The Sunday Telegraph London back issues from May 2009:
What do I want for my birthday? The gift of the gab
May 03, 2009; ... I (born today in 1958) was in the supermarket the other day,trying to decide between chopped tomatoes with or without basil,when a woman stopped me, saying, 'Hello! What are you doing here?'It seemed an odd question. I clearly wasn't abseiling. 'Shopping,' Imumbled rather lamely. 'Oh!' ...
my perfect sunday Trevor Nelson broadcaster and DJ
May 03, 2009; ... Sunday is easily my favourite day of the week, although I guessit's mainly because Monday is the worst day. If I've got a wholeSunday to myself I don't like to lie in bed and waste it. I'dprobably open my eyes at about 8am, regardless of what time I wasout until the night before, and may ...
The changeling 'World's sexiest woman' or frazzled working mother? Cool, confident star of stage and screen or insecure ball of nerves? British or American? Gillian Anderson, of 'The X-Files', 'Bleak House' and now a West End production of Ibsen, convincingly plays them all The Nigel Farndale Interview
May 03, 2009; ... The first surprise is Gillian Anderson's accent. I have heardabout how she can slip from English to American as effortlessly assilk runs through fingers. Indeed, by way of research, I havewatched her being interviewed by Jay Leno (for whom she adopted anAmerican accent) and Michael ...
TICKET TO RIDE AGAIN The reopening of the Swanage to Wareham railway line was a classic David and Goliath story. Paul Kendall talks to the men who took on the might of British Rail - and won
May 03, 2009; ... On New Year's Day 1972, Mike Stollery, an architect andrecovering trainspotter, boarded a special rail tour from Portsmouthto Swanage in Dorset. The journey took him eight hours but afteronly 10 minutes, which he spent on the platform at Swanage, Stollerywas on the train back ...
JJ ABRAMS INTERVIEW 'Kirk and Spock is one of the great asexual love stories'
May 03, 2009; ... Last November, amid extravagantly tight security, variousjournalists were invited to see excerpts from the new Star Trekmovie. Before the film started, the head of Paramount - theproducers of the film - came on and talked tremblingly about joining'The Paramount Family', and about the ...
The talented Miss Townsend A teenager's disconcerting occupation of a dead girl's life grows ever more mysterious; while 'Wolverine' is nothing more than functionally spectacular
May 03, 2009; ... Helen (PG) 79 mins ????? Wolverine (12A) 111 mins ????? There probably have been stranger pitches than 'Blow-Up in BykerGrove' - Antonioni meets Ant and Dec, if you will - but none leap tomind at the minute. Helen, the latest sign of a renaissance inBritish art cinema, is ...
Art Tyrant who turned into a toad David Starkey mounts a heavyweight life of Henry VIII
May 03, 2009; ... Henry VIII: Man and Monarch The British Library, London NW1(01937 546 546) to Sept 6 ????? A Venetian ambassador to London described the young Henry VIII as'the handsomest potentate I ever set eyes on ... his complexion veryfair and bright, with auburn hair combed straight in the ...
DVD of the week
May 03, 2009; ... La Gueule Ouverte Eureka, 12, double disc pounds 22.50 ????? Made in 1974, this was the third film of Maurice Pialat, who diedin 2003. The title means 'The Mouth Agape' and relates to thefeatures of some terminally ill patients at the point of death.Partly autobiographical, it ...
From the heart Bychkov delivers both warmth and punch
May 03, 2009; ... Lohengrin Royal Opera House, London WC2 (020 7304 4000) to 16May ????? Chamber Orchestra of Europe/Aimard ????? Beethoven Unwrapped Kings Place, London N1 (020 7520 1490) ????? There cannot be many Wagnerians who have not yet seen CoventGarden's Lohengrin: the ...
Fields of dreams and nightmares The festival season is upon us - here's the pick of the bunch
May 03, 2009; ... SUMMER FESTIVAL PREVIEW Having spent nearly 20 years in search of the perfect festival,I've now realised the truth: there isn't one. Always, but always,you are trading virtues for drawbacks. You want pumping dance at proper volume carrying on through thenight? Sure, but by ...
Strictly for the fans Anton and Erin's dance marathon is a step too far
May 03, 2009; ... Anton and Erin Coliseum, London WC2 ????? Decreation Sadler's Wells, London EC1 ????? Do you come here often? Not if you've got any sense. Thepriceless publicity generated by the success of the BBC's StrictlyCome Dancing meant that faithful fans packed the London Coliseumlast ...
