Top theatre picks this week: A Christmas Carol, Macbeth and You For Me For You December 11, 2015 A Christmas Carol, Noel Coward Theatre ★★★★☆ If pantomime’s a bit too shouty and daft for your tastes but you’re still in the market for something festive, this flamboyant production of A Christmas Carol ticks all the right boxes. Jim Broadbent plays miser Ebenezer Scrooge with a twinkle in his eye and a skip in [...]
Michel Platini Fifa suspension upheld by CAS to put presidency hopes in smoke December 11, 2015 Michel Platini's hopes for the Fifa presidency appear to have fully extinguished after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld his 90-day suspension from the organisation. The Uefa president had appealed to CAS to have his suspension lifted until Fifa's Ethics Committee had ruled on a "disloyal" £1.4m payment he received from Sepp Blatter in [...]
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn scheduled to attend controversial Stop the War coalition Christmas dinner December 11, 2015 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is planning to attend a Christmas dinner fundraiser for Stop the War coalition, a move which has attracted much controversy even from within his own party. Corbyn is billed as a "special guest" for an event, which will be held tonight at EV Restaurant at 6:30pm. Other guests will include campaigner [...]
How’s the hangover? Tesco launches hangover stations for all your post-office party needs December 11, 2015 While PRs at Buchanan and Lansons are already dealing with the hangovers from their Christmas parties this month, last night was one of the busiest evenings for corporate dos in the Square Mile this season. This can only mean one thing: a very hungover workforce on Friday. Tesco is giving London's financial district a helping hand [...]
First-time housebuyers in a festive frenzy, as number of valuations for this purpose rocketed up 31 per cent compared to last year December 11, 2015 Christmas may have come early for some first-time buyers, as the number of valuations for homehunters in this category jumped up last month. According to a report out today by Connells Survey & Valuation, the number of valuations carried out for first-time buyers in November was 31 per cent higher than the same time last [...]
Heathrow decision delayed: Government confirms deadline has been extended until next summer December 10, 2015 The government has confirmed that it will delay making a decision on whether to expand Heathrow Airport until at least next summer. In an announcement that sparked outrage among business groups, the government said that it "accepted the case for airport expansion in the south-east and the Airports Commission’s shortlist of options for expansion" but "more work [...]
Mayfair, flamingos and Berlin: London’s retailers and marketers have held the Square Mile’s (and Germany’s) best Christmas parties so far December 10, 2015 Last week, The Capitalist delivered the sad news that around a quarter of businesses weren’t even planning a Christmas party, and issued an appeal for the City’s most raucous office do. Well, boy did you guys deliver. Wednesday was a big one for London’s financial marketers and PRs. Johnny Hornby, founder of WPP-backed communications group [...]
Asda drops petrol prices below £1 a litre as oil price hits seven year low but how long will it last? December 10, 2015 Asda's done it. From tomorrow its petrol will be cheaper than £1 a litre, but only for a couple of days. As oil prices continue to languish around seven year lows, Asda has announced it will cut the price of its unleaded petrol to 99.7p a litre, and diesel to 103.7p per litre. The reduction will only [...]
The UK’s least welcome Christmas gift: Toiletries, alcohol and candles most likely to get re-gifted December 10, 2015 You may as well admit it: When your secret santa presents you with a lime-scented candle, or your Christmas stocking turns out to contain a toiletry set you didn’t need, you’ve thought about carefully wrapping it back up and passing the gift on to someone else, haven’t you? In fact, it turns out that most [...]
GCHQ’s Christmas card puzzle: Can you solve this spy agency brainteaser? December 10, 2015 Forget cryptic crosswords, and put your sudoku down: the UK's spy agency GCHQ has sent out a Christmas card with a puzzle that even James Bond might struggle with. As part of his annual Christmas card message the agency's director Robert Hannigan has sent out a brainteaser this festive season so anyone can test their brain power. The puzzle is the [...]