I have not prepared any questions because I want to get a sense of what she is like, rather than prompt her through the standard examination of her personal life or that of her iconic figure of a father.

He looms large in her life – how could he not?! – and she credits him and her mother frequently with giving her the life she’s had and still has.

She has indeed drawn a fantastically lucky draw at birth – ‘her daddy’s rich and her mama’s good looking’, both in vast proportions. This has exposed her to the politics of envy from an early age, something the Tamara Ecclestones of this world learn to navigate or else squirrel their bruised egos behind the tall walls wealth can and does build around itself.

She has gamely chosen the former.

She has modeled (and still does) – with a figure and a face like hers, this was an inevitability – presented a TV show and built herself into a bit of a brand which she is now parlaying into launching a hair care line.

The formula, she says, contains a secret ingredient that would give hair a big bouncy look without the high cost maintenance. The product has been 3 years in the making and she is excited because it is finally launching in January 2013.

Tamara’s (Secret) Formula

Bernie and Slavica Ecclestone’s elder daughter has inherited some good genes and the spirited self-contained defiance of her Slav ancestry. Sitting legs akimbo

on her drawing room sofa and with not a trace of make-up, she looks implausibly

beautiful in a soft and almost vulnerable way – a far cry from the glamour shots one

sees of her in the popular press.

Photography by Vincenzo AielloMake-up by Luke Henderson

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Dr Shafer, a NYC double board certified plastic surgeon, a Diplomate of the American Board of Plastic Surgery and a Member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, answers B Beyond reader questions

DESTINATION BEAUTY

DAVID SHAFER, MD, FACS

Spring is on the horizon and many of our readers have spent the winter months engaging in outdoor sports such as skiing, yachting and polo. Their skin would have seen the effects of sun, cold, salt (yachtsmen and beach goers) and general exposure to the elements. Spring is the traditional recuperation period before the social season begins on each side of the Atlantic with art fairs, horse trials, races and high profile events around Easter.

Please, suggest some non-invasive treatments that can address exposure damage to the skin.

Excess sun exposure - either through high intensity exposure over short periods of time (sun burn) or low intensity exposure over longer periods of time (daily exposure without sunscreen) - can lead to cellular damage resulting in wrinkles, age spots and even pre-cancerous lesions of the skin. While prevention is always the best medicine - through the use of sunscreens and reducing exposure - the development of wrinkles and age spots is troublesome and leads to the appearance of advanced aging.

The most advanced technology addressing this is the Vbeam Perfecta by Syneron/Candela. The Vbeam Perfecta is a Pulsed Dye Laser for the treatment of vascular, pigmented and non-pigmented lesions of the skin. Lasers work through the absorption of specific wavelengths of light, thereby destroying the target lesion.

The Vbeam Perfecta laser is specific for small vessels such as capillaries of the nose and redness caused by rosacea, and for pigmentation such as age spots commonly found on the face, neck and hands.

An added benefit of the Vbeam perfecta on surgical patients is the treatment of scars and post-operative bruising. Since the laser targets capillaries, the redness of scars can be significantly reduced and bruising following a surgical procedure can be minimized effectively. The laser treatments are safe, non-invasive, have minimal downtime and are not painful. A typical treatment takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

Many of our readers are interested in re-shaping the facial contour through fat injections/transfer. Can you tell us a little more about this and what results you can achieve?

Fat transfer has revolutionized plastic surgery and bridges the gap between surgery and facial fillers such as Juvederm, Restylane, Radiesse and Sculptra. While facial fillers are an excellent treatment for many people, there are benefits of fat transfer for patients that are willing to take their treatments to another level before they are ready for actual surgery.

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Often overlooked and considered somewhat old fashioned, the great Madeira wines are absolutely astonishing with rich, distinctive, truly amazing

flavours. The best wines are classified as ‘Vintage’. These wines, from a single harvest, are aged for a minimum of 20 years in casks, but sometimes for even longer and the magic is that they go on improving for decades and even centuries. To enjoy an old Madeira wine is to quite literally drink history.

Madeira wines are fortified which, put simply, means that early on the wines have had grape spirit added to them to strengthen them and stop their fermentation and thus leaving natural sweetness into the wines. This practice goes back to the 18th century to protect the wines from deteriorating during their long journeys on ships to whatever destination.

