The flame will arrive in Newcastle on Friday night where adventurer Bear Grylls will zip slide off the Tyne Bridge with the torch over the river and on to the Quayside.
To coincide with the arrival of the torch the city has decorated the Tyne Bridge with the Olympic Rings. The aluminium rings are about 25m (80ft) wide and 12m (40ft) high, which makes them the largest set of metal Olympic rings in the UK.
After the torch leads Newcastle it will travel to Sunderland via the Angel of the North before arriving in Gateshead at midday. In the afternoon the torch will then head on towards Hexham, Northumberland, before finishing the day with a celebration in Durham, where BBC presenter Matt Baker will carry the flame.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
London men stake their place in the fashion spending arena - fashion.telegraph.co.uk
Notable rises in male spending have been reported ahead of London's first men's fashion week, London Collections: Men.
BY Alice Newbold | 14 June 2012
Burberry men's live stream Photo: REX
The reputation of menswear has long been shackled by the image of begrudging males sitting outside female changing rooms on endless, uninspiring weekend quests to department stores. Or the stalwart socks and tie or socks and knitwear combo invariably bought for fathers and grandfathers across the British nation for birthdays and holidays, alike.
Tarnishing the notion that men remain only excited about football, Rihanna and varieties of lager are the American Express Business Insights team. Ahead of London Collections: Men, which launches today, the banking sector conducted a study assessing the aggregated spending behaviour of millions of card members. The trend that emerged was, ironically (and pun-worthy), men's fashion.
READ: London to get its own Men's Fashion Week(end)
The data analytics arm of America Express found that males born after 1982 - "Generation Y" - increased their overall spending on fashion faster than all other generations. Shopping at a heightened rate of 4% year on year, 2011 over 2010, Generation Y whipped out their plastic at twice the rate of the next fastest generation, the "Baby Boomers" (those born between 1945 and 1964).
Tagging the male mentality towards fashion as a basic "famine or feast approach", men, it appears, resist high street splurges in favour of luxury goods, spending 24% more per transaction, though less often, than their female counterparts.
Commenting on Burberry's announcement last month that they had experienced a 26% increase in menswear sales, chief executive of the British heritage brand, Angela Ahrendts said: "In this economic environment, men want to look better, they want to look sharper."
READ: Burberry's Angela Ahrendts: men want to look smart
While Burberry's tailoring and enhanced ranges drove a 26% rise in their menswear sales, the overall year-on-year spending on luxury fashion increased by 5.7% in Generation Y men and 1% in all males. British male shoppers subsequently snubbed mainstream lines decreasing their spending by 1.2%, while women lapped up the high street, spending 0.7% less on luxury goods and 5.7% more on high street fashion fixes.
"There is a reason that London is hosting its first men's fashion week: men in the city are clearly staking their place in the fashion spending arena," affirms Sujata Bhatia, vice president of International Business Insights at American Express.
Source: fashion.telegraph.co.uk
Bringing Essex back! Maria Fowler is right on trend in a bright red peplum dress but can't resist keeping it short and backless - Daily Mail
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She may have quit The Only Way Is Essex last year, but Maria Fowler will never forget her roots.
The 25-year-old blonde enjoyed a night out in London's Mayfair last night and although she tried her best to dress demure, her Essex style still managed to make an appearance.
Fowler showed off her slender figure in a bright red peplum dress that featured a fitted skirt and a high neck.
Almost demure: Maria Fowler arrives in Mayfair last night wearing a short and backless peplum dress
However, the former glamour model and Page 3 girl made up for this by ensuring the colourful garment was backless and also very short so that she could show off her tanned legs.
Fowler teamed the dress with a pair of nude suede heels and carried a large tanned handbag and a black jacket over her left arm.
The former TOWIE star must have been feeling a spot of dj vu as it was the only the night before that she had been out on the town in Mayfair once again.
Showing off: The blonde highlighted her slender figure in the colourful garment which she teamed with fake eyelashes
Yet again, Fowler dressed to impress for the evening in a rainbow bandage dress by Forever Unique.
And she ensured plenty of skin was on show so she could 'road test' hew new own brand of fake tan.
She headed to celebrity hotspot Funky Buddha with her friend, Capital FM DJ Greg Burns.
Colourful lady: Fowler was also out in Mayfair the night before wearing a rainbow bandage dress
Just friends: The former glamour model partied with Capital Radio DJ Greg Burns on Wednesday night
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Occupy London Eviction Begins At Finsbury Square Site - huffingtonpost.co.uk
An eviction is under way to move Occupy London protesters from their seven-month occupation of a square in the capital.
The clear out of Finsbury Square in north London was organised by Islington Council after successful court action by the authority to move the group.
The camp, which is made up of around 135 tents and a wooden structure, was set up on the public land of the square in October, as an extension of the Occupy movement's protest in St Paul's Churchyard - which ended in eviction in February.
Two weeks ago a judge heard the protest had caused £20,000 damage to the land, cost the council £26,000 on security, and lost it £12,000 in rent plus income from the square's restaurant which had to close.
There had been an adverse impact on local business and complaints about anti-social behaviour from the camp, which increasingly became a focus for the homeless, and which had no running water or sufficient toilet facilities.
Councillor Paul Convery, Islington Council's executive member for community safety, said: "Finsbury Square is public space for the people of Islington, one of Britain's most deprived boroughs.
"We're returning the square to community use, and it is being cleaned and will soon be reopened to the public for the summer.
"Today's enforcement action was peaceful and low-key, and I'd like to thank the police, our street outreach team, and other partner organisations for their help.
"A number of vulnerable and homeless people have been living in the square. We have been speaking to them and offering advice and support to those who need assistance."
Source: www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
another day another maria fowler story. moar! hot!
- adrian, london, 14/6/2012 20:13
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