During this time of year, with players and coaches enjoying their summer holidays, football writers are left with little but the wildest of wild transfer speculation to fill their pages. In that respect, one might think that the FA's decision to arbitrarily relegate Doncaster Belles from the Women's Super League...

Can the news that Manchester City have sacked manager Roberto Mancini have come as a surprise to anyone? The coverage following Wigan's momentous victory on Saturday was dominated by speculation regarding the future of the two Robertos rather that sideshow that had just taken place on the Wembley pitch. In...

This month UK motorists have been celebrating a 4p reduction in the price of a litre of petrol. The news brought some relief to businesses and consumers dealing with the economics of rapidly escalating fuel costs. In February, petrol experienced its third 8p to 10p-a-litre increase in 12 months.

The tributes and tirades following the death of Margaret Thatcher are a dispiriting reminder of how little has changed in the 25 years since the Best-Prime-Minister-Ever/Worst-Leader-In-History was in office.

Thatcher's real legacy is that self-interest has become the driving force, socially and economically, for everyone regardless of whether they...

Clearly it's wrong to speak ill of the dead... at least it is if you're operating one of the myriad London-based news channels, which are currently hurling a tsunami of rosy-hued (or is that 'balanced'?) tributes at viewers and readers about the death of the notable former UK prime minister,...

The business of providing UK industry and consumers with enough affordable energy makes periodic appearances in the media.

In November 2012 there was widespread coverage dedicated to the story that Centrica, the UK's biggest energy company, was to withdraw from all new UK nuclear projects. The news...

My wife surveyed the contents of her extensive shoe-shelf, "You know, I think I might buy myself a pair of really expensive trainers to make me go jogging!"

I was immediately filled with the Proustian rush of déjà vous.

Long ago during the Dark Ages - the time before...

Women's football has come a very long way in a short space of time. The USA's thrilling 4-3 victory over Canada in the semi-final of the Olympics was one of the best games of last year. The overall quality of the tournament even prompted Bobby Charlton to comment:...

What are you hoping for this Christmas? A Darth Vader mask, with voice synthesizer promising minutes of fun? One of Jeremy Clarkson's hilarious books or DVDs? Or maybe an electric black pepper grinder to take... well, the grind out of grinding? What ever it is I hope you're not disappointed,...

This year, the FA changed rules regarding mixed football, allowing girls to play with boys up to Under 14s for the first time. Following the announcement, my daughter Niamh McKevitt gave up her place at Derby County Girls' Academy to rejoin her former club, Millhouses Juniors Boys, who play in the...

It was Sunday afternoon. I was cold, wet and bored. And a 13-year-old boy had just called me a 'fucking bastard'. I'd never met him before, but judging from the tone of his sudden outburst, it was clear that he was either a Tourette's sufferer or I'd inadvertently done something...

"I didn't realise that you actually went to the gym." Chuckled my editor, after I graciously agreed to provide him with a monthly column. It was an innocent enough admission on his part, but little did he know that he had effectively kicked sand in the face of this 45-year-old,...

A week on from the launch of the iPhone 5 - Apple's most eagerly anticipated launch since... well, the iPhone 4 - and what have we learned?

Since the rumour mill began to grind in the spring, there has been an increasing sense of anticipation. The phone's actual announcement was...

Today it was Customer Service Day at my branch of Bank of Scotland. I know this because my visit - or if you will, 'customer experience' - was out of the ordinary. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that not only was it different to the other...

Thousands of young people across the UK recently received their A-level results. While many earned their university place of choice, the rest face a frantic scramble for a place in clearing, or the disappointment of re-sits.

Over the last three decades, it has been cross-party policy to massively expand student...

The XXXth Olympiad is drawing to a close and already the conclusion is that these games have been an unequivocal success.  

The headlines were not about public transport collapses, or over-zealous protection of sponsors 'statutory rights' by the Branding Stasi, or drugs cheats handing back ill-gotten medals, or heavy-handed counter-terrorism...

It is now a year since widespread civil unrest in major UK cities cost five lives and an estimated £1billion to police and clear up. Despite the feel-good factor surrounding the Olympics, the same tensions and divisions in British life remain and in terms of the underlying causes, little has...

The news that British companies running unauthorised, Olympics-themed promotions face fines of up to 20K is drawing widespread, if somewhat predictable cries of indignation. The object of this ire is the 2006 Olympic Games Act, a piece of legislation designed to protect sponsors who are paying many millions of pounds...

This week Bob Diamond became the latest BigCo CEO to fall on his sword following accusations of poor leadership and corporate mismanagement. I doubt very much that the former Barclays head will be the last to roll.

The dominant feature of today's economy is failure. Even before the credit...

We are living through a time of endless choice and unlimited convenience. Whether we're deciding on cars, mobile phones, holidays or simply which sandwich to have for lunch, the range of available options can be genuinely overwhelming.

Yet with so much effort dedicated to giving us what we want, and...