The dastardly Mr Deedes
Where does Disney’s takeover of Sky leave the firm’s £16m-a-year boss, Jeremy Darroch? Colleagues report he’s extremely miffed after not being consulted about the deal as well as nervous about the prospect of his chairman and long-term cheerleader James Murdoch departing for a role at Disney. Whatever fate awaits, surely the £20m Darroch, 55, stands to make from his shares will cushion any blow.
Asked by the New York Times if the world were ending what his last message to the cosmos would be, vacuum cleaner billionaire Sir James Dyson, 70, says optimistically: ‘I’d find it implausible that the world was ending. Engineers will find a way to avoid this catastrophe.’ An adroit response, albeit one which misses the point of the question entirely.
FT editor Lionel Barber was spotted in Monday’s audience at Hamilton, the edgy hip-hop musical where tickets are currently exchanging hands for as much as £6,000. It’s about the life of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, who, as creator of America’s financial system, is regarded as one of its great unsung heroes. Thank goodness no such historical injustice awaits lofty Lionel, 62, who this year collected France’s prestigious Legion d’Honneur in recognition of his loyal support for the EU.
Ex-Lonhro oil tycoon ‘Tiny’ Rowland’s favourite tailor Anderson & Sheppard, owned by his soigné daughter Anda, 46, has provided the suits for Daniel Day Lewis’s latest movie Phantom Thread, about a couturist who threads hidden messages in his creations. Late fashion designer Alexander McQueen claimed while apprenticing at Anderson & Shepherd he once sewed ‘I am a c***’ into one of Prince Charles’s suits, though I’m fairly sure he lied.
Here’s some après lunch fun for all the family on Christmas day. The Bank of England has compiled its annual Christmas quiz. Sample brain teaser: ‘According to Braun and Evans’ seminal paper “Seasonal Solow Residuals and Christmas”, by what percentage does Christmas increase measured productivity in the fourth quarter of each year?’ On second thoughts, non-Nobel laureates might prefer to stick to charades.