Johan Goosen: Players retiring from rugby early should not be a shock December 21, 2016 Last week, Racing 92 announced the “shock” retirement of 24-year-old fly-half Johan Goosen, the reigning Top 14 player of the year – a significant achievement in a league boasting multiple superstars. Goosen reportedly decided to leave the club to become a commercial director in his native South Africa, although one might be forgiven for wondering [...]
Network Rail scraps loo charge at London Victoria after flushing out £1.4m for the year in toilet takings December 9, 2016 It's victory for those frustrated by having to spend a penny at rail stations – particularly suffering Southern commuters waiting around for delayed trains. For Network Rail has now ditched its toilet charge at London Victoria and Charing Cross stations. Read more: Taking the piss: How Network Rail is cashing in on the Southern strikes Earlier this [...]
Peter Pan at National Theatre: this off-kilter adaptation is as as bewildering as it is beguiling December 9, 2016 The National Theatre’s adaptation of Peter Pan is a hectic, colourful experience that should appeal to young and old alike. It’s also all over the place in terms of its treatment of JM Barrie’s long-serving fairytale, by turns reactionary and radical. Director Sally Cookson leaves the barrier between story and stage machinery engagingly fluid – [...]
The Brexit vote fails to perturb Shoe Zone as its share price flies October 25, 2016 Discount retailer Shoe Zone's share price sprung over 15 per cent this morning after announcing that its cost-cutting measures had put it on track for a small increase in annual profits. In its pre-close trading statement, Shoe Zone said that it expects revenue for the year to be down by £6.8m at £160m, although this is primarily [...]
Brexit, Isis and attracting entrepreneurs: Just some of the challenges faced by mid-market private equity firm Livingbridge March 6, 2017 Private equity firm Livingbridge will likely be tied to its former name, Isis Equity Partners, for some time to come. In 2014, shortly before turning 20 years old, Isis chose to change its name in light of the rising prominence of its namesake terrorist organisation. “It was kind of fine [prior to 2014],” says Wol [...]
Here’s what happened on the third episode of The Apprentice October 21, 2016 In last night's episode, Lord Sugar gave the candidates a food task, meaning everybody messed around in a kitchen for half the episode. Even though they were making sweets, no one called their brand “Lord Sugar”, proving none of them really have what it takes to win. Although the phrase “business acumen” was only used twice, so [...]
I-Office: The brave new world of work January 3, 2017 It's 3 January, 2030. You get up at 6am, have a shower and get dressed, slipping into your self-tying shoes as you leave the house. On the way to your first day of work of the new year, you reserve a desk from your icontact-lens and flick through the morning’s emails. In the office, you are [...]
FA discussing possibility of England wearing poppies on shirts with Fifa ahead of Armistice Day friendly vs Scotland November 1, 2016 England and Scotland's football associations are negotiating with Fifa over whether their players will be allowed to wear poppies on their shirts when the two sides play each other on 11 November. The World Cup qualifier at Wembley falls on Armistice Day and both the FA and the Scottish FA are keen for their players to honour the UK's war [...]
Katy Perry launches new joint venture with Global Brands Group just after footwear collection tie-up September 7, 2016 Katy Perry made a footwear collection – and she liked it. So much so, in fact, that her next project with Hong Kong-based Global Brands Group is set to go off like a firework after the collaborators announced a second joint venture today. Perry and the apparel, footwear and accessories company will expand on the [...]
Time to kill over the holidays? Here are the best games of 2016 December 21, 2016 Superhot A first-person shooter in which time only moves when you move, Superhot strips down gunfights to the fundamentals. Each level is a short Jon Woo-style action film vignette – a bar brawl, a heist – in which you plan your moves precisely, dodging gunfire and grabbing weapons in mid-air as they fly from the [...]