Car review: The Lexus NX 300h is an eco-friendly drive that doesn’t skimp on gadgets October 13, 2014 Pulling away in a car on a wave of silence still doesn’t make sense in my brain. I’ve driven plenty of electric and hybrid cars, but every time I gently move off from a standstill on a peacefully eerie surge of current-fed calm, it still gets me. I’m experiencing this soothing yet unsettling [...]
Small is beautiful: Why the age of big business and big government is over October 29, 2014 THE CORPORATION has never been less fashionable. Politicians are falling over themselves to tell voters how they will constrain, bully and regulate large companies. It makes sense. The polls tell them that trust in the corporate world is at derisory levels. A recent Populus survey found 61 per cent wanted the government to be tougher [...]
Inflation eats up £80bn over last five years June 7, 2015 UK SAVERS have seen the purchasing power of their savings lose £80bn since 2010, Henderson Global Investors said today. Since then, interest rates paid on cash savings have been outstripped by inflation. Around half of the UK’s collective wealth, or £729bn, is invested in cash accounts, with the overall average interest rate paid on this [...]
Football Comment: Identity: City have it, United in dire need of it August 27, 2014 CONFESSION time: I must admit I did not think Manchester City would get stronger this season, given their modest summer business, but after just two games I may have to eat my words. The champions could easily have dropped points at Newcastle or at home to Liverpool but have hit the ground running, won two [...]
How Google and Amazon workers keep their focus September 15, 2014 Harriet Green examines the Two Pizza Rule and the benefits of workplace mindfulness. Distractions can be crippling to productivity. Gloria Mark of the University of California found that, on average, office workers are distracted every 11 minutes. And worse, it takes 25 minutes to return to a task once you’ve wandered onto something else. [...]
How to make Blanchette’s perfect beef fillet October 15, 2014 Tom Storrar, head chef at Soho's Blanchette, on his beef fillet with courgettes, sarladaise potatoes and green peppercorn sauce I’ve been at Blanchette since the restaurant opened late last year. The beef in this recipe is a new dish on the menu; a restaurant version of steak and chips. I chose it because many [...]
Restaurant review: Blanchette July 2, 2014 Blanchette, 9 D'Arbly Street, W1F 8DR Tel: 020 7439 8100 Food: ★★★★☆ | Value: ★★★★☆ | Atmosphere: ★★★★☆ There's a little cinema in Soho where journalists go to see movies for free before they’re released. It’s one of the perks of the job and it fills the time nicely between eaves-dropping on your voicemails and pestering the [...]
Reach for the Isle of Skye for a bracing winter weekend away December 21, 2014 The island off the west coast of Scotland has a rugged charm during the colder months – and the food is first class. My heart is yearning to thee, O Skye! Dearest of Islands! There first the sunshine gladdened my eye, On the sea sparkling”. So wrote Scottish poet Alexander Nicolson about the largest [...]
No sleep and a locked jaw fail to stop Watson June 24, 2014 BRITISH No1 Heather Watson says she can finally look forward to a good night’s sleep after winning her first-round match at Wimbledon yesterday. The 22-year-old revealed she was so overcome by nerves ahead of her meeting with Croatia’s Ajla Tomljanovic that she awoke at 4am and 7am, and then locked her jaw as she attempted [...]
Inside Track: Supermarket set to repair Russian reputation in London February 6, 2014 THERE’S been many a well-known company, from the likes of retailer Harvey Nichols to the property website Zoopla or even the restaurant website Just Eat, tipped to float on the reviving London new issues market, but it looks likely one of the first companies to make it across the line will be Lenta, which is [...]