The not so beautiful Game A sharp but bleak history of Afghanistan in three plays
May 03, 2009; ... The Great Game: Afghanistan Tricycle Theatre, London NW6 (0207328 1000) to 14 June ????? Romeo and Juliet Globe Theatre, London SE1 (020 7087 7398) to 23Aug ????? With its verbatim dramatisations of court transcripts, such asNuremberg, Guantanamo, and Deep Cut, the Tricycle ...
BOOK OF THE WEEK Noel Malcolm is impressed by a rich account of the interwar years which shows a society both terrified of future conflict and fascinated by it
May 03, 2009; ... HISTORY The Morbid Age: Britain Between the Wars By Richard Overy ALLEN LANE/PENGUIN, pounds 25, 499 pp 'Who in Europe does not know that one more war in the West, andthe civilisation of the ages will fall with as great a crash as thatof Rome?' So spoke ...
These memoirs represent a cautionary tale for political romantics, says Anthony Howard
May 03, 2009; ... MEMOIRS A Fortunate Life: The Autobiography of Paddy Ashdown AURUM, pounds 20, 404 pp A View from the Foothills: The Diaries of Chris Mullin PROFILE, pounds 20, 590 pp It is now almost a decade since Paddy Ashdown gave up beingleader of the ...
What to read when you're... at breaking point Bibliotherapy
May 03, 2009; ... 'There comes a moment in the life of every individual whenreality must be faced,' wrote Daphne du Maurier in a prefacing noteto her collection of short stories, The Breaking Point. 'When thishappens, it is as though a link between emotion and reason is stretched tothe limit of ...
THE COMMANDER IN BRITISH HONDURAS WAS ALSO THE WORLD RECORD HOLDER FOR DROPPING AN EGG FROM THE GREATEST HEIGHT WITHOUT BREAKING IT James Holland on the thrilling tale of how a handful of pilots and Britain's one aircraft carrier averted a war
May 03, 2009; ... MILITARY Phoenix Squadron: HMS Ark Royal, Britain's Last Top Guns and theUntold Story of Their Most Dramatic Mission By Rowland White BANTAM PRESS, pounds 18.99, 349 pp In January 1972, the Central American republic of Guatemala was about to invade neighbouring ...
J.R.R. Tolkien's early 'Norse' saga in verse is not epic enough for Mark Sanderson
May 03, 2009; ... FICTION The Legend of Sigurd and Gudron By J.R.R. Tolkien HARPERCOLLINS, pounds 18.99, 377 pp Peter Jackson has a lot to answer for. If his film version of TheLord of the Rings trilogy had not been so successful there is no way these two 'lays', ...
Thomas Jones follows the travails of a woman pulled between small- town Ireland and New York
May 03, 2009; ... FICTION Brooklyn By Colm Toibin VIKING, pounds 17.99, 252 pp Eilis Lacey, the heroine of Colm Toibin's quietly magnificent newnovel, lives with her mother and sister in Enniscorthy, CountyWexford. It's the early Fifties and there aren't many jobs for ...
TITLE DEED HOW THE BOOK GOT ITS NAME The Whitsun Weddings by Philip Larkin
May 03, 2009; ... The Whitsun Weddings is a title that can be given a precise date.Inspiration occurred on April 9, 1955 (Whit Saturday) as Larkin took the train from Hull to London. Larkin said: 'I caught a veryslow train that stopped at every station and I hadn't realised that, of course, ...
whatever happened to... the founders of boo.com
May 03, 2009; ... According to Fortune magazine, they were two of the coolestentrepreneurs in the world. Ernst Malmsten, a Prada-suited poetrycritic, and his childhood friend Kajsa Leander, a former model, weregoing to revolutionise the world of retail with their online clothesshop boo.com. With brands ...
the list Strange body modifications
May 03, 2009; ... 1 Half of Jerry Jalava's left ring finger was amputated after amotorcycle accident near Helsinki in 2008. The computer programmertook the opportunity to replace his lost finger with a detachable2GB USB stick, which he is already looking to upgrade. 2 Canadian Rob Spence damaged his ...
Darling's City report hit by row over 50p tax rate
May 03, 2009; ... A REPORT on the City's future commissioned by Alistair Darling,the Chancellor, has become engulfed in a major row ahead of itspublication this week about the new top rate of income tax, TheSunday Telegraph has learnt. A number of members of Mr Darling's Financial Services ...
A Triumph for Lord Jones
May 03, 2009; ... DIGBY Jones, the former trade minister, will tomorrow do his bitfor the beleaguered British manufacturing industry when he is namedas the chairman of Triumph, the heritage motorcycle marque. Triumph, based in Hinckley, Leicestershire, will announce thatLord Jones of Birmingham, who ...
