Queen of cakes gives tea a twist October 4, 2010 I ACTUALLY wanted to be a musician,” says Claire Clark. Unfortunately, her flute and violin playing wasn’t up to scratch. Happily for us, it meant she became the world’s best female patissiere, soon to open up a decadent cake shop – think champagne and chaises longues – in London. “My mother cooked everything,” says Clark, [...]
London faces Tube chaos October 3, 2010 LONDONERS are facing another gruelling day of commuting across the capital as London Underground (LU) workers launch a second 24-hour strike in as many months. The walkout, which will finish at 6:28pm tonight, will cause extreme disruption to this morning’s commute as the entire Underground network is affected by the action. At 6:29pm yesterday, over [...]
TfL: We’ll move Londoners September 30, 2010 TRANSPORT for London (TfL) has vowed to keep as many services operating on Sunday and Monday as possible as London Underground (LU) workers stage their latest strike. If the 24-hour stoppage by LU workers goes ahead on Sunday evening at 7.00pm, the TfL said it will provide one hundred extra buses, marshalled taxis and increased [...]
The man making MINI cooler – and smaller September 27, 2010 NO car captured Anglo cool like the British Motor Corporation’s Mini of the 1960s, the Mods’ car of choice. Bought by BMW in 1994 (as part of Rover), Mini became MINI in 2000, but remains irresistibly hip; the ride of choice for young British urbanites whose European equivalents would drive Fiats around Rome and Milan; [...]
Off-piste: the pre-snow joys of Chamonix September 26, 2010 ASK MOST people what comes into their head when you mention Chamonix, and they’ll say skiing. But the mountain capital of the world has much more to offer, especially when the snow disappears from everywhere but the highest peaks. Home to over eighty nationalities – making it one of the most multicultural places in France [...]
Unions reject Tube talks September 23, 2010 TUBE unions embroiled in a bitter dispute with London Underground (LU) have refused a call by the public transport body to resume talks aimed at averting another strike. Transport unions the RMT and Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), which together represent over 10,000 Tube workers, said proposals made by LU “do not go far enough [...]
FirstGroup names O’Toole as new boss September 22, 2010 TRANSPORT operator FirstGroup has chosen former London Underground (LU) boss Tim O’Toole to replace it chief executive Moir Lockhead when he retires at the end of March 2011, the firm said yesterday. O’Toole, who is currently deputy chief executive, will take the reins on 1 November. FirstGroup, which manages the Great Western rail franchise and [...]
Redhall in £16m bid for Mount September 22, 2010 BRITISH engineering support services firm Redhall yesterday announced it had made an offer to buy rival Mount Engineering for around £16.4m to expand into international energy markets. Redhall, which caters to the nuclear, oil and gas, food, defence, safety and security and transport infrastructure sectors, has irrevocable undertakings or letters of intent from 45 per [...]
FirstGroup founder Lockhead to step down September 22, 2010 British transport operator FirstGroup said chief executive Moir Lockhead would retire next March after 21 years at the helm, with his replacement Tim O’Toole set to take the reins later this year. Lockhead helped transform the group into one of Europe’s largest bus and rail operators from an employee and management buyout of Grampian Regional [...]
Tube unions to meet with LU to avert strikes September 21, 2010 TUBE union bosses are meeting London Underground (LU) management this morning with hopes of putting a bitter dispute over job cuts and the possibility of another set of strikes behind them. RMT and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) will meet LU at conciliation service Acas in a bid to halt planned strikes for October [...]