Have yourself a scrumptious pud December 14, 2011 FOREMAN & FIELD Often rated the best pudding around, expect toffee and brandy. £11.95 www.formanandfield.com FIGGY’S Hand-made in Devon, these aromatic puds ooze with stout and Somerset Cider. £10-£19. www.figgys.co.uk CHRIMBO PUDS Great Taste award winners: this one is gluten as well as nut free. £12.99 www.chrimbopud.co.uk COUNTRY PUDDINGS Nut-free, absolutely packed with fresh fruit [...]
All you never knew about crime in the British Empire December 14, 2011 EMPIRE OF CRIME: ORGANISED CRIME IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE BY TIM NEWARK Mainstream Publishing, £10.99 by Alex Deane UNTIL the 20th century, the British were active participants in the opium trade throughout the Empire. But in 1908, well-intentioned reformers banned that trade (a seismic shift in our role in the East, opposed by Gladstone in [...]
BEST CHRISTMAS READS ZOE STRIMPEL December 14, 2011 Snuff: Discworld Novel 39 by Terry Pratchett Doubleday, £18.99 When Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch is reluctantly sent off for a holiday in the countryside, it isn’t going to be long until he encounters a crime – make that more of a ghastly layer cake of crimes and even “an ancient crime [...]
OUT OF OFFICE December 14, 2011 SLAVA’S SNOWSHOW AT ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL This surreal, laugh-out-loud, poignant festive-themed physical theatre troupe has been quietly gaining plaudits for years. As of tomorrow, Londoners will get their first chance in 15 years to see the larger-than-life performance. This distinctive brand of Russian clowning sees a group of rather terrifying characters put on a spectacular [...]
LE Crunch December 13, 2011 EUROPE is in the midst of a severe credit crunch that has seen the market for bank debt disappear as the continent’s money supply shrinks. The conditions are so tough they have sparked a row between the region’s most senior regulators over how to shore up Europe’s crumbling banking system as politicians fall further and [...]
Supply fears pushes up oil December 13, 2011 OIL prices jumped two per cent yesterday as fears over Iran and threats to major shipping lanes sent US crude above $100 a barrel. Crude futures briefly surged nearly $4 a barrel after a frenetic spell of trading in New York at the start of the day. The rise was also driven by the closure [...]
High streets need more than Portas December 13, 2011 IF you want to see how capitalism has transformed people’s living standards, look no further than supermarkets and most recently their digital offerings. Their online shopping services have improved the lives of millions, especially the elderly, those with mobility difficulties, people with young children and the time-poor. For a modest fee – and sometimes for [...]
Fed: No more QE just yet December 13, 2011 MODEST economic growth means interest rates will be held at “exceptionally low levels” until at least mid-2013, the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) said yesterday as it decided to hold steady with its current monetary stance. Strains in financial markets pose “significant downside risks” to the economic outlook, the Committee warned, whilst it worried that [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 13, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES PEPSICO SIGNALS RENEWED FOCUS ON CORE INDULGENT BRANDS PepsiCo, the US drinks and snacks company, has signalled that it will renew its focus on its core “indulgent” brands. The move marks a shift in strategy after mounting criticism from investors that it had invested too much in less profitable health products. SIX FORMER [...]
I’ve got no problem with Zamora, says Fulham boss December 13, 2011 FULHAM vs ODENSE BK FULHAM manager Martin Jol insists star striker Bobby Zamora still has a future at the club and has played down suggestions he has fallen out with the England international ahead of tonight’s must-win Europa League fixture against Odense. Reports of a rift between the two first surfaced in August and were [...]