Author archives: simon

Business rates. You see… some of you are already nodding off!

I left mainstream journalism in 1986 after my then editor told me I needed to make a story more ‘entertaining’. It was covering a hit and run accident. This followed hot on the heels of another run-in with my editor: I’d refused to interview parents whose family home had burned down.

Last week saw the publication of a survey on British BIDs – Business Imporvement Districts funded by businesses in towns and cities up and down the land through a levy on their non-domestic rates.

I’ll be at this week’s Scotland’s Towns Partnership conference in Kirkcaldy. It promises to be a good gathering of like-minded folk from across the country – following from the first ever World Towns Leadership Summit in Edinburgh this summer.

By now, there can be few people who have not heard of Cecil the Lion. His hunting and killing were reported worldwide. In a short space of time, the Amercian dentist who’d paid for the opportunity to track and shoot this aging beast had his name reduced to swill. And then the online onslaught kicked […]

The general election has, some would say, split the United Kingdom. Look at a map showing the political hues and the predominant colours are Conservative blues and the yellow of the Scottish Nationalists. Talk of federalism, constitutional reform and changes at Westminster – all ahead of what now seems to be an inevitable in/out referendum […]

It’s a Tuesday, but I’m not sure what colour I should attribute to the day? Taupe perhaps? The manic obsession given over to Black Friday is, according to many, the shape of things to come. There are a number of images shared from the day of spending frenzy that stay in the mind. I prefer […]

We are on the eve of an historical vote in Scotland. Whether yes or no, the future of the country will be different. Many have spoken of the effects the vote will have on the economy …. on the energy sector, on manufacturing, on farming, on financial services. Most recently, on tourism.

Twelve months ago, I read the Midsummer Retail Report issued by Colliers International with interest. Always insightful, it is a well-respected and keenly anticipated analysis of the UK retail marketplace – a good barometer of the ‘here and now’.

Old enough to remember the Tesco ads featuring the late and great Dudley Moore? Back in ’90s, they made us laugh. They converted a whole new audience to try Tesco … and we backed them.