Latest news with #StreetSmart
Metro
25-07-2025
- Business
- Metro
Londoners outraged over 'stupid' new charge being added to restaurant bills
If you're the type of person who seethes when a service charge is automatically slapped onto your restaurant bill, you probably won't like this. On Reddit's London thread, tauhou_ posted a picture of their receipt from The Pig and Butcher in Islington, highlighting a discretionary 'Carbon Free' fee that had been added to their total meal price. Commenters didn't hold back on sharing their thoughts, describing the charge as 'stupid and sneaky,' 'a load of b******s,' and a 'total scam'. 'More rinsing of customers with climate change as the excuse,' wrote Both-Ad-7037, while Fritti_T added: 'Yet another way to nickel and dime us.' According to Noble Inns, The Pig and Butcher's parent company, all tables (regardless of guest numbers or total spend) are asked to donate a flat £1.23 to either of its two charity partners; GiftTrees and Street Smart. A representative for the firm told Metro: 'This is optional and we explain this to customers. They can just ask to remove it. So far this calendar year our customers have donated £31,000 to GiftTrees and £9,211.75 to Street Smart.' Street Smart supports homeless charities, meaning the charge tauhou_ spotted on their check likely refers to GiftTrees's Carbon Friendly Dining (CFD) Initiative, created alongside payment system provider Lightspeed. Each donation allows a diner to 'offset the environmental impact of their meal' by planting a tree in the developing world, with a GiftTrees spokesperson telling Metro that more than 12 million diners from hundreds of restaurants have 'happily contributed' to the planting of over 4.5 million trees. However, there's more to it than just saving the planet. Although signing up comes at no cost to companies, the CFD website lists perks ranging from free marketing and enhanced sustainability to 'more, happier customers, better online reviews and happier staff.' Additionally, certified UK restaurants receive one 'sustainable credit' for every five trees planted by their diners' contributions, which they can put towards Lightspeed products. This seemed to be the crux of some Redditors' criticism, but others were angriest at the fact they'd have to opt out of the payment. More Trending 'It's ridiculous that some restaurants are now charging diners for carbon offsetting schemes,' consumer champion and customer service consultant Jane Hawkes (also known as Lady Janey) tells Metro. 'These kinds of extra charges are becoming increasingly common and can be incredibly confusing for customers. Whether it's a 'carbon free' dining fee, an automatic service charge or a sustainability levy, the result is the same; the final bill is higher than expected.' When a fee is discretionary, a customer is 'under no obligation to pay it'. But Jane advises restaurants to focus on 'clarity and choice', and avoid quietly tacking extra costs on at the end of a meal. View More » She adds: 'If a business wants to operate more sustainably, that's a decision they should build into their pricing, not pass the cost directly to unsuspecting customers. During ongoing turbulent times for the hospitality industry, establishments that prioritise transparency, honesty, and trust are far more likely to retain customer loyalty.' Jane explains: 'Any additional charge must be clearly communicated, verbally or in writing, before you place your order. 'Even if a service charge is described as mandatory, you have the right to request removal if the service was poor or the charge wasn't made clear in advance. 'Equally if you were unaware of a 'carbon free' dining fee, you can request for it to be removed from your bill.' Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: Wedding guests can sniff an AI speech a mile off — here's how not to get caught out MORE: 8-Course Pan-Indian brunch for just £35: 10 unmissable Time Out deals MORE: We found the best deal in London for National Margarita Day – 2 for 1 margaritas Your free newsletter guide to the best London has on offer, from drinks deals to restaurant reviews.
