Blogs

The Culture Secretary, Maria Miller, said this week she would fight hard in the forthcoming spending review for Arts and Culture. That’s an improvement on her predecessor, Jeremy Hunt, who seemed to take pride in the size of the cuts he offered up to the Treasury and was the first Minister to settle in the last spending round.

Investment in arts and culture is tiny - less than 1% of overall Government spending. Yet it goes a long way in terms of jobs and economic growth. Sometimes wrongly seen as a fluffy luxury, arts spending is central to Britain’s economic future. Independent...

These days I am frequently speaking to clients that are new to this world. By ‘this world’ I mean ‘investing’, and by ‘new’ I may actually mean..... err..... ‘more mature’ (bear with me and let me give you an example).

Last week I met Mr Jackson (not his real name). Mr Jackson had recently retired and had ample income from his state and employers’ pensions to cover his expenses and enough to generate a regular surplus. In addition, by virtue of his lifestyle and a regular savings habit he had built up substantial amounts in cash deposit accounts. In terms of savings, he had never...

Working from home presents many challenges: What is an acceptable time to get out of bed? Which Australian soap opera should I work my lunch around? Does posting a Facebook status really count as business development? But quite possibly the biggest challenge is what boring clichéd local disc jockey should I tolerate for a couple of hours?

Whether it is the background soundtrack to my working day or the drive time escape, music plays an integral part of not only mine- but most people’s existence. Yes, I enjoy a Radio 1 chart topper as much as the next guy and sure Jeremy Vine’s...

SLEEP has never been so appealing – probably because I now no longer decide when I will put my head down, or how long it will last. That decision has been deferred to our six-week-old baby, whose idea of a lie in appears to be approximately 3.15am. And once she’s awake, we’re all awake! One minute she’s a slumbering bundle of sweetness and light, the next a screaming blur of arms and legs. She can also go from silent to an ear-piercing 130 decibels (the same as a military jet taking off from an aircraft carrier) in 0.2 seconds. My partner is breast-feeding our little one and has been since...