Brothers who took a punt on a new market | City A.M. June 13, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks tobacco with Taz and Umer Sheikh: salesmen, business partners, and self-professed pioneers of the growing electronic cigarette industry SIX years ago, the smoking ban came into force in England, making it illegal to smoke in enclosed workplaces. So when I meet Umer Sheikh – the younger of the two Sheikh brothers behind [...]
The rapid rise of the food bank can’t just be blamed on government austerity June 12, 2013 FOOD banks are a rapidly growing phenomenon in the UK. A few years ago, they barely existed, but an estimated half a million people now make use of them every week. On the face of it, it seems that poverty has sadly become endemic since the financial crisis, with many families unable even to feed [...]
Cartels of politicians do not serve public interest March 20, 2013 WHENEVER I see politicians of all three parties patting each other on the back and congratulating themselves on their brilliance, I panic. Consensus in politics is a disaster. When government and opposition agree, and the checks and balances of robust democratic argument are suspended, something awful inevitably happens. Dissent is good; conformity stinks. It leads [...]
What the Eastleigh result tells us about the future of British politics March 7, 2013 THE Eastleigh by-election gave us a clear indication of what is likely to happen in 2015. True, the politicians and pundits have made some confusing noise – inevitable since Thursday’s result provided triumph for no party, but genuine comfort for them all. The Conservatives did not fall to crisis levels, and could theoretically recover enough [...]
Only a quarter of UK residents saving enough February 24, 2013 THE VAST majority of Britons are still not saving enough to meet their long-term needs, according to data out this morning. Just 27 per cent of UK residents surveyed said they were saving enough for the future, Scottish Widows said, with 36.5 per cent saying they definitely were not putting sufficient funds away for their [...]
Businessman who woke up and smelt the coffee February 24, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks to Andrew Rugasira, the Ugandan entrepreneur with a new book and a Good African story to tell THE lives of 14,000 farmers in the Ugandan Rwenzori Mountains have been transformed since Andrew Rugasira had his lightbulb moment in 2002. At the time, he was running a prosperous marketing and events company in [...]
Hot in the kitchen: the top gadgets February 21, 2013 Panasonic Automatic Breadmaker This is the Rolls-Royce of bread-makers. It comes with a diamond-tipped kneading blade and non stick surface that will create delicious loaves from scratch. £119.99, currys.co.uk DeLonghi Icona 310.R This espresso-maker not only looks great in your kitchen (especially in fire-engine red), it also makes a knockout espresso. It is simple to [...]
Sugar drinks levy: More interference won’t end obesity February 18, 2013 AMONG the ten point plan published yesterday by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges in its “prescription for the nation’s medical crisis”, the headline-grabber was a tax on sugary drinks. An additional 20 per cent charge “would be an experimental measure, looking at price elasticity, substitution effects, and to what extent it impacts upon consumption [...]
SocGen boss de-neighs French food stereotypes at City lunch February 17, 2013 FRANCE may be known for its equine culinary culture, but the growing horse meat scandal seems to have put some of our next door neigh-bours on the back hoof. SocGen’s chief executive and chairman Frédéric Oudéa was feeling the pressure as he hosted a lunch last Friday, going on the defensive about his native land’s [...]
This is 40 minutes too long February 14, 2013 FILM THIS IS 40 Cert 12A ** Half-way through Judd Apatow’s latest, This Is 40, a woman accuses Debbie (Leslie Mann) and Pete (Paul Rudd) of looking like a couple from a bank advert. Its one of the better jokes, not least because it highlights the fundamental problem with the film. Debbie and Pete are [...]