Guys & Dolls theatre review: A charming revival of a bona fide classic January 8, 2016 Savoy Theatre | ★★★★☆ The last play to grace the stage of The Savoy was Gypsy, where Imelda Staunton gave a rip-roaring, throat-shredding performance that’s likely to go down in theatre legend. It was always going to be a tough act to follow, but with the Chichester Festival’s revival of Guys and Dolls, we’re safely cosseted [...]
Focus On Croydon: The affordable South London hotspot that’s getting a £1bn facelift January 8, 2016 If there’s one thing we learnt from the London property market in 2015, it was not to underestimate the outer boroughs. Some of the largest house price growth increases were to be found in these supposed backwaters. Growth in places like Haringey and Hillingdon far outstripped traditionally prime areas like Kensington & Chelsea and Camden, [...]
The Treasury could be about to return £17bn of Bradford and Bingley assets to private ownership January 6, 2016 A sizable part of the Bradford and Bingley (B&B) mortgage book could be about to be sold off in what could be the biggest ever sale of financial assets by a British government. The government is reportedly working on plans to offload a £17bn tranche of the bailed out mortgage lender. A spokesperson for UK [...]
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is finally sitting down with Confederation of British Industry (CBI) director-general Carolyn Fairbairn January 4, 2016 Jeremy Corbyn will finally meet with one of Britain's biggest business groups this week, nearly four months after he was elected as Labour leader. Corbyn is scheduled to sit down with Confederation of British Industry (CBI) director-general Carolyn Fairbairn within days, Sky News first reported this morning. Corbyn drew sharp criticism when he declined an invitation to address [...]
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under fire as MPs on Treasury Select Committee call for hearing over decision to scrap banking culture review January 4, 2016 Leading MPs have slammed the City watchdog over its decision to drop a review into Britain’s banking culture, raising the possibility of an imminent public grilling of top regulators. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed last week that it had scrapped plans for an inquiry into the culture and behaviour of British bank employees, saying that [...]
UK weather New Year’s Eve 2015: Prepare for a cold and frosty night after storm Frank but clear skies for fireworks December 30, 2015 The unusually warm temperatures felt throughout December will be replaced by cold and even frost over New Year's after storm Frank. Temperatures could fall to their lowest this month after several balmy December days as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, even hitting the minus figures further north. The remnants of storm Frank will [...]
Christmas Eve fly-by: An asteroid will travel past the Earth this afternoon, while the International Space Station will look just like Santa and his sleigh December 24, 2015 Today, an asteroid is going to fly past the Earth as it zooms through space. Called asteroid 2003 SD220, it was spotted by scientists at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who noticed that it moved considerably closer to us between 17 and 22 December. Thankfully, it's going to pass at a distance that poses no threat – [...]
David Cameron uses Christmas speech to thank armed forces, doctors, nurses, carers and volunteers working over festive period December 24, 2015 David Cameron has used his Christmas message to praise the UK's armed forces engaged in airstrikes against Islamic State (Isis). The Prime Minister thanked "our brave armed forces [who] are doing their duty" both "in the skies of Iraq and Syria" and "on the ground, helping to bring stability to countries from Afghanistan to South Sudan". [...]
Tweet controlled drones? Twitter just patented that (watch out Marcel Hirscher) December 23, 2015 Drones raise enough questions as it is – where can they fly, who can fly them, how do you avoid accidents, to name just a few – but imagine if they were controlled simply with a tweet? Sounds a a little crazy, yes, but not too crazy for Twitter. The social network has filed a [...]
SpaceX won’t be using its reusable rocket again – here’s why December 22, 2015 Early this morning, SpaceX managed to re-land a rocket for the first time ever, paving the way for a new generation of reusable rockets. The Falcon 9 rocket was launched from Cape Carnaveral in Florida, and after shooting up into the sky to deliver a series of commercial satellites to the International Space Station, it [...]