Michael Gove is courageously recovering our ancient tradition of learning November 15, 2012 IN 75 BC, when the great Roman politician and champion of liberal learning Cicero was quaestor in Sicily, he led an expedition to a neglected, overgrown jumble of funerary monuments just outside the city of Syracuse. Directing men with scythes to cut away the briars, he uncovered the tomb of Archimedes, lost for more than [...]
Babies born today can expect a long expensive future November 15, 2012 BRITAIN faces many challenges, but none more daunting than our ageing society and the financial challenges it will create for future generations. There were 807,766 live births in the UK in the past year, and the Office of National Statistics (ONS) predicts that one in three will live to be 100 years old. Today there [...]
Will the new Chinese leadership implement necessary economic and political reforms? November 15, 2012 YES Gigi Chan After months of policy paralysis, certainty over leadership will be good for markets in the short term. The new leadership can focus on pushing through policies once its power base is consolidated. Xi Jinping will head a Politburo standing committee that is pro-reform, which has to be positive for investments. For the [...]
Rapid responses November 15, 2012 Stale bank lending [Re: The real reason businesses aren’t borrowing from their banks, yesterday] Anthony Browne’s argument about small business lending is stale. In his early days in post, we hoped that the chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), would have shifted the debate onto more fertile ground. The enormous rise in lending [...]
Twi not to fall asleep to Breaking Dawn November 15, 2012 Review 1: The Twi-Hard *** By Naomi Mdudu I like Twilight. A lot. Probably too much for someone who left her teenage years a good while ago. So, I had high hopes for the final instalment – hopes that weren’t entirely realised. The story picks up where we left off, shortly after Bella (Kristen Stewart) [...]
How the stars finally said goodbye to their hordes of fans in Leicester Square this week November 15, 2012 The cast of Twilight stepped out in style in Leicester Square at the premiere of the film’s final instalment, Breaking Dawn part 2. Kristen Stewart, who has famously swapped her heels for trainers on the red carpet, completely stole the show. Despite being spotted earlier on in the day wearing her usual jeans-t-shirt-trainers combination, she [...]
Amour is both beautiful and frightening November 15, 2012 FILM AMOUR Cert 12A ***** Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or winning latest is beautiful, humane, and terrifyingly truthful. Amour reaffirms Haneke’s status as a master of modern cinema. We are first introduced to George (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) at a well-attended classical performance by one of Anne’s ex pupils. They are a pair of [...]
The best places to wet your moustache this Movember November 15, 2012 London continues to flourish for Movember, with plenty of drinking dens to moisten your moustache. Take Coya, for instance. Nestled alongside Green Park on Piccadilly, this peerless Peruvian venue comprises of a bar, a restaurant and private members’ area, complete with terraced garden. Opened by Zuma and Arts Club founder Arjun Waney, the design in [...]
The Tate’s exploration of performance and art November 15, 2012 ART A BIGGER SPLASH Tate Modern **** They say you should never see how sausages are made if you want to carry on enjoying them. The same doesn’t always go for art. The last exhibition of the year at the Tate Modern, A Bigger Splash (named after the David Hockney painting, pictured above), focuses on [...]
Hit So Hard is one for die-hard music fans only November 15, 2012 FILM HIT SO HARD Cert 15 ** Hit So Hard: The Life and Near Death of Patty Schemel is a documentary about the life of Patty Schemel, the gay red-headed drummer from 90s Courtney Love-fronted grunge band, Hole. The towering personalities of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love cast long, dominating shadows over the legacy of [...]
