Guest Information for Ardtara Country Hotel

1. How to generate new ideas. Brainstorming – or "thought-shower" as some prefer to call it - has gotten a bad rap for leading to uncreative and even unhealthy consensus. But getting together to try out ideas and come up with new ones can promote collaboration and creativity, if done right. READ MORE

2. Business leaders lack optimism. The Institute of Directors reported that business chiefs are at their most pessimistic about the UK economy since late 2022, amid fears of looming tax hikes and the cost of beefed-up workers’ rights – and called on Labour to rebuild morale in this month’s Budget. A former cabinet secretary has urged the Chancellor to ditch “absurd” fiscal rules to pay for higher levels of public investment: an EY report concluded that the UK needs to mobilise £1.6trn of funding by 2040 to meet infrastructure needs. Financial Times

3. PM's call for calm. Labour's plans to impose 20% VAT on private school fees may not proceed as planned on 1 January due to "warnings from unions, tax experts and school leaders", the Observer declares. Numerous organisations within the education sector are calling for a delay until next September to give private schools more time to adapt and register for the new tax, the paper reports. In other news, the Chancellor’s plan for more borrowing in the Budget could spell "mortgage misery", the Sunday Telegraph says. The paper reports that according to the Treasury's own analysis, the Chancellor's plans to overhaul fiscal rules could "increase the cost of debt" for consumers and businesses. Editor

4. Workers to receive all tips. Companies can no longer withhold tips from their employees under a new law that came into force on Tuesday. Workers in England, Scotland and Wales will now receive all money from tips, paid in cash or by card, by the end of the following month. The change in legislation is likely to affect three million service staff, including restaurant workers and taxi drivers. Staff will be able to request a breakdown of how tips are being distributed every three months. But there isn’t yet any guidance on distribution; for example, on whether senior staff will receive a larger share. BBC

5. Would you like to live to 100? The number of people living to 100 and beyond has dropped, leaving experts to believe that extreme longevity may have peaked in England and Wales. A population analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that there were 14,850 people aged 100 or older last year. The figure is more than double the number in 2002, but it marks a 0.5% decrease compared with 2022. It is the first fall since 2018 and comes after Covid triggered a reversal in life expectancy as people struggled to access health services, and after long-term sickness rates soared. Women are still far more likely to live into old age than men, but the data showed that this gap was narrowing. Please share your views in our latest poll. VOTE HERE

6. Soaring cases of short sight. More than a third of children around the world are now shortsighted, new research has revealed. The analysis of 276 scientific studies and government reports involving more than five million children and adolescents in 50 countries revealed that the proportion of five-to 19-year-olds with short sight has soared over the past 30 years, from 24% in the 1990s, to 36% in the early 2020s. Based on current trends, 40% of children and teenagers are likely to be shortsighted by 2050, it says. Rates of short sight are highest in Japan and South Korea, at 85% and 73%, respectively; this compares with 15% or so in the UK. More time spent on screens and less spend outdoors has been identified as possible factors. BBC

7. Most soft plastic collected for recycling is burned. Bad week for dedicated recyclers, after an investigation found that as much as 70% of soft plastic collected through supermarket recycling schemes ends up in incinerators. Tracking devices left in 40 deposits at shops across the UK revealed that the plastic collectively travelled more than 25,000km (15,500 miles) before the majority was burnt at facilities as far away as the Netherlands and Sweden, according to campaign groups Everyday Plastic and the Environmental Investigation Agency. The Guardian

8. “Weekend warrior’ workouts may be as effective as daily exercise. So-called “weekend warriors” who only work out on Saturday and Sunday enjoy similar benefits to people who exercise daily. A study of 90,000 British adults found that those who work out intensely only at the weekend are at lower risk of 264 diseases compared with those who do not exercise at all – roughly the same as those who hit the gym throughout the week. The Guardian

9. A quirk of history. The phrase “did the rounds” apparently originated at Deal Castle. Built in 1540, the rose-shaped stronghold has three floors and a basement which soldiers would patrol, “ready to fire on enemies through the embrasures”. The basement was called The Rounds: a phrase which at the time was used to “describe a sentry walking his beat”. The Oldie

10. The bottom line. 35% of British adults in their 30s and 40s are obese, compared to 40% in the United States. Researchers at University College London compared data tracking the health of 15,000 people on both sides of the Atlantic for the study. They also found that middle-aged Americans had higher average cholesterol and blood pressure than their British peers. Daily Mail