Tag Archives: class

What Everyone Needs to Know about Tax: An Introduction to the UK Tax System Book Review

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What Everyone Needs to Know about Tax- An Introduction to the UK Tax System Book Review

What Everyone Needs to Know about Tax: An Introduction to the UK Tax System By James Hannam immediately caught my eye. Sure I have an interest in finance and the workings of the society that we live in, but I have always been interested in tax. Now tax is a good thing; it is how society runs. No tax and no NHS, education or public services at all. But are we overtaxed? I thought that most people are overtaxed before, after reading this book, even more so. As the book points out there is income tax, employee national insurance (of various classes), employer national insurance, VAT, stamp duty, council tax, inheritance tax. The list just goes on. We are overtaxed and the government tries to make some of these taxes as invisible as possible. Did you know that someone on a salary of £26,000 pays almost £8000 in tax a year? Or that the top 0.05% of the UK population pay over a quarter of all income tax? The top 10% of earners pay over half the income tax, which is about 100 billion a year. Just 5% of the population pay more in income tax than the rest of the population put together. How much do you have to earn to be in this top 5%? Just over £50,000 a year. Another great section goes on about how taxes cause the poverty trap that people on benefits can get caught in when they try to get off benefits, they can essentially get taxed at 90%. More than the richest in society. Depressing? Yes. Fair? No. The book also has a great section on pensions versus ISAs. I have always been wary of pensions and the book helped clarify my thoughts.The book is full of great facts like that by a man who really knows his stuff. The book is chock full of essential information and interesting fact. I can highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get a grip of the complex UK tax system.Due to be published by Wiley, 23rd March 2017
£19.99, Paperback and e-bookISBN: 9781119375784“You pay a lot of tax. Of course, you know that. But I bet you don’t know just how much you pay, or all the ways the government has to extract the cash from you.” – James HannamIn his new book, What Everyone Needs to Know about Tax, James Hannam takes look at the UK tax system and provides non-specialist readers with an easy-to-understand explanation of tax and tax policy to show them just how much they pay, how the money is collected and how tax affects ordinary people every day.With no accounting or legal knowledge required, it contains practical case studies to illustrate how tax functions in the real world, for example: how the VAT on a plumber’s bill all adds up; why fraudsters made a movie to throw HMRC off their scent; how a wealthy couple can pay minimal tax on a six-figure income; and the way tracing the money you paid for your iPad sheds light why the EU is demanding Apple pay billions extra in tax.Written in a conversational style, What Everyone Needs to Know about Tax gives readers a real-world look at how tax works. In it they will:

  • Learn about the many ways that the tax system separates us from our money
  • Discover how Brexit could change the way we pay taxes
  • Understand how changing tax policy affects people’s everyday lives
  • See through the rhetoric from politicians and the media surrounding tax controversies

The system’s underlying logic is illustrated through three ‘golden rules’ that explain many of the UK tax regime’s oddities:

  • Lots of small taxes together add up to make big tax bills – “The point of all these taxes is to spread the pain so we notice it less.”
  • No matter what name is on the bill, all taxes are ultimately suffered by human beings – taxes levied on manufacturers are passed on to the consumer through a higher price for the product
  • Taxes are kept as invisible as possible – “Since we all hate paying taxes, the government has perfected the art of ensuring that we rarely have to hand over the money ourselves. Most taxes are paid by businesses on our behalf.”

With tax, there are no easy answers. No one enjoys paying them, but without them, the government would shut down.Whether readers are self-employed, have a general interest in the way the UK tax system works, are a finance or tax professional, or students wanting to understand more about taxation in a break from traditionally dry text books, What Everyone Needs to Know about Tax gives them the background and foundational knowledge they need to be a well-informed taxpayer.What Everyone Needs to Know about Tax will be published on 23rd March 2017 and will be available wherever books and ebooks are sold.
JAMES HANNAM, PHD, has spent twenty years advising clients on every aspect of the UK tax regime while working for firms including EY, Freshfields, and KPMG.

Professor Green interview for Working Class White Men

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professor green white working class male

Explain a little bit about your new two-part series. What’s the idea?

