Kevin Pilley

Journalist at Freelance

Contributor at Upscale Living Magazine

Contributor at Luxe Beat

Articles

Royal Awesome: The Challenge

1 week ago | luxebeatmag.com | Kevin Pilley

The founder of The Royal & Awesome golf clothing brand is set to play 25 full rounds of “outrageous” golf in five days to raise money for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. The challenge will see Graeme Smeaton hit more than 2,000 shots and walk the equivalent of nearly a marathon a day, while surviving on less than 25 hours of sleep. Smeaton will sport Royal & Awesome’s limited-edition Doddie tartan range throughout the challenge, 15% of each sale of which will go directly to support MND research.
Karmakula and the Global Brotherhood of Hawaiian Shirts

2 weeks ago | luxebeatmag.com | Kevin Pilley

Loading the Elevenlabs Text to Speech AudioNative Player…Where would you buy a Hawaiian shirt? Honolulu or from David Burrge at Honeycrock Farm, near London’s Gatwick airport? The tiny land-locked village of Salfords is the place to buy your stand-out resortwear or something outrageous for the summer. Be it barbecue, party or beach. Karmakula (“The gift of good luck”) is the British hub of Hawaiian shirt industry. Says Burrge: “It’s a long story.
World’s First Cow Safari

2 weeks ago | luxebeatmag.com | Kevin Pilley

Scotland’s “Glorious Playground” estate has launched a special safari into the Perthshire countryside , allowing guests to get up-close and personal with some of Scotland’s largest natives and heaviest rustics. Some of the country’s hairiest residents will welcome you into their fold.
The New Tamdhu Whisky, Dedication Magnified

2 weeks ago | upscalelivingmag.com | Kevin Pilley

May sees the launch of a great whistle. Every Tamdhu whisky is a great whisky. The Speyside Distillery, renowned for its Oloroso Sherry cask maturation, is about to release its anticipated 21-year-old expression. Whisky aficionados are salivating at the prospect and imagining the spicy syrupiness and the waves of sherried oak with chocolate, sultanas, velvety toffee, and warm cinnamon porridge oats rounded out with a hint of mocha and marzipan, and getting a taste of Christmas cake in high summer.
Audrey Hepburn Home, Iconic Residences of a Hollywood Legend

2 weeks ago | upscalelivingmag.com | Kevin Pilley

Who said, “I believe in manicures”? “If I get married, I want to be very married.”“Happy girls are always the prettiest.”“Giving is living.” And: “I was born with an enormous need for affection and a great need to give it.” The same lady who said, “Every day, you should always have at least one exquisite moment.” And: “Life is a party.
Jeans, Everybody's Staple Luxury Statement

2 weeks ago | upscalelivingmag.com | Kevin Pilley

“Those jeans look good on you.”At any age, we all want to hear that. Although maybe not: “Those wide lego gaucho jeans look good on you”LA’s Citizens of Humanity still leads the way in luxury, ultra-chic, ultra-sustainable jeans. 99% of all colors rely on fossil resources. The textile manufacturing industry uses 2 million tons of dyes annually. The Citizens of Humanity Group integrated Eco-Indigo into its production processes.
The Hyper-Ultra Luxury of Kempinski Suites

2 weeks ago | luxebeatmag.com | Kevin Pilley |Luxury Experiences

What is required from a hotel room? Opinions vary. For some, a Carrera or Calacatta marble bathroom, Murano glass chandeliers and hand-knotted carpets are basic essentials. For others, your own Damien Hirst original artwork for the night is a must.
Curb Your Champagne Enthusiasm, Flip to Franciacorta

3 weeks ago | luxebeatmag.com | Kevin Pilley

Curb your Champagne, Cava and Prosecco enthusiasm. Flip to Franciacorta. Where you will discover winemakers like Erbusco’s Stefano Camilucci, “rigorous in respecting the terroir , nonchalant in proposing new aromatic melanges”. As well as other experts in remuage and foaming perlage. And “The M Movement”. Which proclaims that wine is the eighth form of art. Franciacorta DOCG in Lombardy, near Lake Iseo and Milan, is Italy’s other Prosecco. The other Italian Champagne and Cava alternative.
Travel Review: Genoa, the capital of pesto - and palaces

3 weeks ago | belfasttelegraph.co.uk | Kevin Pilley

“It is the taste of Liguria,” says the Pesto World champion, engineer Mattia Bassi (from Genoa) who won the biennial tournament held in the Salona del Maggior Consiglio Palazzo Ducale. The first was staged in 2006, the next will be in March 2026. The Romans made a “moretum” paste. The Mediterraneans of the Middle Ages made a garlic and walnut mash (“agliata”). Sicilian red pesto, considered sacrilege by Ligurians, is made with tomatoes and almonds. No one ever uses blenders.
Drinking to Save the World

3 weeks ago | luxebeatmag.com | Kevin Pilley

British wine drinkers are helping protect freshwater invertebrates and starfish populations. Candover Brook in Hampshire, was established in 2012 by the late Lord John Sainsbury and continued to develop into a successful and thriving example of sustainable vineyard management. A white-clawed crayfish appears on every bottle and sales help the species endangered by non-native American signal crayfish.