Does the Mazda MX-5 still deserve to be called a sports car? August 28, 2015 The Mazda MX-5 is the world’s bestselling sports car, but it’s never been the quickest. When it launched in the UK in 1990, it offered an enjoyable driving experience combined with top-down convertible thrills for the relatively inexpensive price of £14,500. But the MX-5 failed to move with the times. It cared more about being [...]
This is why the world needs Facebook M: Its new AI and people-powered virtual personal assistant in Messenger app could be better than Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana and Google Now August 27, 2015 Soon Facebook will be able to answer any question you have, book a restaurant on your behalf and give you the weather forecast for the day. The social network is working on creating its very own virtual assistant like the already well-known and commonly used Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana and Google Now. Facebook is testing the service, called [...]
Hotel Chantelle needs to earn its place on the culinary map August 26, 2015 Hotel Chantelle 23 Orchard St, W1H Tel: 020 7299 2522 FOOD ★★☆☆☆ VALUE ★★☆☆☆ ATMOSPHERE ★★☆☆☆ Hotel Chantelle is terribly exclusive. It has a bouncer, who is in charge of fastening and unfastening a red velvet rope, like you remember from nightclubs in the 1990s. It has a lady in a pencil skirt who stands next to [...]
Uber trials bus-route style pick-ups in San Francisco August 25, 2015 Uber's not content with just offering rides on-demand in hundreds of cities around the world. Now the startup is trialing a new feature that offers bus-style pick-ups along certain routes. The so-called "smart routes" are being tested out on the streets of San Francisco and build upon its existing Uber Pool service that lets you [...]
TfL Tube strike 26 and 28 August 2015: Tube strikes cost London nearly £60m in lost man hours August 24, 2015 Talks are going to the wire, but unless something miraculous happens, London is staring down the barrel of a double-whammy of strike action this week. As it stands Tube staff members of RMT, TSSA and Unite are planning to walk out from 6:30pm on Tuesday and for the whole of the following day (25 [...]
Perfect timing August 23, 2015 Harriet Green talks pub food, capitalism and the importance of shiny things with Watchfinder’s Lloyd Amsdon When I ask Lloyd Amsdon’s seven year-old step-daughter if she knows what an entrepreneur is, she draws a blank. It may be age-related, but there’s no reason why she would have heard the word. “I’m only an entrepreneur when I’m [...]
Isis fight sends Iraq to debt markets August 21, 2015 Baghdad plans to raise $6bn as ongoing battles with militants have decimated infrastructure. Iraq is heading to the bond markets with hopes of raising billions, as low oil prices and the fight against Isis eat into state finances. Deputy governor of Iraq’s central bank, Zuhair Ali Akbar, confirmed the country will issue $6bn [...]
It’s official: Dining at your desk or on the move makes you gain weight August 20, 2015 We all know we should get outside for some fresh air at lunchtime – but it turns out missing out on exercise isn't the only reason eating "al desko" makes you gain weight. A new study, by scientists at Surrey University, has found if you're focusing on something other than your meal – by, for [...]
London house prices: Not another brick in the wall? London has a 24 million brick shortage August 19, 2015 London is more than just one brick short of a full load. A new study reckons the capital has a 24 million brick shortfall if it's to meet the demand for new homes. As the population of the UK's capital swells to nine million by 2021, the Linton Group claims London will need 66,000 [...]
Restaurant review: Fall down the culinary rabbit hole at Céleste at the Lanesborough hotel August 18, 2015 Céleste at the Lanesborough 9 Hyde Park Corner, SW1X 7TA Tel: 020 7259 5599 These are halcyon days for the London restaurant scene, a time when seemingly everybody is a foodie and every borough in London has at least half a dozen restaurants worth visiting. You can start to take it all for granted, [...]