EDITION 694
18 DECEMBER 2017

As another week slips by, here are 10 things which caught my attention and may have escaped yours. Please share on social media and forward to your colleagues and friends so they can subscribe, learn and engage. I'd be very grateful if you did.

1. How to stay happy if you both work. Many relationships fail for work reasons: too much travel, too little time together, and too much relocation. It's not easy, but it's possible to manage a relationship and two careers. Here are three tips for doing so: [MORE]
    
2. Three Rs boost for schools. The percentage of children leaving primary school with a good grounding in the three Rs has increased. Sixty one per cent of 11-year-olds met the Government’s expected standings in reading, writing and maths. This is a rise of eight percentage points on last year, when the figure was 53 per cent. The gap between disadvantaged children and others has narrowed by 1.3 percentage points. Evening Standard
    
3. Britons 'support Remain over Leave by 10 points.' Brits now back Remain over Leave by 10 points, a new poll has found. The BMG Research survey showed 51% support remaining in the union, while 41% want Brexit. This gives Remainers their biggest lead since the 2016 referendum. Writing in The Independent, Michael Heseltine, Peter Mandelson, Gina Miller and Vince Cable have called for a new referendum. The Times
    
4. Gin leapfrogs to the top of the spirit table. Gin is now the UK’s most popular spirit, moving from third place last year in the annual poll by the Wine and Spirit Trade Association. Some 29% of consumers named it their favourite spirit, ahead of whisky on 25% and vodka on 23%. Gin sales have doubled in value in the last six years to £1.2bn in the 12 months to September, up from £630m in 2011. The Independent
    
5. Oxford Junior Dictionary’s ditches natural words with 21st-century terms. The Oxford Junior Dictionary no longer includes the following words saying that they do not hold any relevance for modern childhood. The deletions included acorn, adder, ash, beech, bluebell, buttercup, catkin, conker, cowslip, cygnet, dandelion, fern, hazel, heather, heron, ivy, kingfisher, lark, mistletoe, nectar, newt, otter, pasture and willow. The words taking their places in the new edition included attachment, block-graph, blog, broadband, bullet-point, celebrity, chatroom, committee, cut-and-paste, MP3 player and voice-mail. The Guardian
    
6. Apple buys UK firm Shazam for $400m. Apple has bought UK tech company Shazam, which developed an app that can identify music being played in bars or on the radio for its users. Shazam is believed to have been sold for $400m (£300m) - less than half the $1bn valuation used when the London-based firm tapped investors for cash as recently as 2015. BBC
    
7. Wine glasses ‘are now seven times bigger’. Researchers at the University of Cambridge have found that wine glasses are now typically seven times bigger than they were 300 years ago. In the early 18th century, the average wine glass held just 66ml – compared with 449ml today. There has been a particular spike in the last two decades. The study says larger glasses may encourage drinkers to consume more. Daily Mail
    
8. Grapes overtake apples to become top selling fruit. The increasing popularity of snack packs has seen grapes overtake apples to become Britain's best selling fruit for the first time. A record £604m was spent on grapes in the last 12 months, while just £600m was splashed on apples and £551m on bananas. Metro
    
9. Good week for Coventry. The city was named the UK’s city of culture for 2021, following on from Derry and Hull. Coventry is the birthplace of Philip Larking, and also of The Specials, whose 1981 hit Ghost Town was inspired by the City. Daily Mail
    
10. The bottom line. Change can be exciting, but it can also be daunting. How can you ensure your business unit embraces change and prepares for successful transitions? [MORE]