I have something of a unique take on charity in so far as I only started working in the sector when I landed a role as the Managing Director of Personal Fundraising Services in 2013. I had never worked as a fundraiser myself, nor did I have more than an average amount of knowledge of the charity world, but instead came from a very successful background in retail and sales with a leading supermarket chain. I was used to a...

Of the 17 and a half million people who voted for Brexit how many will be jetting off to Europe for some summer sun this year? Last week record air traffic numbers were recorded in UK airspace with 8,800 flights leaving or entering British skies. The day after the schools break up for summer is annually the busiest day for air traffic, but the peak period stretches across July and August. Holiday-goers are in for a nasty surprise, however, with some...

  A private security van loaded with more than £400,000 in cash burned to the ground after an electrical fault. Hundreds of people had to be evacuated from nearby buildings as the G4S vehicle burst into flames and rolled down a sloping street. Thick black smoke billowed from the van, spreading through nearby flats and forcing people out on to the streets. Frances Avent was giving a piano lesson when the blaze took hold outside a popular Wetherspoons pub in...

A new hand-crafted cider made wholly from fruit collected in London, will be launched on 24 July by The Orchard Project. The charity, which is the only national organisation dedicated solely to the creation, restoration and celebration of community orchards, has worked with local volunteers to produce a hand-made, limited edition craft cider and apple juice product, which will only be available in the capital.  The Orchard Project harvested two tonnes of dessert and culinary apples from community orchards, gardens and...

The average Brit commits 32 different ‘crimes’ every year - including not paying for supermarket carrier bags, parking on the pavement and pocketing incorrect change. Other wrongdoings include beeping a car horn for any reason apart from alerting traffic, dropping litter and cycling without lights after dark. A study found two thirds of the population think many of these laws are completely unnecessary – although seven in ten admit they do feel guilty if they break them. Thirty-three per cent...

A luxury five-bedroom penthouse flat on London’s Park Lane is the most expensive rental property in the UK. It’s within the iconic Sir Edward Lutyens building, instantly recognisable by their water towers marking each corner of Park Lane. The penthouse, accessed from its own private lift has five double bedrooms all with marble en-suite bathrooms. It has four reception rooms, a Poggenpohl kitchen, dining room, cinema room and a study with a baby grand piano. Dining room If that’s not...

A first look trailer for Proud Mary is out. Taraji P. Henson is Mary, a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she crosses when a professional hit goes bad. Proud Mary comes to cinemas on February 2nd. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuGup6VtgHg&feature=youtu.be

Drinking alcohol improves memory for information learned before the drinking episode began, new research has found. In the University of Exeter study, 88 social drinkers were given a word-learning task. Participants were then split in two groups at random and told either to drink as much as they liked (the average was four units) or not to drink at all. The next day, they all did the same task again – and those who had drunk alcohol remembered more of...

Wyndham Hacket Pain @WyndhamHP There is something enjoyable about watching the slightly cheesy horror films that enter the cinemas each summer. Dating back even before the original Friday the 13th this brand of slightly crude but ultimately entertaining movies have been a welcome addition to our viewing calendars. More recent films like The Cabin in the Woods and Paranormal Activity may not be great works of art but they are fun and not a bad way to spend an afternoon...