Posties Strike a Chord

What is it with work?

On this the most unproductive day of the year, it's nothing short of a miracle I'm getting anything done at all (I just hope the boss isn't reading this).

It's official: Monday, 26th October is the least productive day of 2009, a phenomenon put down to workers' morale being hit by darker evenings with the clocks going back on Sunday. If you've been watching David Attenborough's excellent Life series on TV, I'm sure you'll agree that hibernation is looking like an appealing option. Yes, it's at this time of year that I plug in the SAD alarm clock and look forward to a winter of sun sets at 4.30pm.

But back to getting nothing done today; whenever I'm looking for an excuse not to work (the dog ate my homework… the tube was down… there was too much snow/leaves/sun - you know the kind of thing), I always turn to the Idler for some pearls of justification. After all, Tom Hodgkinson has made a very successful living out of doing as little as possible.

Helpfully, Tom and his team have posted just what I'm looking for on the internet - an announcement from the UN, no less, that over two million people every year die from work-related causes. That’s just the excuse I need to have a Kit Kat and put the pen down. Well, we wouldn't want to risk a repetitive strain now would we?

The hazards of work can result in a more serious injury than a strained muscle. We need only look at the current post strike to see how stressful work concerns can get. Hearing about the stresses suffered by workers at France Telecom - resulting in 24 killing themselves in the last 19 months - my thoughts turned to the trauma for those poor postal strikers.

Despite having to re-order missing cheques and DVDs lost in the post (which reappeared again two weeks later), I can sympathise. 'Modernisation' in a recession can only mean one thing: job cuts. Then the Royal Mail bosses go and hire 30,000 temporary staff to do their jobs for them. But as that would be illegal it's dressed up as extra staff "to cope with the demand over the festive period". The advice - post your Christmas cards early this year. Presumably, that goes for all your online present buying too.

At the other end of the scale we've got the city bankers and their bonuses. The drama is hotting up as MPs demand the evil bonus-toting bankers stop rewarding themselves such obscene payouts. (This while their own self-created expenses scandal is still smoking.) All sorts of strange people have waded in on the subject, Prince Andrew included.

It's no surprise that he's on the side of bankers. What's more surprising is that he's prepared to go out on a limb about it. Keep quiet, Andy, and there'll be less chance of anyone noticing the £349,000 you spent (from the public purse) last year on trips and days out at the races. Still, nice work if you can get it.

Nose-to-tail dining moves into hotels

Fergus Henderson, the chef and co-owner of nose-to-tail Michelin starred restaurant St John in Smithfield, and his business partner Trevor Gulliver are set to open a hotel in central London. The site of the former Manzi’s (the much mourned famous fish restaurant) is hidden behind scaffolding, hoarding and a big pig, the trademark of the St John. The prime spot just behind Leicester Square, opposite the old Swiss Centre (currently being rebuilt), will become the St John Hotel when it opens next summer. We're looking forward to something special from the 16-bedroom hotel which will include a two-bedroom top floor suite, a St John restaurant and first floor bar.

'Sex' Star in Private Lives Drama

It makes for a steamy sounding headline but the news is somewhat less insalubrious. Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall will be returning to the West End stage in the Noel Coward comedy Private Lives from 3rd March next year. The Liverpool-born feisty blonde will star opposite former Spooks star Matthew MacFadyen, aka Mr Darcy in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice, at the Vaudeville Theatre. The production will be directed by Richard Eyre, director of the Royal National Theatre in London from 1988 to 1997 and whose recent projects include the film version of Notes on a Scandal, starring Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench. Sex and the City fans will be relieved to hear the film sequel of their favourite TV show is due to be released on 28th May 2010.

Punch Drunk

They've given us jelly in the shape of St Paul's Cathedral, a cloud of cocktail that you can breathe in and now food specialists Bompas & Parr are working on a punchbowl so large you can swim across it. Teaming up with Courvoisier, Bompas & Parr invite you to raise your glass when they reveal the enormous Architectural Punch Bowl at 33 Portland Place in December. But it's not just a case of pulling up a pew at the bar, instead you can row through the punch mix. If you've ever dreamt of taking a bath in champagne, this is your chance to go one step further. Look out for tickets to the Architectural Punch Bowl, on sale from mid November. Cheers!

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