A flattering letter from two former Cabinet ministers inviting me to participate in the ‘Parliamentary Review’, was not all that it seemed. I ended up feeling scammed and wondering how politicians can be so out of touch with the concerns of business owners. — A few weeks before Christmas, I received a letter (dated 23 November 2018) from Lord Pickles. Pickles is a Tory Peer, a former Chair of the Conservative party and a former Cabinet minister.

A few years ago I had the pleasure of meeting the entrepreneur Simon Woodroffe (YO! Sushi & Dragons’ Den). He told me about the day he tried on a Fedora hat in a shop and had a lightbulb moment. The hat suited him and he realised he should wear one…

A flurry of independent launches, an annual magazine festival and ambitious plans for an international magazine centre. Discover why Edinburgh is the new northern powerhouse of indie mag publishing — Liverpool has the Beatles, Henley has rowing and Melton Mowbray is the spiritual home of the pork pie. When it comes to claims to fame, Edinburgh is spoilt for choice — festivals, the Castle, ‘salt & sauce’ — but now Scotland’s capital is also making fresh waves in the media…

The CMA Summit in London provided so much appetising brain food that my head feels like a well-nourished watermelon. Here are 13 paraphrased observations I jotted down 1 Anna Watkins, Guardian Labs: In this cluttered world, anything boring is ignored and, unfortunately, there is a lot of very boring brand…

I just managed to get a sneak preview of seven brilliant new indie mags — these are going to be massive in 2016: Crepe Blissful travelogues in beige from the Copenhagen arts collective of the same name. 140 pages of frou-frou vignettes in serene pastel. Also contains articles on macaroons. …