Reposted by Harry WallopianVisits @ianvisits.co.uk · 1hThere's pressure to reduce the post-pandemic government subsidy as while total journeys are up, revenues are still down in real terms -- so they need more bums on seats (or on the floor in the corridors) to get the cash it the tills. 101
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 39mThat makes sense. But for train companies that are nationalised/about to be nationalised is this a good use of taxpayer money? 100
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 1h🚇🚂 I too am hearing/seeing lots of adverts for train companies. What’s it all about? And are we – the taxpayer – picking up the tab for many of these ads? (Message sent from a friend) 330
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 20hRick Stein at 79: ‘I wouldn’t open a restaurant these days’ www.thetimes.com/article/c0cc...thetimes.comRick Stein at 79: ‘I wouldn’t open a restaurant these days’Almost 80, the chef shows no sign of retiring. He still runs a restaurant empire with his sons and ex-wife but says overheads and government indifference make it difficult. Now he’s launching a range ... 050
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 20hHe was as perky as a pilchard after 7am swim in Padstow harbour. I had a sore head. But we still managed to discuss his DJ’ing, feeling a failure, how tough it is running a restaurant, death, life, and family. And a range of seafood ready meals he’s created for Waitrose 181
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 20hThe secret to Rick Stein’s success is that viewers intuit that he’s someone they’d like to share a bottle of wine with. I discovered this to my joy – and cost – after he plied me with lots of v good white burgundy. The night before I was due to interview him at 8am… 191
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 02/10/2026Amandaland Christmas special is back! Filming in our street in north London. (Islington, not ‘North Harlesden’). And features a massive inflatable Santa, Amanda in a sexy Santa outfit. And an ambulance… 020
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 25/09/2026Full @thetimes.com biz column on hot desking. And workplace loneliness. www.thetimes.com/business/tec...thetimes.comHow hot-desking killed office chatter — and made us lonelierThe modern workplace has become joyless — if bosses don’t foster interaction, staff will wonder why they’re coming in at all 130
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 25/09/2026🏢🤫Over the last 50 years offices have become half as noisy. No one talks any more. Or if they do it's in a sound-proof video conferencing booth to a colleague working from home. Is hot desking to blame? Or Slack? This week's @thetimes.com biz column... 100
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 24/09/2026At Ocado Christmas launch I learnt: 🕐 4,000 people booked their Xmas delivery slots this week between midnight (when they were released) and 1am 🛒 By end of September, 52% of all the stuff Ocado will sell for Christmas is already in customers’ baskets 484
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 22/09/2026You are a rare voice! Why didn’t you miss your own desk? 110
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 22/09/2026I like your theory. But...a) what's the evidence that managers have pushed for collaboration across teams? b) if this is the case, it alienates people from their own labour? I just need a bit more to go on, before I lift this opinion wholesale and claim it as my own in a column! 100
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 22/09/2026Here's quite interesting long read in Telegraph about joyless offices, which suggests hot-desking might be one of the causes: www.telegraph.co.uk/money/jobs/w...telegraph.co.uk 301
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 22/09/2026Is hot-desking partly to blame for a surge in workplace loneliness? A survey suggests: - 17% people go all day without speaking to anyone in the office -37% say they have no close friends at work - 40% admit to feeling lonely Would love to hear your thoughts on a) is this true b) who's to blame... 4113
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 22/09/2026Here's the full @londoncentric.media article: www.londoncentric.media/p/londons-mo...londoncentric.mediaLondon’s most expensive house, Reform UK’s treasurer, and a massively reduced tax billA £265m mansion in the heart of the Chelsea • Sold by billionaire Nick Candy and his ex-wife Holly Valance • Bought by a Labour-donating hedge fund boss • Why was the tax bill so small? 001
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 22/09/2026How Nick Candy sold London's most expensive house. And helped the buyer avoid £18.5m in tax. Buy selling him *extra* houses. Another great bit of journalism from the ever-interesting @londoncentric.media (with number crunching from @danneidle.bsky.social & team) 110
