I felt a bit of a fraud last night, surrounded by journalists who risk their lives in war zones. I wrote about bananas in a Coventry warehouse. But...many thanks to @FPALondon judges for giving me the Economics story of the year. A genuine honour #FPAawards23

Job titles. “Performance Creative Alchemist”, “Director of First Impressions”, "Happiness and Vibe Co-ordinator", "Chief Firestarter". Pretentious twaddle. Or a useful way to stand out from all the other "consultants"....? This week's @thetimes biz column https://t.co/o4fNSISh1t

🫘🍛🧈What's hot and what's not in food & drink, according to @Waitrose. My take for @thetimes: https://t.co/CcTFpJrE2h

Labneh, a jar of Bold Beans, Spanish vermouth. Is your pantry on trend? Every year, @waitrose publishes a food and drink report, analysing what it claims are the hot trends. I took a look for @thetimes...

Great culture can save lives. Literally. Amazing letter in today’s @thetimes about Tom Stoppard

What’s gone wrong at @ZipcarUK? It would seem perfectly suited to UK market where owning your own car is v expensive. But people often need short-term rental…

Amazing anecdote from David Mamet about Tom Stoppard in @TheFP: "Steven Spielberg asked Tom to write the screenplay for Jaws, and Tom said he couldn’t as he was writing a play for the BBC. Spielberg said, 'I'm offering you a fortune to collaborate with me on a Hollywood

So sad to hear about Tom Stoppard. Such a supreme writer of dialogue. From the zingers in ‘Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade’. To the cricket bat scene – when Henry demonstrates bad writing vs good writing – in ‘The Real Thing’. Loved his work so much.

If you’re still confused about what a fruit sticker album is, I’ve written about them at length here! https://t.co/sQUTaU0sDj

I’m pleased to see @FTMag has picked up on the joy of a fruit sticker album as a Christmas gift. I’ve long been a fan…🍌🍎🍍🍋

Here’s my @thetimes biz column. On the problem with LinkedIn and its supposed “bro-coding” https://t.co/y4760Y3NHY

Does LinkedIn have a problem? With the way it encourages us to communicate. 🥊 In Ernest-Heminway manqué, muscular prose. In punchy, paragraphs. 🏃 Sometimes four words long? 💥 Or two? 🤔 Each starting with an emoji...? I wrote about LinkedIn’s problem in my column…

A great opportunity to radically reform property taxes – to encourage people to move (brilliant for GDP), to free up larger homes for families (good for society). Dodged. Put up council tax on £2m properties by all means. But why not axe/reduce stamp duty at same time?

"Your capital is at risk". Ha! Too right it is, if it's worth over £2million.

Fascinating @TfL journey data. Londoners are taking 20% fewer daily trips than 12yrs ago. It's not just WFH, it's fewer shopping trips, fewer evenings out. Via (the always interesting @jimwaterson's London Centric).

👅🐷 🎁 @AldiUK has made some lickable pigs-in-blanket wrapping paper. Why? I don’t know. But I licked it so you don’t have to.

Can I congratulate the casting director of Prisoner 951 (@BBCOne drama about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe). Richard Ratcliffe, played by Joseph Fiennes, and his father played by Nicholas Farrell look remarkably like father & son.

Is this a warning…?

Times births column today

On a serious point, the Gail’s birthday perk was v clever. Hand over some data. Get a genuinely free loaf/sausage roll etc once a year. You felt like you’d really won the lottery. Forcing you to make purchase alongside this ruins the whole vibe.

It’s my birthday today. England’s dismal #Ashes performance has taken edge off celebrations. So I thought I’d treat myself to a free bun from Gail’s. Wait! You now have to make a purchase to get your free treat?! When did Gail’s do this? Why does everything get worse?