The Premier League season has finally staggered to a close, the inevitability of Chelsea winning the title becoming obvious when there was still a long way to go. That only the richest clubs can compete for the top spot is a long-established reality which it’s impossible to see changing, and you don’t have to be a neutral observer to have found the unfolding non-drama of the past few months less than thrilling.
Simon Godwin’s first words to me are: “Can we start this on the balcony? I’m allowed to smoke out there.” You can certainly forgive the director a few urgent drags of nicotine: there is, as he says, “a lot going on”. Man And Superman, his long sold out revival of George Bernard Shaw’s epic riff on Don Juan starring Ralph Fiennes, has just closed at the National’s Lyttelton theatre when we meet. At the same time, he is rehearsing another play by an Irishman – George Farquhar’s 1707 comedy The Beaux... Читать дальше...
When paedophiles say to their victims, as they all do in one form or another, “If you ever speak about this, unimaginably bad things will happen to you”, what they are doing is perhaps on one level even worse than the physical act of abuse itself. They are manipulating their victims into being complicit in the abuse. Forcing the victim to take responsibility for protecting the abuser means that every time you smile, shake hands, speak with and act normally in front of the abuser – as you must... Читать дальше...
Lindsay Kemp is to be congratulated for preserving his endangered annual festival, now renamed the London Festival of Baroque Music and as adventurous as ever.
Like the perpetually warring lands of Lilliput and Blefuscu in Gulliver’s Travels, Glasgow and Aberdeen have long had decidedly mixed feelings about each other. In truth, they have often been at each other’s throats. But while this inter-city animosity doesn’t nowadays tend to take a particularly literal form, it most certainly does when it comes to jokes and good-natured razzing. They think Glaswegians are benefit-accruing soap-dodgers, while we regard them as being joyless, thin-lipped skinflints. Читать дальше...
I wasn’t surprised to read the research from Nottingham building society this week revealing that one in six homeowners are considering remortgaging before the end of this year.
Quick march! Fancy getting fit but need a free incentive? The outdoor exercise company British Military Fitness is offering free sessions at 90 parks around the country next Saturday as part of National Outdoor Fitness Day. The biggest sessions will be taking place in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Brighton and London from 9.30am. And if you fancy participating in an attempt to break the world record for the most people performing jump squats simultaneously, head to Wandsworth Common in south London. Читать дальше...
Marston’s, one of the No Pain, No Gain portfolio’s long-term constituents, has rolled out another set of acceptable figures, confirming my faith in the brewer and pub owner. The shares are, as I write, around 168p, just a fraction below their 12-month high.
In last week’s column I mentioned, almost in passing, that there had been considerable volatility in the bond markets recently. “Volatility” is a word that tends to be used more often in the context of shares, rather than bonds, which are often used in portfolio planning, partly to reduce volatility. They also pay a regular and relatively secure income.
Q I have an issue with Avis. My partner and I booked a one-way hire car from Whistler mountain to Vancouver airport for 17 April. We were catching a flight home on that date. I have the original rental confirmation from Avis, which also had our airline confirmation of the flight details.
Britain’s biggest payday lender, Wonga, is trying to reinvent itself. It has ditched the annoying puppets and launched a new campaign featuring what it calls “hardworking people”. Its new ad, first broadcast in prime time this week, features footage of workers including café employees, farmers and dental nurses.
Good news – record low interest rates mean the number of home repossessions is falling. But the bad news is that there could be dangers ahead with borrowers sleepwalking to disaster. That’s the view of banker-turned-mortgage adviser Stuart Gregory, who says borrowers need to check their rates and act to get a decent deal before it’s too late.
Guess which companies were this week rated as having the worst call centres? TalkTalk, BT – an old friend of this column – and Scottish Power, which is currently generating lots of letters from you about a number of problems, including poor service. A new customer satisfaction survey from Which? said consumers were frustrated by long waiting times, poor staff knowledge and lengthy phone menus.