No Pain, No Gain

One of the several  rambling, funny tales James Yorkston tells tonight has him bumping into an old acquaintance he hasn't seen for years who, worried he's looking "a bit rough", enquires if he has a job these days. Yorkston, considering his wandering singer's life, allows him to think he's unemployed, just scraping by. He's offered a house-painting job, but can't make it as, dressed in the clothes that had him tagged as destitute, he's playing this gig.

Serves 4

The Strongbow brewer Heineken sold less beer and cider in the UK in the first half as low consumer confidence hit sales.

Foster's, the biggest brewer in Australia, bolstered its defences yesterday against the A$9.5bn (£6bn) hostile bid by its rival SABMiller by promising to return at least A$500m to shareholders this financial year.

There continues to be only one story in town. i’s mailbox tells me how engaged with and passionate about the phone-hacking saga most of our readers are (Geoff Humphries of Cambridge may “want to switch off” when he sees the word “hacking”, but he is in a tiny minority).

Rant

Forget the cheap stuff at the back of the newsagent’s fridge, well-made scrumpy can compete with the best craft beers, as this sharp bunch proves...