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Here is our Friday blog that details David Parkins’ weekly take take on the world. Sign up to here to receive it.
David Parkin on airport ambition, a Royal welcome and surviving Dry January
AT last Leeds Bradford Airport has come up with plans that are ambitious, exciting – and backed by serious investment. You only have to travel from any other regional UK airport to realise that the West Yorkshire airport is the runt of the litter. Queues of passengers waiting to check-in ...
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David Parkin on an uninspiring encounter, a Next giant and a resolution too far
CAN I be the last person of 2020 to wish you a Happy New Year. If, like me, you’ve only come back to work this week after the extended festive break, I’m sure you are looking for a bit of focus, some motivation, perhaps a little inspiration? If so then ...
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David Parkin is totally en Vogue, sees a bit of Brass neck and bores some bankers
I WAS reading Vogue the other day. Well where else do you think I’m going to get my style ideas? And there in the pages of the world’s premier style magazine was a familiar face. Well, two familiar faces. One, Cate Blanchett, I only know from the cinema screen, but ...
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David Parkin is put on the spot, remembers when the Bald Eagle soared and smart ideas for Christmas
THE tables were turned on me this week. I’m used to asking questions of others but rarely has the spotlight been turned back on me. I’d spent some time chatting to Chris Allen, the managing partner of Leeds law firm Blacks at a Welcome to Yorkshire dinner in October when ...
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David Parkin on Brass tact and class acts
WHERE there’s muck there’s brass, they say. Unfortunately there’s now no Brass and a bit of a mess. The Leeds creative agency with a pedigree which goes back decades and an alumni list of talent that stretches out across Yorkshire to London and beyond, is no more. It took years ...
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David Parkin has a surreal week with Bake Off, The Apprentice…and Christmas Kamara
IT’S been a bit of a surreal week. If you don’t believe me it started with me interviewing three of the contestants from this year’s The Great British Bake Off at Leeds Arena. And then watching football pundit Chris Kamara singing numbers from his new Christmas album. If you don’t ...
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David Parkin recalls his interview with Prince Andrew, meets a legend and sees a stage success
IT’S not hard to see why Prince Andrew has only done a few media interviews over the years. His appearance on Newsnight last weekend was initially described as a “car crash” by commentators but now looks more like a nuclear explosion which has wrecked his reputation and caused collateral damage ...
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David Parkin on how the Brownlee brothers are humble, YouTubers grumble and a comedy stumble
I’VE found the antidote to these dark, damp, dreary autumn afternoons. Do something uplifting. While my usual uplifting experience on a Friday afternoon is to down a decent bottle of vino collapso, last week was a bit different. As one of the honorary degree alumni of Leeds Beckett University, I ...
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David Parkin on changing Times and the full Monty
CALL me old fashioned but when I attended an event organised by The Times and The Sunday Times yesterday I expected to see a newspaper. But try as I might I could not find one copy of a paper at the Growth Summit in Leeds that the publishers organised with ...
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David Parkin on the rise of anger, retiring rugby fans and having a happy Halloween
IT appears to be a thoroughly modern phenomenon. Created through a unique conspiracy of social media and the anger generated by an ever more polarised society. The death threat. It seems a day doesn’t go by without a politician, celebrity or sports person reporting that they have been issued with ...
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David Parkin takes the highway to Hull and watches The Athletic flex its muscles
I WENT on a cultural tour of Hull last Friday. I know what you’re thinking. That must have been a nice 15 minutes, but what did you do for the rest of the day? Don’t worry I’ve heard it all before. To be honest, I’ve probably said it all before. ...
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David Parkin on Britain’s answer to Mad Men and crazy characters in football
FAREWELL then Lord Bell. With his slicked-back hair, Savile Row suits, and heavy drinking and smoking, Tim Bell, who made his name at advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, before going on to found the public relations firm Bell Pottinger, could have been the leading man in a British version of ...
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David Parkin on connections, controversy and cauliflower
THEY call it six degrees of separation, but sometimes it is a lot closer than that. In my last blog a couple of weeks ago I mentioned a trip to Grantley Hall, Yorkshire’s newest luxury hotel, and another trip to Huddersfield Town as a guest of Jason Taylor of Core ...
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David Parkin on a grand ambition, a shirty response and being lost for words
IF there is a better approach to a hotel in Yorkshire than the way you arrive at Grantley Hall, then I’d like to see it. But then when the aim is to be not just the best hotel in the county, or even the North of England, but one of ...
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David Parkin is super excited for a new dining star and a night out with Cardi B
IF you visit a British city centre and ask a local for a restaurant recommendation then chances are even the most knowledgeable will struggle to name more than just a handful of independently owned establishments. The rise of the chains continues unabated. Despite the demise of the likes of Jamie’s ...
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David Parkin on Man on the Moon, the Man from Delmonte and an honorary Yorkshireman
TWO men have dominated the news this week. Neil Armstrong and Boris Johnson. One was the first man on the moon, 50 years ago this week. The other can be a superhero rocket man or a space cadet – depending on your views on Brexit and what he is able ...
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David Parkin says goodbye to a good guy and flashes the plastic on Love Island
TERRY Hodgkinson was one of the good guys. A rare beast – he was an entrepreneur who successfully embraced a high profile public sector role. Terry died suddenly last week at the age of just 70. The construction company founder who became chairman of regional development agency Yorkshire Forward was ...
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David Parkin on bangers, Boris and BBQs
YOOHOO! I’M BACK! Calm down, calm down. OK then, you never knew I’d been away. Fair enough. A relaxing 10 days on the Greek island of Kefalonia has helped recharge the batteries. My last “official engagement” before heading off on holiday was to attend a very fun Royal Ascot event ...
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David Parkin on an amazing Sky experience, Where’s Wally and meeting the Ant and Dec of business
THOSE who watch Game of Thrones will look at the photograph above and think: “At last, a strong, stable ruler who everyone can look up to has united the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and ascended to the Iron Throne.” And those who don’t are thinking: “What’s that tosser pratting about ...
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David Parkin on bubbly with Bublé, D-Day tributes and Harry Gration gets the horn
“YOU can’t beat a bit of Bublé,” said Debbie Dobson of Dakota Deluxe Hotel. Or DD from DD as I know her. I don’t mind Michael Bublé but I’ve only ever heard his stuff on the the radio or on CD, I’ve never really seen him performing. So I was ...
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David Parkin on the demise of Filmore & Union and busking success
FAREWELL then Filmore & Union. The cafe chain, which has expanded rapidly across the North of England, disappeared even quicker, going into administration last Friday. Around 80 jobs were lost after joint administrators Phil Pierce and Paul Whitwam of FRP Advisory closed seven outlets including those in Harrogate, Skipton and ...
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David Parkin on a corner of Yorkshire in London, the tears of a clown and celebrity gossip
THE big news of the week comes from the Chelsea Flower Show…where Welcome to Yorkshire’s commercial director Peter Dodd was pictured wearing a tie for the first time in living memory. I thought Peter wouldn’t even wear a tie to a wedding. Given he has been lobbying me to get ...
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David Parkin on a winning combination, the earthy reality of football and finding Lord Lucan
THE first race meeting of the year at York is always my favourite. The Dante meeting in mid May is a highlight for its high quality racing. It is busy but never the bunfight you have during the Ebor Festival in August so you can achieve some quality networking. Throw ...
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David Parkin on blowing your own horn and retail rot
NO there won’t be a caption competition for the photograph above. When I was a journalist we used to love having an unusual picture to accompany the story. When you are one of the subjects in the photo and the photographer has just handed you a horn and told you ...
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David Parkin on the legacy of a local hero and feeling like a million dollars
FAREWELL then Keith Tate. I read a short obituary in the Yorkshire Post a couple of weeks ago about a boxing trainer I met 30 years ago and memories came flooding back. When I was a teenage student at Huddersfield Polytechnic (it turned into a university just in time for ...
