The other Argos
The Argos catalogue, known as the ‘Book of Dreams’, is no longer to appear in printed form. How did the shop get its name? Founder Richard Tompkins happened to be on holiday in the city of Argos, on the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, when he came up with the idea for it. The city, which dates back to around 1200 bc, offers a number of treasures of its own, including:
— An ancient theatre, seating 20,000 people and dating back to the 3rd century bc
— The Agora, developed in the 6th century bc
— The arched municipal market, Argos’s own monument to retail, dating from 1889
Dying out
The overall mortality rate in England and Wales was below average in June, in spite of high numbers of Covid deaths still being recorded. What diseases are we apparently dying from less? The death rate in June per 100,000 vs the five-year average:
Death rate | Average
Dementia | 77 | 95.5
Heart disease | 64.6 | 94.5
Lung cancer | 40.8 | 52.8
Stroke | 37.4 | 50.9
Chronic lower respiratory | 29.3 | 46.1
Bowel cancer | 22.7 | 37.4
Flu/pneumonia | 18.3 | 37.4
Covid-19 | 53 | 0
Source: ONS
Court short
The Magistrates’ Association called for more BAME people to volunteer for the service. How representative are magistrates of the population of England and Wales?
Magistrates| Pop
BAME | 12% | 14%
Female | 56% | 51%
Under 40 | 5% | 29%
Over 60 | 52% | 22%
Source: Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales/ONS
Making a meal of it
The Chancellor’s ‘eat out to help out’ scheme, subsidising restaurant meals on Mondays to Wednesdays during August, has come into effect. How has the hospitality industry been doing compared with the corresponding week last year?
Week beginning
6 July | -39.8%
13 July | -31.6%
20 July | -28.5%
In the week beginning 20 July, restaurant sales were 22.4% down on a year earlier, pub-restaurants 29% and bars 45.7%.
Source: Coffer Peach Business Tracker
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