I guess the idea is that it’s an exploration of a group of people who feel quite voiceless. What sold the idea to me was getting behind the image of this angry, white, working class male that was popping up everywhere, and that had views that conflicted with my own. I grew up white and working class, but I grew up in a very multicultural environment. None of the people who we followed in this documentary did – they grew up in largely white areas. It meant that I had to encounter things that I wasn’t totally comfortable with. But they had to be explored. I was trying to understand some of the reasoning behind people’s anger and unrest. I was looking at the situations of six young, working class white men, and their situations were not great, most of them. Whether or not they could find work, whether they had housing, all of that. This was an exploration of what it is to be white and working class in this day and age. Is it the people you see on Jeremy Kyle, is it the people you see on Benefits Street?

So you follow six guys over a period of six months, is that right?

Yeah. And each one is a different character, with their own issues. Some of them face similar problems, but they’re all very different people. None of us are wired the same. If we had tried to script the documentary, I don’t think we could have come up with the things that happened in their lives. Driving to Lewis’ house to find out if he’d got into Trinity, Cambridge, was one of the most terrifying things in the world, I was so nervous to film that part of the programme. I found I had quite a rapport with Lewis, because we both find ourselves between two worlds. His ability with mathematics could afford him social mobility, which not many people who are working class are afforded.

Were you with the guys quite a lot?

It was full on, yeah. I spent a lot of time with all of them. I’ve never shot a documentary over that length of time before. That’s longer than any tour I’ve done! To be that intensively involved in something, for that long, I’ve never seen anything like it.

Did you see anything that surprised you when you were making this?

I think, because of how I grew up, there was nothing that really surprised me. There were things that I thought were unfortunate, there were things that I thought were really sad. Things like finding out that David had missed out on two housing opportunities because he was illiterate, and he had no-one to read the letters to him, because he’d lost his mum and his dad. That was hard. And that’s the thing – you end up taking on people’s problems. People ask me if I enjoy making documentaries, and to be honest, I can’t say that they’re fun to make. Obviously I get some sort of fulfilment out of them, I feel like I’m bringing attention to things that would otherwise go ignored.

You also did some pretty personal stuff with the guys. Did you find aspects of filming really emotional?

Oh mate, the baby scan was harsh! I was told to go and meet one of the contributors in hospital, and I figured he was gonna show up with a broken nose or broken ribs something – he was a boxer, and he likes a scrap. But no – his girlfriend was expecting his first child. To be there at the baby scan, mate, it nearly made me well up. It was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. It was such a powerful experience, I was just sat there in absolute awe. That little thing growing inside her – just amazing.

How did you find the experience of filming a Britain First march?

I went to the beginning if the march, I didn’t go on the march. It was horrible, I hated every minute of it. I was really reluctant to go. But I felt as though I wouldn’t be doing my job properly if I didn’t. David, one of the contributors, had said he was going to go on it, and I just didn’t understand it. I suppose when people don’t have anything, the only thing they feel they have is their whiteness. They’re angry, their lives aren’t great, and there’s someone they can blame for it.

Did you get massively frustrated with some of the guys who you featured? People like Denzel, who talk a good game, but blow any cash they have, rather than looking after it wisely.

Yeah, it was frustrating. It felt like he’d been infantilised. He’d never had to take on any level of responsibility before, because he lived with his gran and she did everything for him. I definitely think he could make better decisions, as far as his daughter is concerned. And I think he’s aware of that, and probably punishes himself a bit for it, or masks that by being a jack-the-lad and still having a bit of a party and so on. He was a charming bloke, and it was impossible not to like him, but he’s got a daughter. Would I make the same decisions he does if I was in his situation? It’s very easy to say no, but who knows?

Why is there a crisis among the working classes? Unemployment isn’t as high as at times in the past, but for some reason we feel more divided than ever. Why?

Jesus Christ! That’s a big question – one that probably never even came up in the documentary. I don’t know. It goes so much further than just being white and working class. I think what’s becoming apparent is the disparity between the rich and the poor. I think that’s coming to a head and things are getting worse. I think there’s a lot of people who are now being more penalised than ever for being poor. I think that’s what’s bringing it all to a head.