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David Parkin on a supermarket sweep, rebels without a clue and judge cred
THE only people who seem surprised by the Competition and Markets Authority ruling out Asda’s merger with Sainsbury’s are the people running the two supermarkets. The CMA announced its decision yesterday saying it believed the deal to create Britain’s biggest supermarket – accounting for £1 in every £3 spent on ...
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David Parkin on why bottom of the league are top of the class, a hardy perennial blossoms at the Masters and getting hits with the ghoulies
IF my host at last Saturday’s match between Huddersfield Town and Leicester City had invited me to make himself feel better, then he didn’t mention it. The West Yorkshire club were playing their first game since their relegation from the Premier League was confirmed by a 2-0 loss at Crystal ...
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David Parkin on the future of Welcome to Yorkshire and rocking the boat
DEPENDING on your viewpoint, the scheduling of Welcome to Yorkshire’s annual Y19 conference this week came at the worst, or the best, possible time. Chief executive Sir Gary Verity resigned on health grounds two weeks ago from the role he had held for a decade. He left after concerns were ...
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David Parkin on Sir Gary Verity and getting shirty
THERE is no getting away from the big news of the last seven days. It all surrounded a larger than life figure with many fans, a good number of detractors and an ability to attract a huge amount of publicity and also some controversy. Most of us were shocked, some ...
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David Parkin on a leisurely discussion, luxury hotels and a rose of hope
NO the picture above isn’t a shot from the set of a new Yorkshire version of Mamma Mia. Although the bloke at front left does have a look of a young Pierce Brosnan. It is from an event we organised this week for financial recruitment firm Woodrow Mercer Finance at ...
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David Parkin on Game of Thrones, balloons, bikes and cat flaps
FROM gold medal winning Olympians to David Bowie, the Kaiser Chiefs, chart toppers Rudimental and Game of Thrones. At a dinner for alumni of Leeds Beckett University last week I learned of the cultural, teaching, sporting and learning influence that the institution, dating back to 1824, has had. And given ...
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David Parkin joins Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran
BEYONCE, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Coldplay. Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium has played host to some of the world’s biggest names in entertainment. This week it was my turn. Now admittedly, I didn’t appear in front of the size of crowd that Queen B and Jay Z are used to. And ...
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David Parkin on a heavyweight meeting, Italian restaurants and a dog day afternoon
WHEN it comes to stories of redemption, Tyson Fury’s is hard to beat. Seemingly on top of the world after improbably winning the world heavyweight title from long-serving champion Wladimir Klitschko, the self-titled Gipsy King’s fall from grace was rapid and shocking. Rightly vilified for making misogynistic and homophobic comments, ...
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David Parkin can’t escape Yorkshire on the other side of the world and has a Valentine’s date with a drag queen
YOU go on holiday to get away from it all. I’ve just spent two weeks in South Africa and couldn’t get away from Yorkshire. I suppose I wasn’t so much annoyed as surprised. You fly halfway across the world and you don’t really expect there to be many reminders of ...
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David Parkin on meeting a legend and words of wisdom from a barber
THEY say it is better to give than to receive. IT certainly felt like that for me last week when we delivered our latest event for Sky. The broadcaster brought together its 250 team managers from every corner of the UK to brief them on new communications technology which is ...
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David Parkin on the bad and good of banking, Spygate and staying power
THEY say that moving house is one of life’s more stressful experiences. Given I organised my house move five days before Christmas I was prepared for a good dose of chaos in the run up to and during the festive holidays. But the move itself was pretty smooth considering and ...
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David Parkin gets turned on to Brexit by Channel 4 and ponders the bear facts of Nookie
“THAT’S a nice scarf,” said the chap who served me a cup of tea yesterday. “He always looks smart and important,” said my companion. “Yes he looks like the main man, are you his bodyguard?” said the man behind the counter as he gave us our tea. Now given that ...
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David Parkin on a bizarre episode and Dire Straits
YOU can’t spend 20-odd years in journalism without annoying somebody. Being chased by the BNP, receiving death threats from irate football fans and and a warning of legal action from Ken Bates when he was chairman of Leeds United are all experiences which I don’t look back on fondly. But ...
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David Parkin on Brexit with Biggins and disappointing divas
IT seemed bizarrely appropriate that I was discussing Brexit with Christopher Biggins this week. The former I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here winner is appearing in Billy Pearce’s annual show at the Bradford Alhambra this Christmas. And given the pantomime that Brexit has become, talking to one of ...
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David Parkin enjoys sex in Hollywood and a nice bit of cheese on toast
YOU may not have heard of Dr Boyd Cooper but you would definitely know the names of some of his patients. The doctor, who has just turned 95-years-old, is one of Hollywood’s most celebrated physicians. In a career covering six decades he had an illustrious following including Liza Minelli, Karen ...
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David Parkin hears some great stories and finds the Greatest Showman
I WANNA tell you a story. Readers of a certain vintage will recognise this catchphrase of crooner and TV game show host Max Bygraves. Although apparently Singalongamax claimed it was apocryphal and was made up by impressionist Mike Yarwood. Whether it was true for Max Bygraves, it is certainly right ...
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David Parkin says blame incompetence not the internet for newspapers’ problems
JOHNSTON Press, one of the largest newspaper groups in Britain with a stable of 200 titles including the Yorkshire Post, Scotsman and national daily the i, went into administration last week. The management of the business will give you two reasons for why that happened – Google and Facebook. In ...
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David Parkin takes in the corridors of power, enjoys Arnold’s and gets an indecent proposal
EVEN before yesterday’s dramatic Brexit-related developments in Parliament, there was a slightly feverish feel to the corridors of power at Westminster. You could sense it on Tuesday when I attended the annual Yorkshire and the Humber MP Reception organised by the CBI and Barclays in the Churchill Room at the ...
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David Parkin on hard work, wine, Dakota dining and Persimmon pandemonium
SOMETIMES work just doesn’t seem like work. I’m currently writing a blog about wine for a client and met up with Adam Ketteringham of Corney & Barrow, the 230-year-old wine merchant which holds Royal Warrants as wine supplier to the Queen and the Prince of Wales. Adam, who used to ...
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David Parkin on knockout screen success from Leeds and party pooping
A COUPLE of years ago my old chairman from TheBusinessDesk.com, Chris Jones, introduced me to a talented filmmaker called Nick Ryle who was seeking funding for his next project. On the back of producing the critically acclaimed film ‘Being AP’, a fly-on-the-wall documentary about legendary jump jockey Sir Tony McCoy, ...
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David Parkin enjoys a day out with a moody bird and a good slap and welcomes another event ban
WHEN you put on the biggest agricultural show in Britain every summer, it must be difficult to find things to do in between times. But the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, whose Great Yorkshire Show is a three-day annual extravaganza every July, has created its smaller sibling in Countryside Live. The event ...
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David Parkin on the rich list, looking at birds and critical feedback
GLANCING at Insider magazine’s recently published Yorkshire Rich List I wasn’t surprised to see that there is no change at the summit for the umpteenth year. Brothers Malcolm and Eddie Healey once again top the table, with a combined fortune of £1.65bn. Malcolm Healey’s York-based West Retail Group includes Wren ...
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David Parkin on a funny old week
IT’S been a funny old week. That was one of my Dad’s regular expressions and given he died on Sunday, I think he’d agree. Some people choose sports people as their heroes, some choose leaders of nations, for me it was my father. He inspired me to go into journalism ...
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David Parkin on more Ivy experiences, joining the culture club and being James Bond
REGULAR readers will know of my frequent visits to Hull and my enthusiasm for this historic and welcoming East Yorkshire city. It has seen me invited to take part in an annual pageant celebrating the culture and rich history of Hull. It involves a group of Hull businessmen, led by ...
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David Parkin on Ivy reaction, Rhode Island reading and surreal celebs
WHEN I wrote about a recent experience at the Ivy restaurant in Harrogate last week I have to say I didn’t expect it to get the reaction it did. The blog has been read by more than 5,100 people so far and attracted 73 comments and over 250 likes on ...
