Archive for category Family, Marriage and the Culture
Cool Britannia™
Posted by David Merlin-Jones in Economics, Family, Marriage and the Culture on 30/09/2010
As abstract concepts go, ‘coolness’ has to be one of the hardest to define. The uncool Oxford English Dictionary has had a go, suggesting: ‘informal, fashionably attractive or impressive’. While this is rather ambiguous, suffice it to say that the idea that being cool is a state of mind, a quality based on a person having a touch of je ne sais quoi, has been replaced by a focus on shiny things. The company CoolBrands has drawn up a materialistic list of, unsurprisingly, the coolest brands in Britain. And what a lot it says about us. Read the rest of this entry »
So long, and thanks for all the work
Posted by David Merlin-Jones in Family, Marriage and the Culture, Immigration, Social Cohesion, Social Security on 12/08/2010
A recent survey by Aon has found that only 43% of Britons want to retire and enjoy their golden years in this country, the lowest satisfaction rate in Europe. However, the figures involved don’t add up to anything worthy of pessimism, as they are merely fantasy and ideals. Read the rest of this entry »
Would like to meet
Posted by Anastasia de Waal in Economics, Family, Marriage and the Culture on 01/08/2010
Someone to share council tax bills and dinner with; must have an appetite for exotic holidays; GSOH (Good Salary, Own House) essential, writes Annaliese Briggs.
The show must go on
Posted by Anastasia de Waal in Education, Family, Marriage and the Culture on 25/07/2010
“O Romeo, Romeo. Wherefore art thou Romeo?” laments Juliet from a shabbily built balcony, borrowed from the set of Evita. If the Treasury has anything to do with proceedings, Romeo may not turn up at all, writes Annaliese Briggs.
Spot the difference
Posted by Anastasia de Waal in Family, Marriage and the Culture on 16/07/2010
July 15, 2009 “As state schools prepare for their long recess, a report by the Daycare Trust reveals large regional fluctuations in the cost and capacity of childcare.”
July 14, 2010 “Research published today by the national childcare charity Daycare Trust, ahead of the school holidays, has uncovered a postcode lottery and patchwork of childcare availability.
This year, Daycare Trust researchers are one day ahead of the game and prefer their subordinate clauses mid-sentence, writes Annaliese Briggs. Read the rest of this entry »
For whom the bell tolls
Posted by Anastasia de Waal in Education, Family, Marriage and the Culture on 05/06/2010
The beginning of June marks the start of an obligatory period of hushed activity in my family household, writes Annaliese Briggs.