Although best known for brewing ‘the black stuff’, an experimental Guinness brewery has existed at St. James’s Gate in Dublin for over 100 years. The latest in a line of the brand’s experimental breweries, Guinness Open Gate Brewery was set up with an aim for brewers to explore new ideas and develop small batch beers to be served in the onsite tap room. Beers selected for further development are then brewed in greater quantities in Brew House 4 at St. James’s Gate,...

A leading authority on the edible wild fungi of Northern Europe, Geoff Dann published a comprehensive book on the subject – ‘Edible Mushrooms’ - in 2016 (through Green Books). Tying in with next month’s launch of a new Hardback edition, we asked Geoff to share some of his knowledge; describing five wild mushrooms you should never eat. Everybody knows there are seriously poisonous mushrooms lurking in the British countryside, but the gruesome details of their varying types of toxicity are...

Researchers say the specimen represents a 'missing link' in the family tree of crocodiles

Premier Global Infrastructure Trust - Swings and roundabouts - Premier Global Infrastructure Trust (PGIT) has had a difficult start to 2018. Global markets have been focusing on growth and neglecting areas that are perceived as being defensive, such as utilities and infrastructure. PGIT’s capital structure has amplified the impact on the ordinary share NAV. However, valuation measures have improved significantly. These sectors could once again find favour should markets become more bearish, perhaps as a result of a slowdown in economic activity...

Over the last decade, the Maltese economy has gone from strength-to-strength. Although the country has less than half a million residents, the Maltese economy has gone from pillar-to-post and it is staggering how well the country has developed across several key industries. Today, the Maltese economy is heavily reliant on foreign trade and investment, manufacturing (particularly pharmaceuticals and electronics), and tourism. Given that Malta sits just below Italy, it is a prime location in the Mediterranean and it attracts millions...

French director Michel Hazanavicius, whose previous film The Artist took home the Palme d’Or and wowed critics and audiences alike, this time focuses his camera on Jean-Luc Godard (Louis Garrel) in his tragicomedy biopic, Redoubtable. Set after the release of Godard’s 1967 flop, La Chinoise, and the directors subsequent rejection of the films that cemented him as a visionary and revolutionary filmmaker, Redoubtable centres on the relationship, and its eventual unravelling, between the famed director and his actress, writer and...

Our world is increasingly dominated by the Internet. Almost everything we do, including our businesses, is more connected today than it has ever been before, and as the years pass these connections will continue to grow. Businesses have realized a decade ago the significance of this network: the Internet.  There were a record 5.7 million private sector businesses at the start of 2017 according to National Federation of Self Employed & Small Businesses (https://www.fsb.org.uk/media-centre/small-business-statistics). There are various ways a business can...

A dying youth football manager so fed-up with pushy parents ruining the game has written up a new set of rules for the sport - urging kids to play fair and have fun. Russ Powell, 37, is hoping to change attitudes towards children's sports after accusing competitive mums and dads of ‘sucking the fun’ out of youth soccer. He has now penned his own rulebook in the hope of leaving a lasting legacy - encouraging youngsters to enjoy themselves, play...

According to an analysis of 2016 property prices by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average house sold had a floor area of 104 metres squared. This is two-fifths the size of a tennis court. Flats averaged at 49 metres squared – this is excluding corridors, hallways, landings and bathrooms. This space is four times bigger than a car parking space. By combining houses and flats, the average property size was 90 metres squared. This is much smaller than...