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 21/09/2026The "Beckham Stack". When did the language of software developers enter the world of wellness? 000
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 19/09/2026The young Herbie’s grandfather is the 96-years-old Marquess of Camden. That Marquess’s younger brother, Lord Michael Pratt, merited an astonishing obituary. As one of the rudest men in Britain: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituar...telegraph.co.uk 010
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 19/09/2026Times births this morning. A future Marquess of Camden… 120
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 13/09/2026Ha! Yes, I’d forgotten his role. (Possibly a bit niche for Mail readers) 010
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 13/09/2026I’ve exploded the incredible rise of chicken & UK’s reliance on imports for Mail: mol.im/a/16126357 🧵endsmol.imThe truth about Britain's CHICKEN obsession: Why ARE we so addicted?Chicken is the No 1 meat in the UK, by a country mile. The incursion of chicken shops on high streets is proof enough, and figures show the average adult eats 189g of it each week at home. 051
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 13/09/2026🇹🇭🇨🇳This means that we are now importing lots of chicken meat to keep up with demand. Many supermarket 🍗 sandwiches are made with Thai or Chinese🐓. We used to be 96% self-sufficient in chicken. It’s now c60% 🧵5/6 110
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 13/09/2026Farmers (encouraged by supermarkets) have, over last 2yrs, given birds more space. About 20% more space. But…this has meant we’re running out of space to grow chickens. Literally. Local councils won’t give permission for new chicken sheds. 🧵4/6 120
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 13/09/2026🐓 is cheap because farmers cross-bred varieties to create a large plump bird which goes from 🐣 to 🍗 in just 35 days. It is astonishingly efficient form of protein. But…this has led to welfare concerns. Farmers/supermarkets in response have done something crucial… 🧵3/6 110
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 13/09/2026How did chicken become so hugely popular? Mostly it’s 💷. In 1958, poultry was 54p per lb, while beef was 45p per lb. Now, chicken is £3.78 per kg, while beef is £8.43, according to ONS. People want cheap, protein-rich tasty meat. But how did it become so cheap…?🧵2/6 220
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 13/09/2026🐓 This is v. rare picture of a British housewife c1955 with roast chicken. Why’s it rare? Because in 1950s hardly anyone ate chicken – consumed by less than 1% of the UK. We slaughtered 1m birds a year. Now? We slaughter 1.1 billion. And it’s the most popular meat. By far 🧵1/6 2101
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 11/09/2026For avoidance of doubt, I did not write this! It was 3yrs before I joined DT (as a biz reporter). It was possibly @benfenton.bsky.social? But I have it framed at home along with c10 other front pages I’ve collected: Diana dead, Super Saturday, Berlin Wall falling because I’m a news junkie 200
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 11/09/2026This was voted “front page of the century” by @britishlibrary.bsky.social Other UK front pages went for stark images on 9/11 – axing all words (unusual in those days). But @telegraph.co.uk knew well that a few written, sparse words matter. The very first draft of history. 111
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 09/09/2026“The trouble with you, Spode, is that just because you’ve succeeded in inducing a handful of half-wits to disfigure the London scene by going about in black shorts, you think you’re someone…What People are saying is: ‘Look at that frightful ass Spode swanking about in footer bags!’” 2123
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 08/09/2026Aaagh! If you don't hear anything more from me, presume I have been arrested wearing a balaclava, wielding a weapon, in the vacinity of a drinks PR... 020
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 08/09/2026The real story here is that a minor alleged crime has taken more than four years to come to trial. 50 months! Britain’s justice system is broken. 041
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 04/09/2026Humans may be ruthless about denuding the planet of resources. They are also amazingly ingenious at squeezing every last drop of value out of those resources. This week's column on copper, gold, art and wasteland: www.thetimes.com/business/com...thetimes.comWhy old phone wires under our streets are worth a £2bn fortuneFrom BT to the National Grid, companies are reassessing their old assets to find they are sitting on a treasure trove 011
