Andaz Mayakoba is a near-perfect beach resort on the Mexican coast July 3, 2023 Playa del Carmen lies halfway between Cancun and Tulum, both geographically and spiritually. It’s not quite the tourist hellscape of the former, a haven for spring breakers and the kind of traveller who wears sports socks with sandals, but neither does it have the bohemian charm of the latter, which has positioned itself as the [...]
Explainer: Labour’s plans for education, from breakfast clubs to private schools July 3, 2023 This week is very much education and health week. We celebrate the 75th anniversary of the NHS on Wednesday, while teachers go on strike on the same day and on Friday too. Labour is focusing on education, with a big speech from Keir Starmer expected later this week on opportunities and access. This means Shadow [...]
Want to see how changed the UK is? Look at how City staff treat their nannies June 27, 2023 City workers are further and further away from the people who help look after their children.
A sunny twenty-four hours in Paris? Why not? June 23, 2023 Is there anything better than strolling the tree lined avenues of Paris on a sunny summers’ day, or sitting outside a Parisian café watching the world go by? A little over two hours from London by train, Paris is in fashion once again. With such accessibility it’s time to book a little break in the [...]
The Notebook: Kate Willard on how building connections is the key to business June 22, 2023 The notebook is a place where interesting people say interesting things. Today it’s Kate Willard, envoy for the Thames Estuary. The best partnerships are forged in person Ploughing through three feet of snow through downtown Detroit one bitterly cold February morning wasn’t perhaps the classic route to a new world of business opportunity. For one [...]
Ten reasons to be part of something Glorious this Summer June 22, 2023 The Qatar Goodwood Festival, which takes place from Tuesday 1 to Saturday 5 August, is one of the undisputed highlights of the British sporting calendar and social. The world-famous five-day festival, affectionately known as ‘Glorious Goodwood’, presents spellbinding sport to the backdrop of the rolling Sussex Downs. To whet the appetite for an exquisite week where [...]
Grocery inflation falls to lowest monthly rate this year June 20, 2023 Grocery price inflation has fallen to its lowest monthly rate this year – but remains at its sixth highest level since 2008, figures show. Grocery inflation dropped to 16.5 per cent for the four weeks to June 11, down from last month’s 17.2 per cent and March’s record 17.5 per cent according to analysts Kantar. [...]
‘Mortgage crunch’ deepens: Repayments will rise by £2,900 a year, reaching eye-watering £15.8bn by 2026 June 17, 2023 Annual mortgage repayments are set to rise by £2,900 for the average household remortgaging next year, according to a think-tank. As the UK’s “mortgage crunch” deepens, total annual mortgage repayments could rise by £15.8 billion by 2026, the Resolution Foundation said. Stickier-than-expected inflation has raised expectations that the Bank of England’s base rate-rising cycle, which [...]
Scrapping ban on two-for-one junk food deals would be ‘unforgivable’ despite cost of living crisis June 17, 2023 Scrapping a planned anti-obesity policy banning two-for-one junk food deals would be “unforgivable”, health campaigners have warned, after the Government delayed the measure beyond the next election. TV doctor Chris van Tulleken branded suggestions the “light-touch” regulation would restrict consumer choice “ludicrous” following No 10’s announcement it had been shelved amid concerns about the cost-of-living [...]
Tuscany: Stunning Villa Lena is where you hang out with artists poolside June 11, 2023 PICTURE THE SCENE… In Tuscany, my bathroom window looks out onto what appears to be a cartoon approximation of a magical kingdom. Hillsides fold towards a horizon seemingly so far away it cannot be properly seen. The light splashes differently onto each copse of trees, tightly gathered like fistfuls of hair. The culmination of the [...]