Mike Ashley Buys House of Fraser
High street retailers and the 21st century don’t seem to mix. House of Fraser looked to be just another domino bested by competitors, the financial climate and the internet. Then unlikely saviour Mike Ashley bought the company for £90 million. Ashley who already owns both Sports Direct and Newcastle United football club seemed to swoop in and save the day not just for disgruntled customers but mainly for the thousands of staff member currently employed by House of Fraser. As business deals go its hard to say if he has underpaid or overpaid but to put it in perspective it’s around the amount Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba. Paul Pogba or House of Fraser? I’m sure most of us would keep the ninety mil.
Boris is Back Already
Having recently been newsworthy for quitting his role as foreign secretary, many naively thought we’d seen the last of Boris Johnson for a while. Not even a fortnight later and he was slapped on the front pages once more this time for making what have been described as ‘inflammatory comments’ by members of the press about Muslim women wearing burqas. Johnson said it made them look like ‘letterboxes’ or ‘bank robbers’ and as such he is now facing an inquiry from his own party investigating if he has breached party codes of conduct. Many have been quick of the mark to condemn him whilst he has support in the form of his own father Stanley, a man making a name for himself on the reality TV circuit at the age of 77.
Chucklevision’s Last Laugh
In honour of the later Barry Chuckle, The BBC has put some classic episodes of Chucklevision on BBC iPlayer. These episodes will all be from series 21 and are a fitting tribute to the later comedian. Paul, Barry’s brother, younger by three years gave his blessing for the episodes to be made available after the BBC was inundated with requests to allow people to view the episodes and remember Barry. A popular children’s television show and with a cult following among some adults, some old clips of the pairs time playing the Hitman video game or recording with rap artist Tinchy Stryder have resurfaced and been dubbed by some as a mini-renaissance. A Chucklessance.
Dragon’s Den Returns
We tune in once again to watch budding entrepreneurs salivate at a big pile of cash and then inevitably get charred by Dragon’s breath. Watch as a group of businessmen and women worth collectively more than a small state sneer at some people struggling to assemble some flat pack furniture or market a condiment convincingly. As much as I enjoyed seeing Rupesh Thomas get the investment he deserved, I can’t help but pine for the ‘foreign driving glove’ or the ‘all-female building firm’ and the opportunity to watch the dragons scoff themselves into a coma.
