Win a luxurious short break worth £1,680 with IZZA, Marrakesh
The clue
"You’re pumped," my friend notes as we wander into a prosperous town.
"Me too!" he adds.
Well, yes: we’re both excited. But I’m afraid it’s for different
reasons - and the sparring between us soon starts.
First, we square off over my proposal to explore the town’s main
shopping street. Friend says he has no desire to parade up and down,
gawping at stuccoed buildings. Instead he seeks companies that have
turned this former wellness hub into a hive of high-tech creativity. So
I water down my itinerary - and let him race off to see one. Meanwhile,
in the Victorian gardens opposite, I check out a memorial to units of
an exiled army stationed here over 80 years ago. Several members went
on to carry out a daring assassination in their capital.
Friend wants to see more company HQs. But I give his game plan a frosty
reception - and insist we go to the town’s colonnaded art gallery. Its
collection includes work by one of my favourite postwar abstract
artists (mother: Millicent), born in the town. Friend acquiesces,
provided he can decide where we go next.
This seems a small sacrifice. First stop is the town hall, near the
gallery, where a sportsman - another of the town’s sons (mother:
Beatrice) - was fêted after his famous and unexpected victory over an
American champion. But then Friend wants to see the company credited
with kick-starting the town’s digital boom. "But it’s not even here!" I
object. It lies in a second town, nearly seven miles east- southeast of
us. "You promised," he reminds me.
It’s a knockout blow to my plans.
The questions
1. What’s the full name of the first-mentioned town? ROYAL LEAMINGTON
SPA
2. What was the surname of the abstract artist? FROST
The prize
The winner and guest will stay for three nights, B&B, at IZZA,
Marrakesh - an independent, art-loving riad hotel that opened in the
city’s medina last year. Painstakingly restored in partnership with
local craftsmen, its 14 individually designed bedrooms are a rich mix
of traditional and modern, featuring plasterwork friezes, gleaming
mosaics and ornate wooden floors. Meanwhile, up on the roof, breakfasts
and dinners are served in a garden of desert plants beneath the shade
of palm trees and gazebos. The art collection is notable: among its 300
works are photographs by Sebastião Salgado and video installations by
the Ethiopian collective Yatreda. So too are IZZA’s partnerships with
local charities, including Pikala Bikes and the Amal Woman’s Training
Centre. For more information visit
izza.com.
The prize includes one three-course dinner for two, excluding drinks,
and a massage each, as well as return flights to a total value of £600.
For full terms and conditions see
thetimes.co.uk/travel/where-was-i.