Buffett told: name your successor
May 03, 2009; ... WARREN Buffett, the billionaire investor, yesterday facedshareholder demands to name his successor after more than a year ofdeclining profit at his investment company. More than 35,000 investors turned out to question the "Sage ofOmaha" at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting in ...
Investors ask Ball to take ITV role
May 03, 2009; ... TONY Ball, the former chief executive of BSkyB, has beenapproached by shareholders in ITV about taking on the challenge ofreviving Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster. Mr Ball has been talking to Legal & General Investment Management(LGIM), which owns about 5pc of ITV, and ...
RBS finance chief heads for the exit
May 03, 2009; ... ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to continue its sweepingboardroom overhaul by announcing this week that Guy Whittaker, itsgroup finance director, is to leave. Mr Whittaker, who is 52, is expected to step down from the RBSboard shortly and will leave the bank later in the year, it ...
Arculus to succeed Spencer as chairman of Numis
May 03, 2009; ... SIR David Arculus, the City veteran who led the blockbuster saleof O2, the mobile phone group, will this week be named as the newchairman of Numis Corporation, the investment banking group. Sir David, whose appointment is expected to be ratified at aboard meeting ahead of Numis's ...
Bank of England to accelerate money supply programme despite poor start
May 03, 2009; ... BILLIONS of pounds "printed" by the Bank of England as part ofits quantitative easing programme have been leaking overseas, it hasemerged. In a development that will raise doubts over the effectiveness ofthe Bank's plan to rescue the economy, figures have shown thatforeign ...
Wiggle founder rides off
May 03, 2009; ... ONE of the two founders of Wiggle, a leading British bicycleretailer, has sold out of the business in a deal that has handed theHampshire-based entrepreneur more than pounds 5m. Mitch Dall, who together with fellow entrepreneur Harvey Jonesfounded Wiggle with just pounds 2,000, ...
Heathrow runway faces FTSE 100 revolt
May 03, 2009; ... THE planned third runway at Heathrow, given Government go-aheadin January, is facing opposition from the chiefs of some ofBritain's biggest companies. Among those reportedly joining the revolt against the expansionof Heathrow are Justin King, chief executive of supermarket ...
Setanta in crisis funding talks
May 03, 2009; ... SETANTA, the sports broadcaster, has brought in a new managementteam as it holds crisis talks with investors to raise funds andreduce what is pays for the rights to show matches. The broadcaster has reportedly hired Sir Robin Miller, the formerchief executive of publisher Emap, as ...
Takeover Panel tackles Arsenal
May 03, 2009 ... THE Takeover Panel has intervened in the increasingly fraughtbattle for the future of Arsenal Football Club by summoning itschairman to a meeting about the actions of two of its largestshareholders, write Jonathan Sibun and Mark Kleinman. Peter Hill-Wood was called to meet panel ...
Councils shun mutuals after cuts in ratings
May 03, 2009; ... LOCAL authorities are piling more pressure on the strugglingbuilding society sector by planning to withdraw billions of poundsof deposits in the wake of their mass ratings downgrade by Moody'slast month. Westminster, Haringey, Dorset and Barnet councils have confirmedthey will ...
Zurich makes Haste in effort to fill top job
May 03, 2009; ... ANDY Haste, the chief executive of RSA, one of Britain's largestinsurance companies, has been approached to take over at rivalinsurer Zurich Financial Services. Mr Haste, who has held the top job at RSA since 2003, is understood to have held talks with Zurich about ...
800 LDV Workers face axe if last-minute takeover fails
May 03, 2009 ... MORE than 800 jobs will be axed on Wednesday at Birmingham-basedvan maker LDV unless last-ditch talks with potential investorsresult in a rescue deal, writes Graham Ruddick. PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accounting firm, has been lined up toact as administrator to LDV following a ...
Pearl strikes pensions deal
May 03, 2009; ... HUGH Osmond, the boss of Pearl, the "zombie" insurance group, hassecured an eleventh-hour agreement with the company's pension fundtrustees to avoid making a pounds 500m cash payment that had beendue next month. The pension bill, for which Pearl's shareholders are liable undera ...
Stress test result to trigger Citi cash call
May 03, 2009 ... CITIGROUP may be forced to raise an additional $10bn ( pounds6.7bn) as the result of "stress tests" being conducted by theAmerican government, the outcome of which are expected to beannounced on Thursday, writes Louise Armitstead. Although the bank has argued that its capital base ...
Time for Cameron to tackle the ugly truths about debt
May 03, 2009; ... The debate on UK public spending is moving fast, but not nearlyfast enough. David Cameron warns we face "an age of austerity" andthat a Tory government would implement "what could be one of themost painful round of cuts since Sir Geoffrey Howe's Budget in1981". By harking back to ...
