London Town's new boss outlines investment plans – For more hospitality stories, see what the weekend papers say

15 September 2008
London Town's new boss outlines investment plans – For more hospitality stories, see what the weekend papers say

London Town's new boss outlines investment plans
Read the full article in Scotland on Sunday >>

London primary school promises free school dinners for all
A primary school in South London is offering free school meals to all its pupils without means testing in a drive to make them healthier and more sociable. "We believe in the importance of having a good meal to help sustain everyone throughout the day," said Elizabeth Sidwell, chief executive officer of Temple Grove Hatcham in New Cross. The school is part of a federation with Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College and opens this term to replace the former Monson primary school. The school - where 60% of pupils qualify for free meals - will provide free, locally-sourced meals for all. Sidwell said pupils and staff would eat together to improve social skills and build relationships across the school. The idea of free school meals has been tested in Hull, while the push for healthier school meals has seen uptake in primary school rise to 44% this summer. This term sees the introduction of tougher nutritional standards in school meals across England. - 15 September, Read the full article on the BBC website >>

Hilton backs call for third runway at Heathrow Hilton Hotels is among a group of 100 business calling for a third runway to be built at Heathrow airport "within strict environmental standards". The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said the UK needed "good, direct access to the global economic powerhouses such as China and India" but said the airport was full. It added that European competitors in Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt would have at least four runways by 2012. But campaign group Hacan ClearSkies insisted expansion was unnecessary. "It is the short-haul flights that are clogging up Heathrow, so if you limit the number of slots for those flights then that would free up space for longer-haul flights, and lead to better links," said chairman John Stewart. Business lobby group London First has that Heathrow should first improve its existing airport before deciding to expand. The Government will decide on whether to give a third runway the thumbs-up later this year. - 15 September, Read the full article on the BBC website >>

£4 pint on the way for South-Eastern drinkers The £4 pint is not far away as breweries have responded to soaring costs by hiking their prices for the second time this year. They blame an ‘unprecedented' rise in the price of materials such as gas, fuel, malt and sugar for pushing up the price of lager, bitter and ale. InBev's Stella Artois, Beck's and Tennent's lager will all go up by 3p a pint tomorrow while Carling and Grolsch drinkers will pay an extra 3p a pint in two week's time. Tetleys bitter will increase in price in the first week of October while Marston's plans to add 10p to the pint. Marston's says the price of barley and metal (used to make cans) has soared by more than 50% in the past two years while its energy costs have soared by more than 150 %. For drinkers, the average pint of lager will cost around £2.82 but in London and the South-East, £4 a pint will become commonplace. - 14 September, Read the full article in the Observer >>

Celebrate Britain Day with day down the pub, suggest minister
Gordon Brown's planned new Britain Day should be celebrated by the "typically British" pursuit of drinking, Home Minister Liam Byrne said today. A day down the pub was one of 27 ideas put forward in a pamphlet, A More United Kingdom, published by the think tank Demos as the culmination of a one-year consultation. "Binge drinking is one of the least pleasant aspects of British culture," said Tory MP Philip Davies." It is not something to celebrate and moreover certainly not something the Government should be encouraging." But Andrew Marr, television presenter and author of A History of Modern Britain, claimed drinking was the only ‘suitable' idea. ‘It is our national sport and we're very good at it,' he said. ‘Drinking to excess, that is.' Other 'quintessentially British' pursuits put forward included morris dancing and appreciating the weather. - 14 September, Read the full article in the Mail on Sunday >>

Mafia selling contaminated food in Naples
The soaring cost of food has prompted Naples' local Mafia to move into the bakery trade, selling contaminated loaves from up to 1,400 unlicensed backstreet bakeries. Police say the bread is packed with dioxins and carcinogens because the Camorra clans are burning old varnished wood, nut shells covered in pesticides and planks from exhumed coffins in the wood-burning ovens. They found dough being mixed by illegal immigrants in filthy, humid and mouldy cellars, some close to burning piles of toxic waste dumped in fields around Naples by the Camorra which was linked earlier this year to the tainting of local mozzarella. The mob now controls the bulk of the €600m bread business across the province and one-quarter of its illegal bread is now on sale in shops. According to the police, the Mafia is now also moving into cut-price fruit, vegetables and fish. -14 September, Read the full article in the Observer

By Angela Frewin

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