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘It was an earth-shattering reality right away': director Catherine Hardwicke on life after Twilight
Film-makers have long used their movies as Trojan horses to express their political beliefs and values and Catherine Hardwicke is no different. In her 2003 debut feature, Thirteen, and her 2008 teen vampire hit Twilight, the writer-director bolstered the stories with environmentally and socially conscious messaging to inspire people to 'save the planet'. And with her latest film, Street Smart, which she describes as 'a kind of homeless The Breakfast Club', she is still 'sneaking in' her 'good values'. Street Smart, now in post-production, is a low-budget ensemble drama, executive-produced by Gerard Butler and partnered with charities Covenant House and Safe Place for Youth, that centres on a group of unhoused teens bonding through music, trauma and humour while fending for themselves on the margins of LA society. It stars Yara Shahidi (Grown-ish), Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan) and Michael Cimino (Never Have I Ever), as well as a group of unknown actors whom Hardwicke describes as having 'big hearts and compassion for others; otherwise, they would be trying to work on a superhero film'. Homelessness is a major issue affecting the Californian city. Just last week, US district judge David O Carter ruled that Los Angeles officials had 'flouted' their responsibility to create new shelters for unhoused people by June 2027. The humanitarian crisis in Los Angeles, exacerbated by the Pacific Palisades and Altadena wildfires in January, is an issue that longtime Venice Beach resident Hardwicke was keen to explore. 'We shot on my street, so it's very close to my heart,' she says. 'It's a love letter to Venice, because we have so many eccentric, strange characters of all economic levels. 'Everybody's going through so much, and [there's] such high rent in LA,' she adds. 'Even if you have a job, you still might be homeless, crashing here [and] there, because a job doesn't pay that much. The kids in our movie have jobs – how do you make ends meet?' Hardwicke, who is in Malta as a jury member at the Mediterrane film festival, says her film addresses a bigger target: Trump's rollback ofprovisions such as reproductive healthcare access, welfare budgets, and diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. 'Even though we wrote it before he got elected, Street Smart is directly addressing some of [these] issues,' she says. 'It's telling a compelling story that shows people who do not look like Donald Trump, or think like him.' Hardwicke is no stranger to film-making hardship. Despite her early successes, which included sparking the YA movie boom with the hugely successful adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's novel Twilight, Hardwicke discovered a harsh truth: 'No, people aren't going to hire more women directors. They're not going to give you the next job and let you do something great. It was an earth-shattering reality right away.' She recalls the offices of Twilight producers Summit Entertainment soon after the film's initial box-office success in 2008. She knew that successful male directors might be gifted 'a car, or a three-picture deal, or [getting] to do basically whatever you want' – but none of that happened. 'I walked into a room with all these gifts, and everybody was congratulating the studio, and they gave me a box,' Hardwicke says. 'I opened it up, and it was a mini cupcake.' Hardwicke was replaced by Chris Weitz for the first Twilight sequel, New Moon, and male directors were hired to helm the remaining three films in the franchise. Hardwicke went on to direct 2011's Red Riding Hood, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and starring Amanda Seyfried, but 'it was much more challenging', she says. 'It had a lower budget than we had on Twilight, and it was all fantasy, so we couldn't shoot any real locations and had to build all the sets. They didn't give me much freedom.' Still, Hardwicke has been able to exert her will when it comes to casting, and in the process has launched the careers of some of Hollywood's biggest actors, from Evan Rachel Wood and Robert Pattinson – she was at his birthday party 18 months ago – to Oscar Isaac in The Nativity Story and her 'buddy' Jeremy Renner in Lords of Dogtown, which this year marks its 20th anniversary. 'I gave him an early shot,' Hardwicke says of the Hawkeye and Avengers star. 'I thought Jeremy and Shea Whigham would be funny brothers who sell [cocaine]. I love all of my kids.' Sign up to Film Weekly Take a front seat at the cinema with our weekly email filled with all the latest news and all the movie action that matters after newsletter promotion Hardwicke also has a cheerful memory of working with Tom Cruise. Before switching to directing, she was a production designer with credits on Richard Linklater's The Newton Boys, David O Russell's Three Kings and Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky, the last of which Cruise starred in and produced. Hardwicke had been a last-minute addition, replacing the previous production designer two weeks into the shoot. She remembers late nights with the actor-producer: 'He was inspiring because he does not settle for anything less than excellence.' Hardwicke says Cruise offered to stay late to work out a conference-room set up. 'He and I are acting out the scene, we're rearranging the furniture until one in the morning,' she says. 'I'm like, 'Dude, aren't you even tired?' He had to be back at [7 am], but he wanted to get it right. Every chance he had. He never stopped.' Nowadays, Cruise's intense commitment is mostly seen in the Mission: Impossible franchise, but despite her fondness for Cruise's work ethic, when asked if she'd ever helm one of his spy films, Hardwicke chuckles: 'Not necessarily.'
