The Power Hour

This week saw the government announce further financial stimulus and support to the hospitality sector which has suffered more than most during the lockdown. Whether we agree that the support is sufficient and aimed at the right people or not, it is certainly creative with the headline example of going to restaurants and cafés whilst sharing the bill with the taxpayer!

We include further details below of the new measures and some helpful techniques to deal with any post lockdown anxiety.

This time, Tom Playle shares his songs, book and luxury item in the HarperLees Desert Island Discs. His choices will be recognised by our younger readers, although we would love to hear the reaction of children/grandchildren in their twenties when our ‘more mature’ audience is able to reference Tom’s selection!

Our distraction ideas include material from Elton John, Paul Weller and Katherine Jenkins and a podcast to inspire – The Power Hour.

Please click the links on all songs, films and activities throughout the Newsletter for your enjoyment.

HarperLees Wellbeing HUB

Rishi Sunak announced the following support:

Job Retention Bonus – A one-off payment of £1,000 to employers that have used the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for each furloughed employee who remains continuously employed until 31‌‌‌ ‌January 2021. Full details can be found here.

Eat Out to Help Out Scheme – for diners to receive a 50% discount up to £10 per person, click here.

VAT – A reduction of VAT from 20% to 5% on a range of qualifying trades. Details can be found here.

Stamp Duty – an increase in the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) threshold in England and Northern Ireland so that no stamp duty applies on the first £500,000 on new homes. Click here.

Lockdown Easing – many may have a mixture of emotions as we see the lockdown easing further. On one hand, you might be craving some structure to your day, or looking forward to a socially-distanced catch up with a friend. But on the other, returning to situations you have not been in for some time may bring concern and anxiety. Bupa have a useful self-techniques guide.

Desert Island Discs From HarperLees

Continuing our series, Tom Playle shares his 8 songs, book and luxury item. Tom explained that his song selection was decided by shuffling his phone player:

I Fall Apart – Post Malone

Emotion – iann dior

Bloody Valentine – Machine Gun Kelly

Robbery – Juice WRLD

3 Nights – Dominic Fike

Free – 6lack

Whoa (Mind in Awe) – XXXTENTACION

Tell Me U Luv Me – Juice WRLD & Trippie Redd

Book:  Along Came A Spider by James Patterson – I could have chosen any one from 30 of his books, I have selected the first in the Alex Cross series.

Luxury item:  It would definitely be my memory foam pillow.

Distraction Ideas

Our distraction suggestions are:

Music

On Sunset by Paul Weller – His 15th solo album has been on constant play on Mark’s turntable this week. Review here with the Village video here and a ‘Making Of’ video.

Cinema Paradiso by Kathryn Jenkins The biggest selling classical artist of the century, Katherine Jenkins OBE, presents her 14th studio album, with a collection of unforgettable movie songs including; ‘Moon River‘ from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Pinocchio’s ‘When You Wish Upon A Star’, ‘Tonight’ from West Side Story, along with themes from Schindler’s List, Lord of the Rings and Dances with Wolves.

Soul Food – Cooking with Maceo – The return of the legendary saxophonist, Maceo Parker. He has an incredible CV working with co-legends such as Prince, James Brown and Aretha Franklin and again delivers ‘the FUNK’ as a soloist.

All albums and songs are available to stream via the usual providers. However, please consider better supporting the artists who have all seen their income dramatically reduce through Covid-19 by buying the physical versions.

Online

Elton John – YouTube is showing six classic concerts from Elton John with Sydney 1986 running from Saturday 11 July.

Podcasts

The Power Hour – to motivate you to pursue your passion and to achieve success. Whether you want to build a business, run a marathon, write a book or maybe you are just looking for a spark of inspiration, The Power Hour intends to help you get there faster!

We hope you find our newsletter informative and entertaining and welcome your ideas for future articles. We would particularly like to hear your Desert Island Discs for future newsletters.

Thank you to all who have contacted us with positive feedback or shared the newsletter with friends and family.

As always, please contact us at any time for assistance.