Country living room ideas for a perfect rustic retreat in your own home

Jenny McFarlane

Create a warm and inviting feeling, using traditional, modern, shabby-chic or farmhouse style

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  • Pub fighting back against 'orchestrated campaign' to close business

    A pub landlord says he may be forced close his canal-side pub which has been in business since the 1850s due to a noise complaint from a single neighbour. The Rising Sun, in Berkhamsted, Hertforshire, UK is the ‘last remaining Victorian alehouse' built to service the Grand Union canal’. But landlord Mark Granger, 57, fears he may have to close the pub after a resident moved in and complained about the noise of regulars drinking at tables outside. In June last year the neighbour made a formal complaint to his local council which began an investigation.

  • Reeves’s tax raid kills off Christmas bonus for workers

    A record number of employers are scrapping Christmas bonuses for staff this year following Rachel Reeves’s Budget tax raid.

  • Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Accuser Details Alleged Sexual Assault at White Party: ‘I Was Screaming, I Was Telling Him to Stop’ and ‘He Was Acting Like It Was Nothing’

    One of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ accusers has given an anonymous on-camera interview about his sexual assault allegations against the music mogul, marking the first time an alleged victim of Combs has done so. In an interview with CNN, a John Doe — whose face was concealed and voice altered to maintain his anonymity — detailed …

  • Britain has too many overqualified graduates, major study finds

    Britain has too many graduates doing jobs they consider to be beneath them, a study has indicated.

  • Boeing blues: a mom-and-pop supplier feels the pain

    STORY: Rosemary and Larry Brester don’t immediately look like players in the big business of making jet planes. But their family run firm in the Seattle area has been supplying Boeing with metal parts for decades. And it’s small companies like this that could be hardest hit by the troubles at the aerospace giant. "All of a sudden it was the MAX issue that was going on with the Boeing company. And then with the door plug issue, it just kind of escalated everything, and everything was put on hold, and we saw a drastic shift in how our business, the income, coming into the business and the type of works that, you know, work that we were getting and the jobs - totally shifted and so it became a struggle. And then the strike hit and then it just made it worse. It's the worst I've ever seen it."The pair began making parts for Boeing in 1973. It was a literal mom-and-pop business, with Rosemary taking care of their young kids in between work, and Larry cranking out parts in the garage. Over the years, they’ve expanded, and come to love the industry. "We actually had drinks with Buzz Aldrin at one of the aerospace events in the U.K., and so I think that that was a highlight. And we still stay connected today. So that's nice.”But they remain a small cog in the vast Boeing supply chain - and that leaves them exposed to the firm’s troubles. Because the jet maker has been lurching from one crisis to another, including a midair blowout that led regulators to cap output over safety concerns. And then a major strike that saw production of its best-selling 737 MAX jets brought to a complete halt. This week, Boeing said output was starting again, but experts say it could take months to ramp up - leaving a legion of suppliers worldwide short of business. Back in the machine shop the usual buzz of workers on day and swing shifts has gone quiet, with just Larry left to turn out a few parts."Well, in my end of it. I love seeing the different components that come in because a lot of times we have new things from engineers that it looks like a neat challenge to manufacture.”Nearing the end of their careers, this pair can afford to be sanguine. But they’ve put hiring plans on hold for now, spelling missed opportunity for hopeful workers and the local economy. Even so, Rosemary and Larry bet Boeing will recover, given time."We would be bored to death."And they’re not listening to any suggestion that it’s time to call it a day.

  • New generative AI services slow in China as regulators approve 64 more apps for release

    China has approved 64 generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) services for release in Beijing's latest regulatory approvals, making it the smallest of the three batches to be given the go-ahead this year, in a fresh sign that the domestic AI market is becoming saturated. The November approvals have gone to a diverse group of products and applications, spanning a variety of industries, according to a document published by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the national internet watchdog.

  • Coles and Woolworths are fighting claims of fake discounts and a lack of competition

    Coles and Woolworths are currently fighting two main battles: they're currently subject to a parliamentary inquiry, and are at the centre of a court case brought by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. Guardian Australia's senior business reporter, Jonathan Barrett, explains what the competition regulator is alleging, how the supermarkets are defending themselves and what it could mean for Australian consumers.

  • EU targets Russia's ghost fleet shipping oil in a new round of sanctions

    European Union envoys have agreed a new raft of sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine, targeting in particular a vast shadow fleet of ships that Moscow is exploiting to skirt restrictions on transporting oil and fuel, the EU’s Hungarian presidency said on Wednesday. The sanctions are aimed at about 50 of what are routinely decrepit ships that operate illegally to avoid sanctions and are meant to “constrain the activity” of vessels that “contribute or support actions or policies supporting Russia’s actions against Ukraine,” Hungary said. The package of measures will target more officials and entities — often organizations, companies, banks or government agencies, notably those in countries that are helping Russia to improve its military technology by evading export restrictions.

  • Now set to benefit from a £1bn Qatari investment, Rolls-Royce’s share price looks cheap to me anywhere under £11.08

    Just because Rolls-Royce’s share price has risen significantly this year doesn't mean there's no value left in it. There may be a lot. But is there? The post Now set to benefit from a £1bn Qatari investment, Rolls-Royce’s share price looks cheap to me anywhere under £11.08 appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

  • This 22-year-old CEO still demands 80-hour workweeks after backlash: ‘I care in the way an athlete cares about their sport’

    When Daksh Gupta, 22, announced a job at his company offered "no work-life balance," he received death threats—and resumes.

  • IHOP worker fired for feeding a homeless man gets offered her job back

    Hughes said she would feed a needy person again - even if it meant she lost her job

  • Apple's Tim Cook Highlights $23 billion UK Investment in Talks with British PM Starmer

    Cook highlighted Apple's role in improving the UK's digital environment with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

  • Pub in centre of Bradford transformation works to reopen

    A PUB in the centre of a major city centre transformation scheme will soon re-open.

  • First look at new controversial Sainsbury's store ahead of opening

    The boards on a new Sainsbury’s store have been taken down to reveal a glimpse inside.

  • The WordPress vs. WP Engine drama, explained

    The world of WordPress, one of the most popular technologies for creating and hosting websites, is going through a very heated controversy. The core issue is the fight between WordPress founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine, which hosts websites built on WordPress. WordPress technology is open source and free, and it powers a huge chunk of the internet — around 40% of websites.

  • Diddy accuser speaks out for the first time on his sexual assault allegations: ‘I felt powerless’

    An anonymous John Doe sat down with CNN on Tuesday to share, for the first time, what he described as the traumatic toll the alleged abuse he endured by Sean “Diddy” Combs has taken on his life.

  • Supermarket tomato and pepper products secretly produced with Chinese forced labour

    Tomato and pepper products sold in British supermarkets are secretly produced using forced labour in China, an investigation has found.

  • Rich boomers refusing to retire are throwing a wrench into the $84 million Great Wealth Transfer, HSBC warns

    Entrepreneurs aren’t looking to let go of power and are delaying retirement over fears about their legacy.

  • Interview With Man Accusing “Diddy” of White Party Sexual Assault Is Riddled With Major Inconsistencies

    The year that a man gigging as security personnel encountered the embattled rap mogul changed in his sit-down with CNN, as did whether or not he ever married.

  • Island cocktail bar could be about to diversify with 'alfresco mobile kitchen'

    The Compass Bar at 10 and 11 High Street, Cowes wants to change the use of the building from a 'barista café and wine bar' to a 'bar and eatery'.