A classy end to a successful season of Michael Grandage December 12, 2013 THEATRE HENRY V Noël Coward theatre | By Xenobe Purvis Four Stars OVER the course of Michael Grandage’s five-play season at the Noel Coward Theatre, the venue has seen star-studded casts perform parts as diverse as spliff-smoking fairies and cross-dressing soldiers. And now it is home to Henry V, which – although offering us nothing [...]
Carney hails recovery as unemployment falls November 13, 2013 INTEREST rates could rise as soon as early 2015 – a year earlier than previously planned – thanks to plunging unemployment and a strong start to the recovery, the Bank of England said yesterday. Just three months ago the Bank thought it would take until 2016 before unemployment falls below seven per cent, its threshold [...]
Modern drawing room farce disappoints, despite strong cast October 31, 2013 THEATRE RAVING Hampstead Theatre | Two stars I THOUGHT you didn’t agree with stereotypes?” says Keith to his wife Briony. “You’ve restored my faith in them,” she fires back, stingingly. Actor and playwright Simon Paisley Day obviously has plenty of faith in them, too – the whole of Raving is built on them. Keith (Barnaby [...]
Lloyd’s of London boss warns of flood of capital into insurance September 5, 2013 LLOYD’S of London chairman John Nelson last night issued a stark warning about the potential for a new financial crisis if the flow of investment funds into the insurance industry is left unchecked. Low yields on traditional bonds has led investors to seek new locations for their money such as catastrophe bonds, which are eating into [...]
Mix it up: Insect cocktails: it’s just not crickets… Or is it? September 17, 2013 @philip_salter Throughout my childhood I had more pets than you could shake a stick at – dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, rats and even chinchillas. But one clearly stands out from the menagerie. At the tender age of 12 I excitedly dragged my parents to an exotic pet shop to buy an iguana: I [...]
Restaurant review: Boulestin September 24, 2013 RESTAURANT 5 St James’s Street, SW1A 1EF Tel: 020 7930 2030 FOOD Three Stars VALUE Three Stars ATMOSPHERE One Star Cost for two with drinks: £140 An occupational hazard of being a restaurant critic is that people often ask you where they should go for dinner, or for recommendations of who does the best ostrich [...]
Italian service sector slump continues September 4, 2013 While we're expecting the Eurozone services sector as a whole to show growth in August, the Italian sector remains stuck in contraction. The headline purchasing managers' index number rose from 48.7 to just 48.8. Economists had forecast an increase 49.4, bringing the economy close to the end of contraction. Any number below 50 implies that [...]
Where to eat it August 11, 2013 THE WILD GAME CO. Whitecross Street Market, EC1 The Wild Game Co has been going three years since beginning life on the Glorious 12th in 2010 and has led the charge of the game revolution. Andy Wauch founded the company with the aim of selling reasonably priced, restaurant quality meat across London’s food markets. All [...]
Hungry for more? You will be November 21, 2013 FILM HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE Cert 12a | By Simon Thomson Three Stars THE HUNGER Games: Catching Fire is a story of survival and defiance in a dystopian future, where children are forced to fight to the death for the entertainment of a ruling class, which uses the spectacle to hold the masses in fearful [...]
Tech powerhouse who wants to save our ailing high street November 10, 2013 Annabel Palmer meets Dan Wagner, back in the limelight with latest venture Powa Technologies HE may be one of Britain’s most prominent tech entrepreneurs, but Dan Wagner has had more than his share of career ups and downs and scathing headlines. In the 1980s, he was subject to criticism from the financial community for his [...]