HTSI editor’s letter: in praise of the outlier

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This year, I have undergone a number of experimental treatments and therapies in a bid to ward off ageing. Under the ministrations of Dr Costas Papageorgiou at the Harrods Wellness Clinic, I’ve had electrodes strapped to my cheeks in an effort to define my cheekbones, and thermal heat zapped onto my neck to eradicate its sagging. At the diagnostic centre at the Galen Clinic, a simple oral swab has revealed a host of genetic predispositions. On the doctor’s advice I have doubled my intake of omega-3 oils, vitamins B and D, and now take turmeric for inflammation and magnesium for sleeping. I never imagined I would be so seduced by the supplement industry – but right now I’m squirting lion’s mane elixir into some water because it’s said to sharpen your focus. I’m clearly a total sucker.

I never imagined I’d be seduced by the supplement industry

As yet, I haven’t tried NAD, the wellness hacker’s favourite longevity supplement. Scientifically known as nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, NAD is a molecule produced naturally in the body that is said to delay ageing. So when writer Jessica Salter suggested she trial a new self-injectable version, I was keen to follow her journey. The only trouble being that the NAD supplement works at a deep cellular level, and its benefits are largely undetectable on superficial things such as saggy chins and wrinkles. It may be some decades before we can verify the extent to which it helped Jessica. For now, you can read about her experience, but be warned: it contains a lot of needles.

Are you among the 30 million people who have joined the cult of padel? The racket game has soared in popularity and inspired a swathe of merchandise – just call it tiny tennis. Igor Ramírez García-Peralta goes in search of padel’s origins via the pristine blue court of the Marbella Club Hotel, and a game with Hubertus von Hohenlohe, whose father, Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe, is often credited, in the early ’70s, with bringing the game to Europe.

In recent years, Scandi style has become a byword for a certain kind of understated elegance, widely applied to everything from restaurant menus to homeware, furniture and fashion. And it is absolutely lovely, if a teensy bit generic. How refreshing, then, to visit the house of Tina Seidenfaden Busck, the gallerist behind the cult Copenhagen design store The Apartment, and find her tastes embracing a fully maximalist aesthetic. Prints, linens, patterns, craft – Seidenfaden Busck’s house is a riot of colourful exuberance, as writer Sara Semic discovers. I’m especially charmed by her delicious linen cupboard.

Lastly, another outlier: new restaurant The Yellow Bittern. Co-founded by an Irish chef, Hugh Corcoran, a magazine publisher, Frances Armstrong Jones, and bookseller Oisín Davies, it operates through a set of comically abstruse guidelines. Patrons book by post, pay by cash and can only be accommodated during lunch hours between Monday and Friday. In a world of social media-driven hospitality, The Yellow Bittern is proudly, and stubbornly, anti-TikTok. I personally can’t wait to try its minute menu and its neatly curated wine list. I just need to find a pencil, a stamp and a postcard… 

@jellison22