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David Parkin finds the Ivy all fur coat and no knickers
ESCAPE rooms are an increasingly popular activity for groups of work colleague and friends. But I’ve got an alternative for you. Try getting into one of the many Ivy Brasserie restaurants that seem to have sprung up like knotweed around the UK over the past 12 months. If you do ...
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David Parkin on four boys in a boat and nearly selling a selfie
WHEN four burly blokes surround you and ask you to do a job for them it is difficult to decline. Fortunately they are a quartet of top men who are aiming to break the world record for rowing across the Atlantic and they want some help with a charity dinner ...
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David Parkin on strong transatlantic ties, the tooth of the matter and mankini selfies
DONALD Trump might be threatening to take a sledgehammer to many of the United States’ foreign trade agreements but that shouldn’t mask the huge opportunity that British firms have to do business with America. With Brexit looming, there is a renewed enthusiasm on both sides of the Atlantic to build ...
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David Parkin on the hottest ticket to the greatest show and the stars out at York
I’VE long held the view that the Firecracker Ball is the hottest ticket in the Yorkshire business and social calendar. So when Martha Phillips from the Firecracker Ball committee rang to ask if I would be interested in being media partner for this year’s event I didn’t hesitate to say ...
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David Parkin goes to Hull and back and needs new balls
TO Hull and Back. That was the name of the Only Fools and Horses Christmas special way back in 1985. I remember watching it on my new portable colour TV in my bedroom right after the Queen’s Speech on Christmas Day. It was the first feature-length episode of the sitcom ...
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David Parkin on unsung heroes of business and a Gazza own goal
UNSUNG heroes. It’s a strange phrase. I’ve always loved unearthing the unsung heroes of business. You know, the entrepreneurs who have created something special but also wanted to put something back. But by highlighting their achievements doesn’t that mean that they are no longer unsung? That might be the case ...
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David Parkin on a Tour de France finale and too much monkey business
“ARE you taking your Ferraro Rocher?” I was asked when I told a friend I was off to watch the finish of the Tour de France on the Champs-Elysées, preceded by a drinks reception on the lawn of the British Embassy in Paris. “No, we’re flying to Paris and anyway, ...
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David Parkin on Sky inspiration, a sporting Rolls-Royce and getting short shrift for wearing a suit
FORGIVE the self-indulgence in including yet another photograph of me in this blog. But given I wrote about attire in the workplace last week at least the above shot proves that I don’t always go to work in a suit or dinner jacket. This was me compering a recent event ...
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David Parkin meets rabbits and muppets at the Great Yorkshire Show
YOU know you’re at the Great Yorkshire Show when you patiently wait for a pack of beagles to cross the road in front of you and walk contentedly around a barn staring at prize-winning rabbits (the English Spot is like Thumper crossed with Perdita from 101 Dalmatians). Having failed to ...
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David Parkin finds clean air in Norway and mucky birds in Yorkshire
LAST weekend was spent in Norway, a country I had never been to before. If that Scandinavian nation which isn’t in the European Union is what Britain can be like post Brexit, then I’m all for it. Blue skies, sparkling fjords, bright-eyed smiling people and it doesn’t get dark until ...
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David Parkin tastes luxury on the coast and says farewell to a friend
THREE months into his year as High Sheriff of West Yorkshire and Richard Jackson MBE admits he is busier than ever. As well as his voluntary role hosting High Court judges and welcoming royalty to the county, he is continuing his business projects. Richard’s Yorkshire Ventures business acquired the Raithwaite ...
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque ac urna in nunc blandit placerat. Aliquam hendrerit lacus euismod ipsum interdum vehicula. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. In euismod sem ligula, vitae pulvinar augue dignissim non. Praesent imperdiet odio nec ipsum faucibus venenatis. Aenean semper ...
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David Parkin on Sky presenting and a food challenge with a difference
IT has been a busy but rewarding week with the high spot a day-long training session for Sky on presentation skills. No it wasn’t the Sky newsreaders who needed the benefit of my help but regional managers who work in the group’s home service division. We put together and I ...
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David Parkin on the danger of Leeds resting on its laurels, bolting in Brid and TV fame
IN the last few weeks Leeds has hosted England Test Match cricket versus Pakistan at Headingley. Across the city international football was played at at Elland Road with England v Costa Rica plus boxer Josh Warrington won a world title in his home city front of 20,000 fans. Meanwhile last ...
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David Parkin on being a Love Island virgin, Peter Stringfellow and a testing time at the cricket
UP to now ITV2 show Love Island has passed me by but I did notice the interest it has generated among viewers and the media. It seemed to attract an audience that wasn’t just the crowd who watch other reality TV shows such as Geordie Shore, The Real Housewives of ...
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David Parkin pays tribute to two top men, spots celebrities and encounters a naked lawyer
FAREWELL then Brendan Ingle. The eccentric Irishman forged five world champions in his gym perched on a steep hill in the Wincobank area of Sheffield. “Prince” Naseem Hamed, Johnny “The Entertainer” Nelson, Clinton Woods, Junior Witter and Kell Brook were trained by Brendan in the St Thomas’s Boys & Girls ...
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David Parkin on a little bit of the other….
IF you’re going to pick a sporting hero then you are not going to be short of stories with Gazza. BBC football commentator Guy Mowbray admitted that his true sporting hero is Sir Ian Botham but he felt he should stick to his own sport when choosing a subject to ...
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David Parkin meets a Judge, a Sheriff and Royston Vasey royalty
I WENT up before a judge this week. I know what you’re thinking: not before time. But be fair – I haven’t been in any bother since the tag came off. So fortunately the long arm of the law didn’t so much mean I had my collar felt as put ...
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David Parkin on seeing double, Tour de Yorkshire triumph, Leeds United and Huddersfield Town
TWO David Parkins. What a prospect. I can hear women fainting across Britain. And beyond. But last night, about 8.15pm in a marquee near Harrogate, that is what mankind (and the ladies) were faced with. Up popped my visage on the big screens at the Variety Yorkshire Property Awards where ...
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David Parkin on ABBA, the Tour de Yorkshire and going plural
YOU go away for a week and it all happens. The Home Secretary resigns, Sainsbury’s and Asda announce they want to merge and the brains trust at the Football Association want to sell Wembley to an American football club owner. It all seemed to be going on last week. You’ll ...
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David Parkin freezes in London, blows up a balloon in Leeds and runs out of words
A TRIP to London last weekend underlined the gulf that now exists between certain parts of the capital and the rest of the country. Spend some time walking the streets of Knightsbridge, Mayfair or Kensington and you see plenty of examples of what now makes modern London. From Kazakh billionaires ...
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David Parkin on losing Len, veterans in Vegas and Yorkshire on TV
WARM, intelligent, generous, thoughtful and honest, Len Tingle had these and many more qualities. A top class journalist and broadcaster, Len died this week after a year long fight with stomach cancer. Len, 63, who lived in Huddersfield but was brought up in Cudworth near Barnsley, was a familiar face ...
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David Parkin on Carol Vorderman, the bard of Bardsey and a swinging sensation
IF you asked most people 30 years ago to explain what “equity release” was, they almost certainly couldn’t. In fact the phrase probably hadn’t even been invented then. But a bit like social media it is a product of the way we live today and there can’t be many people ...
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David Parkin on failing a taste test and seeing Yorkshire in all its glory
“NO, no, no. You don’t do it like that!” All I was doing was posing with a tea cup for a photograph. But it was in the tea tasting room at world renowned Yorkshire tea and coffee maker Taylors. And, according to Mo, one of the firm’s seven-strong tasting team, ...
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David Parkin on the business of food and drink and being tickled by Doddy
THE most interesting thing about meeting an entrepreneur is learning what inspired them to start out in business and what challenges they faced. Self doubt, inexperience, lack of funding, challenges with cashflow are oft quoted examples of hurdles faced by those who embark along the hazardous path of launching their ...