East promises much at the expense of Western woes
May 03, 2009; ... WHILE the UK and US are on their knees, a slew of new datasuggests China isn't doing badly. In April, China's purchasing managers' index hit 53.5, its secondmonth above the crucial 50-level and fifth successive monthly rise.Loan growth is running at 25pc annually - with banks ...
Swine flu threatens to kick economies when they are down
May 03, 2009; ... IN THE midst of the longest and perhaps deepest global recessionin the postwar period, the last thing we need is risingprotectionism, travel advisories and reduced business and consumeractivity. This is certainly not a confidence builder and runs therisk of at least temporarily ...
Activist investors must keep eye on the Ball
May 03, 2009; ... Few people outside the City have ever heard of Mark Burgess, theinvestment chief at Legal & General's fund management arm, but he israpidly becoming one of the most notorious figures inside theboardrooms of blue-chip companies. In the past year, he and his team have led campaigns ...
DARLING IS DEAF TO REPORT
May 03, 2009; ... You couldn't make it up. There was a period around the time ofthe Treasury's first bank bail-out last autumn that many peoplebegan to believe that Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, might justbe the right man for the job. He may have been criticised for admitting that the ...
DUEL OVER THE GUNNERS
May 03, 2009; ... For thousands of Arsenal fans, the only action on their minds isthe crucial second leg of their Champions League semi-final againstManchester United, which takes place on Tuesday night in northLondon. Events off the field at the Emirates Stadium show every sign ofmatching the ...
special report NO LONGER SAFE AS HOUSES As Britain's building societies face up to the prospect of losing capital as a result of changed credit status, Philip Aldrick asks what the future holds for the mutuals as they adjust to the new reality
May 03, 2009; ... "I witnessed trusting and naive provincial building societyexecutives, who had no real understanding of any aspect of theworkings of global capital markets, being eaten alive by cynical,rapacious and short-termist investment bankers." Although some societies may fail like ...
interview Digby fired by old battles and a spirit of Triumph The larger-than-life former trade minister tells Andrew Cave his desire to see British industry prosper remains as strong as ever
May 03, 2009; ... LORD JONES OF BIRMINGHAM Status: Married for 19 years to Pat. No children Interests: military history, Leicester Tigers and Aston Villa Book: Empire: How Britain Shaped the Modern World by NiallFerguson Films: Casablanca and Dances With Wolves Cars: Jaguar ...
Parking your way to heaven makes sense
May 03, 2009; ... RECEIVING customer feedback can be painful, but I imagine parkingservice Parkatmyhouse was quite pleased when it was blessed by thisone: "This was my first experience of ParkatmyHouse, and it was avery good, very easy one. The owner of the land was available,friendly and helpful - AND I ...
You would buy a used car from this man
May 03, 2009; ... RECESSION TOOL KIT Focus on all business targets and review these weekly or monthly Market strongly to existing clients to gain referrals Concentrate on business networking Consider paying hourly rates STARTING OUT DO treat every customer as if ...
techbyte
May 03, 2009; ... Toshiba NB200 netbook From pounds 277 plus VAT www.toshiba.co.uk ***** EVERY business needs to spend its money wisely, recession or no.So it is important, as the seemingly unstoppable torrent of netbookscontinues, to be able to tell good from bad. Netbooks are ...
THE WEEK AHEAD
May 03, 2009 ... THE main event of the week will be the Bank of England's two-dayMonetary Policy Committee meeting, which concludes on Thursday. Itis no longer a story about interest rates - which are expected toremain unchanged at 0.5pc for some time to come - but one ofquantitative easing. The ...
Orient Express points to a swine flu cure
May 03, 2009; ... TIMING is everything. Just as news was breaking at the start of last week about thespread of swine flu, causing drug company shares to fly and travelcompany shares to crash, Orient Express announced it was going tothe market to raise $123m. Awkward. Still the ...
Customer digests news RBS has put tin hat on biscuits
May 03, 2009; ... I FEAR the Royal Bank of Scotland really has taken the biscuitthis time. One of Dashwood's moles reports that not only did arecent visit to his RBS bank manager not result in any more money,it didn't even furnish a biscuit. "The manager told me they had cut the biscuits - orders ...
Bags of fun had by all
May 03, 2009; ... HARRY Hastings here wasn't the only man to turn up at therelaunch party of the eponymous insurer last week. Brightly coloured jesters mixed with grey-suited insurers,knights and the inevitable bodice-busting serving wenches at theLambeth Palace do. Amongst that lot perhaps ...