What would you say is the main factor that leads to a young working class white man making good decisions, as opposed to one who takes the wrong path?

I’d say probably family – and not just the presence of a parent, but parents who have time to be with their kids, which is difficult for a single parent who has to provide as well as raising a child. There’s a lot of time where kids may not have someone there. I was lucky, I always had someone there, for me, until my great gran passed when I was 13, which was when I went off the rails – because my nan had to work. She was out working. And another thing is that being poor creates stress. There was a lot of screaming and shouting in my household growing up, as there was in many households on my estate, just because of the situations families found themselves in. And it stays with you as a kid, it doesn’t just go away. It’s not something that disappears over time, it’s always in you. Those stresses and those anxieties still exist within me now. I hope that I can continue to work and make good money and leave something behind that gives my children, when I have them, all the security that I never had. But I still have no safety net. I don’t have the luxury of being able to go to mum and dad and getting bailed out. And then you make bad decisions. I wasn’t a bad kid, but I sold weed. I didn’t even meant to start selling it, but I always used to get it for my mates, and I just thought “Well, why don’t I smoke mine for free?” So I’d pick up an ounce and break it down, and I’d get my smoke for free. And then it started to go so quick that I was making money off it – all of a sudden, I’m a bloody drug dealer.

You shared quite a lot of your own experiences in the film, at a time when most celebrities are very wary of that sort of thing. Why did you feel it important to do that?

Otherwise I think people make assumptions. It would be really easy to bust that documentary off – “How can he be a voice of authority on this? He’s a rich rap artist who drives a Mercedes”. And I know that to be bollocks. In all of the documentaries I’ve done, I’m always the one that’s going to be judged, because I’m forming opinions. But I don’t tell people who are watching the programmes what to think. My role is just to be a catalyst for the people who I encounter. I’m really lucky, with the access that we get, and the openness and honesty that they give me, is great, and that’s something I don’t take very lightly.

Do you know how they’re getting on since filming?

A couple of them. I needed to spend a little bit of time just doing what I wanted – I’ve had a busy few years, for one reason or another – personal matters or work. And this was a real slog, a long project, and I had an operation quite early on in it. So it’s been a tough year. We got two amazing films out of it, but I needed a break. I’ve made seven films in under three years, which is all time spent living in other people’s lives. I felt like I’d lost a bit of a grasp on what my own life was, so I wanted to spend a little bit of time being selfish. So I’m just catching up with friends now, and getting in the studio, and doing stuff that makes me happy for a little while. Making music is my outlet, it’s how I tell my story.

A lot of the film is about how white working class men are judged and demonised and pigeon-holed. Do you still feel judged? That you’re not good enough?

Yeah, it never goes away. My life’s changed substantially because of the money that I’ve made, but I’m not from money, I’m not wealthy. Wealth isn’t in my family, that’s not going to change. I’m still working class. My children? I don’t know. I hope they’ll have the same values as me, but do I want them to be working class? I don’t know. I’d want them to understand the value of a pound, but I don’t want them to have to go through what I went through, or what my family before me went through. I will forever be working class, but I hope my children won’t be.

Working Class White Men starts on Channel 4 on Tuesday 9th January at 10pm.

The Modern Day Signs of Class. How Classy Are You?

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signs of class, class, Minding your manners, avoiding emotional Facebook rants and knowing what cutlery to use are the modern day signs of class, according to new research.

Saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ is the cornerstone of class according to a survey of 2,000 Brits, followed by reading widely and having good table manners.

Avoiding text speak, being bilingual and maintaining great posture also made the top 50 touches of class.

For women, subtle make-up, never drinking from a bottle and displaying cleavage sparingly were signs of holding yourself well.

While for men having a firm handshake, knowing when to admit you’re wrong and owning a tailored suit made the cut.

A spokesperson from European fashion brand Peter Hahn, who commissioned the study, said: “Projecting the essence of class successfully requires a number of factors to work harmoniously, from your dress sense to your manners to your skillset.