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David Parkin on doing things right in business, making networking deliver and sporting winners and a loser
THE youth of today. Every generation throws their hands to the heavens and always says things were “better in my day”. I’ve never been a subscriber to that approach. Having interviewed and employed lots of young people, I’m continually impressed by the communication skills, maturity, enthusiasm and tenacity that so ...
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David Parkin warms his cockles with a kangaroo and lunches like a lounge lizard
HAS the picture above warmed you up on a snowy March morning? I almost used it in the blog last week as it was the last Friday in February and I figured that by the time March arrived we would be heading into spring at full speed. And then the ...
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David Parkin on hipsters in Halifax, Prince Naseem boxing clever and discovering a surprising lookalike
IT’S official! That definitive guide to all things trendy, The Guardian, has declared that Halifax is the ‘Shoreditch of the North’. In my younger days The Guardian was the newspaper read by Birkenstock-wearing teachers and social workers and certainly couldn’t be termed trendy. Nowadays it is popular with those who ...
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David Parkin finds out why all the world is a stage and ponders his demise
ONE of our most celebrated Shakespearean actors was the rather surprise guest speaker at last week’s Harrogate Business Lunch. Simon Callow followed in the footsteps of entertaining and inspiring raconteurs including Brian Blessed, Sir Matthew Pinsent…and Barry from Eastenders. Mind you, I don’t think anyone else could get the reaction ...
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David Parkin on a reality rocket, the business of food and drink and Victoria’s secret
HOW times have changed. In my youth, if you were told that an exotically-named billionaire was planning to launch a rocket to the moon that was twice as powerful as anything sent before it into space, you’d have probably thought it was the fantastical plot of the next James Bond ...
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David Parkin on Power, the Presidents Club and the Big Ticket bash
WHO is the most powerful person in Yorkshire? I’ll give you three guesses. You want a few clues? OK try these. Our Power Person was born in Lancashire, grew up in Bristol and lives in the West Midlands. No idea? It’s Sajid Javid, the Conservative MP for Bromsgrove and the ...
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David Parkin breaks new ground, ponders a Boris bridge and competes with panto royalty
IF you are looking for inspiration, ambition, fortitude, hope and positivity, then a muddy patch of grass next to a multi-storey car park on a chilly Monday morning in January is a strange place to find it. But I found all that and more at the ground-breaking event for the ...
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David Parkin on a new self-help app, the magic of Ryan Giggs and keeping cheery on Blue Monday
THIS week started with Blue Monday, the day which is said to be the most depressing of the year. I’m not sure why, but I suppose if you are going to dub a particular day the worst of the year, then a bleak and chilly Monday in January is a ...
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David Parkin on supermarket success and a hairy time for dealmakers
WHEN I had a pop at Asda’s failings last year I contrasted its performance to that of fellow Yorkshire supermarket Morrisons. Under chief executive David Potts, Morriebobs, as it is sometimes affectionately called by shoppers, is getting back to the glory days it had when run by the late Sir ...
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David Parkin looks to banish the January blues
FOR the first time in years I went to a pantomime at Christmas. No I’m not going to say it. OK I will. Oh yes I did. Sleeping Beauty at the Woodville Theatre in Gravesend. A host of theatrical greats were in the cast. Well, Linda Lusardi and 90s girl ...
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So…David Parkin has a surreal experience
WHEN I started working at the Yorkshire Post one of the first contacts I made was a larger than life public relations man called Andy Green. A West Ham fan, when Andy spoke his mind moved so quickly and he knew so much that words seemed to just tumble from ...
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David Parkin finds Hollywood in the Yorkshire Dales, ducks Mad Friday and meets a music legend
WELCOME to Yorkshire held its latest dinner for its Y30 corporate members in the wonderful surroundings of the Swinton Park Estate this week. I always enjoy the venues and the company at these events, but this was even more special – given the timing and surroundings, it felt like someone ...
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David Parkin on the Tour de Yorkshire, Forward Ladies and growing Chinese links
IF the Tour de Yorkshire doesn’t go past your house then the chances are that the cycle race will not be too far away. The annual event, the legacy of the county hosting the phenomenally successful Tour de France Grand Depart in 2014, will be bigger, longer and more challenging ...
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David Parkin starts feeling festive, misses an invite from a Legend and sees Yorkshire food and drink take off
IF you are anything like me you’ll have been trying to avoid Christmas for the past month. Much to the annoyance of retailers, who now switch to festive sales mode as soon as Halloween has gone. While a near two month window of opportunity to push their goods is great ...
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David Parkin on the changing face of the media, a Trump card in the Middle East and crisp thinking
A TWEET earlier this week from my former colleague Ian Briggs reminded me it was 10 years to the day since we launched TheBusinessDesk.com. I knew it was a decade since I took that leap into the dark from the Yorkshire Post to launch the first regional business news service ...
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David Parkin tries to find a business barometer in a bar
WITH the twin aims of researching how the economy is fairing and building up stamina for the Christmas season, I headed off to two drinks parties last night. First it was to AECOM’s annual ‘Winter Warmer’ at Crafthouse in the Trinity centre in Leeds. I didn’t know much about the ...
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David Parkin on the farce of Fifa, a pioneering sports lawyer and the tale of a tailor
IN a world where news is delivered via 280-character Tweets, video clips and soundbites, David Conn is something of an oddity. He is a sports journalist who can take weeks, months or even years to produce his work. Conn started to write about the Hillsborough disaster 20 years ago and ...
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David Parkin on a Big Night Out, all change at Asda and the ultimate insult
FROM the service you get at Bridlington Tourist Information Centre to the performances at Hull Truck Theatre to the food and drink at The Pheasant Hotel in Harome and the Bay Tree pub at Stillington. The White Rose Awards are a yearly celebration of Yorkshire’s burgeoning tourism industry and my ...
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David Parkin on a company that lacks vision, the Domino effect and becoming a dealmaker
YOU may have missed it, but there is currently a battle raging around the future direction of regional newspaper publisher Johnston Press. The group, which owns the Yorkshire Post and the Scotsman, is the second largest publisher of local newspapers in the UK. And it is valued on the stock ...
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David Parkin goes to London to meet the great and good of Yorkshire
ONE of the best perks I ever had was a press pass to the Houses of Parliament. The weight of history combined with knowing that you were here in the “Mother of Parliaments” was genuinely awe-inspiring. And the subsidised press bar and restaurant was nice too. I used to take ...
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David Parkin on a devolution dead parrot and the event that sells out quicker than Take That
THE stand off between the Government and a majority of Yorkshire councils over regional devolution is starting to resemble Monty Python’s dead parrot sketch. You remember the one – where customer John Cleese has bought a parrot which is dead but pet shop owner Michael Palin is trying to convince ...
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David Parkin on America’s biggest danger, language differences and fame at last
WITH his sombre tone and measured words, Donald Trump struck a strangely presidential figure as he reacted to the Las Vegas massacre, the kind of scene we have rarely seen since the President took office in January. Similar words on his Twitter feed looked oddly out of place, juxtaposed as ...
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David Parkin on an exchange of export success, a Playboy story and a new role
THE sun was threatening to push itself through the clouds above York Racecourse bathing the Knavesmire in an early morning autumnal hue. There is nothing that compensates for having to get up in the dark than arriving at your destination and being inspired by the setting. As I walked out ...
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David Parkin looks into the future for Asda, remembers Raging Bull and names from Game of Thrones
IF I’d known writing about Asda would create so much interest, I’d have done it years ago. As well as being emailed out to more than 7,000 people I also publish this blog on Linkedin. Last week’s set a record with 5,850 views on Linkedin and 146 likes. Interestingly 671 ...
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David Parkin on the price of failure at Asda and a Goodfella who hit a high note as a Soprano
THEY used to run a scheme at Asda’s head office in Leeds called the Golden Cone Awards. Staff, or “colleagues” as the supermarket likes to call them, voted for the most effective and popular team members who then were allowed to park in a space marked by a golden traffic ...
