By Matthew Sanders, film critic This is not a music biopic like Ray or Amadeus. This is a fictionalised account of Jon Ronson's former life with Frank Sidebottom and his erstwhile band. Frank Sidebottom was a creative genius and a cult figure created by the late Chris Sievey. He was legendary in his own circle, and although his music never made it into public popular culture his large papier-mâché head certainly did. The story follows a struggling musician (Jon played...

By Guy Dorrell @GuyDorrellEsq September 1977 saw the release of The Stranglers lament, “No more heroes”. When Jean-Jacques Burnel and Hugh Cornwell wrote it, at the height of punk, they bemoaned the lack of inspirational figures in public life. Their parents’ generation had plentiful heroes of course, having lived through the Second World War. The celebrities that the era produced must have seemed to Cornwell and Burnel shallow and lacking the determination and resolve of the previous generation, finding notoriety...

  By Elsa Buchanan The European Union has added more to its dangling bunch of carrots with a renewed offer of its Special Privileged Partnership (SPP) - a form of enhanced trilateral agreements - promising unparalleled support for Israel and the Palestinians if a peace accord is signed. But while the EU has successfully used greater political and trade ties to promote peace in the Balkans in the past, experts warn the member states’ offer is ill-timed, widely overlooked, and...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor David Ward, a Liberal Democrat MP, has been forced to apologise after suggesting on Twitter, that he would consider firing rockets into Israel if he lived in Gaza, again highlighting the dangers of elected officials using social media. Originally he refused to say sorry and he faced losing the party whip.  On Tuesday, Mr Ward was accused of inciting violence after he tweeted: "The big question is - if I lived in Gaza would I...

By Jason Loo Graduation. The day I sat with my peers waiting anxiously for our names to be called. My proud parents who flew halfway across the world to see me walk those few steps on stage, were sat just rows behind me. Today marks the end of three years of student life, and here we were collecting our scrolls – the key to ‘the working world’. I already secured a position with KPMG and so to me, everything I...

 By David Dumeresque of executive search firm, Tyzack Dynamic entrepreneurial spirit and the daily grind of managing a thriving organisation are both vital ingredients in developing sustainable growth in the early stages of a business. But such skills are rarely found in the same individual. Building a business to a turnover of say £50 million takes a different mind set and approach to innovating and creating a start-up business from scratch. Furthermore, taking it from £50 million to £150 million...

By Kezia Noble, Dating coach Let me introduce myself, my name is Kezia Noble and the world’s leading female dating and attraction expert for men. I believe that the generic dating advice that is floating around out there has had its day! My more robust, modern and effective techniques and insights have superseded the antiquated and in some cases obsolete dating tips that men have been relying on for too long now. Let me now introduce my 1000th private client...

By James Mackney, Film & TV critic Boyhood has the tonal feel of wandering across Hungerford bridge at 2am, you know you could walk across prettier bridges but you're here for the view and you can see everything from Hungerford bridge. There may have been more exciting coming of age films than Boyhood but very few achieve this level of sophistication. Richard Linklater's Boyhood is a sterling achievement and one that took me a while to take in. I will...

By Lock Bailey It surprises me very little that there is nearly no heard outcry in the United States on the recent war-crimes committed by Israel against the civilians in Gaza. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon “urged” Israel along with “many regional and world leaders together” to refrain from killing civilians in Gaza. Over three-quarters of the casualties, approximately 77% of the now over 500 killed and over 2,000 injured, are civilians. Outcry around the world against Israel’s military barrage...