“It helps if you have read your way through a bookcase of classics or can speak a couple of languages, but if your skirt is too short, your bow tie too sloppy or your posture too lax, your classy persona can falter.”

Also in the top 50 were being able to handle your drink and knowing poetry that doesn’t just begin and end with ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ from William Wordsworth’s ‘Daffodils’.

Placing a napkin on your lap when eating and not wearing football strips as casual wear also featured.

For women, smelling nice, confidence and sensible heels are sure-fire signs of classy couture.

While for men, crisp white shirts, holding the door open for others and taking pride in their appearance are all ingredients that go into making gents suave.

Age is also a factor in levels of class. Brits believe the optimum age for classiness is 45 and that men and women generally get better with age, though men more so.

Dignified decorum on social media is a must for a quarter of Brits, while a fifth thinks wine knowledge is a sign of sophistication.

Despite these simple rules of class and etiquette, 86 per cent of Brits believe that people lack class nowadays.

In fact, an honest 36 per cent happily admit to having no class, with just one in 10 Brits confident in their classy credentials.

Nearly three quarters of those surveyed think that a touch of class is an important trait, but also believe that the manners, behaviour and fashion sense necessary are dying out in modern times.

 

TOP 50 SIGNS OF CLASS:

1. Says please and thank you

2. Is well-read

3. Has good table manners

4. Doesn’t swear

5. Knows what cutlery to use

6. Is discreet

7. Doesn’t start eating a meal until everyone else at the table has their food

8. Holds doors open

9. Never drinks directly from the bottle

10. Doesn’t use text speak

11. Avoids emotional Facebook or Twitter rants

12. Gives up a seat on public transport for someone else

13. Able to speak more than one language

14. Has great posture

15. Doesn’t gossip

16. Brings gifts for hosts when attending events

17. Shops in Waitrose

18. Doesn’t get drunk

19. Knows correct way to pour a bottle of wine

20. Places a napkin on lap when eating

21. Doesn’t discuss money or how much things cost

22. Knows more than two types of wine

23. Knows correct way to hold a wine glass

24. Doesn’t wear football strips as casual wear

25. Is a good listener

26. Doesn’t watch reality TV

27. Knows Mozart from Beethoven

28. Owns a timeless pair of shoes

29. Is up to date with current affairs

30. Has good culinary knowledge

31. Has National Trust membership

32. Only gives compliments when they actually mean it

33. Attends the Chelsea Flower Show

34. Prefers champagne to prosecco

35. Pays the bill

36. Isn’t easily flustered

37. Doesn’t get into arguments

38. Never borrows money from friends

39. Knows more poetry than ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ from William Wordsworth’s ‘Daffodils’

40. Never forgets a meeting

41. Doesn’t fill the wine glass to the top

42. Uses the word ‘supper’

43. Rarely eats takeaways

44. Listens to Today on Radio 4

45. Avoids drinking instant coffee

46. Is a generous tipper

47. Knows how to flirt properly

48. Never caught running for the bus or train

49. Arrives fashionably late to a party (but not too late)

50. Owns a pedigree dog

TOP 10 SIGNS OF A CLASSY WOMAN:

1. Wears subtle make-up

2. Ages gracefully

3. Confidence

4. Never drinks directly from the bottle

5. Accepts compliments graciously

6. Doesn’t wear heels higher than she can walk in

7. Always smells nice

8. Doesn’t downplay her intelligence

9. Reveals cleavage sparingly

10. Wears dresses tight enough to show she’s a woman, but loose enough to prove she’s a lady

TOP 10 SIGNS OF A CLASSY MAN:

1. Respectful of women

2. Holds the door open for others

3. Takes pride in his appearance

4. Stands up when women join the dining table

5. Takes his hat off when indoors and in the company of women

6. Has a firm handshake

7. Knows when to admit he’s wrong

8. Owns a tailored suit

9. Always smells nice

10. Wears crisp white shirts

When it comes to classy celebs, the Royal Family are considered beacons of style and substance, with Kate Middleton, Prince William and Prince Harry securing top spots in the countdown.

Taylor Swift, Emma Watson and Idris Elba are also considered some of the classiest public figures around.