Whilst exposed to these often warm conditions on board, the wines changed and improved in character. This observation led the producers on the island to heat the young wines for a few weeks in order to achieve the similar character obtained by the warm storage conditions of old on the ships. Today, most Madeira wines are heated at between 45-50 degrees Celcius in stainless steel tanks for three months; the system

is called ‘Estufagem’. However, the finest examples, among them those which will become ‘Vintage’, are produced using a system called ‘Canteiro’. Rather than artificially heating the wine, it is left in a warmed room simply heated by the sun, a process which is slow and gentler to the wine.

The wines styles vary from off-dry to very sweet. The great ‘Vintages’ are named after the grape variety which has been used to produce them. The classic grapes are Sercial, producing the driest style with often a strong almond-like character, then Verdelho, a medium-dry style with plenty of candied fruit aromas, Bual (or Boal) is next, with its characteristic medium-sweet style often with lots of raisin aromas and finally the sweetest style is Malmsey with its great toffee or roasted coffee flavours. There are also some delicious but rare examples made from the Terrantez and Bastardo grape varieties.

Great Madeira wines are of course strong in alcohol and with a lot of sugar, but they are never cloying thanks to both their racy acidity and superb concentration of flavours. In spite of their significant age they can be incredibly fresh with intoxicating aromas of dry fruit, roasted nuts, orange peel,

Wine: Madeira’s hidden gems

By Gerard Basset OBE

Gerard Basset OBE is the winner of ‘The Best Sommelier in the World 2010’, a Master of Wine and Master Sommelier and co-founder of Hotel TerraVina, a boutique wine hotel in the New Forest.

www.hotelterravina.co.uk www.gerardbasset.com

candied fruit, molasses, treacle, Maple syrup, crème brulée, fudge, apricot, dry flowers, beeswax and much more... Just phenomenal!

There is only a very small number of Madeira producers on the island and it is really worth the effort looking for their wines in the shops of Funchal, the beautiful capital city. Several producers have their own shops and I would particularly recommend going to the shop of D’Oliveiras (delicious wines, but also the best Madeira cake) as well as the Madeira Wine Company. Adjacent is a Madeira wine museum, also well worth a visit.

Here in England it is not too difficult to find these wines - the wine departments of ‘Fortnum & Mason’, ‘Harrods’, ‘Selfridges’ or the new fantastic wine specialist ‘Hedonism’ all stock Madeira wines and independent quality fine wine merchants will carry an example or two.

Personally, I have been privileged to taste a large number of these legendary wines so here are just a few examples to make you want to go try them.

Barbeito, Sercial, 1978: a text book example of Sercial, vibrant with superb almond and citrus peel aromas, still lively on the palate and so easy to enjoy.

Justino’s, Verdelho, 1954: Quite exuberant on the nose dominated by a smoky, dry flowers and even tea like character coupled with a smooth texture.

Henriques & Henriques, Terrantez, 1954: Extremely appealing both on the nose and the palate with beautiful citrus peel and toffee aromas and a great feel on the palate.

Cossart Gordon, Verdelho, 1934: Plenty of prune, dry raisin and waxy aromas, it is so concentrated but all in perfect harmony.

D’Oliveiras, Boal, 1922: Milk chocolate, fudge, maple syrup and sweet spicy character with an amazing texture and a fabulous tangerine finish that is still incredibly fresh.

Blandy, Boal, 1874: Candied fruit, cocoa, Christmas cake and even old rum flavours with an incredible mouth-feel for a wine of this age. The harmony is unbelievable. B

The island of Madeira conjures up images of flora, fauna and awe-inspiring landscapes surrounded by the rugged beauty of the Atlantic coastline. I have long been a fan, enjoying several family holidays and have developed a great passion for the region’s wines as a result.

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The ‘other’ South of France

If you think of Nice as your Mediterranean gateway and have never been west of St Tropez, you are not in on a big secret: there is a great deal more about the South of

France than glitz and megayachts. Beyond that last western-most outpost of glamour that

is St Tropez lays the vast and hugely varied expanse of Languedoc Roussillon, with grand estates, Cathare castles, Provencal maisons de maître, implausibly beautiful villages fringing the Canal du Midi, fortified cities and a spectacular landscape leading all the way to the Spanish border.

