Event Organisers Update August 2016 ISSUE 143

TROUBLES ON THE TRACKS The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union which represents staff at Southern Railways, claims that its members have been hit, spat at …

PRESSING ISSUES A large majority of those reading newspapers were presented with arguments in favour of leaving the EU in the run-up to the referendum, according to …

EVERY CLOUD Brexit beneficiaries, due to the drop in the value of sterling against other currencies, have been UK hotels and attractions, especially in London which is now …

ART DECO IN PADDINGTON Lovers of the Art Deco style of decoration – said in its 1920/30s heyday to represent luxury, glamour and exuberance – will enjoy the decor of …

REGENERATION IN MANCHESTER A disused area near to Old Trafford in Manchester is to be the site for a new, football themed luxury hotel fronted by former Manchester …

BOOZE CRUISES We hear police in Spain are cracking down on organisers of parties afloat after a series of sex scenes on a party boat appeared on a porn website. Police …

DIARY DATES 2016
o 21-22 September, Venues and Events Live exhibition, Old Billingsgate, London …
o 19-20 October, Showman’s Show for outdoor events, Newbury Showground …

BUSTER KEATON Those who enjoy the slapstick artistry of the great silent films will enjoy the massive slice of movie history presented in a collection on Blu-ray of …

TROUBLES ON THE TRACKS

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union which represents staff at Southern Railways, claims that its members have been hit, spat at and offered death threats by angry commuters, with abuse of staff increasing “massively” over the last four months of the troubles.

The RMT have already encouraged walkouts over the changing role of conductors on trains and are calling for others over the planned closures of ticket offices. Meanwhile the rail company have reported massive levels of disruption and train cancellation caused by Southern drivers taking “sickies” for a few days, for which they don’t have to supply medical proof and for which they still receive their full pay. Continue reading

PRESSING ISSUES

A large majority of those reading newspapers were presented with arguments in favour of leaving the EU in the run-up to the referendum, according to Press Gazette.

The combined claimed circulations of national newspapers favouring Brexit was 6,755,480, against 4,993,934 favouring staying in the EU. The circulations of those not declaring was 2,733,504, making up a combined claimed circulation of 14,482,918. Continue reading

EVERY CLOUD

Brexit beneficiaries, due to the drop in the value of sterling against other currencies, have been UK hotels and attractions, especially in London which is now reportedly seen as a bargain destination.

Also contributing has been the reticence of travellers to travel abroad with their devalued pounds, and the terror attacks, persuading many Brits to take a “staycation”.

According to the Tourism Alliance foreign visitors to London were 18% up, and British tourists 11% up on July last year. Online accommodation firm Airbnb saw a 24% uplift in London visits in the month after the referendum.

ART DECO IN PADDINGTON

Lovers of the Art Deco style of decoration – said in its 1920/30s heyday to represent luxury, glamour and exuberance – will enjoy the decor of Hilton London Paddington Hotel.

The hotel was originally the brainchild of engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel and was called the Great Western Royal Hotel when it was built by the Great Western Railway Company (GWR) and opened as “London’s largest and most sumptuous hotel” 162 years ago in 1854. Then it offered 115 bedrooms with singles from 2 shillings per night. (20 pence) This price increased over the years – to £105 a night in the 1990s – and more bedrooms were added, along with meetings facilities when it closed to undergo a four-year, £45million refurbishment in 1998 before re-opening as a Hilton 14 years ago, in 2002. Continue reading

BOOZE CRUISES

We hear police in Spain are cracking down on organisers of parties afloat after a series of sex scenes on a party boat appeared on a porn website. Police are now intercepting boat excursions from Magaluf and San Antonio, Ibiza to check the crew for inebriation and ensure captains are minimising risk of drunken passengers are not injured when disembarking. All passengers are also being searched for drugs.

The boat parties have become popular since new rules governing street drinking and stag parties ashore were introduced.

BUSTER KEATON

Those who enjoy the slapstick artistry of the great silent films will enjoy the massive slice of movie history presented in a collection on Blu-ray of thirty-two films made by one of the stars of the silent era.

Offering more than twelve hours of viewing BUSTER KEATON-The Complete Short Films 1917-1923 starts with The Butcher Boy, which is the first glimpse cinema-goers had of Keaton and his acrobatic and slapstick talents ninety-nine years ago. Also starring is the ex-Keystone cop Roscoe Conkling Arbuckle, known as “Fatty” on account of his girth, a name he hated. Arbuckle was in fact very graceful on his feet, and equally acrobatic for his considerable weight and refused to get cheap laughs by getting stuck in chairs and suchlike. And he also demonstrated some very clever knife tossing in his first film with Keaton, and, without special effects got a large butcher’s cleaver to embed upright in a wooden bench when he casually flipped the cleaver from the other side of the room. Continue reading

Marketing Matters Jul/Aug 2016 ISSUE 51

PRESSING ISSUES A large majority of those reading newspapers were presented with arguments in favour of leaving the EU in the run-up to the referendum, according to …

BANKERS AGAIN The majority of the electorate, who voted to leave the EU, are to blame for Lloyd’s bank having to cut 3,000 jobs and close 200 branches, according …

INSINCERITY EXPOSED Leaked messages from the organisations behind the long-running junior doctor’s strikes indicate that they were just pretending to want to “save …

EUROSTAR FIGHTS BACK Forecasting a dip in bookings for August travel – due to sterling’s drop in value and acts of terrorism putting travellers off – Eurostar’s …

TV LICENSE LOOPHOLE An increasing number of householders being chased for the TV license fee are using a legal loophole to prevent “enforcement officers” – actually …

MORE PLUGS THAN CURRYS Ofcom has upheld complaints from viewers that Channel 4 quiz show Countdown breached broadcasting rules by plugging products …

HEALTHY DIPS More processed foods have been found to contain high levels of salt and/or fat, according to a study by Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) …

SNAP! Marketing Matters has received emails promoting home-working for a salary of $2,500-$5,000 from “the personnel manager of a large International company” …

CONGRATS, SIR PHIL Sir Philip Green has been awarded the government’s prestigious UFOC award for business activities, the Unacceptable Face Of Capitalism. To win this …