As for the decade with the most charm and swagger, the 1950s come out on top followed by the decadent 1920s.

By comparison, just one per cent of those surveyed chose our current decade as the classiest of the last hundred years.

The Peter Hahn spokesperson added: “We’re all accustomed to the adage ‘sex sells’, but actually leaving something to the imagination can be much more alluring than the shortest skirts or an overt cleavage.

“At Peter Hahn we know that a well cut garment will achieve the perfect silhouette, which is far more likely to get you noticed for all the right reasons.”

 

 

Olivia Colman Calls For More Diversity In The Film Industry

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Olivia ColmanThe amazing British actress Olivia Colman has said that diversity is not just about race and that there must be more opportunities for all in the film and TV industries. Colman told her views as she was appointed as a judge for the TriForce Short Film Festival. She said that it was important that a wide range of people had a chance to tell their stories.

Colman said: “This is not just about race, it’s about diversity in all its forms. TV and films are fundamentally about storytelling and it is important that as many voices as possible have the opportunity to tell their stories.”

The TriForce Short Film Festival will be held at BAFTA on November 22nd. TriForce is a networking firm which has been set up to raise diversity in the industry. Colman said it has been working for years to improve opportunities for people from “truly diverse” backgrounds. Which can only be a good thing. We see the same people over and over again on the TV.  We should also hear more different accents. I have been told many times to pretend I am not Scottish to help my career. I understand changing my accent for a role but denying I am who I am? It is just not right. So lets hope for more people from all walks of life.

What do you think?

 

If you are an actor then check out my book How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur. It is available in print and in all eBook formats on both Smashwords and Amazon.

 

 

Omega & Alpha: The End And The Beginning

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omegalogo

Ferraris and Easter Oratorios? Where else but Haynes Motor Museum in Somerset. Last Saturday (September 20th) I went to a performance of Omega & Alpha: the End and the Beginning. And yes, it was in the Motor Museum. Which meant we wandered around the famous Red Room, with all its Ferraris, while we anticipated hearing Martin Emslie’s Oratorio. Oratorio 1

Martin, who began his professional life as an engineer and is now, largely thanks to this amazing work, a Fellow of the London School of Music, wrote both the words and music. “Why?” I asked him.

Martin has been Director of Music of Castle Cary Choir since 2009 and he was very aware that most newly commissioned choral music was suited mainly to the needs of professional singers. He wanted to create a work that was good enough to be sung by a professional choir, but also accessible enough to be sung by amateur performers. This meant restricting the vocal range, and writing music that could be performed by a chamber orchestra, but also, at its simplest, with organ accompaniment alone. Only three soloists are required Tenor, Bass-baritone and Mezzo soprano. And because the choir rather than the soloists would be the main focus of the work, he wanted a narrative in which they, the onlookers and witnesses, could tell the bulk of the story rather than simply echo or reinforce the atmosphere around the soloists.Oratorio 2

The Easter story was his choice. In his research he found something that was not only profound but also posed as many questions as it answered. It was a mystery, with witnesses providing conflicting viewpoints and opinions. The more he read the Gospels, the  more he realised that the narrative tension demanded an answer to the question that came to be the Oratorio’s theme: Was this an end or a beginning? Its title tells us: it was an end, necessary to allow a new beginning. His words and music dramatize the agony and exultation of the journey towards this revelation.

The Oratorio was first performed in Wells Cathedral last year but since then Martin has extended and developed it considerably, and this was the premiere of the final version. Having also been at the Wells premiere I was interested to know what had been gained or lost by the work’s development.

The evening was crowded: a capacity audience filled the auditorium and we were spellbound. The Castle Cary Choir rose to the occasion, as did the orchestra. The acoustics were a little less friendly than those of the Cathedral but the impact of the work was undiminished. For me there are two stand-out sections from the first half: the tenor solo in which Jesus faces his ‘predicament’ and the chorus’s mocking witness to his climb to Golgotha ‘Climb, climb, carry the cross’. The first song hints to me of Lloyd Webber at his best and the tension between words and music of the second move me almost to tears. At the end of this half, after The Crucifixion, Martin simply walked away from the podium, leaving the audience in silence. It felt absolutely right, giving us time to take breath and regain our emotional balance before the applause exploded.Oratorio 3

If the first half ends in the terror of Jesus’s death, the second moves towards resolution and revelation, with Mary coming into her own as she defies the angels who ask ‘Why weepest thou?’ The ending is Pentecost with its ‘gift of tongues’. Martin gives us this with the singing of ‘Thanks be to God’ in seven different languages. Of the 7 part harmony involved, Martin said: ‘I enjoyed doing that.’

