How about that eclipse then? The sweltering temperatures dropped for a minute or so, people gathered in parks armed with colanders, and some safely looked at the cosmic event if they were lucky enough to have the right gear.
If only Mark Zuckerberg had gone into the eclipse glasses business. Anthony Cuthbertson writes that the tech company have a truly revolutionary gadget on its hands with its AI specs. The problem is they’re making headlines for being used by perverts. They’ve been banned in some pubs and restaurants in Wales and England as reports come in of people filming others without their consent, even, in one case, a doctor during a consultation. It’ll take more than technological innovation to turn around such negative press.
If you happened to go against the grain and look down during that magnificent eclipse on Wednesday, you might have noticed the grass you’re standing on looking scorched and lifeless, or the ground seeming a little more desert-like than usual. That’s due to a drought being declared in three-quarters. Those in Southern Water’s catchment area are literally weeks away from having no water. In this most dire of situations, Helen Coffey looks at the actions we need to take – as individuals but, more importantly, as a nation – to help fix this crisis.
Harvey Nichols has avoided its own crisis this week. The department store was once the trendy place to head. Princess Diana was routinely papped outside; the Absolutely Fabulous duo Eddie and Patsy spent their life savings there between bottles of Bollinger. But it entered a death spiral before being saved by the high-street shop billionaire Mike Ashley. Here Lydia Spencer-Elliot speaks to its former PR guru Lynne Franks on what they can do to get the hype back – besides hiring her again.
They best hope those trendy younger crowds are able to get jobs first to pay for their goods when the store is all the rage again. They’ve all been celebrating their A-level results, but, as Chris Blackhurst writes, the classic path of higher education may not be around for much longer. There was a record number of university offers, but the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said that any “graduate premium” on good jobs is quickly disappearing. Prime minister Burnham can wave his hard hat as much as he likes; his vocational courses will take a while to bear fruit.
Across the pond, lenient gun laws continue to cause trouble in some states, especially among churches. With hundreds dying since 2000 in horrific cases where shooters enter the house of God to attack those inside, congregations are looking for help, and some have found it in the form of an ex-police officer from Wokingham. Alex Hannaford speaks to Simon Osamoh, a UK-born man who coaches churches in how to deal with active shooter situations – including arming them with semi-automatic rifles.
From a Brit heading overseas, to an American heading over here and causing a stir in the footballing world. Yesterday a consortium that includes the world’s third-richest man, Jeff Bezos, agreed to buy Liverpool FC. Miguel Delaney writes that ridiculous amounts of money in football is no big news, but the scale at play in this move should be cause for concern. This, on the back of Fifa trying to sell off parts of the World Cup to private investment, is enough to show anyone that football’s future is unstable.
And finally, on an artistic getaway, Picasso did it in trunks, Matisse wore a suit, and Renoir preferred a deerstalker hat, but each one of them immortalised the beauty of the French Riviera in their paintings. Michael Hodges walks in their footsteps, where the vibrancy of their paintings is found on stalls at the covered Marché Provençal on Cours Masséna, which are piled up with ripe fruit and even riper cheeses.
It seems the bright and beautiful colours of Saint Tropez are shining still, just as they did when captured by these talented artists. If they get any more vibrant, you might need some protective glasses, say ones you can use for a celestial event. Luckily, I’ve just come into a job lot of some that I… have no cause to use anymore, so you’re in safe hands… for the right price.
Have a good one,
Liam Murphy-Robledo
Digital Features Publisher
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