B Beyond flew to Carcassonne early October. The temperature on arrival was a perfect and balmy 26 degrees and remained so for the entire week we spent there.

Our intention was to explore the arrière-pays of Narbonne on each side of the motorway connecting the city to Carcassonne.

Although the casual tourist may not grasp the distinction, the locals would tell you that the Minervois, to the right of the high way, is quite different from the Hérault to the left.

The differences are subtle at first: both share that languid atmosphere of suspended time; gently rolling hills and ever-stretching vineyards; plane tree-fringed roads and tall dark green Cypress trees punctuating the landscape everywhere.

This is a hunting country too, with an abundance of wild boar, partridge, deer, all of which can be found on the menu of most restaurants, alongside local fish specialities and some of the greatest culinary delights France is justly famous for.

Our first stop was in the picturesque town of Fabrezan in the Minervois. The mistral-like wind was not strong enough to discourage outdoor diners sitting under the huge plane trees, discussing arts and politics in between robust portions of succulent food with some Spanish influence.

Beautifully aged stone buildings dominate the cobbled streets there and it is easy to see why the town is so popular with both the French and an increasing influx of foreign buyers.

The following day we took a drive towards Narbonne via Peyriac de Mer, a lively picturesque village on the edge of a salt lake formed by the sea jutting inland.

Narbonne itself is a beautiful ancient town well worth visiting for its cathedral, laid-back lifestyle and wonderful wine bars serving Franco-Spanish tapas.

Our main destination on this trip, however, was a French château in the Hérault area of Languedoc – Château les Carrasses.

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Into AfricaText by Tom Harrow

Photography by THeresa Hedberg Harrow

“The traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.”

G.K. Chesterton A particularly well-travelled acquaintance, reaching

the latter stages of an only just light-hearted competition with another friend to be the first to

explore 100 countries, said that of all his excursions around the world, if he could only have experienced one, and could do so again - it would be a safari in Kruger National Park.  I'd been out in the Bush on a handful of occasions previously over the years - Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Okavango Delta and to several lesser parks on hunting expeditions in Tanzania and Zimbabwe but this was my first time in South Africa's most celebrated game reserve, which is the same size as Wales: An unrivalled concentration of savage beasts, untouched by civilisation. Kruger comes close though. It had been slightly disconcerting observing our pilot spinning the rotor of the Pilatus PC12 - not winding up the rubber band as I supposed but cooling the engine, which was marginally less alarming, but our internal flight from Joberg to a private airstrip in the middle of the bush was uneventful, as first South Africa's capital and then occasional smaller conurbations gave way to increasingly untrammelled wilderness.  Partly press invitation, partly research for my

"Game Drives & Wine Flights" tour and part honeymoon, we were guests of Sabi Sabi - a private reserve of 65,000 hectares in the south-west of Kruger, with four distinctly different Lodges - equipped and furnished to embody the past, present and future of the safari experience.  My Scandinavian wife was in her element acting out an Out of Africa fantasy in the gloriously colonial-era Selati Camp, so I felt mentioning Fynch-Hatton's pathological infidelity and Karen Blixen's syphilis was insufficiently droll to be worth ruining the mood. A brief power-outage one evening at this particular lodge went unnoticed - our suite being lit by oil lamps, from the steam trains that used to ride the old railroad from which the camp derives its name.  Its turn of the century appeal is straight out of a Wilbur Smith adventure, all solid timbers and thatch, and the scent of paraffin and taste of whisky & soda:  a time when Men Were Men (possibly a title of Wilbur's I believe) and women were useful plot devices for starting feuds and families.  Eating outdoors in the traditional BOMA (British Officer's Meeting Area) puts the 19th century cap or pith helmet on the experience and needless to say I adored it. The earlier part of our trip however projected us forward

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Cover image by Christy Lee Rogers

The Kraken is imported Black Rum from the

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The Kraken® Black Spiced Rum. 40% Alc/vol ©2011 Kraken Rum Co., Jersey City, NJ.Like the deepest sea, the Kraken® should be treated with great respect and responsibility.

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