This is the way the allegedly serious press manages to walk with one foot in the gutter
This is the way the allegedly serious press manages to walk with one foot in the gutter and one foot out of it
NICOLAS WALTER
London N1. “SUPER A-LEVELS” appear to be an attempt by the Government to come up with a quick solution to criticisms that A-levels no longer possess any value (“‘Super A-levels’ will stretch bright students”, 16 August). CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS (The Diary, 16 August) redoubles the double- think of his fellow journalists by repeating their self-serving apologies for commenting on the Clinton-Lewinsky case, then repeating its so-called “tawdry details”, and finally giving his own justification for discussing the business. If you bought the following everyday throughout the academic year, here’s a rough idea of what it would cost you:Cappuccino pounds 200A newspaper pounds 150One pint of beer pounds 220A takeaway sandwich pounds 400Total: pounds 970. The longer that you leave the problem the harder it will be to sort out.Never exceed your overdraft limit without permission.Don’t guess at what you are spending.If you go out too much, learn how to stay in with a book as you will save money and save yourself from burnout.Endsleigh: on campus or check ‘Yellow Pages’ for local branches Woolwich Student Factsheet 01322 626262 or http:// www.woolwich.co.ukCUT IT OUTBudgeting can be as easy as cutting out the little things. That may not sound important now, but any problems will stay on your credit record for six years.The following tips should help you to stay solvent:Be realistic and allow money for recreation.Keep a notebook with you at all times and record what and where you spend.List priority spending such as accommodation.Take advantage of free banking facilities.Get a part-time job Students work on average 12 hours per week in term- time. If you have a job at home, take a reference with you to college.Keep all your correspondence from the bankDon’t bury your head in the sand if things go wrong Get advice as soon as possible.
Taylor was known for being fiendishly clever, but as a businessman his track record was limited and as a banker it was non-existent.Clever Taylor undoubtedly is. While at Balliol College, Oxford, he studied oriental languages, including Mandarin – “because it was difficult”. He is that sometimes seductive mixture of arrogant certainty and charm, the unmistakable hallmark of the Old Etonian he is, and he dresses casual, not Richard Branson casual, but Italian designer casual – loose fitting suit, colour co-ordinated tie and comfortable shirt. Even today he looks more like the journalist he once was than a banker.In his time, Taylor was generally regarded as one of the best-ever editors of the FT’s Lex column. This respected and often arcane investment column, once famously described as widely read but rarely understood, might not seem a likely training ground for business leadership.Even so, Taylor seemed preordained for greatness. As a young reporter, I used to come across him on the company news circuit, and it was apparent then that he thought he could run these companies as well as he could write about them.
Journalism is nonetheless a seductive profession.Even so, I always had him down as a future editor of the FT, or perhaps one of those highly paid management gurus so beloved of the US lecture circuit. He speaks swiftly, one argument tumbling in on another, a legion of subordinate clauses and caveats amid the richness of his thought process. On occasions, if the truth be known, he goes full circle and ends up contradicting himself, but this hardly seems to matter; he may be simply marshalling all sides of the argument to the central purpose.He is also irritatingly precise in his semantics, in the manner of a lawyer. Look on college notice boards for second-hand books and equipment.If you do run into a money problem, do not ignore it. A classic student tactic is not to open statements and letters from the bank That is bound to lead to worse problems.
