Betting the 49ers in London: They're unlikely to falter

In case you haven't heard, this weekend's 49ers game against the Jacksonville Jaguars is being played at Wembley Stadium in London.

Pundits would have you think the change of scenery will have some bearing on the game. They'll bloviate about how the Niners will be jet-lagged, about how the defense might suffer on neutral ground, about how Colin Kaepernick's timing on passes could be off by just a hair.

If you plan on betting the game, however, don't be scared: The hometown team is going to cover what opened as a 16.5-point spread. I know, I know, earlier this month I picked the Denver Broncos to cover a 28-point spread against the very same Jags, and the favorites faltered, big time. But that's precisely why the Niners will cover up to two touchdowns - or maybe even more.

Allow me to explain.

First, let's state the obvious: The winless Jaguars are abysmal, and the 5-2 49ers are an underachieving, injury-riddled team that is getting stronger every week. Second, let's nod to the neutral site: Generally speaking, games at neutral sites receive what insiders call a "true spread," meaning oddsmakers do not account for home field advantage. (The Green Bay Packers, for instance, always get a few extra points when they play at home.)

Finally, follow the money. Despite the huge line in that Broncos-Jaguars game from two weeks back, reports indicate that the "handle" (the overall amount of money wagered) on the game was lower than expected, meaning bettors largely stayed away from both sides. Oddsmakers aren't going to want to turn people off like that again.

If you don't feel comfortable with the point spread, there's always the total. That number opened at 40.5. Considering how the Niners offense has come together in the past few weeks, Kaep and the gang likely are good for at least 35 on their own.

Another option: A proposition bet that is becoming known as the "Jags prop." In an effort to inspire bets behind the Jaguars, during the Denver game some oddsmakers offered a prop on whether the Jags would hold a lead. The prop saw decent action that first week. If you can find it again (online or in a Nevada sports book) before the 49ers game, grab it.

A third scenario for betting on the game? Hop a flight and follow the team. Yours truly is living in London this fall, and I've learned firsthand that the gambling scene here is robust. Casinos abound. Sports books are everywhere. And you have to be only 18 to bet.

Most London books offer obscure NFL bets such as winning margin, first/last to score and whether the point total will be odd or even. The best part: In London, there's no vigorish, which means every bet is free.

Matt Villano is a freelance writer. E-mail: 96hours@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mattvillano

View the original article here

London fires up catwalks, aims for spot as global 'fashion destination'

1 of 7. Models are reflected in mirrors backstage at the Felder Felder Spring/Summer 2014 collection during London Fashion Week September 13, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Olivia Harris

By Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Li-mei Hoang

LONDON | Fri Sep 13, 2013 12:51pm EDT

LONDON (Reuters) - British designers kicked off the London leg of the fashion calendar's womenswear season on Friday with a call to celebrate London as a global "fashion destination" on a par with Paris, Milan and New York.

Known for its edgy street style, London is often called fashion's loveable rogue for its eclectic mix of new designers and established brands such as Burberry, Paul Smith and Vivienne Westwood's Red Label.

Many of the country's major fashion names, such as Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Victoria Beckham and Vivienne Westwood's Gold Label, unveil their collections abroad, however.

On a rainy London morning, British Fashion Council (BFC) chairman Natalie Massenet declared London Fashion Week open and said the council would promote "London street style (which) inspires trends around the world".

"It is paramount that we secure London's reputation as a place where fashion stars are born," she told fashionistas just arrived from New York's fashion week at a breakfast. "We want to cement London's reputation as the destination for fashion."

Massenet introduced a team of experts who will work to promote British fashion through five pillars - reputation, business, investment, digital innovation and education - including James McArthur, chief executive of handbag designer Anya Hindmarch, and Peter Fitzgerald, country sales director at Google UK.

An industry worth 21 billion pounds ($33 billion), fashion is Britain's largest employer of all the creative industries, according to the BFC.

"We want to support the CEOs, the pattern-cutters, the PR directors, marketing directors, sales directors and of course the designers of the future in order to inspire more people to join this industry," Massenet said.

COLOURFUL COLLECTIONS

Despite a still struggling global economy, British fashion brands are hoping to cash in on evidence of a rebound in the luxury sector as solid demand in Japan and the United States has combined with a recovery in Europe to offset a slowdown in China.

London-based Turkish designer Bora Aksu was the first to showcase his spring/summer 2014 creations with a colorful collection he said was inspired by his homeland.

In a palette of baby blue, shocking pink and canary yellow, models wore cropped jackets, pencil skirts and cotton dresses with silk panels and knitted details.

"It was lots of hand-woven textiles from Turkey as well as geometric silk mesh, some chiffons plus knitted cottons," Aksu told Reuters backstage. Like other designers, he acknowledged a still tough market for luxury goods but said demand was there.