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David Parkin goes to Hull and back, meets a finance director with a fan club and embraces gender diversity
HULL has really embraced its title of UK City of Culture with a gusto that is impressive. Cultural events are happening on a daily basis throughout 2017 and the East Yorkshire city now provides a case study of how to leverage such an opportunity to maximum benefit. It has been ...
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David Parkin on a nice guy of business, boxing clever and working hard…just like that
GOLF is not something I spend much time playing these days but when an invitation was received from David Ansbro, the former UK and European boss of law firm Eversheds, I jumped at the opportunity. David is one of those rare individuals who combine warmth, humour, intelligence and wisdom along ...
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David Parkin on the style of York Races, a Northern Powerhouse and a Brucie bonus
THE BBC 4 channel had a surprising TV hit on its hands last year when it put a camera on the footplate of a train travelling down the East Coast Main Line. I think I’ve come up with a sequel. I’m going to get a drone to fly over the ...
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David Parkin on the perils of out of office, Uber, the madness of the Premier League and celebrating Elvis
EVERY week I spend part of my Friday morning deleting several hundred automatic email out of office replies to this blog. Most of them have the usual message about being away from the office on holiday or on a day off and details of when the person will be back ...
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David Parkin on Yorkshire’s path to the promised land and his Kylie connection
I’M always impressed by the passion that the people running Yorkshire’s accountancy and law firms have for the region as a whole. Of course, if the region in which you live and work thrives, then there is a good chance that your own business will do pretty well. But putting ...
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David Parkin on being the centre of attention for Yorkshire women
LAST week’s blog caused quite a kerfuffle. Not from any of the words in it, but the photograph that accompanied it. I described a trip to London to speak to the YEWTGH Club – which stands for Yorkshire Exiles Waiting To Go Home. The photograph of me with members of ...
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David Parkin on finding a bit of Yorkshire in London
UNTIL a few months ago I was unaware of the existence of an organisation called the YEWTGH club. It’s like a Yorkshire version of SPECTRE, except a bit more secretive. YEWTGH stands for Yorkshire Exiles Waiting To Go Home and is a dining club for ex-pat Tykes who live and ...
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David Parkin on Dr Who, BBC pay, farewell to a cricket icon and putting your best Louboutin forward
FORGIVE me for not being bothered about the two biggest stories that have obsessed the BBC and the rest of the mainstream media this week. The Beeb threw all its resources at both the announcement of the new Dr Who and the publishing of a list of its 96 best ...
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David Parkin on how Huddersfield will conquer the world and a royal appointment
THIS time last week I was hosting the launch of Export Exchange, a new initiative from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership and the Department for International Trade with funding from the European Union’s Regional Development Fund. The scheme is aimed at bringing together a group of experienced exporters, ...
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David Parkin on Celine Dion, being tickled by ukeleles and sharking skills
IT’S been a musical week. And I’ve not even been to Glastonbury. Much to the chagrin, I’m sure, of the BBC, which put so much effort into the music festival it almost hurt. I couldn’t think of anywhere worse to go. I’m sure there are people working for the Beeb ...
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David Parkin on mingling with the glitterati, Jigsaw’s puzzle and finding a new hobby
THE latest restaurant to launch in Leeds opened its doors this week. Issho is part of the D&D stable, the London-based chain that acquired the Conran group and already operates Crafthouse and Angelica in Leeds. The new venue is in the Victoria Gate shopping centre and boasts a restaurant, bar ...
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David Parkin beside the seaside, finding an oasis of calm in the city and boxing the Terminator
I WENT to the seaside in my suit last week. The Welcome to Yorkshire team invited me to join them at a new event called The Business Day at Bridlington Spa. Launched by East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Hull City Council, the fear was that any event organised by ...
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David Parkin on election negatives and why football is all Greek to him
HOW do you sum up the election campaign? As far as Theresa May’s Conservative Party goes, I’d quote my late grandfather. Somebody who had lived, indeed served in the armed forces, during the First World War, whenever there was a crisis, or even a minor mishap, he’d exclaim: “It’s the ...
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David Parkin hears the naked truth about Beckham and salutes the left’s answer to Boris Johnson
THE challenge of any event featuring more than one speaker is you are always going to have comparisons made by the audience. The Lord’s Taverners Balloon Debate takes that a step further in that it has four speakers and the audience has to vote them out over a series of ...
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David Parkin sees Tory silence speaks volumes, economic boosts and why wine and cheek don’t mix
THE Radio 4 Today programme was broadcast from Leeds yesterday morning with presenter Nick Robinson based at the Winder Power factory in Pudsey. Given the city is a key election battle ground, narrowly voted against Brexit and has an economy with a strong manufacturing and financial centre, it provided a ...
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David Parkin on the Tour de Yorkshire, Star Wars, Burberry mac attack and being showered with attention
DID you experience this year’s Tour de Yorkshire? Whether you were on the route or just took it all in from the TV, this year’s three-day cycle race was a tour de force. After last year’s downpours and the technical problems that led to the grounding of the aircraft due ...
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David Parkin on being suited to a role alongside David Gandy and going all Groucho Marx
OF all the jobs I fancy doing, “brand ambassador” is top of the list. You’ve seen them, whether it is David Beckham and Breitling or George Clooney with Omega, down to a flurry of reality TV stars who promote particular products, being an ambassador for a brand looks a great ...
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David Parkin on election excess, sporting recruitment and finding your inner Frankie
I WAS strangely enthused and a bit excited by the announcement of a snap general election by Prime Minister Theresa May this week. I say strangely, because I thought after last year’s referendum on Europe, a general election in 2015 and the vote on Scottish independence in 2014, I, like ...
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David Parkin on fake news, customer service the United Airlines way, and celebrity chef sightings
FAKE News. Or Fake Nooze as dear old President Trump says it. It is certainly the topic du jour. The plethora of news providers combined with the online ease to access news as well as readers’ ability to connect and share it via social media means that it doesn’t take ...
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David Parkin on great sporting clashes, robots v lawyers and the dark side of Harrogate
EVERY sport has had its memorable clashes. In boxing Ali versus Frazier stretched to three fights culminating in the Thrilla in Manila. In cricket the Ashes gets the juices flowing every two years when England and Australia clash. And in football every weekend appears to throw up a big match ...
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David Parkin finds a positive approach to Brexit, hears about rascals in Downing Street and continues his quest to find the perfect way to mix beer and business
ON the day that the government triggered article 50 which will lead to the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, to be hosting an event aimed at helping businesses create and grow overseas trade opportunities, seemed entirely appropriate. We were working with the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) ...
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David Parkin hears a crisp message, sees Yorkshire in all its glory and learns how to be irresistible
THE jamboree that is Welcome to Yorkshire’s annual conference to promote the region took place this week. I hadn’t been to one of the events since Y15 two years ago, so was interested to see what this year’s event would be called. So there I was at Y17 at the ...
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David Parkin on going clubbing and celebrating a lack of lawyers and WAGs
I’VE found the secret to eternal youth. It’s called the Bradford Club Annual Dinner. I was invited by long-standing member Craig Burton, who runs The Works Recruitment firm. The thick shag pile carpet at the impressive club in Piece Hall Yard saw me trip as I walked through the door. ...
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David Parkin on cycling success, overseas ambition, anger management and too many cooks
CYCLING is described as the new golf in business circles these days. Executives meeting in coffee shops on Monday mornings no longer discuss their performance in the golf club medal at the weekend, more likely their lycra-clad escapades on two wheels across the British countryside. And this hobby is also ...
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David Parkin on a degree of success, turning visionary and accountants at the Oscars
I PAID a visit to my alma mater the other day. No, not Borstal or Rampton. In the spirit of political correctness, younger readers should refrain from Googling those names. Anyway, I visited the University of Huddersfield thanks to an invitation from Professor Bob Cryan, the vice chancellor, who took ...
