If you were in the UK this week, you couldn't fail to miss the furore surrounding revelations that comedian Jimmy Carr had squirreled away all his earnings into some cleverly packaged tax avoidance scheme and, despite earning £3.5million last year, paid less than 1% in income tax.
Thrust into the limelight, Carr was harangued by the press, public and politicians for his immoral, yet perfectly legal, act of keeping what he's earned for, well, himself. But did Carr handle the situation well?
We think so.
Carr's first engagement with the story was to say he pays "what I have to, and not a penny more" - and let's face it, who can't identify with that statement? Who really wants to pay more tax than they have to? So with the general sentiment of the public on side, his next move was to sincerely apologise.
It was a good move on Carr's part. Swift, simple and sincere.
Compare Carr's apology to David Nalbandian's unsportsmanlike flippant attempt to the crowds at Queen's last weekend, and they are poles apart.
While Nalbandian seemed to implicate it was the ATP's rules which could be blamed for an angry kick that injured linesman Andrew McDougall, called a premature halt to the match and handed the tournament trophy to Marin Cilic just minutes into the second set, Carr takes full responsibility for his actions and promises to conduct his affairs more responsibly in the future.
Nalbandian could learn a lot from Carr's humility.
As a bonus, David Cameron waded in, branding Carr's actions (and therefore, in the process, the complicated tax laws of his own country) morally wrong. Tell us something we don't know, Mr Cameron.
But Carr's triumph in this story, quite frankly, came on Thursday night when he addressed his audience at Stockton Plaza.
Prepared for the heckling, and brave enough to stand up and take it on the chin, as well as fully aware that the UK's press were watching for their next installment in his so-called downfall, he faced the music. All alone. On stage. With nowhere to hide.
Engaging with direct banter and heckling on the subject, Carr did what he did best and used satire and humour to win the day.
Who can't resist a man who, in his darkest hour, is willing to laugh (heartily) at himself?
The British High Street in in trouble. Mary Portas says so. The Government says so. Heck, even the shoppers say so.
It's the economy, you see. We're all down on our luck, pulling in our reins, cutting back our spending.
Or are we?
Having worked in retail, it has always struck me as the least flexible industry and the one least willing to change.
Ever since Margaret Thatcher declared Britain a Nation of Shopkeepers, we've stuck doggedly to, and with misplaced national pride, a business formula which, all of a sudden, fails to take into account the market needs.
Take online retailing as a comparison. Despite recession, it continues to grow.
Peter Gold, Head of EMEA Retail, for commercial property specialists CBRE, commented recently that there has been “A change in our shopping behaviour has seen a boom in consumers shopping online."
It's a similar story with out of town shopping destinations. According to Trevor Wood Associates recent expansion in this sector has led to the vacancy rate for retail parks dropping to 6.8 per cent from 2010’s 7.9 per cent.
These are more than green shoots in a flailing economy.
But both of these industry sectors have something very similar in common and, specifically, in contrast to the traditional High Street. Their opening hours.
The internet, by its very nature, is open 24/7. You can shop when you want and, thanks to mobile phone technology, wherever you want.
Out of town retailers frequently stay open longer than their High Street counterparts, closing their doors at 9pm or 10pm and even, in the case of some supermarkets, staying open all night.
The High Street, by comparison, dogmatically refuses to bend, opening its doors at 9am, shutting them again at 5pm. Their excuse? Well hardly anyone comes in between 5pm and 6pm. At 9am, however, it's a common sight to see shoppers queuing out the door........
Like many so called consumers, I work full time. Which means that it is simply not possible to shop during "normal" High Street opening times. Put in simple terms, potential access to High Street shops every week is only 30% for me - hardly optimum.
For out of town stores, thanks to longer opening hours, that rises to 50%.
And for internet, it's 75% (I'm not sleeping in this scenario, just to prove a point).
Little surprise, then, that I spend more online than I ever do in person. Need a book? Amazon. Need some clothes? Next Online. Need some food? Just-Eat.co.uk. Need some groceries? Tesco.com. Need to travel? Expedia.co.uk.
Retail is not alone in perpetuating this limiting 9 to 5 culture. Other businesses do it too. Hairdressers. Beauty Salons. Doctors Surgeries. Cafes. The list goes on.
Which makes me wonder: are they really opening for business?
Strikes me they'd be better having the morning off and working later. Portas has a long list of recommendations on how to revitalise the High Street. 28 of them to be precise, covering things like market days and better business rates. None of the 28 recommendations suggest more flexible opening times.
Isn't it time, as a Nation of Shopkeepers, that we actually opened for business?
