St George’s Day brings English fans to the City
LEADENHALL Market became ye olde England yesterday, as the City celebrated St George’s Day. No, it’s not a bank holiday yet – Ukip’s still working on that one. But there were plenty willing to take time out to get wrapped up in the St George’s Cross or indulge in some typically English pursuits; namely eating bangers and mash or fish and chips, drinking beer and watching the Morris dancers jig about with their hankies. Elsewhere, our day of patriotism was marked with a 15ft high statue of England’s patron saint and feted dragon slayer at Wellington Arch. It will go on a tour of the UK and open jousting tournaments at historic sites. For those who missed the actual day of celebration, there’s still time to take part in the feasting side of our national event. The Mayor of London’s annual Feast of St George will be held in Trafalgar Square tomorrow afternoon.
■ And speaking of working up a thirst… All this talk of the Hound of Hounslow, the new nickname for Navinder Sarao, the day trader accused of causing the 2010 US Flash Crash, is steering his old neighbours towards the pub. “It doesn’t really fit his image,” said Anil Puri, who grew up near Sarao in Hounslow. “I remember him as a loud, chirpy kid who was pretty athletic and we used to play out in the street. I haven’t seen him in a while but I can’t imagine him being like an English version of the Wolf of Wall Street.
“It’s funny because people around here keep hearing that name and getting confused. It just makes us think of one of the local pubs, the Hare and Hounds pub in Osterley.”
■ It’s been a week of highs and lows for insurance broker and self-described “fortune-hunter” Lyndon Wood. On Tuesday, he announced the launch of his own TV show, funnily enough named Fortune Hunter, which will be “dedicated to helping SMEs and potential business owners on their journey to making a fortune”. It will air on Showcase TV, and starts next Tuesday at 8pm. Wood said: “Nobody tells you what to do when things go wrong in business… so that’s just one of the many things we aim to do.” And he will definitely be able to draw on personal experience in that regard – yesterday the FCA revealed it had slapped a £159,300 fine on Wood’s broking business Moorhouse Group for failures relating to telephone sales.