and cutting-edge architecture at Lower Mill Estate, a 550-acre haven of wildlife and designer homes less than two hours’ drive from London.

With all new homes still on the drawing board to buy off-plan, buyers can choose their own bespoke home through a process that estate owner Jeremy Paxton calls ‘house couture’.

The latest two collections of homes to be unveiled at Lower Mill - the Spa Village and the Reid Nine – all come with exclusive membership of the estate’s private ‘Artspa’.

Each home is designed to the exact specifications of the owner-to-be, so it’s no problem to add a roof deck or an extra fireplace before the first solid limestone blocks have been laid.

The two new ‘villages’ are the latest example of the innovative vision of estate owner Jeremy Paxton, whose inspiration is drawn from all over the world, but particularly from Southern California, the Hamptons and the South of France.

One such influence is the Case Study Homes project that launched modernism in Southern California in the late 1940s – through visionary architects like the Eames brothers, Richard Neutra, Raphael Soriano, Craig Ellwood and Eero Saarinen – and the canalside dwellings in LA’s beach community of Venice. Equally influential is the lakeside village of Port Grimaud in Provence, with elements of the unique mountain villages of Cortina in Italy, and the beach-side summer retreats favoured by affluent New Yorkers in The Hamptons.

“It’s not just about creating a collection of holiday homes,” explains Paxton, whose vision is to combine nature and art in perfect harmony, providing luxury vacation homes in a private paradise. “It’s about building a weekend utopia – a rural community of like-minded people.

“The quest is to create a wonderful habitat for humans in the middle of the perfect habitat for thousands of other species. And to do it by sustainable and sophisticated means.”

Attractions of the estate include the new £6 million ‘Artspa’, offering three swimming pools and a range of treatments; as well as fishing, cycling, horse riding and walking. But the greatest attraction is the setting itself – a haven of peace and quiet within easy reach of the big city.

SPA VILLAGE

The Spa Village is an enchanting private and gated ‘hamlet’ beside the Artspa on the south bank of Copse Mere. Its 12 houses – generously priced from £395,000 to £795,000 - are planned in a dog-leg around a forecourt of communal barns and parking, set among orchards and weeping willows, reed beds and hazel coppice.

The houses come in various contemporary designs, conforming to Paxton’s vision of blending cutting-edge architectural design with a ‘green’ approach to nature. A handsome pitched-roof three-storey three-bayed galleried house boasts views along the winding mere to Somerford Lagoon, while two narrow-fronted houses along a canal boast four levels of terraces with a huge skydeck – complete with outdoor fireplace – giving magnificent views over the Gloucestershire landscape.

The village’s character comes from the way each house is cleverly angled differently from its neighbour, in order to maximize the views and match the character of a typical Cotswold village.

REID NINE

The Reid Nine is a collection of nine homes individually designed by Richard Reid, a Royal Academician and RIBA prize winner whose projects have won awards all over the world – and whose practice also designed the Spa Village.

Its nine villas, blending traditional and contemporary building styles, are in a gated enclosure with outstanding views over Somerford Lagoon – one of Gloucestershire’s largest lakes - with a guarantee that no more homes will be built in their sight line.

The homes boast their own private lap pool and gym as well as complimentary membership of the new Artspa. Residents can enjoy nature not only from their windows, roof terraces and decks, but by watching infra-red television footage of beavers, otters and kingfishers hunting at night, recorded by broadcast-quality cameras along the banks of the lake.

Prices start where the Spa Village ends, with houses ranging from £800,000 to £1.4 million, which buys a unique three-storey home with four levels of superb decks and loggias, and sliding windows with spectacular views of the lake and its abundant wildlife.

“Every home is built to order, so every one will be different,” says Paxton, who has spent eight years transforming the waterlands into the largest British wildlife reserve in private hands – and claims to be the only developer of this kind with no partners, no debt, and a plan that extends beyond his own life.

“At the same time they are part of a community of like-minded people. The estate is like a village – we even have our own village fete and there are often Friday-night cocktail parties – but it’s big enough and wild enough that you can also find total isolation. It’s not hard to get lost.”

For more information please contact Annabel Annabel@borkowski.co.uk
or Kate Kate@borkowski.co.ukBorkowski (+44) 0207 404 300