Courts offer Barca hope as once revered club hit with transfer ban April 2, 2014 NOT so long ago they were the model club, adored for their irresistible tiki-taka style, admired for their democratic ownership model and lauded for eschewing corporate shirt sponsors. Today, however, Barcelona’s once pristine image looks sullied. Accused of irregularities in the signing of Brazil star Neymar and dethroned as kings of Europe, the latest and [...]
Brand Index: What liking Monty Python says about your economic view February 11, 2014 USING the huge amount of data we at YouGov have been collecting for years, we can create detailed profiles of various groups in society. Here, I will paint a picture of two distinct groups in Britain today: those who expect to be better off in the near future and those who – despite the economic [...]
A view to dine for May 20, 2014 SOUTHERN GEMS Now we’ve told you to go to Ting, we can’t ignore the other brilliant restaurants inside The Shard. Hutong is also an Asian-inspired affair, while Oblix and Aqua Shard are focused on modern British cuisine – all massively capitalise on the panoramic views. Book in at Skylon brasserie in the Royal Festival Hall [...]
Baked spuds to baby eating: Odd analogies March 5, 2014 THERE must have been something in the air yesterday, not one but two business leaders made baffling analogies in their statements to the press. Perhaps it was an attempt to enamour us by beating tedium and referencing food but Admiral chief executive Henry Engelhardt described the insurance giant’s last 365 days as “the year of [...]
O’Brien hat-trick June 7, 2014 But Orchestra not Australia could seal historic Derby treble THIS afternoon’s Investec Derby, run over one mile and four furlongs on the most unique of racecourses, remains the ultimate test for any three-year-old colt. It is the richest race for that age group in Europe, as well as being Britain’s most valuable contest with a [...]
Richard Ayaode is a Double visionary April 3, 2014 FILM THE DOUBLE Cert 15 Four Stars RICHARD Ayoade’s first film, 2011’s Submarine, shuffled bashfully through the beaches and bedrooms of suburban seaside adolescence, stopping for cuddles, puppy love and the odd mumbled voice-over. For his second, loose Dostoevsky adaptation The Double, he dives arms flailing into the chaotic nightmare of adult anomie. It is [...]
Thistle Bird and Gregorian set for more Epsom glory June 5, 2014 BILL ESDAILE PREVIEWS TODAY’S OTHER RACES AND LOOKS AHEAD TO TOMORROW’S INVESTEC DERBY MUCH talk in the lead-up to the Investec Derby Festival is about the uniqueness of Epsom and it’s not a point to be underestimated. Some horses handle it and some don’t. Today’s action looks tricky so perhaps it’s best to focus primarily [...]
Inside the £12m penthouse April 10, 2014 Take a tour of one of the City’s most exclusive new addresses HIGH atop the City of London, towering over Moorgate station, neighbouring Linklaters, London Wall and The Barbican, sits the first major residential development to be built in the City of London for three decades. As such, the developer behind The Heron – not [...]
City & Gild: All Hail Real Ale May 2, 2014 As a bloke of a certain age, the new wave real ale, artisan brewing phenomenon has not passed me by un-noticed; the emergence of owner-operated, boutique, passion-led breweries has reinvigorated a dying pub culture and given ales a new energy comparable to the recent growth in wine and vodka. It may just have done for [...]
How Britain can fix its Nimby problem April 22, 2014 THE COALITION is considering plans to loosen the rules governing the development of new infrastructure, fracking sites, and potentially housing, to facilitate investment. The specifics are not yet clear, but they seem to be on the right track. The potential of UK shale, for example, is huge – if it can be realised. New research [...]