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘It was an earth-shattering reality right away': director Catherine Hardwicke on life after Twilight
Film-makers have long used their movies as Trojan horses to express their political beliefs and values and Catherine Hardwicke is no different. In her 2003 debut feature, Thirteen, and her 2008 teen vampire hit Twilight, the writer-director bolstered the stories with environmentally and socially conscious messaging to inspire people to 'save the planet'. And with her latest film, Street Smart, which she describes as 'a kind of homeless The Breakfast Club', she is still 'sneaking in' her 'good values'. Street Smart, now in post-production, is a low-budget ensemble drama, executive-produced by Gerard Butler and partnered with charities Covenant House and Safe Place for Youth, that centres on a group of unhoused teens bonding through music, trauma and humour while fending for themselves on the margins of LA society. It stars Yara Shahidi (Grown-ish), Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan) and Michael Cimino (Never Have I Ever), as well as a group of unknown actors whom Hardwicke describes as having 'big hearts and compassion for others; otherwise, they would be trying to work on a superhero film'. Homelessness is a major issue affecting the Californian city. Just last week, US district judge David O Carter ruled that Los Angeles officials had 'flouted' their responsibility to create new shelters for unhoused people by June 2027. The humanitarian crisis in Los Angeles, exacerbated by the Pacific Palisades and Altadena wildfires in January, is an issue that longtime Venice Beach resident Hardwicke was keen to explore. 'We shot on my street, so it's very close to my heart,' she says. 'It's a love letter to Venice, because we have so many eccentric, strange characters of all economic levels. 'Everybody's going through so much, and [there's] such high rent in LA,' she adds. 'Even if you have a job, you still might be homeless, crashing here [and] there, because a job doesn't pay that much. The kids in our movie have jobs – how do you make ends meet?' Hardwicke, who is in Malta as a jury member at the Mediterrane film festival, says her film addresses a bigger target: Trump's rollback ofprovisions such as reproductive healthcare access, welfare budgets, and diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. 'Even though we wrote it before he got elected, Street Smart is directly addressing some of [these] issues,' she says. 'It's telling a compelling story that shows people who do not look like Donald Trump, or think like him.' Hardwicke is no stranger to film-making hardship. Despite her early successes, which included sparking the YA movie boom with the hugely successful adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's novel Twilight, Hardwicke discovered a harsh truth: 'No, people aren't going to hire more women directors. They're not going to give you the next job and let you do something great. It was an earth-shattering reality right away.' She recalls the offices of Twilight producers Summit Entertainment soon after the film's initial box-office success in 2008. She knew that successful male directors might be gifted 'a car, or a three-picture deal, or [getting] to do basically whatever you want' – but none of that happened. 'I walked into a room with all these gifts, and everybody was congratulating the studio, and they gave me a box,' Hardwicke says. 'I opened it up, and it was a mini cupcake.' Hardwicke was replaced by Chris Weitz for the first Twilight sequel, New Moon, and male directors were hired to helm the remaining three films in the franchise. Hardwicke went on to direct 2011's Red Riding Hood, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and starring Amanda Seyfried, but 'it was much more challenging', she says. 'It had a lower budget than we had on Twilight, and it was all fantasy, so we couldn't shoot any real locations and had to build all the sets. They didn't give me much freedom.' Still, Hardwicke has been able to exert her will when it comes to casting, and in the process has launched the careers of some of Hollywood's biggest actors, from Evan Rachel Wood and Robert Pattinson – she was at his birthday party 18 months ago – to Oscar Isaac in The Nativity Story and her 'buddy' Jeremy Renner in Lords of Dogtown, which this year marks its 20th anniversary. 'I gave him an early shot,' Hardwicke says of the Hawkeye and Avengers star. 'I thought Jeremy and Shea Whigham would be funny brothers who sell [cocaine]. I love all of my kids.' Sign up to Film Weekly Take a front seat at the cinema with our weekly email filled with all the latest news and all the movie action that matters after newsletter promotion Hardwicke also has a cheerful memory of working with Tom Cruise. Before switching to directing, she was a production designer with credits on Richard Linklater's The Newton Boys, David O Russell's Three Kings and Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky, the last of which Cruise starred in and produced. Hardwicke had been a last-minute addition, replacing the previous production designer two weeks into the shoot. She remembers late nights with the actor-producer: 'He was inspiring because he does not settle for anything less than excellence.' Hardwicke says Cruise offered to stay late to work out a conference-room set up. 'He and I are acting out the scene, we're rearranging the furniture until one in the morning,' she says. 'I'm like, 'Dude, aren't you even tired?' He had to be back at [7 am], but he wanted to get it right. Every chance he had. He never stopped.' Nowadays, Cruise's intense commitment is mostly seen in the Mission: Impossible franchise, but despite her fondness for Cruise's work ethic, when asked if she'd ever helm one of his spy films, Hardwicke chuckles: 'Not necessarily.'
