The Week UK - 14.03.2020

42 LEISURE

THE WEEK 14 March 2020

Consumer

TheHandbag

RaincoatIfyou’ve

splashedoutona

goodhandbag,you

don’twantitto

beruinedina

downpour.This

simple-as-can-be

plasticponchoisthe

solution(£18;amazon

New cars: whatthe critics say

Tips oftheweek...how to

ridyour garden offoxes

And for those who

have everything...

VauxhallCorsa

from£15,750

The DailyTelegraph

Sincefirst appearing 27

yearsago, theVauxhall

Corsahas repeatedly

toppedtheUK’sbestseller

lists.That makesanew

modela“bigdeal”. This

one, basedonthe latest

Peugeot 208’splatform,

comesinpetrol, diesel and

electric. It isagood, but

notexceptional,car:“easy

to like,hardtolove”. But

as Vauxhalldealerstend

to offerbig discounts and

promotional deals, it could

be worthalook.

What Car?

TheCorsa-e has 134bhp

andarange of 209 miles –

a“significant advantage”

over mostofits rivals.

There is alsoa74bhp

1.2-litre petrol,a99bhp

1.2-litre turbo petrol, and

a101bhp1.5-litre turbo

diesel, the middle of which

is the “pickofthe range”

for power and practicality.

The Corsa’s ride isalittle

jittery,and the steering is

“extremelylight”, which

is greatfor cities, but less

so at highspeeds.

Autocar

The new Corsa has an

understated elegance,

andin terms of interior

looks andtech, it is

definitelyimproved.

The infotainment system

blendsintohigh-gloss

black plasticsurfaces,

and allmodels have

smartphone mirroring,

so you canalways have

satnav. It is, however,

“less space efficient” than

its predecessor.Thisisa

“superficiallyclassier” car,

but it could be better.

●Animal-basedfertiliserssuchasbone

mealandchickenpelletmanurecanattract

foxes.Trydriedseaweedinstead.

●Waterisascarceresourceforfoxes,so

avoidleavingoutcontainersthatcollectit.

●Ripeningfruitthathasgonesoftisthe

equivalentofsweetsforfoxes,soremove

itfromtreesandbushes.

●Makesurebirdfeedersareoutofreach

bysuspendingthemfromtrees.

●Tryleavingoutsomeleftoversspiked

withhotchillisauce.Capsaicin(chilli

extract)isanaturalfoxrepellent.

●Protectpotsandbordersfrombeingdug

throughbygrowinggroundcoverplants.

●Foxescanexcavateborderaccesspoints

andturnthemintoaden,soclosefence

gapsandfixtheplacestheydigpromptly.

●Totrap afoxhumanely,useaheavyduty,

spring-loadedcagethatcatchesbutdoesn’t

killit(£54;amazon.co.uk/havahart).Place

atarpoverita ndbaitwithanopentinof

sardines.Thenreleasethefoxintothewild.

SOURCE: THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH SOURCE: FORBES SOURCE: THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

SOURCE: LONDON EV

Part of the“LoveStories”seriesby Van

Cleef&Arpels, thetwo hands ofthe

unusual LadyArpelsPont desAmoureux

Jour watchare acouple meeting on a

Parisianbridge. He,asthe minute hand,

dashes back and forth, while she(the hour

hand) glides steadily towards him.

£110,000; vancleefarpels.com

Berylbikesusea“hybrid”dockingsystem,

meaningthereareparkingbays,butyou

canalsoleavethemanywherefor£2.

AvailableinLondon,PooleandHereford,

theycost£1tounlockand5pperminute.

AvailableacrossLondonandMilton

Keynes,Limebikesareelectric-assistedand

goat amaximumspeedof14.8mph.They

havebuilt-inGPSandyoucanleavethem

anywhere–justclick“endride”intheapp.

Theycost£1tounlockand15pperminute.

Brompton Bike Hireoffersfoldingbikes,

greatforcommuters.Youhavetoreturn

themtodockingstations,whichcanbe

foundincitiesincludingLondon,Bristol,

BirminghamandOxford.Therearedaily

feesofeither£6.50or£3.50dependingon

howoftenyouride,andasmallannualfee.

ThebikesymbolintheUberappnow

takesyoutoJUMPbikes,whichareelectric-

assisted.Theycurrentlyonlyoperatein

partsofLondonnorthoftheriver,andcost

£1tounlockand12pperminutetoride.

The best... waterproof gear for urban living

Where tofind... cycle

hireschemes

nsibleinvestmentfor

bancommuterswho

anttoarriveatwork

thdryfeet(£75;

nterboots.com).

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onecaseIfyou

tyourphonein

swaterproofpouch

willbeprotectedfrom

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etouseitstouchsc

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mazon.co.uk).

pelLightweight

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VENING STANDARD

Hunter Women’s Original

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eatforwalkinginlong

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