And we enjoyed listening to it. The Oratorio, in both short and long versions, is now attracting deserved worldwide attention: from Chile, USA, Korea, Finland, South Africa among others. I am grateful to have been one of those able to attend its earliest performances.

If you get a chance to see this Oratorio, or know a choral society looking for something new, I can’t recommend Omega & Alpha: the End and the Beginning highly enough.

“And how on earth are you going to follow that?” I asked Martin. He smiled and told me that Mrs Noah and the Flood is previewing in Taunton Brewhouse on the 15th and 16th of November before moving to London. For this one he’s focused on the music and Sasha Herriman has created the book and lyrics. He tells me the music was ‘fun to write’, and I look forward to seeing and hearing it on my next visit to the Brewhouse. Go to see it if you can.

Penny Deacon

 

 

 

 

 

The Privileged Are Always One-Step Ahead, Right? By Josh Edwards

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We have been reminded in the press recently, that the privately educated and the rich seem to get a better deal than the rest of us – but why is this?  Perhaps it is to do with the social network they are able to build. The cliché, ‘it’s not what you know but who you know’ certainly has some truth to it.

Let me give you an example. Pretend for a moment that Beatrice’s father Edward has just floated his new tech company on the NASDAQ, and made a fortune. Beatrice bumps up from a comprehensive to a private school in Windsor, where she is surrounded by oil magnate heirs and the like. Overnight she has entered a network of potential contacts. Opportunities will arise, and it is probable that Beatrice will be in a better position than the rest of us.

We cannot blame the elite and the privileged for accessing the doors that are open to them for surely we all would, in a similar position. For the majority of us, however, who are on the other side of that white picket fence, how can we compete?

For me it was about using the opportunities that arose around me. For the people who know me, the past three years of my life has been a mixture of both University and Starbucks.

 

 While working for Starbucks I soon realised that customers from a multitude of backgrounds come into the store, in search of their caffeine fix. It became apparent to me that I could kill two birds with one stone, I could both work and network at the same time.

While some customers would rather order their coffee with a minimal amount of personal interaction, others would engage in conversation.

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I made an effort to remember names and in time found some to be genuinely interested in my plans, even offering me opportunities to enhance my C.V and further my career. Through networking with customers, I have been offered a number of open doors, including the opportunity to write for Frost, – the online magazine you are reading now – and I have become involved with the charity Words for the Wounded (W4W), and now help look after publicity and all social media.

 

 I have been able to talk about my work with Frost and W4W during a recent interview and it has definitely enhanced my application – and given me something different to talk about, not to mention improving my skill base and my understanding of how different organisations work.

So if you are in a similar position and work in an environment where you meet a variety of people,  have an open mind. I have found generosity from customers in spades. Are the rich and privileged one step ahead? Probably, but it doesn’t mean the rest of us are too far behind.

 

 

 

Royal Ascot Style Guide: What To Wear

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Royal Ascot is just around the corner, and for many, the unique dress code, that is so synonymous with the five day festival, can be a sartorial mine field. Fortunately we have a ten step guide to looking your best and avoiding any awkward faux pas.

Royal Ascot Fashion

1)   In general: Sartorial Sage and Former Editor of Vogue, Diane Vreeland once said, “Elegance is refusal” and the same goes for Royal Ascot – understated elegance is always a winner.

2)        Ladies’ hats: An essential accessory at Royal Ascot and from top hats to berets, flying saucers to feathered fancies, hats of all shapes and sizes will no doubt be on display. Show pieces are all very well and it’s fine to be bold but make sure you don’t scare small children, animals, or for that matter, horses. Avoid the much-maligned fascinator.