"I don't think (demand) really will disappear because there is always the taste for it," he said. "But it probably will never be like before."

British luxury brand DAKS, founded in 1894 and long known for its tailoring, presented what it called a "romantic, sophisticated and metropolitan" collection.

To the sound of "La Vie en Rose", models strutted down in large trousers and full-length skirts as well as in billowing transparent capes. DAKS' check pattern was not forgotten on dresses, appearing in pleated dresses and folds.

Using dusty pink, cognac and black and white, creative director Filippo Scuffi said he aimed for a collection that could be worn season after season.

"My inspiration is from the chic woman, timeless woman, international woman," he told Reuters. "At this time customers want something made nicely, in nice colors, shapes, not burnt out in two months."

British celebrity favorites Julien Macdonald and House of Holland will unveil their collections on Saturday. Later in the week, Matthew Williamson, Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Mulberry and Burberry will showcase their designs.

"London ... lives and breathes creativity, (it) is the crucible for fashion design talent," said Katherine Ormerod, senior fashion news and features editor at Grazia magazine.

"I think that is what is in its character, it's where people ... come and make their mark on the industry even if French or Italian - if they want to launch a line they will come to London."

(Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

View the original article here

Chef Simon Rogan abandons plans for London restaurant

By Laurence Fletcher

CARTMEL, ENGLAND | Tue Apr 16, 2013 5:50am EDT

CARTMEL, ENGLAND (Reuters) - Simon Rogan, one of the UK's top chefs, has abandoned long-awaited plans to open a permanent restaurant in London, for fear his two Michelin-starred L'Enclume restaurant could suffer.

Rogan, who has regularly appeared on TV and who is well known for "foraging" ingredients from the surrounding countryside, told Reuters he abandoned plans for a London outlet after a recent restaurant opening in Manchester "almost killed" him.

The decision stands in stark contrast to moves by other well-known chefs who have built up large restaurant empires on the back of growing interest in good food among the UK public.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, for instance, has opened restaurants throughout the UK and abroad, and has TV series, cook books and merchandise. Other top chefs with large restaurant businesses include Gordon Ramsay, who runs a string of restaurants in London and abroad, and Marco Pierre White, who has steak restaurants in London and other UK cities.

"I was always determined that I wouldn't have a restaurant that I would never step foot into," Rogan told Reuters in the conservatory of L'Enclume, situated in the medieval village of Cartmel in northern England. "How much do you need? How greedy do you want to be? Quality-wise, it's the right decision.

"I don't want to feel that L'Enclume is being neglected, which it certainly felt like to me, because I have been away from it for four weeks now (in Manchester). Although the team here are perfectly capable - you wouldn't know I've been away - I know I am away."

Rogan has run a temporary restaurant called Roganic in London for nearly two years, and had been planning to open a permanent outlet that was "a bit more grand" when the lease for Roganic expires in June, before deciding against it in recent days.

He added that he didn't want to have to depend on "an army of investors" for a London launch, while funding the move from his existing business "would maybe be to risk what is bordering on what we see as perfection here".

"COOKED ABSOLUTELY AMAZINGLY"

L'Enclume - French for anvil - is situated in a former smithy and is rated Britain's second-best restaurant, behind Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck, in the current Good Food Guide. The two restaurants were the only ones to achieve a top score of 10 out of 10.

Rogan said he will now concentrate on his outlets in northwest England. At his recently opened restaurant in Manchester, The French, food will be developed to "incorporate the historical element of Manchester".

In one recipe taken from 18th century Manchester businesswoman Elizabeth Raffald, he lards veal with fat to make it more succulent before cooking it on a barbecue (Raffald used a trivet in front of an open fire).

And after eliminating foreign ingredients from his menus around four-and-a-half years ago, Rogan said he was inspired by Raffald to begin using lemons again in a lemon pickle to go with a mushroom ketchup for the veal.

Rogan, whose techniques also include cooling with liquid nitrogen, said the rest of the world has been "so far ahead" of British cuisine but said TV shows such as "MasterChef" and "Great British Menu" had had a "a massive effect on our food culture".

However, it is France, where he has previously worked and where he felt "totally at home", that he rates "head and shoulders above anywhere else in the world".

"I was struck going back to Lyon this year and going into simple brasseries and bistros, by the very simple food cooked absolutely amazingly," he said. "Beef cheeks with pommes purees, mushrooms ... that's the type of food I really, really love."

Among his favorite chefs he names Pierre Gagnaire - "an absolute genius" - while this year he plans to eat at El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain that is run by the brothers Josep, Jordi and Joan Roca.

Rogan adds that he hopes the trend away from processed food and towards locally sourced, organic fare that has become more popular in Britain in recent years will continue.

"This is the way I see (going) forward," he said. "We go that one step further by taking one step back down the food chain, to make sure we've got the perfect ingredients in the first place that you don't have to do much to."

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

View the original article here