Finnish lines
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she had taken a test for illegal drugs after being filmed at a party at which some people were shouting ‘flour’ – Finnish slang for cocaine. What’s Helsinki’s nightlife like?
— The Hostelworld website identifies a Helsinki venue, Kaiku, as one of its 20 top clubs in the world.
— Insider.com names Helsinki as the second best city in the world for socialising.
— However, Finder.com rated Helsinki as the 16th most expensive city in the world in which to buy a pint, although it did come out cheaper than Oslo and Stockholm.
Screen out
Cineworld was reported to be on the verge of filing for bankruptcy, following Covid and what it said was a lack of blockbusters this year. How have cinema audiences fared over the years? Attendances in Britain peaked in 1946 at 1.635m and bottomed out in 1984 at 54m (until Covid-19, that is).
Millions of attendances
1946 1,635
1956 1,101
1966 289
1976 104
1986 76
1996 124
2006 157
2016 168
2020 44
Source: UK Cinema Association
Causing a splash
Which water companies are best/worst for losing water through leaks? In litres per property per day:
Worst
Thames Water 161
Hafren Dyfrdwy (N.E./mid-Wales) 134
United Utilities (Yorkshire)
130Affinity (Home Counties) 120
Best
Bristol 69
Essex and Suffolk (Portsmouth) 79
SES (Surrey/Sussex) 82
Anglian 86
Source: www.discoverwater.co.uk
Sale away
Retail sales rose by 0.3 per cent last month. Have they recovered from the pandemic? Rise/fall in value of sales (at current prices) since the middle of 2019:
All retail +16%
Predominantly food stores +12%
Non-food stores +10%
Clothing and footwear +7%
Household goods +9%
Online +48%
Petrol stations +27%
Source: ONS
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