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 04/09/2026☎️ Under the streets, BT owns miles of copper telephone wires – now redundant. It's selling the copper, now valued at...£2 billion! 📱The Royal Mint is hoping to retreive 450kg of gold every year from circuit boards. This week's @thetimes.com biz column on recycling assets... 151
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 03/09/2026Sam Leith's Substack is one of the highlights of my week. And this week is no exception. Notably, the apology to Alan Bennett and his colonoscopist...🧁💩 030
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 02/09/2026Memo to any PRs. If you send me a press release containing the phrase "cosy season" I will hunt you down and destroy you. Subway – You're first on the list: "Autumn is officially upon us, and Subway® is kicking off cosy season with a lineup of hearty new menu items" 050
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 23/08/2026CEOs often boast about starting their day at 5am or even 4.30am. But this is the first time I’ve seen a boss claim he gets up at 3.30am 👀 (John Perkins of @specsaversuk.bsky.social in Sunday Times business) 320
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 23/08/2026My week at the Croydon employment tribunal. And why it’s a “complete sh*tshow”, according to one lawyer. Me for Sunday Times: 6/6 www.thetimes.com/article/17a9...thetimes.comWhat goes on in employment tribunals? I spent a week finding outIf you want to file a claim, join the queue — it’s 64,000 people long. There aren’t enough judges … and new employment rights will make matters worse 020
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 23/08/2026The decline in trade unions means workers rarely have someone to negotiate for them. So they end up thinking, “let’s go to court”. Employers think, “we can’t be accused of racism. Let’s fight this”. And lack of judges means cases are backing up…. 5/6 120
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 23/08/2026🤖 AI has meant many workers are able – without a lawyer – to research & pursue a case. And AI is a godsend in many ways. But…it frequently gives workers false hope. It never says: “you don’t stand a chance”. 4/6 120
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 23/08/2026Have UK workers become more anxious? Or bosses more racist? Maybe. Or is it because the max compensation for unfair dismissal is a year’s pay or £123k — whichever is lower. There is no max cap for discrimination. But most of these claims fail. Why? 3/5 120
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 23/08/2026Has the UK workplace become a war zone? Are employers denying workers their rights? No. There aren’t more cases than pre-Covid. So why backlog? Each case has become much more complex. Most people now sue for unfair dismissal *and* discrimination. Including anxiety. 🧵2/6 150
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 23/08/2026If you’ve been unfairly – maybe illegally – sacked from your job & you want to sue your employer you may have to wait until 2030. The number of cases in the system has doubled to 64,000. Why? I spent a week at the Croydon tribunal (above a Lidl) to find out 🧵1/6 161
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 22/08/2026Times births column today. The first submitted by work colleagues? 130
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 10/08/2026They are – in effect – a massively expensive, over-qualified deterrent. 3 guards to put off someone tempted to jump barrier on the way in. But – according to their argument – if someone successfully jumped barrier they then wouldn’t detain them. Because by that point they are “inside the barrier” 050
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 10/08/2026Me: “But you’re fully trained. Why can’t you detain them until police come?” Guard – with hint of incredulity at my question – “You think we’ll take that risk for a £3 fare dodged!?” Me: “Err, yes. Otherwise why have TfL hired you?” Guard: 🤷♂️ Truly astonishing interaction 🧵3/3 180
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 10/08/2026Nothing. At all. Just stand there. I’m so surprised, I ask why. Guard: “We can only stop people coming in.” Me: “why?” Guard: “We can’t detain people inside the barriers.” Me: “why?” Guard: “We might have to cuff them/pin them to ground. They/we could get injured.” 🧵2/3 100
Harry Wallop @harrywallop.co.uk · 10/08/2026Canonbury Station, London Overground. 3 burly, trained security staff to stop fare dodgers. Guy ahead of me (exiting) casually barges through barrier, not paying. Right in front of the guards. What do they do…? 1/3🧵 124