The 17-bedroom Penny Lane Hotel in Penny Lane, Liverpool is up for sale at £950,000

The sellers, Christie and Co., are stretching the Beatles connection to breaking point, gushing that the hotel, as well as bearing the name of 1967 Beatles song, is close to some Beatle’s childhood homes, the Beatles Story museum and the (newly re-built) Cavern Club. Continue reading →

To the annual Performing Artistes Speaker Drinks showcase at the IOD, London, where we mingle with the likes of the elegant dancer John Sergeant and Gerald Ratner, the retail jeweller who cleverly described some of his products as “crap” at the IOD many years ago and thus launched himself into a lucrative speaking career as his shops closed.

However the main entertainment was the showcasing of four young comedians on the company’s books, all looking for corporate and conference work Eshaan Akbar had a likeable, self-deprecating approach, Paul Sinha claimed to be the only openly gay comedian on the circuit, (was he joking?) Tom Ward did a bitingly accurate Jools Holland impression and Tiff Stevenson made friends with her digs at Donald Trump, all in all an enjoyable way for organisers to evaluate some up-and coming talent.

www.performingartistes.co.uk

The Scarborough Art Gallery makes an interesting visit for those, like Victorian artist William Etty, who appreciate the beauty of ladies without much on. Such as in his Judgement of Paris work hanging there whereby the coveted golden apple inscribed “To the Fairest” is given by Paris to a lovely, svelte, if rather smug Aphrodite, who looks as if she knew she was always going to win over her more curvy rivals. Complementing this is the Rose of Youth, a large and more modern work, recently restored, and by Herietta Roe featuring a flame-haired, teenage. pre-raphaelite temptress seated naked on a throne with a headband of roses and with the floor strewn with pink oleander flowers, actually toxic and, sobering thought, a symbol of death for other artists. Continue reading →

Though some may find this exuberant 1944 musical as corny as Kansas in August there’s no denying that it’s a feel-good dancing treat dished up by some of Hollywood’s finest, pairing the skills and style of bill-topping beauty Rita Hayworth, 24 at the time, with the athletic choreography of balletic Gene Kelly, an energetic 32, and the affable humour of Phil Silvers, himself no mean hoofer at 33. Continue reading →

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced a probe into the online ticket rip-offs common for popular live events.

Some of the tickets traded by touts were originally sold on the basis that they could not be sold to a third party. When the tickets do not display this condition, third parties paying substantial sums for them could find them invalid when presented at the venue.

The CMA is also concerned that other important details, such as the original ticket price, and the seat location are not being revealed to buyers before they buy.

Those welcoming the reopening of the Fabric London nightclub will not include the relatives and friends of the two young men who died there last year from drug-related causes. Nor do they include those of us who are not persuaded, despite all the protestations from those who make money from nightclubs, that these enterprises are world-class nightlife vital to London’s survival as a 24-hour major player on the world stage, rather than just dying, drug-friendly places where some of the young and foolish can hear music, dance and do their substance of choice. Continue reading →

Always tricky, these – look at the gloomy forecasts for Brexit – but nevertheless Buying Business Travel magazine has taken a punt on a few fairly safe bets for the meetings sector, as follows.

• Costs per attendee per day will remain flat in Europe, with modest increases in North America and Asia Pacific.
• Average group size will stay the same in Latin America, but rise by 3-6% everywhere else.
• UK event organisers will book more of their meetings in the UK due to the devalued pound, rather than now more expensive Europe.
• European organisers will also book more of their meetings in the UK, due to the devalued pound.
• Buyers will face a 6.9% rise in accommodation rates at UK venues.

Looks like 2017 could be a bonanza year for UK venues and other suppliers to the events industry, as a result of Brexit.

A curmudgeonly piece in the Telegraph Travel section amusingly listed a number of “inventions that ruined travel” that will chime with some.

High on the list are Segway “mobility scooters” which, along with paddle boerds, road trains for city tours and the “narcissistic weapon of Satan” selfie stick make their users look like “stupid tourists”, with the only benefit being to “make normal people feel pleasantly superior”. Continue reading →

Critics say that, in partnership with director Anthony Mann James Stewart helped change the very nature of the western. For this film fan the late, great Jimmy Stewart always played the great Jimmy Stewart, decent, amiable and vulnerable, with a hard streak of violence that made him someone not to cross, and he did it all so believably. Continue reading →