Beautiful things: Luxury laptop bags, vibrant pocket handkerchiefs and outlandish sunglasses April 2, 2015 Time was, the laptop bag was an uglier, floppier version of the briefcase. Not any more. Italian luxury bag maker Piquadro tasked its master-craftsmen with coming up with a rucksack befitting of the machine you rely upon for work, play and every other aspect of modern life. The company’s Sartoria made-to-order service makes it possible [...]
April Fools’ Day 2015: The best (and worst) jokes from BMW, Sun Life, Confused.com, Richard Branson and the London Eye April 1, 2015 Alright, so this year the various political weirdnesses (Joey Essex interviewing Nick Clegg, anyone?) have caused an air of ridiculousness to hang over Westminster for several weeks now – but outside the London bubble, the once-a-year gag fest that is April Fools' Day has kicked off in earnest. Here are some of the best (and [...]
David Cameron’s Heat Magazine interview: Here’s everything we didn’t want to know March 31, 2015 With the polls showing Labour neck and neck, neither of the party leaders can afford missed beats or wasted interviews. To that end, David Cameron decided to let Heat magazine's editor-in-chief, Lucie Cave, into the heart of Downing Street for a grilling that would put Paxo to shame. Here's a sample of what we found [...]
Ladies who don’t lunch: Sue Round talks fund management, sentimentality and being broke March 26, 2015 Buongiorno signora!” bellows the exuberant waiter at Bolton’s, an Italian tucked away in an unassuming corner near Leadenhall Market. “Hello, hellooo” comes the response. I know Sue Round has arrived, even before I see her. She greets me warmly, as if we’ve known each other for years. In fact, I’ve met Sue only once before [...]
Big cat takes to the air in car promo March 24, 2015 Your eyes are not deceiving you, and this isn’t a CGI mock-up. It’s expert stuntman Jim Dowdall driving a new Jaguar XF 240 metres across two 34mm carbon wires suspended 18 metres above water at Canary Wharf. The lengths some companies will go…
London’s latest novelty cafe is all about the grilled cheese March 23, 2015 Does the idea of a cat cafe bring you out in a rash? The concept behind the owl bar have you on the phone to the RSPB? The £3-a-pop cereal bar make you want to weep into your cornflakes? Fear not. The novelty cafe wheel of fortune has turned once more, and this time it's [...]
Advocaat in the frame to replace dismissed Poyet March 16, 2015 FORMER Rangers boss Dick Advocaat has emerged as the leading candidate to manage Sunderland on a temporary basis until the end of the season after the relegation-threatened Black Cats sacked incumbent Gus Poyet yesterday. Poyet assumed the Black Cats’ managerial reins from Paolo Di Canio in October 2013 before instigating a near-miraculous escape from relegation [...]
Red Nose Day 2015: Quentin Blake, Axel Scheffler and Morph from Hartbeat: Just some of the things you can buy in today’s Comic Relief art auction March 13, 2015 Comic Relief is auctioning off artworks by some of the UK's best known illustrators including The Gruffalo's Axel Scheffler and Sir Quentin Blake. The auction – taking place on eBay today – includes original drawings by cartoonists Gerald Scarfe and Matt Pritchett, children's author Neil Gaiman, card artists Edward Monkton and Rupert Fawcett, portraitist Lorna [...]
Focus on Battersea: Home of dogs, cats, families and riverside living March 12, 2015 Battersea’s venerable institutions – from its power station to its Dogs and Cats Home – often overshadow its considerable success as a residential destination. While houses easily soar over the £1m mark in this part of south-west London, UK buyers still account for 76 per cent of the market, 80 per cent of whom use [...]
Morrisons share price falls as it announces 23 store closures after losses mount and sales drop March 12, 2015 A bad morning for Morrisons. The supermarket announced it will close 23 stores and cutting its future dividend pay-out after reporting a large full-year loss and falling quarterly sales. Shares in the retailer opened one per cent down this morning. The trading environment is a tough one, Morrisons said, and it isn’t expected to get [...]