Transport bosses invite buskers with the X Factor to auditions
THE DIZZYING career arc of a reality TV music star often takes in a spot of busking along the way.
But Transport for London has decided to turn the format on its head, inviting prospective London buskers to take part in a terrifying round of X Factor-style auditions to win a coveted spot serenading droves of weary commuters on the Underground.
TfL has assembled a judging panel made up of music industry professionals, people from the capital’s music scene and London Underground to size up the aspiring performers for the 150 busking licences on offer across the Tube’s 37 pitches.
The Capitalist recalls that PwC’s Andrew Sentance is pretty nifty on the guitar…
WITH just over six months until he picks up Sir Mervyn King’s mantle as governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney must have been bracing himself for scrutiny from regulators and analysts. But he can’t have been expecting criticism coming his way from dendrologists (trees and shrub experts, of course). Eagle-eyed leaf-lovers have claimed that the decoration on Canada’s new $20, $50 and $100 notes – far from being the sugar maple beloved by mounties and pancake devotees alike – is actually closer to a Norwegian maple leaf. In response the Bank of Canada has claimed artistic licence, saying the image is “stylised”. Eh?