3)        Morning Dress: Formal gentlemen’s dress from the 19th century and obligatory if you’re in the Royal Enclosure. Make sure it’s well fitting and neither too tight nor too big. In the words of tailor Matthew Cartwright of Noden & Winsor, “If you don’t know your chest size, find out before it’s too late.”

4)        Top Hat: The fit’s key. Not so big it falls down over your ears and not worn at a jaunty angle.

5)        Dresses: You may well end up in a club after racing but the dress code stipulates that daytime dresses and skirts should be ‘of modest length, defined as falling just above the knee or longer. Straps on dresses should be at least one inch wide. It means anything strapless, or that’s too short or tight should be consigned to your wardrobe.

6)        Pants: For men and women are essential, but should never be on show. Ever.

7)        Shoes: Opt for comfort as you’ll be on your feet all day (hopefully). Chaps, shiny shiny, pointy shoes are not a good idea – patent is out and is not due to make a resurgence any time soon. As for stilettos, girls be aware you will sink on turf. Low-heeled courts are ideal and will avoid you having to purchase a cheeky pair of plastic flip flops at the end of the day, because your brand new heels have made your toes bleed.

8)        Umbrella: It’s Britain. In June. It shouldn’t rain but it might so make sure you’re prepared.

9)        Accessories: Diamonds are acceptable, you’ll be pleased to know. But leave the big shiny watches at home. If it’s large enough and shiny enough to blind a small child (or jockey – they’re around the same height) avoid.

10)     Enjoy: Royal Ascot is one of the most glamorous and exciting weeks of the year. Dress up, enjoy the people watching and cheer on the horses in each of the 30 races taking place over the week.

Royal Ascot runs from Tuesday 18th June to Saturday 22nd June. Featuring 30 top class races, including seven QIPCO British Champions Series contests, it will be broadcast live on Channel 4 for the first time this year from 1.45pm until 6pm each day.

Famous People Who Didn’t Go To University

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Zac GoldsmithI have a confession to make. I find the whole snobbish going to university thing stupid. If you want to actually study something or be a doctor, then obviously go and reach your potential, but one of the things I find most stupid about social pressure is that everyone should go to university. At least if they want to be middle class.

Tuition fees are now appallingly expensive, and the most annoying thing I found about the recent BBC class calculator is that they still put going to university and owning a home as an indicator of class. Even though people buying homes they could not afford was one of the factors in the recession, and a recent study said that most students would never be able to pay of the debts they had incurred.

I recently saw an interesting meme on Facebook. It said, “Modern education: creating people who are smart enough to accurately repeat what they are told and follow orders.”

You don’t have to agree with me. I know it is a controversial thing to think. However, have a look at just a few of the famous people who did not go to university.

Apple founder Steve Jobs dropped out of Reed College.

TV host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres dropped out of the University of New Orleans after one semester.

The creator of Tumblr David Karp never even graduated from high school.

Walt Disney left school at 16 to join the Army. He couldn’t get in because of his age so he joined the Red Cross and left for Europe.

Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard but later got an honorary degree.

Paul Thomas Anderson dropped out of NYU film school.

Zac Goldsmith MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston did not go to university, instead deciding to travel the world. He told the Financial Times: “I think university is hugely overrated for most people,” he says, insisting that a wide range of good apprenticeships is more useful than three years of light work and heavy drinking. “I would not encourage my children to go to university.”

Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard to work full time on Facebook.

Yoko Ono dropped out of Sarah Lawrence College

Woody Allen was thrown out of New York University after one semester and later dropped out of the City College of New York.

James Cameron studied physics at Fullerton College. He dropped out to become a truck driver.

Thomas Edison left school to work on the railroad at the age of 12.

F. Scott Fitzgerald dropped out of Princeton.

Coco Chanel dropped out of school to become a cabaret singer when she was 18.

Whole Foods founder John Mackey dropped out of the University of Texas.

Pablo Picasso dropped out of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts.

The founder of WordPress Matt Mullenweg dropped out of the University of Houston in 2004.

What do you think? Is going to university important?