Was it working under Terra Firma's Guy Hands for two years that compelled music industry veteran Shabs Jobanputra to quit managing artists and set up a business running festivals? The entrepreneur pauses, then shakes his head. "Guy taught me a lot - I was just sick of working in a declining industry" ... more
Prestigious agency at the centre of one of the most bitter disputes in literary London was taken over by one of the capital's top showbusiness agents, Michael Foster... more
The National Trust has let its flagship allotment fall into disrepair — despite its high-profile campaign for the public to grow their own produce... more
The gardening book of the year, and a super-desirable present for anybody with the faintest interest in the subject, is Bulb by Anna Pavord (Mitchell Beazley, £30)... more
Chelsea is one of the great barometers of Englishness. Our love affair with “heritage”, the clumsy first grapplings with modernity, an eco- and then a grow-your-own enthusiasm: all have made their pitch here. But for the last 20 years or so, the dominant idea in the show gardens has been that beauty is chic, sheeny and pricey.
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Toby Buckland has been confirmed as the new main presenter of Gardeners' World on BBC2 after Monty Don stood down earlier this year due to ill health. ... more
It's the £1,000 dinner with a difference. Guests at a charity banquet in London next month can look forward to soup made from nettles picked from Hyde Park, and wild fennel plucked from the banks of the Regent's Canal in Hackney... more
The Mayor of Tower Hamlets defeated Labour to be elected. Livingstone not only backed him but some of Ken's key players are now at the heart of running the council. Stephen Robinson reports
Tonight:
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