The great TV robbery: How the world’s biggest sports broadcaster lost $1bn to a brazen campaign of piracy December 13, 2018 Imagine you’ve had something stolen. But this isn’t a conventional theft: you know who did it, how they did it, where they are – and you can prove it. It isn’t a one-off theft, but rather a never-ending succession of offences which the perpetrator does nothing to hide. Instead they taunt you frequently by flouting [...]
Long Weekend: Five hour flights to Newfoundland have made short breaks to Canada possible September 14, 2018 The weekend: We’re escaping to the wilds of Canada to find humpback whales, wandering icebergs and puffins. Failing that there’s always sampling the seafood bounty on offer in Newfoundland. A long-haul trip to Canada? From Heathrow, St John’s is a five hour flight, and you touch down in the city around 3pm. On the way [...]
Long Weekend: Five hour flights to Newfoundland have made short breaks to Canada possible September 14, 2018 The weekend: We’re escaping to the wilds of Canada to find humpback whales, wandering icebergs and puffins. Failing that there’s always sampling the seafood bounty on offer in Newfoundland. A long-haul trip to Canada? From Heathrow, St John’s is a five hour flight, and you touch down in the city around 3pm. On the way [...]
DEBATE: Forget the Brexit dividend, should we pin our economic hopes on an England World Cup victory? July 6, 2018 Forget the Brexit dividend, should we pin our economic hopes on an England World Cup victory? Alastair Benn, news editor of Reaction, says YES. When Eric Dier swept home that penalty against Colombia, the whole pub erupted in joy. And I fell into a strange reverie. It seemed as if the dull present had been [...]
Huawei P8 Lite (2017) review: The best phone you can buy in this price bracket July 12, 2018 Are you sitting comfortably? Then let’s begin untangling Huawei’s utterly incomprehensible naming conventions. The Huawei P8 Lite (2017) is the updated version of the original P8 Lite, which is the stripped-down budget version of Huawei’s 2015 flagship, the Huawei P8. The P8 and old P8 Lite were followed by the P9 and P9 Lite, themselves [...]
More restaurant chains could close stores after poor Christmas sales January 19, 2018 Christmas trading was disappointing at Britain’s restaurant and pub groups, with sales slightly down on 2016. Like-for-like sales declined 0.1 per cent against the previous year’s festive period, according to the Coffer Peach Business Tracker. Drinks-led businesses fared better than restaurants and gastro pubs, with drinks sales up 1.8 per cent across pubs while food [...]
Focus On Blackheath: New development is thin on the ground in this quintessential London village October 5, 2018 T here’s a lot of development going on in South East London, but you won’t find it in Blackheath. This little enclave is on the borders of Greenwich, Kidbrooke and Lewisham, which are all undergoing Joan Rivers-level facelifts in the next few years, but there’s nothing going on in Blackheath by comparison. Housebuilding behemoth Berkeley [...]
We risk losing our minds over this unhealthy data obsession October 9, 2018 After two listeners complained about a radio advert that compared avocados unfavourably to bacon butties as a breakfast choice, Costa coffee was forced to withdraw the ad. The Advertising Standards Authority upheld the complaint that the advert “discouraged the selection of avocados” and therefore broke the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising by discriminating against vegetables. [...]
UK GDP growth recovers in May boost to Bank of England hawks July 10, 2018 The British economy did not accelerate in the three months to May compared to the first quarter, according to monthly data released for the first time by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – although a bounceback during the month of May itself will relieve Bank of England hawks hoping to raise interest rates. UK [...]
Pub landlords call on the Pubs Code Adjudicator to rule on Heineken’s Punch Taverns takeover January 22, 2017 Pub landlords have united to criticise Heineken's £400m takeover plans of Punch Taverns, which they say will result in reduced beer and cider options for customers. The Punch Tenant Network (PTN), an independent group that represents Punch's publicans, has made an appeal to Pubs Code Adjudicator Paul Newby to give guidance on whether the bid would trigger the [...]