Valentine’s Day 2015: South West Trains just won Valentine’s Day with When Harry Met Salisbury, Waterlove and Breakfast at Twickenham departure boards February 14, 2015 A train company just got something right for once. It’s not often they can be given credit for getting something right, but on Valentine’s Day, South West Trains have done it and even revealed a romantic side. We thought Tesco was doing it well, but the folks over at South West Trains, usually embattled by [...]
The 9 biggest winners and losers of from the Fifty Shades of Grey effect – B&Q, London Fire Brigade, Teddy Bears, midwives and more February 13, 2015 Fifty Shades of awesome: The winners 1. B&Q B&Q has come in a winner among the many, many, shameless Fifty Shades bandwagon jumping stakes. For a usually family-friendly DIY store, the “leak” of an email warning staff to expect a run on duct tape, rope and cable ties from adventurous shoppers inspired the movie was [...]
Grexit or happily ever after? Twitter’s gone berserk for #Greekvalentines poems February 13, 2015 Nobody wants to deal with a messy break-up around Valentine's Day, but as talks between Greece and its international creditors drag on, things aren't looking very rosy. There are more talks scheduled for Monday, the final opportunity for Greece's new government to ask for a bailout extension – the current deadline for which is February [...]
Where not to eat in London: The worst places in London for food hygiene standards February 13, 2015 If you’re looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day date location, this might be a handy guide for where to avoid taking your significant other for that special dinner date. Six of the worst local authorities in the UK when it comes to food hygiene standards are located in London, with Enfield taking the title for [...]
Too much discipline, knot enough romance – Editor’s Letter February 12, 2015 Perhaps, whatever Ed Miliband says, Britain likes the idea of being dominated by a successful businessman with a dark side. With the film adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey in cinemas from tonight, DIY stores are stocking up on rope and cable ties, anticipating a surge of curious customers inspired by the big screen action. [...]
Happily ever after February 12, 2015 SMUG married couples have one more reason to be so, according to data from the ONS, which shows people in marriages or civil partnerships are the happiest in the UK. Single people are only beaten in the misery stakes by divorcees – but do try to enjoy Valentine’s Day anyway.
FTSE Shades of Grey: Why markets should not fear election uncertainty February 12, 2015 Many may well be planning their Valentine’s weekend around the much-anticipated Fifty Shades of Grey film, released today. But the fact we’re now 82 days away from the long-awaited General Election is more likely to get investors slightly hotter under the collar. Of course, in most cases, elections don’t matter very much at all to [...]
Married couples are the UK’s happiest people – but money worries put strain on relationships February 12, 2015 With Valentine's Day just around the corner, it's fitting that new figures published today show 84.4 per cent of those in married or civil partnerships said they were "happy" in 2014. When asked to rank life satisfaction out of 10, 32 per cent of married people gave an answer of nine or 10. This compares with 26 [...]
Tesco is winning at Valentine’s Day. Here’s why February 11, 2015 Valentine's Day is just around the corner and what says love more than multinational retailers pushing their pink heart-shaped products you neither want nor need? Absolutely nothing. That's why between now and Saturday we will all be bombarded with adverts for all the chocolates you can eat (before the cocoa runs out) recipes for two, [...]
Pound edges towards a seven-year high against the euro February 10, 2015 The pound rose as much as 0.5 per cent against the euro this morning, pushing it close to its highest since 2008. One euro now costs close to 74.1p, near the 74.3p it cost on Valentine's Day 2008. The rise followed encouraging data from the UK's manufacturing industry. Official data published this morning showed manufacturing [...]