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David Parkin on the end of a quest, Pickles at Convive and hunting for bunting
HE did it. I’ve featured the story of football fan Ed Wood here before. Last August he set out on a quest to break the world record he first set 25 years ago for going to a match at every league ground in England and Wales in the shortest possible ...
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David Parkin on doing business at a beer festival and busting the cosmetic surgery myth
IT’S beer festival season and the latest craze in business circles is a corporate afternoon at a festival. This basically consists of accountants, lawyers and property professionals cramming into the venue for a few hours drinking and socialising before they let the riff raff in. This is done not because ...
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David Parkin on a big night out for dealmakers, memories of The Moorside and The Last Word on Sir Ken
WHEN we devised (it sounds so much more strategic than ‘came up with’) the Big Ticket event it was in response to plaintive wails from corporate financiers. Unlike some sectors of the business and finance world, dealmakers are a sociable and lively crowd who tend towards camaraderie rather than backbiting. ...
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David Parkin on the wit and wisdom of Sir Ken Morrison
THEY don’t make them like Sir Ken Morrison any more. Well not that I can see. He may have been 85, but the death of the Knight of the Supermarket Aisles this week came as a shock. He just seemed like he could go on forever, a never-ending font of ...
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David Parkin on the power of business, Trump tales and dressing for success
PRIME Minister Theresa May’s early attitude to the Northern Powerhouse idea didn’t appear very enthusiastic. She certainly didn’t back it wholeheartedly and her appointment of the MP Andrew Percy as the Northern Powerhouse Minister came almost as an after thought to the majority of her ministerial moves. The fact he ...
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David Parkin hits the gin trail, enjoys stories about a true sporting hero and gets battered by names
OTHER than this weekly blog (which has variously been described as “ramblings” “scribblings” and “drivel” – and that’s by the people who enjoy reading it) I haven’t really written anything seriously since leaving TheBusinessDesk a couple of years ago. And when I bumped into former journalism colleague Jo Francisco, now ...
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David Parkin on tricky times for Trump, remembering Taylor and maid in Harrogate
IN a week’s time President Elect Donald Trump gets given the keys to the White House. And those hoping that since his election win in November he has had the chance to reflect and perhaps become more statesmanlike only had to tune into his press conference this week to realise ...
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David Parkin on words of wisdom and a plumptious honour by Jove!
WADE through the umpteen gongs for Britain’s Rio Olympians and Paralympians and the honours given out to civil servants for simply doing their jobs and there were some interesting and worthy recipients of New Year Honours. I’m not saying our sporting stars didn’t deserve recognition, but the volume dished out ...
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David Parkin cheers Bradford’s celebration of Hockney, sees success at Elland Road and embraces the Christmas spirit
BRADFORD doesn’t seem to get much positive publicity these days. Through a combination of unjust views from those outside the city and a local authority which hasn’t always made the best decisions, Bradford has not really been seen with its name in lights very often. So it was great to ...
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David Parkin on not boxing clever, ring names and Christmas cheer
IT seemed a good idea at the time. After a boxing training session I was chatting about fitness to my friend Nathan Lane of Campfire PR. I told him he lacked stamina and he told me he didn’t. One thing led to another and suddenly a challenge was laid down ...
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David Parkin on a maritime marvel, sartorial success and dinner with dummies
BRITAIN bid a fond farewell to aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious this week after 32 years in service with the Royal Navy. The ship, which weighs 22,00 tonnes, is 210 metres long and has sailed 900,000 miles across the world’s seas, left its home port of Portsmouth for the final time ...
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David Parkin banks on change, sees his musical taste go pop and crazy Christmas adverts
IT is rare that you go to an event and the speech by the sponsor makes headlines. But yesterday’s Forward Ladies National Women in Business Awards Grand Final lunch certainly did that. I was a guest of James Cliffe, UK head of business banking at global group HSBC and he ...
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David Parkin on a Strictly seaside myth, tourism stars and a date with Beyonce
I’M thinking of reporting the BBC to trading standards. Not because I’m consumed by that ‘licence fee waste’ paranoia that obsesses some newspapers. But I’m worried that many innocent people may be planning trips to Blackpool after the Strictly Come Dancing special from the seaside resort on Saturday. The way ...
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David Parkin hears inspiring stories in a spectacular setting and remembers a gritty pugilist and smooth operator
IF there is a more historic and impressive venue to celebrate your degree graduation than York Minster, I’d like to see it. Oxford and Cambridge colleges boast so much heritage amid their dreaming spires, but when it comes to breathtaking buildings, York Minister takes the biscuit. I joined an audience ...
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David Parkin on a big night out, cafe culture and embracing a Trump future
I’VE been to enough events to know what makes a bad one. I’m sure you have too. So when discussion turned to an event that the region’s corporate finance community would enjoy attending, we knew what it shouldn’t have. The Big Ticket night out for Yorkshire’s dealmakers will have no ...
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David Parkin on the Commons touch and dressing down for Halloween
TO London at the start of this week for the annual Barclays and CBI reception for Yorkshire MPs and business people. If the aim of the event was to encourage clear thinking debate then they certainly achieved it: there wasn’t an alcoholic drink in sight, just soft drinks and tea ...
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David Parkin on why Brexit doesn’t suit everyone, saying goodbye to blue chip bankers and a date with Miss World
WHEN a successful entrepreneur confides in you that watching Leeds United is “enjoyable” then you realise how tough his day job must be proving. I called in for a cup of tea with Simon Berwin, the fourth generation of the family tailoring business Berwin & Berwin, founded back in 1885. ...
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David Parkin on Yorkshire’s Finest, Brexit bother and a 21st century play problem
I LEFT Eversheds’ Leeds office suitably inspired the other day after hosting their Yorkshire’s Finest event. A celebration of the best of the region’s food and drink, white rose bunting adorned the law firm’s glass atrium in Bridgewater Place, Yorkshire’s tallest building. And the Yorkshire’s Finest theme didn’t just apply ...
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David Parkin on more cycling success, creating a vibrant economy and a cure for killer clowns
IF anyone was in any doubt that hosting the Grand Depart of the Tour de France would help deliver a serious cycling legacy in Yorkshire, then this week’s announcement that the 2019 Road World Championships will be held in the region probably dispels those doubts. The annual competition, which features ...
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David Parkin avoids telling porkies, remembers a football great and finds his inner gangster
IT is never a good thing when you receive an email from a company which begins with the words: “We’ve been sent your blog by our solicitors”. Deep intake of breath. Having avoided the threat of litigation from Ken Bates when he was chairman of Leeds United, I don’t really ...
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David Parkin on Yorkshire’s Rio Heroes, football spivs and a marvellous view
NEVER before have so many talented individuals who have given so much been gathered together to show off the precious metal they had earned in pursuit of greatness. And that was just the mayors present. Yorkshire’s Rio Heroes homecoming parade through the streets of Leeds on Wednesday evening and the ...
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David Parkin on the good guys of business, a perfect day at the races and crunch time for biscuits
TRADE secretary Liam Fox appears to have got back in his box following his comments about British business being fat, lazy and too keen to play golf on a Friday afternoon. The comments were pretty idiotic and ill-thought out. For a man facing the Himalayan task of helping negotiate Britain’s ...
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David Parkin on a big screen star, a night in New York and a sting in the tale
THEY’VE been predicting the demise of cinemas for decades. But they are undergoing a renaissance, led in no small part by “boutique” cinema chain Everyman. This independent business opened its 19th cinema in Harrogate last week. Having visited the Everyman in Leeds’ Trinity shopping centre, what I like about their ...
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David Parkin celebrates the culture of Hull and has an arresting experience at the cricket
I DEFINITELY need to get out more. Why, you ask? Well I’ve just had one of the best days out of my life…in Hull. Yes Hull. I suppose I’ve only got myself to blame. Invited to a lunch a few months ago at the offices of Chameleon Business Interiors overlooking ...
