By Thom James thomjames.info @thxmjames On July 24th, I became friends with most celebrated, controversial copycat poet of the last few decades, perhaps even history. And when I say ‘friends’, I actually mean that we became friends on Facebook. We had 16 mutual friends. That’s probably risen by one or two by now. Three if he’s lucky. I sent him an emoticon on chat. He read it an hour later. This is the kind of thing I do. I somehow come...

New research commissioned by American Express has quantified the social and community value of shopping in small independent shops ahead of this year’s Small Business Saturday on 6th December. The results showed that small shops across the country are providing £537 million worth of added-value services and going above and beyond for their customers and local communities. This equates to £3,058 worth of time donated each year by the average small shop. The most common examples cited were checking in...

Satire by Jack Peat Police have been called to shops across the country after the shopping phenomenon known as Black Friday left store workers in a numeracy mind lock and unable to communicate with customers outside the numbers 1 to 100. Bedlam broke out across stores nationwide as shoppers rampaged shops to secure 10 to 20% off items if the sale value is over £100 and 30 to 50% off if the sale exceeds £150. Black Friday proceeds Gray Thursday...

By Sky Holmes ART WORLD GIANTS MEET IN PICASSO/DALÍ, DALÍ/PICASSO! Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida one of only two venues to host this landmark exhibition. Set in an inviting locale for art lovers wanting to escape the grey skies of Britain, the Dalí Museum in St Petersburg, Florida tells one of art history’s great untold stories in a new landmark exhibition. Picasso/Dalí, Dalí/Picasso explores the legacies of two of the most influential 20th century Spanish artists, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí and features...

Sport News 24/7 By Lars Thomesen  @LarsHT @TLE_Sport This November the World Chess Championship was held in Sochi, Russia.  For the second year running Norwegian Magnus Carlsen was crowned World Champion, but on home soil, the 23-year-old’s achievements are debatable on a sporting level. In Norway, chess is not recognised as a sport by the official federation.  It has become an undefined game, even if Norwegian sports journalists voted Carlsen as Norway’s 2013 Sportsman of the Year. That was the...

By Charlotte Hope, Lifestyle Editor, @TLE_Lifestyle I like wine, no screw (no pun intended) that I LOVE wine, of all sorts, colours and price. So I can’t say this survey applies to me, and I would have been too drunk to fill it in anyway. However, 2,000 wine drinkers did and there were some startling results. Red wine drinkers earn more money, are more confident and are more likely to watch Dr Who, than those who sip white wine. Experts examined...

By David Thomson Alex Salmond may have lost the vote for independence and stood down as  leader of the SNP and Scotland's First Minister, but there's still widespread respect for him as a politician. Conservative leader David Cameron and his Labour counterpart reacted to him stepping down with similar expressions of cautious admiration, both praising him for "fighting his corner" while carefully distancing themselves from his stance on independence. “Whatever our disagreements, he always spoke his mind and he has always stood...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor On the surface, today’s PMQs was a battle over the NHS, the PM insisting a strong economy needs a good health service I’m not 100% convinced, Cuba has a pretty decent health service, but a dismal economy. But this was all window dressing; this was a war from all sides to win the hearts of minds of the white van man. They have never had it so good. I half expect the Tories to enshrine...

In London, achieving healthy work/life balance can be a tricky prospect. According to the HSE, 39 per cent of all work related illnesses in 2013-14 were caused by work stress, depression or anxiety which can cause early burnout. A recent change in UK legislation has extended the right to request flexible working hours to all employees, who now have the right to request to adjust their schedules according to their needs. This could allow them to work from home part time, stagger...