MY GENERATION, LIFESTYLE Claire Witz MY GENERATION, LIFESTYLE Claire Witz

Time shifting

I won’t be seeing any of my four offspring on Father’s Day, and I don’t mind a bit. I have a similar attitude to birthdays. I won’t see any of them on Christmas Day either. Of course, I love spending time with my kids but…

Read More
INVESTING SHORTS, CHANCERY BRAIN doug brodie INVESTING SHORTS, CHANCERY BRAIN doug brodie

A 100% record

Gas and water bills, council tax and house insurance – some expenses are utterly predictable and though not guaranteed to be charged to us, the rational expectation is that they will be. Technically speaking every company in the FTSE 100 could pay no dividends this year, however the rational expectation is that they will: ‘rational’ because…

Read More
MY GENERATION, LIFESTYLE Claire Witz MY GENERATION, LIFESTYLE Claire Witz

Taste Buds

Rod Liddle’s Sunday Times article headlined, “We slurped up loads more sugar and salt in the Seventies. So why are we fatter now?” He went on to bemoan Tony Blair’s government for bullying food manufacturers into reducing sugar and salt and in the process ruining the flavour of teatime favourites like Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup and Spaghetti Hoops, to the point where “nobody eats that stuff anymore.” Maybe he’s right?

Read More
LIFESTYLE, MY GENERATION Claire Witz LIFESTYLE, MY GENERATION Claire Witz

Ninety-Nine Problems

As the sun begins to make a more frequent appearance and the temperature rises, ice cream sales are also on the up. News so important that it featured in Radio 4’s bulletins, that Cadbury flakes, now made in Egypt, are too crumbly! Then there’s the matter of Percy Pig ice cream and Golden Gaytime…

Read More
INVESTING SHORTS, CHANCERY BRAIN doug brodie INVESTING SHORTS, CHANCERY BRAIN doug brodie

Inflation – the BBC tells us what it was, JP Morgan tells us what it might be

Since its founding, Black Hills has paid a dividend to its shareholders every year, for 81 consecutive years. This endows Black Hills with a place in the US’s Dividend Kings, though the longest run of increases belongs to American States Water at 67 years. Looking across the pond at dividends we see that

Read More
LIFESTYLE, MY GENERATION Claire Witz LIFESTYLE, MY GENERATION Claire Witz

Superfans

I have known my colleague and friend for about twenty years. He trained as an accountant, has a neat haircut, smart appearance, and lives in the home counties. Having spent a great deal of time in his company I thought I knew him pretty well, but it seems he was hiding a dark secret.

Read More
LIFESTYLE, MY GENERATION Claire Witz LIFESTYLE, MY GENERATION Claire Witz

Greek Odyssey

I can barely remember my early visits to Greek Islands, lost as they were to late nights, Raki, Ouzo and Retsina. Art director Terry, who is responsible for much of our graphic content, got marooned in his Cretian holiday home during Covid and never came back. I went to stay recently and had a very different sort of experience this time around.

Read More
LIFESTYLE, MY GENERATION Claire Witz LIFESTYLE, MY GENERATION Claire Witz

Is extreme wellness making us sick?

According to McKinsey the wellness industry is a staggering $1.5 trillion market worldwide, but is it good for us, or just making us sick? I admit to feeling a little queasy listening to Radio 4’s programme The New Gurus over breakfast this week. The episode was titled Taking the Urine, inspired by one guru, Will Blunderfield’s habit of drinking his. And from there it got more bizarre, explicit and rather sad.

Read More