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David Parkin on the genius of Gene Wilder, celebrity masterminds and a naked lawyer
FAREWELL then Gene Wilder. I hadn’t realised until I listened and watched the radio and TV reports on the death of the US comic actor at the age of 83, quite how many great films he had appeared in. I also didn’t realise he was that age. Having suffered from ...
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David Parkin on Olympic heroes, a BBC obsession and words of wisdom
WHAT was your highlight of the Rio Olympics? I’m not asking because I’m interested, it’s just I think I’ve absorbed the BBC mentality of: if it’s not the Olympics then it’s not worth talking about. Even Carol the weather woman on BBC Breakfast was asked for her personal favourite highlight ...
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David Parkin finds a summer flourish at York, naked ambition in Hull and a cycling legacy to be proud of
THERE’S been a worrying feeling of autumn in the air for the last few mornings. So if there is one place to go in an attempt to celebrate summer and stave off a change of season, then it’s York Races. The annual Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival is a four-day ...
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David Parkin cheers a Guinness world record attempt, gets in the slow lane for a motor and finds a way to subsidise his wine bills
IT wasn’t very long ago that I was bemoaning the lack of eccentrics in modern society. Then I was introduced to a genuine, cast iron, rock solid, 24 carat one. At 3 o’clock tomorrow afternoon Ed Wood will be watching the kick-off of Oldham against Walsall in Division One. Nothing ...
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David Parkin ponders football predictions, Daisy Duke’s style and a Glass half full
YOU know it’s been a quiet week when the highlight is being followed on Instagram by a woman in her underwear in her profile picture. Actually, it’s not been that quiet, but that particular episode did add a rare frisson of excitement during a working week where everyone else appears ...
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David Parkin on some absurd holiday reading, changing the face of board rooms and going downmarket
ANYONE who tells me they enjoy reading my blogs and then invites me to an event is almost certain of my attendance. And so it was when a complimentary email arrived from Douglas Adamson, inviting me to the launch of his second novel. Having never read the first one, I ...
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David Parkin on farewell to a banking success, a TV switch off and why gangsters get beaten by Pokemon
JUST to confirm, the photograph above isn’t of Theresa May’s new Cabinet, or even a recreation of the meeting of the five families from The Godfather. It was taken this week in the boardroom of Yorkshire Bank’s headquarters on Merrion Way in Leeds at a retirement lunch for David Maybury, ...
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David Parkin finds fun in ferrets, Playboy bunnies and Boycott
IF you’ve been feeling a bit unsettled given the political and financial uncertainty of the last few weeks, then a trip to the Great Yorkshire Show is one way of reaffirming your confidence in the world. Tens of thousands of people descend on the Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate for the ...
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David Parkin on a powerful opportunity for the North, getting in the zone and a resigning trend
IF there is one thing that has emerged since the vote to leave the European Union, it is that businesses are looking to focus on the positives amid the uncertainty. Whether you voted to remain in the EU or leave it, the reality is that financial markets and the pound ...
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David Parkin on a European double, a taste of Italy and playing a Trump card
IT’S been a funny old week. Last week’s blog was sent out just as we all were digesting the shock EU referendum result. And the vote was quickly followed by England’s defenestration from Euro 2016 by Iceland. For the UK to reject Europe via the ballot box and then for ...
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David Parkin on getting run over…by a golf buggy
GETTING run over by a golf buggy wasn’t my finest sporting hour. It isn’t a story I’m eager to tell either. But memories of that infamous occasion came flooding back this week with news of the death of great Fleet Street sports writer and editor Peter Corrigan from cancer at ...
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David Parkin on firing up a Ferrari, an Endless milestone and meeting a Farage Mini-Me
MY memories of Chris Meek, the racing driver and entrepreneur who died recently, prompted an email with some fascinating recollections from Robert Barr, whose family founded and ran motors and coach tour business Wallace Arnold. Robert led a management buyout of the coach holidays arm of the famous business backed ...
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David Parkin on a great place to eat, being put in his place and the humility missing from Mourinho
IF there is a better place to eat on a sunny day in Harrogate than La Feria, then I’d like to find it. (Please email invites to this address). The tiny restaurant serving Spanish-style chicken and tapas, nestled in a former antiques shop on a roundabout in the spa town, ...
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David Parkin on star personalities in sport and a flamboyant man who was Meek
WHY TV companies persist with dull personalities like Alan Shearer and Michael Owen, I really don’t know. Shearer’s BBC documentary looking back at Euro 96 this week was so uninspiring that I switched over. Thank goodness then for a smattering of character elsewhere in sport. Smoking cigars during his round, ...
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COPA Euro 2016 Challenge
The Sky Bet Football League season may only just have finished but there isn’t long to wait until a feast of football is served up at Euro 2016. Events business COPA has teamed up with independent corporate finance firm Sentio Partners and sports betting company Sky Bet to run a ...
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David Parkin on career envy, a racing winner in the Dales and a sales success
GIVEN that the last time I went to a Test Match I saw one wicket fall all day, I hoped I might see a few batsmen out at Headingley last Friday. On top of watching Jonny Bairstow achieve an emotional 140 we saw 15 wickets tumble during the day as ...
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David Parkin on shooting for the moon in a balloon, dodging flak and an entertaining approach to risk
WHAT do you get if you put multi gold medal winning decathlete Daley Thompson, rugby league great Kevin Sinfield, World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore and pioneering Victorian mountaineer Edward Whymper into a hot air balloon together? Well, a great charity night out for one, and secondly a fiercely competitive ...
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David Parkin on mixing business and pleasure, networking as an art and football failings
SO there I was at a rugby club beer festival talking high finance, high fashion and in high spirits. I’m really warming to the idea of business development opportunities at beer festivals, but I think I need to go to a few more before I’m completely sure. Historic Leeds rugby ...
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David Parkin on fairytale sporting success and why Mr Benn is his polar opposite
LEICESTER City’s unlikely Premier League success has highlighted that sporting glory is not just confined to football in that East Midlands city. Leicester Tigers have been a force at the top of rugby union for many years, the city’s basketball team have won the English division and local boy Mark ...
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David Parkin meets a Parliamentary heavyweight and a stockbroking star
PERHAPS it was the glorious bright Spring morning. Perhaps it was the lure of a speaker who has been lauded as one of our great Parliamentary orators. A capacity audience of 100 invited guests from the Yorkshire business community packed the offices of law firm Irwin Mitchell last Friday right ...
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David Parkin on entrepreneurial growth, a Town Centre trip and winning the war on terrier
THERE is always a real buzz and no shortage of energy when you get entrepreneurs together. That was certainly the case this week when I compered an event for KPMG, Irwin Mitchell, Business Growth Fund (BGF) and the London Stock Exchange. Focusing on the funding opportunities available for companies to ...
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David Parkin on a YABL night out and a drug dealer with a difference
The Yorkshire Asset Based Lending Dinner attracted 500 people to New Dock Hall in Leeds last night for an event that has already become something of an institution in the Yorkshire business community in just five years. I pointed out to the audience that I hadn’t seen a gathering of ...
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David Parkin on the Boss in Madrid, banking on football failure and getting naked in Hull
MADRID is one of my favourite European cities for a short break. It’s got everything you would expect a major capital city to have – but without being the size of London and other sprawling metropolises. You can easily traverse the Spanish capital on foot in a day, but I’d ...
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David Parkin on a mountaineer on a mission, popular politicians and suffering Rising Damp
WHAT do you get if you put a runner, a rugby player, a mountaineer and a broadcaster together? Not your usual night out is probably the answer. After announcing running legend Steve Cram and rugby league star Jamie Jones-Buchanan, we completed the line up for the Lord’s Taverners Balloon Debate ...
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David Parkin on Northern exposure, dog days on the train and being mistaken for a success
IT seems the Northern Powerhouse remains le subject du jour (as they are wont to say in Cleckheaton). Last week’s observations ensured plenty of feedback – leading to an entertaining swapping of texts with Leeds City Region LEP chairman Roger Marsh which ended with a few names of who both ...