Scoop
05-06-2025
- Automotive
- Scoop
Street Smart Young Driver Traning Programme Grows To Meet Demand
Press Release – Street Smart The programme sees participants move through seven carefully designed activities that focus on key aspects of safe driving. Thanks to generous funding from programme partners, the hugely popular Street Smart driven by Tony Quinn Foundation Road Safety programme, which typically sells out, has expanded to meet growing demand. To date, more than 2,500 young drivers plus their parent / guardian have taken part in this hands-on programme. With more and more young people keen to boost their driving skills, additional training days have been added with training days now taking place at motorsports parks in Hampton Downs, Taupō, Cromwell and Invercargill. Since 2021, over 350 individuals under the age of 25 have tragically lost their lives on New Zealand roads, highlighting the critical need for targeted driver education. The Street Smart driven by Tony Quinn Foundation Road Safety programme addresses this challenge by offering a unique, hands-on learning experience for young drivers and their parents or guardians, giving new drivers essential skills to navigate New Zealand's roads more safely. The programme sees participants move through seven carefully designed activities that focus on key aspects of safe driving. These hands-on techniques are designed to enhance participants' knowledge in areas such as decision-making, understanding road environments, and managing distractions— all while driving in a safe, controlled environment. 'We're very excited to see so many young people taking up the mantle and attending this life-saving programme,' said Hayden Dickason, Street Smart Programme Director. 'Young drivers face significant risks on New Zealand roads, where life-changing moments can occur in an instant behind the wheel. That's why Street Smart is so important. We aim to equip our least experienced drivers with the skills and awareness to stay safe, reduce their risk, and ultimately save lives.' Greg Murphy, Street Smart Trust Chair and Ambassador, shared his enthusiasm for the programme: 'I'm incredibly passionate about saving lives through improving driver awareness, and I'm incredibly proud to have been involved in Street Smart since its inception. This programme has been designed by experts for Kiwi teens, and it's making a difference in helping young people become more aware and responsible behind the wheel.' The Street Smart programme is open to young drivers and their parents/guardians. Registration details and additional information are available on the Street Smart website Event Details: HAMPTON DOWNS: When: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 13th July and 24th August 2025 Where: Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, 20 Hampton Downs Road, Te Kauwhata TAUPŌ When: 30th June and 1st July Where: Taupō International Motorsport Park, 463 Broadlands Road, Taupō INVERCRAGILL: When: 10th & 11th July 2025 Where: Teretonga Park Raceway, 86 Sandy Point Road, Oreti Beach, Invercargill CROMWELL When: 8th & 9th July 2025 Where: Highlands Motorsport Park, Corner SH6 & Sandflat Road, Cromwell, Otago
Scoop
05-06-2025
- Automotive
- Scoop
Street Smart Young Driver Traning Programme Grows To Meet Demand
Thanks to generous funding from programme partners, the hugely popular Street Smart driven by Tony Quinn Foundation Road Safety programme, which typically sells out, has expanded to meet growing demand. To date, more than 2,500 young drivers plus their parent / guardian have taken part in this hands-on programme. With more and more young people keen to boost their driving skills, additional training days have been added with training days now taking place at motorsports parks in Hampton Downs, Taupō, Cromwell and Invercargill. Since 2021, over 350 individuals under the age of 25 have tragically lost their lives on New Zealand roads, highlighting the critical need for targeted driver education. The Street Smart driven by Tony Quinn Foundation Road Safety programme addresses this challenge by offering a unique, hands-on learning experience for young drivers and their parents or guardians, giving new drivers essential skills to navigate New Zealand's roads more safely. The programme sees participants move through seven carefully designed activities that focus on key aspects of safe driving. These hands-on techniques are designed to enhance participants' knowledge in areas such as decision-making, understanding road environments, and managing distractions— all while driving in a safe, controlled environment. Advertisement - scroll to continue reading 'We're very excited to see so many young people taking up the mantle and attending this life-saving programme,' said Hayden Dickason, Street Smart Programme Director. 'Young drivers face significant risks on New Zealand roads, where life-changing moments can occur in an instant behind the wheel. That's why Street Smart is so important. We aim to equip our least experienced drivers with the skills and awareness to stay safe, reduce their risk, and ultimately save lives.' Greg Murphy, Street Smart Trust Chair and Ambassador, shared his enthusiasm for the programme: 'I'm incredibly passionate about saving lives through improving driver awareness, and I'm incredibly proud to have been involved in Street Smart since its inception. This programme has been designed by experts for Kiwi teens, and it's making a difference in helping young people become more aware and responsible behind the wheel.' The Street Smart programme is open to young drivers and their parents/guardians. Registration details and additional information are available on the Street Smart website Event Details: HAMPTON DOWNS: When: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 13th July and 24th August 2025 Where: Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, 20 Hampton Downs Road, Te Kauwhata TAUPŌ When: 30th June and 1st July Where: Taupō International Motorsport Park, 463 Broadlands Road, Taupō INVERCRAGILL: CROMWELL
