Make like Bond with an Aston in the Alps August 21, 2011 AMERICAN novelist Mark Twain wrote that rambling in Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland was incomparable to any opiate, legal or otherwise. Imagine the rush, then, to be booming an Aston Martin V8 Vantage S round the picturesque, vertiginous Alpine passes, past crystal-clear glacier lakes and verdant valleys where cow bells jangle for miles. I’ve been let loose [...]
Gunners can notch their first win at the Emirates August 18, 2011 ARSENAL vs LIVERPOOL TOMORROW – 12.45PM SKY SPORTS ARSENE Wenger is one of the most experienced managers in the Premier League, but the last few weeks must still have been pretty testing for him. The sale of Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona clearly hurt and with Samir Nasri heading off to Manchester City plus a couple [...]
Puma sprints to record sales July 27, 2011 German sportswear maker Puma chalked up record sales in the second quarter, as consumers across Asia and Latin America stocked up on running shoes with the jumping cat logo. Sportswear has rebounded strongly from the global recession, with the big name brands of Nike, Adidas and Puma all reporting robust demand this year. Puma, whose [...]
BOOKS: CHILDREN’S SUMMER READS July 20, 2011 PICTURE the scene: it’s quiet, the wind is playing with your hair, the birds are tweeting and you’re on your second margarita. This is not you and your partner alone on holiday: no, it’s the whole family sitting in peaceful, engrossed silence devouring your respective books. If this scene appeals, here are some suggestions for [...]
Banks’ bounce aids uptick in the FTSE July 19, 2011 A rally by recently beaten-down banks and commodity issues hauled Britain’s top share index higher yesterday, although many traders doubted whether the gains could hold. “Dead cats are proving pretty elastic … It is most likely that any hedge funds shorting stocks over the [banks] stress tests are back in and buying to cover their [...]
Five brilliant ways to keep kids thrilled this summer July 14, 2011 1 THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA Judith Kerr’s perennially loved children’s book is about a tiger with a giant appetite who turns up at a little girl’s house for tea one day. Adapted for the stage at the Vaudeville theatre, it follows similar hits there such as the Gruffalo and We’re Going on a [...]
REVEALED: THE CITY’S BEHIND-THE-SCENES BOARDROOM LUNCHES July 11, 2011 THE DAYS of conspicuous client entertainment are over, as the City’s fattest cats rein in their largesse in the fallout of the financial crisis. Or are they? Just days after the Bribery Act came into force, The Capitalist hears business is booming for a high-end catering service recreating City restaurants in the boardrooms of investment [...]
Keeping it cool behind closed doors July 6, 2011 IN recent weeks secret doorways have been surfacing across London. Following in the footsteps of clandestine operations Eight Bank, ECC, Crazy Bear Members Club and more recently The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town (which can only be entered through a Smeg refrigerator) a little black door has just appeared on Orchard Street by Selfridges. The [...]
OUT OF AFRICA July 3, 2011 IT is 5.45am – waking hour on safari. Close to the tent, there are groups of feeding buffalo and wildebeests and slowly loping giraffes. Behind them, there is a spectacular view of the Kent coast and English Channel with France in the distance. This is what it is like to go on safari, English-style. And [...]
Coming soon: the Fearne Cotton app July 3, 2011 Festivals ain’t what they used to be. Back in the day, your parents would smear their naked bodies with healing mud and take so much acid their eyes melted. Now, in a resounding victory for progress, people can huddle in their tents, feverishly watching the events on the blinking screen of an iPhone. Even in [...]