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David Parkin on Northern Powerhouse, MIPIM and Budget tittle tattle
PERHAPS it is because I wasn’t invited, but the news coming out of the MIPIM international property exhibition and conference in Cannes this week appears to have been rather muted. It has long been derided as a champagne-fuelled jolly – mainly by those who don’t get to go – but ...
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David Parkin on inspiring names, inspiring views and inspiring women
IT’S been 35 years since that memorable broadcast by an ecstatic Norwegian football commentator after his country shocked England with a 2-1 victory in a World Cup qualifier in Oslo. Many of those that weren’t even born in 1981 have heard, or even quote the pay-off line to Bjørge Lillelien’s ...
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David Parkin enjoys some legal entertainment and books a date with Jordan
LAST night I enjoyed the hospitality of the Leeds Law Society at its historic dinner. Well it was actually the law firm Ward Hadaway whose table I was on for the black tie do at the Aspire venue in Leeds. My invitation came from past president Philip Jordan, a partner ...
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David Parkin mixes business with beer and gives Ant and Dec a run for their money
THE two places where the most business seems to get done these days are coffee shops and beer festivals. Nothing surprising about the former – merchants, financiers and entrepreneurs have been meeting in coffee houses for centuries. Forget the recent proliferation of Starbucks and Costa, the real coffee revolution was ...
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David Parkin on brassneck in business, mayors and monkeys and raising the stakes to find a ladies day winner
THERE are plenty of successful entrepreneurs with brass in Yorkshire…and then there are those with just brassneck. A press release was issued this week announcing that Yorkshire entrepreneur Matt Haycox has signed a publishing deal to co-author a new book revealing the secrets of success in life and business. Also ...
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David Parkin on the last stop for the Northern Powerhouse, Dr Who meets Lord of the Rings and pancake problems
GOVERNMENT minister James Wharton was in Leeds last week to give a short speech on how the city’s financial services sector can be promoted as part of the Government’s much-vaunted Northern Powerhouse initiative. Apparently he was delayed arriving at the event because his train was late. You couldn’t make it ...
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David Parkin on a sporting challenge at the darts, Dry January and why Harrogate is classier than TOWIE
IT was only when Yogi Bear and Booboo, two Andy Pandys and a woman dressed as Super Mario walked passed me that it really sank in that I was at one of the great British sporting occasions – the darts. The first direct Leeds Arena hosted the first stage of ...
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David Parkin on banking on Steve Cram and a night with a Blue Nun in Frankfurt
WHEN it comes to great British athletes, after Sebastian Coe (he’s a bit busy at the moment), they don’t come much bigger than Steve Cram. So I was delighted to get the news that the Olympic runner turner top TV commentator has agreed to take part in this year’s Lord’s ...
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David Parkin on eccentricity and bitterness and looking forward to a legal high
YORKSHIRE used to pride itself on being the global capital for eccentrics. I’ve been so worried that the bragging rights on bonkers people may be slipping away from this region that I’ve been doing an informal survey of existing and some new eccentrics in these parts. There’s the tramp that ...
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David Parkin on the scrabble for YABL, an English rugby winner and chatting with Yoda
THERE aren’t many corporate dinners in the business calendar that you look forward to going to. Getting an invite to the Leeds Law Society annual dinner or a do for members of the ICAEW (it’s for accountants, but these days it is terribly unfashionable for an organisation to explain what ...
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David Parkin on top spot at Marks and Spencer and a non-existent New Year
MARKS and Spencer insists that the decision of chief executive Marc Bolland to “retire” in April is not linked to the fall in clothing sales that was also announced yesterday. It probably wasn’t. A man doesn’t leave just because sales of general merchandise (mainly clothes) were down by 5.8% over ...
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David Parkin on bake offs, chefs and Christmas wishes
IF I hadn’t embraced the Christmas spirit this festive season, then there was the perfect opportunity to do it at an event at the Andaz Hotel next to Liverpool Street Station in London this week. The Andaz, formerly known as the Great Eastern Hotel, is an impressive part of Hyatt ...
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David Parkin on muppets and the War of the Roses and Talking Heads on squawking iPads
THEY sit like uneasy neighbours squabbling over the size of a privet hedge between their houses. The North West and Yorkshire have had a rivalry stretching back to the Wars of the Roses. Now the argument is often over the respective merits of each region’s economy, particularly over whether Manchester ...
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David Parkin on city success, Christmas in the Long Room and strangers on a train
LEEDS has been named the best big city in England to live in. That was the result of a survey this week where Yorkshire’s biggest city beat six other major English cities including Manchester and Birmingham in MoneySuperMarket’s 2015 quality of living index. Apparently it scored highly in a number ...
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David Parkin gets inspired at KPMG, has Black Friday Blues and meets some Forward Ladies
HOSTING an event for KPMG Enterprise this week gave me the opportunity to have a close up look at the impressive new home of the business advisory firm in Leeds. The Sovereign Street building represents a big change from the firm’s previous home across the road. Walking in you immediately ...
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David Parkin on rapping in a balloon and making himself understood
A DJ rapper, a former England cricketer nicknamed Badger because he fidgets a lot, an Apprentice candidate who irked Lord Sugar for not selling enough cat towers in a pet promotion and a sports presenter idolised by rugby league fans. Putting all four together in front of an audience of ...
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David Parkin on doppelgängers and rainbows
DO you have a doppelgänger? No, it’s not something you buy from Anne Summers, but the German word for look-a-like. It literally translates as “double-goer” (I’ve met one or two in my time) and is often applied when someone looks like a famous person. In Germany it is traditionally seen ...
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David Parkin on a Leeds legend and going to the MOBOs
THE word legend is bandied about too much these days. But I was lucky enough to be in the presence of one yesterday. Former Leeds United great Norman Hunter was the guest at our lunch at the Foundry restaurant where we ‘celebrated’ the 40th anniversary of his infamous fight with ...
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David Parkin on a looming Balloon challenge and the wisdom of Cellino
IT still ranks as one of the biggest challenges of my working life. Give me an arrogant company chairman or cabinet minister to interview, or even the cashflow demands that come from running a business, and I’ll tell you that either are easier than the Lord’s Taverners Balloon Debate. It ...
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David Parkin on the Leeds United circus, intellectual curiosity and global ambition
MASSIMO Cellino has been in charge of Leeds United for barely 18 months but his latest managerial sacking was greeted with a grim inevitability by long-suffering supporters of the Championship team. Are fans of the club today paying the price for something that happened in a previous life? Or is ...
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David Parkin on The Apprentice, football fame, rugby woe and Blanc expressions
I THOUGHT I recognised one face among the eager bunch who make up the latest intake on BBC TV show The Apprentice. Ruth Whiteley is the oldest of this year’s candidates at 47 and has a forceful enough personality to either win her tasks and impress Lord Sugar enough for ...
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David Parkin on Arabian days and nights, the PwC connection and salt beef success
THERE are worse ways to wake up than pulling back your curtains and seeing the shimmering blue sea of the Persian Gulf beyond a golden white beach. I’m on a trip to Abu Dhabi and Dubai as a guest of Etihad Airways and Hyatt Hotels as they showcase these twin ...
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David Parkin on John Lewis, celebrating Asian enterprise and cultural ambassador Ronnie Pickering
FRESH from the opening of the new John Lewis store in Birmingham, the store chain’s chief executive was in Leeds this week to take part in a discussion about leadership in the 21st century. Given that John Lewis is a partnership founded by a man born in the Victorian era, ...
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David Parkin on Michelin stars, Fergie time and why Yogi was no Boo-Boo
LEEDS has long competed with Manchester. Whether it is which one has the best shopping (Manchester, in my opinion), which has the biggest legal sector (Leeds, I’d say) or who has the best football team (let’s not bother going there) there has always been rivalry between the two cities which ...
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