Sport News 24/7 By Danny Norman @TLE_Sport @dannynormanCOYS New boys Western Sydney Wanderers face Champions League destiny The idea of forming a brand new football team in the modern era is accompanied by a cynical feeling that a big motivating factor is money, and the desire of wealthy individuals and corporations to muscle in on global economic juggernaut that ‘the beautiful game’ has become.  Whether it’s MK Dons or New York City (or is it New York City Manchester City,...

Tesco have been struggling of late. The supermarket that stakes a claim right in the middle of the grocery market has lost out to brands that offer cheaper essential items and competitors that are more appealing for top quality produce. The shift is symbolic of an erosion of the big four supermarket brands - Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons - which have all experienced turbulence in one of the most lucrative consumer markets. That's why this year's Global Brand Simplicity Index -...

Sport News 24/7 By Richard de Winter  @TLE_Sport @rgdewinter The football fan is a fickle beast.  Their opinions on players fluctuate from one extreme to another, often during the same game.  It is perfectly acceptable to call for a player’s substitution and immediate expulsion from the first-team picture and praise him to the heavens within the same rant.  But then again, behaviour at football grounds doesn’t follow the accepted social norms.  Logical arguments are unnecessary, talking to a stranger is...

By David de Winter – Sports Editor @LondonEconomic @davidjdewinter Usually I only go to Mayfair by mistake, either when I'm lost or stumbling to Park Lane to get a Nightbus at 4am.  However, this week, as a treat, TLE sent me to the Mayfair Pizza Co. for dinner.  ‘Mayfair?’, I thought.  ‘I’d better look my best.’  So I dusted down my favourite jeans, popped on my least offensive t-shirt and strolled into the night, determined for once to not embarrass myself in...

By Harry Bedford Multiculturalism is as much a part of the fabric of London as Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge and that gloried Ferris wheel that resides downstream. In many ways London is a miniature version of the world and all its cultures, so luckily for us we don’t have go far to experience things that would usually require a several-hour flight. Comptoir Libanais is a new chain of chic cafes dotted around the capital that deliver the taste of Lebanon...

By Sky Holmes, Travel Editor  Plans to regenerate London’s Victoria district, including introducing more visible security and increasing green spaces, have been unveiled by the Victoria Business Improvement District (BID). Victoria BID, established in April 2010, most recently outlined proposals to raise £8m through a levy on local businesses to regenerate the district. The Victoria 2020 Business Plan will also focus on brokering local employment opportunities, as well as introducing more public art and cultural attractions. Victoria BID will ballot...

The Philippines: Jungle experiment By Sophie Turton   “Slow down!” The motorcycle bounces as we accelerate over aged cement, veined and grouchy. El Nido’s Roller-coaster road is not kind; it twists unexpectedly, careens round, juts out towards the archipelago and then pulls back into the land. Stones and broken glass, sunburnt cement downtrodden by thousands of vehicles and horses and people, all fly up like fire crackers and snap at our bare legs. It is ten in the morning and...

Sport News 24/7 Jim Mackney @JimMackney @TLE_Sport Before kick-off you could have forgiven Saints fans for being a little nervous about this evening’s League Cup 4th round tie against Stoke.  After all, for all of the pretty football Saints play could they do it on a cold and windy Wednesday night in Stoke?  Judging by their first half performance the answer is unequivocally yes. The game opened with a lively start by both teams with possession being won and lost...

By Philip O'Meara @philipomeara “Oh, no, you’re not a veggie…” Beyond its inconvenience (inconveniencing a friend or eating another mushroom risotto at an unimaginative restaurant), it’s the implication that being vegetarian is an inherently bad – or at least unhinged  – position which has encouraged me to put down my reasoning in a blog post. Disclaimers Before I go any further, I want to put in some disclaimers. The purpose of this is not to preach or moralise in any way –...