HOMEBUYERS CRY FOUL AS LENDER MOVES GOALPOSTS Northern Rock's move to make its 'flexible' mortgages less so has attracted the ire of both customers and brokers, reports Emma Simon
May 03, 2009; ... More than 500,000 Northern Rock customers may be shocked to learnthey can no longer use the flexible features of their mortgages, dueto tougher lending guidelines. Until now, one of the key benefits of a Northern Rock mortgagewas it allowed customers to overpay each month without ...
BG Group is a core energy sector holding
May 03, 2009; ... BG Group pounds 10.91 Questor says BUY LOWER oil prices pushed profits at BP down 62pc and Shell'searnings down 58pc - but BG Group's first-quarter profit only fell14pc-15pc. This is the 11th consecutive quarter that the company hasmanaged to beat ...
The FSA is happy to indulge in a touch of gallows humour
May 03, 2009; ... SOMEONE at the Financial Services Authority has got a sense ofhumour. I'm forwarded an email that one of our financial guardianshas been passing to colleagues in the Canary Wharf offices. It's for Dead Happy Ireland, apparently Ireland's "premierfuneral clown" company. "Why not ...
Ask Jessica FINANCIAL TROUBLESHOOTER Cashing in bonds brings premium pain
May 03, 2009; ... After the recent reduction in the payout rate for premium bonds Idecided to sell my 9,250-strong holding. Years ago I opted to havemy winnings reinvested automatically. Each notification of a win wasaccompanied by a new certificate for pounds 50. Sadly that was mybiggest win. Over ...
Ask Jessica FINANCIAL TROUBLESHOOTER Mix-up over Alzheimer's
May 03, 2009; ... We curtailed our holiday due to the unexpected death of mypartner's father. MoreThan procrastinated and then refused the claim on the basisthat I had not disclosed that her father had an existing illness.This did not seem relevant as he had suffered with it for ...
Ask Jessica FINANCIAL TROUBLESHOOTER Premier held me to account
May 03, 2009; ... I opened my Premier direct current account and a Premier regularsavings account with Alliance & Leicester two-and-a-half years ago.My regular monthly payments commenced and went on for 12 months. Ifinally withdrew all the funds from the current account although Ihad not formally closed ...
Ask Jessica FINANCIAL TROUBLESHOOTER Deliverer of good news
May 03, 2009; ... Nearly three months after a cheque for a Post Office Growth Bondwas cashed, another was sent for the same amount without anyinterest. PS, Witney, Oxfordshire Here is another instance of a problem ...
Ask Jessica FINANCIAL TROUBLESHOOTER Exasperated with Equiniti
May 03, 2009; ... I seem to be getting nowhere with Equiniti. Apart from myletters, my telephone records show that I have called Equiniti on 13occasions, costing more than pounds 8. PH, Beds This is about dividends paid just after a death in accordancewith the registered ...
Ask Jessica FINANCIAL TROUBLESHOOTER Abbey had me in suspense
May 03, 2009; ... In the autumn my Abbey credit card balance stood at pounds2,512. I then sent a cheque for pounds 400 assuming it would leavea balance of pounds 2,112. I decided at this stage to switch creditcards. The cheque for pounds 400 was taken out of my main bank accountwith another ...
Bulls sniff the air as signs of a turnaround emerge
May 03, 2009; ... Take a glance at the most popular funds sold this year and youquickly get an idea of the mindset of investors - it is one ofcaution. Cash and corporate bonds have been the order of the day. It always takes a brave soul to go against the crowd. It takes aneven braver soul to take a ...
LIES, DAMNED LIES AND STATISTICS
May 03, 2009; ... Last month, Nationwide said that house prices rose by 0.9pc. As Ihave said before, house price indices can be unreliable. Nationwide,for instance, uses its own mortgage-offer data and takes figuresused in the previous month. That's not all. The Nationwide index is seasonally ...
The mortgage lenders most likely to say 'yes' Mortgage brokers tell Richard Evans which banks are still willing to do business
May 03, 2009; ... Aspiring home owners may feel caught in a trap at the moment:prices have fallen sharply from their peaks and interest rates arealso low, but it can be hard to persuade a lender to agree to amortgage. As the credit crisis struck, many banks and other lenders simplydecided to stop ...
PENNY PINCHER Buckets of fun on the cards
May 03, 2009; ... THE May bank holiday provides us with a taste of summer holidaysto come, but if travelling overseas in the next few weeks, make sureyou don't leave financial planning until the last minute. The bad news for many travellers is that from this Wednesday,Nationwide, which has always ...