Tobago: An eco-lodge is a great way to experience this Caribbean isle May 10, 2015 “Trinidad and Tobago” suggests two islands of roughly equal size, but the former is 16 times bigger than the latter, its population 1.3 million compared to Tobago’s 60,000. As is often the case in nations divided across two separate land masses, stereotypes dominate each side’s thinking about the other. Ask a Trinidadian about Tobago: “lazy, [...]
Odeliz can finally net the Group prize that she richly deserves June 4, 2015 THE Investec Derby Festival gets underway with this afternoon’s Princess Elizabeth Stakes (2.00pm) where Karl Burke’s ODELIZ is going to take all the beating. This five-year-old mare hasn’t won since September 2013, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. She has run some fine races in defeat, notably when beaten just a length by Thistle [...]
Don’t fear an increasing minimum wage – it helps the country’s poorest June 11, 2015 The great challenge for the government over the next five years is to raise productivity and living standards, while also continuing in its efforts to cut the deficit. Significant reform to planning, skills, tax and regulation will all be necessary. But one regulation which should not be abolished is the National Minimum Wage (NMW). When [...]
Theatre review: Ah, Wilderness! April 24, 2015 Young Vic | ★★★★☆ The life of American playwright and Nobel Laureate Eugene O’Neill was often tragic but in Ah, Wilderness! he mines his youth for comedy, and the results are unexpectedly delightful. The action takes place over the 4 July weekend, 1906, mostly at the Miller family’s Connecticut beach house. They suffer [...]
UK house prices at record high as growth slows amid General Election uncertainty April 16, 2015 The average price of a property across England and Wales was at a new record last month, despite March seeing the smallest annual change in house prices since November 2013. A house now costs on average of £275,123. This is a 5.6 per cent annual rise, equating to £14,620. However, in London and the south [...]
Inflation is zero, but retailers and manufacturers are charging you more for less April 14, 2015 Consumer price inflation may be at zero for the second month in a row, but new research suggests the goods we buy are getting smaller while prices are edging up. Take your Tetley's Blend of Both tea, for example. If you bought that in Sainsbury's a few months back it would have been £2.55 for [...]
James Bond studio Pinewood announces £30m fundraising to double its capacity March 31, 2015 It's the studio where James Bond has battled villains, Harry Potter has cast off his muggle side and Superman has proven, once and for all, that he's definitely not a bird or a plane. Now Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire has announced plans for a £30m share issue to raise funds to help it build extra [...]
Was this video of Yanis Varoufakis giving Germany the finger faked? March 19, 2015 It was the finger heard around the Eurozone: charismatic Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis appearing to flip the bird at Germany at a time when relations between the two countries couldn't be much tenser. Fears of a Grexit and demands for war reparations were still high on the agenda, and a flippant insult from a [...]
Swing Copters: New Flappy Birds becomes top 20 UK game on app store chart within hours August 21, 2014 The must have game Swing Copters, otherwise known as the new Flappy Birds, has already entered the app store charts in the top 20 games just seven hours after the highly anticipated game was released to eager fans. Swing Copters hit number 18 in the app store in the UK by midday today, but elsewhere [...]
The only way to shoot big game, with wildlife photographer Paul Goldstein September 21, 2015 One June morning I found myself in the back of a mud-splattered four-by-four, the savannah sun beating down upon my head, a torrent of profanities drumming my ears, and a full-grown cheetah eyeing me down the barrel of my Canon lens. As she prowled the long oat grass I struggled to keep her in focus. [...]