By Bea Patel, TLE Property Editor and Director of Shop for an Agent It’s no surprise that a modern or open plan kitchen is the feature most likely to make a home more desirable to potential buyers. With the popularity of TV cookery shows, the influence of chefs make us want to spend more time in the kitchen. It’s the ‘Mary Berry Effect’ say some estate and letting agents polled by property portal OnTheMarket.com. The new research reveals that 43...

By Steve Winder, regional vice president for Epicor Software, UK and Ireland Whilst George Osbourne’s recent productivity plan focuses on boosting growth and productivity in the UK, the skills gap is an issue that needs tackling with urgency. Despite the increasing number of third-level graduates, the specific range of expertise required to fill medium skilled jobs is severely lacking. For example, car giant Bentley recently struggled to fill 160 positions due to a lack of skilled staff. There is a...

The warming smell of roasted chestnuts, the precious aroma of truffles, a delicious cup of hot chocolate, a glass of robust red wine all evoke the tastes of autumn and winter. And there's no better place to experience it for real than Italy, Europe's spiritual home of gastronomy (sorry, France). To tempt those taste buds and travel bugs, here are a selection of food and wine events in Italy this autumn and winter. Boccaccesca Certaldo near Florence, Tuscany, 2-4 October 2015 View image...

By Natalie Duffield, CEO of intechnologywifi A recent study has revealed that the UK’s largest cities have significant discrepancies when it comes to mobile connectivity, with London faring particularly poorly in comparison to other highly populated cities. Scoring the UK’s 16 most populous urban areas, the research – by mobile network analytics firm RootMetrics – found that Liverpool has the UK’s best mobile network performance, reliability and speed. Beyond highlighting the issue of poor mobile reception, the research suggests councils...

By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent  New research has revealed parents will endure a massive 576 toe-curling moments during their child's school years, with inappropriate comments, repeating swear words and commenting on their parents' size among the most frequent embarrassing moments. A survey of 2,000 parents by George at Asda revealed some toe-curling moments, including: A little girl who told the doctor “mummy takes medicine too – it’s called Malibu” A child pointing at a neighbour in the street and announcing...

By David Vine, UK SMB MD, Concur In July it was announced that The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills is set to formalise its support for SMEs and appoint a Small Business Commissioner. The announcement was met with some scepticism, as currently there are scant details about who the individual assuming this role will be, their remit and what powers they will be granted. There are concerns from some quarters that the new commissioner could end up in the...

By Jonathan Hatchman, Food Editor, @TLE_Food Somehow it seems that scathing restaurant reviews are always the most fun. Not so much for the writer (negative reviews are no easier to write) but, in fact, for the reader, and proof comes with the fact that some of the most revered food writers are also the most outrageously unforgiving. Let’s face it, there’s only so many times that you can enjoy reading 500 words of drivel that describes every single specific detail of...

By Ben New @squareleg A man wakes up, his alarm didn’t go off. He moves to the kitchen, the taps aren’t working. A glance out the window to a neighboring block reveals someone banging at a window, calling for help. We try to leave and the door is glued shut then comes the sledgehammer whacks from one of the neighbor‘s wall, the whole time accompanied from insistent shouting from the elderly neighbor from the other. This is the very intriguing...

By Declan Roberts (@DeclanMR) Savageness isn’t a word you’d want affiliated with yourself, but Yannis and co. embrace that very nature on fourth album What Went Down. It isn’t until you hear all ten songs that you understand their desire to be so brutal. As they honed hard-hitting rock on Holy Fire, Foals have never looked back from the wilderness. The title track opener is unforgiving to the eardrums as the battering ram cacophony of Oxford’s finest break down walls...