Dragon Rider review – familiar animated family fun February 11, 2021 While most of the industry has scrambled to find a release strategy during the pandemic, animated family films have thrived thanks to captive audiences and a need for home-based entertainment. According to rating compiler Neilsen, Pixar’s Soul was the most watched content over the Christmas period, while films like Trolls World Tour and Scoob benefitted [...]
Royal Mail reports busiest Christmas on record as parcel revenue soars February 11, 2021 More than 496 million parcels were delivered by Royal Mail during the third quarter, the busiest period in its history. The postal service distributed 11.7 million parcels during its toughest 24 hours, 32 per cent more than the busiest day throughout the first national lockdown. Covid-19 restrictions prompted a surge in demand, leading to Royal [...]
Kent variant could become ‘world’s dominant strain’ February 11, 2021 The Kent variant of the coronavirus could become the “world’s dominant strain”, the head of the UK’s genetic surveillance said this morning. The variant has been detected across Britain and in more than 50 countries around the world. “It’s going to sweep the world, in all probability,” professor Sharon Peacock told BBC news this [...]
‘Buy Now Pay Later’ regulation must be matched by genuine action February 11, 2021 Few payment methods have experienced such exponential growth as ‘buy now pay later’. In a year that has kept us at home, the convenience and flexibility it offers consumers has more than trebled demand. Five million of us have spent £2.7 billion using the service since the pandemic began. But with ease and flexibility, comes [...]
Vaxxing our way to normality February 8, 2021 The past year or so has been incredibly tough – but the arrival of millions of approved vaccines in centres across the country gives us a real light at the end of the tunnel. Vaccines are at the centre of the UK Government’s plan to a route back to normality. Some 407m doses have been [...]
The Week Ahead: Look out for GDP data, Ocado, AstraZ, Twitter and Ted Baker February 8, 2021 Start your week informed: here are the announcements and results to look out for this week. UK GDP: A double dip recession is looming After a fairly decent third quarter, and an expansion of 16 per cent, the UK economy has had a much more troubled fourth quarter, with the likelihood that we may well [...]
Here comes Govtech: It’s time to digitise government and the public sector February 8, 2021 Boris Johnson’s first telephone call with Joe Biden in the White House reportedly included some joshing over which of them had first used the phrase ‘Build Back Better’. Whether it was the Prime Minister or the President, it is set to be the leitmotif of the global post-Covid recovery. Economies have been devastated, individuals have [...]
Astrazeneca vaccine works against Kent Covid variant February 5, 2021 The Astrazeneca vaccine currently being deployed in the UK’s largest ever immunisation programme works against the coronavirus variant first identified in Kent, researchers have found. Scientists from Oxford University, working in collaboration with the British-Swedish firm, said the jab has a similar efficacy against the new Covid variant compared to the original coronavirus strain it was [...]
Screenshot: How Amazon set up shop on cloud nine February 5, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Parish the thought **How Amazon set up shop on cloud nine **Will BT look to the stars? Media Moment of the Week: Parish the thought Anyone who thinks local politics is boring has clearly never attended a meeting of the Handforth Parish Council Planning and Environment Committee. Or [...]
When Zoom goes wrong: Is this the worst video meeting of all time? February 5, 2021 The Handforth Parish Council Planning and Environment Committee is, one assumes, a sleepy affair. But that does not seem to have been the case before Christmas — with a heady mix of Zoom confusion, playground squabbling and extremely English insults. A video of the meeting — of which the written minutes simply do not do [...]