On the 23rd of June, the whole of the United Kingdom went to the polls to vote and decide if we want to stay in the European Union (EU). The result? Brits voted to leave the EU-I say again- the power of democracy had made people vote to leave the EU...interesting times ahead. Within hours of the result coming out, the price of gold jumped nearly 7% to $1,348.27 an ounce and the £ is still fluctuating like crazy (1£GBP = US$1.36). The last few days have been seismic and historic for Britain, the greatest political crisis since the second world war with reverberations felt around the world. Whichever side of the Brexit debate you were on, we are entering a period of great political and economic uncertainty.​

Boris Johnson, the former Mayor of London, said the UK won't "pull up the drawbridge", starting the tricky task of telling people who voted for this that they can't have it. They messed up...since then, over two million people signed petition to have another vote to decide to stay in the EU...a possible re-run of the referendum so this time people can actually vote to stay in the EU? Is this a democracy? Second full business day after Brexit vote will begin on Monday... no Article 50 notification....they will do whatever they can to delay it....get used to this...they made the public look foolish....

The Deep State and the global controllers in the Upper House are furious over this. When Chapter 50 is filed there's going to be a very negative effect; they will make things very ugly in Britain to make us an example to the other EU member states not to even think about leaving. It all looks great now but the party won't last long...come 10 years it will look ugly for sure. Not good in the long run. Nigel Farage backtracked on Vote Leave's '£350m for the NHS' pledge hours after result. The Ukip leader (who was educated at Dulwich College, can you believe) said he had never made such a pledge.

Someone wrote (I quote): "Things will be unstable for the UK whether or not there will be "interference". The currency deep dive is just the beginning, and then there will be changes to trade policy and so on. Now, if people see the good of leaving and vote what they think best - fine; what really worries me is the level of stupidity of the people! What they said were absolute shockers. The 10 years to come will be really bad because of the existence of such naive and ignorant creatures."

On the plus side, at least there is no threat of us having Donald Trump as our new leader … although there is chance that we may have someone who looks a bit like him …

In a world that has become digital and where media outlets are competing to report honest and reliable news that is delivered accurately and with speed, the question on everyone’s minds is, what is the future of news? This was exactly the topic of discussion at an event hosted by Thompson Reuters earlier this week, where panellists discussed how audiences of tomorrow will consume and engage with journalism, which platforms and formats will dominate, what tomorrow’s news will look and sound like and how it will be monetised.
 
Navjot Singh, editor of 12ahead.com at The Knowledge Engineers, attended the live discussion held at the EMEA HQ of Thomson Reuters in London on the 1st of June. The event, named ‘Tomorrow’s News’, was a follow-on industry discussion that derived from an important survey by Reuters.com into the news reading habits of over 1,200 of the site’s users, which was released earlier on the same day that the panel discussion was held. The publication’s digital executive editor Aron Pilhofer from the Guardian said it was “doubling down” on paid-for membership after signs of decline in digital display advertising within the industry.
 
Eighty-four per cent of respondents of the survey said they were interested in receiving breaking news, and 85 per cent of them said they do so by checking multiple sources. The survey also highlighted that when it comes to people's desire to pay for quality news – 62 per cent of those surveyed agreed they would not consider paying.
 
The research also sheds some light on what digital trends and new technology formats are likely to influence how younger Reuters.com readers will consume news in the future, with over ninety-three per cent agreeing that the increasing power of mobile devices will play an important role, while 88 per cent also cited mobile app development as a factor.
 
Apart from Pilhofer, panellists at the discussion, which was broadcast live on Facebook Live and on Periscope, included Mark Challinor, head of the INMA, Google’s Eero Korhonnen, Nathalie Malinarch, editor for mobile and new formats at BBC News Online and NowThis president Athan Stephanopoulos. The panel discussion was moderated by John Pullman, global head of video and pictures at Reuters.
 
In an era of distributed content, what does a news brand mean and do they have a future, especially when a news article ends up on a social media platform? Ms. Malinarch said that trust is important when it comes to a news article, and the accuracy and reliability of a news item determines how much an importance a brand is.
 
She specifically pointed out that in an environment like Facebook, where the distinction between news outlets seems to become blurred when everyone is covering a particular story in a similar video format with text on screen, there will be characteristics that will make individual publishers stand out. "Certain news brands are a destination and they will continue to be." She said.
 
"If you spend 30 minutes in your Facebook feed watching videos, at some point you are no longer sure where they came from. Why would people look for the Guardian or BBC on Facebook? They need a reason to do that and publishers need to work out what that reason should be.”
 
"The distinguishing quality can be the outlet's personality, or impartiality, or trustworthiness."
Pilhofer said that the Guardian views print news as “the bridge to our future”, as he revealed it is managing the traditional news medium for decline while looking to drive growth from digital and membership. The key question asked was ‘Who is going to pay for news in the future?’ and ‘How is it going to be funded?’
 
In regards to how are we going to actually pay for news in the future, it goes without saying that there is an awful lot of gloom in the industry at the moment with bad news being heard almost every other day. So, for example, just in the last ten days we’ve had the Daily Mail UK saying that there has been a collapse in ad-spending and share prices falling by more than ten percent, disappointing revenue figures from the New York Times, Buzzfeed missing revenue targets, and to make matters even worse we have seen data that one in five people in the world are actively using an ad-blocker on their smartphone. So, with all of this in mind, the key question is, where is the money coming from?
 
In response to John Pullman’s point that the Guardian is shockingly losing over a million pounds a week (!), Pilhofer went on to comment: “We all know what’s happening with print, that hasn’t really changed. It’s a constant decline and I don’t think I’m going to be breaking any news here by saying that isn’t going to change. We know where that story ends.”
 
Agreeing with Pullman, a confident Pilhofer went on to say: “It is without a doubt incredibly challenging. The thing that has happened recently is that digital display [advertising] has absolutely cratered. The New York Times, for example are down one per cent year on year on digital display after years of growth – sometimes high double digit growth –  and so where does that revenue now come from?. Revenue has to come from readers and so we are doubling down on membership which we launched about a year and a half ago. So that’s where we see the opportunity and the one place where we really can start to drive some revenue.” 
 
In regards to the payment subscription and the sensitive issue of paywalls, Pilhofer said The Guardian was not considering a paywall, despite previous statements from the company that members are likely to gain access to more content in future as part of their subscription.
 
“I think the danger with a paywall is you put up a paywall and then do nothing else and suddenly the money starts coming in – and that’s exactly what we saw with the New York Times – it explodes then it plateaus and everybody goes ‘oh good, the internet’s solved”, explained Pilhofer.
 
He continued: “The danger with paywalls is they can lull you into a sense of complacency so you don't look at the fundamentals of your business. For example a business that has been for almost 200 years, in our case, oriented around a single product that is a printed newspaper.”
 
“Now we’re getting into a world in which you have to think about suites of products and new products and new revenue streams and how do you realign a company that has been fundamentally organised around one thing to be reorganised around many things and what is the role in particular, in our case because we are an editorial-led organisation, what is the role of editorial in that?”
 
“That’s why membership, which fundamentally has to be driven by editorial, is transformative and is the thing for us that will push us in the direction we need to go.”
 
He added: “The strategy is not anti-print. Print is a big piece of what we’re doing but we are managing it for decline because that’s responsible and that’s just frankly the way things have been heading for the past 15 years.”
 
“We talk about print as being the bridge to our future and that’s actually the right way to think about it and that’s the way the New York Times is thinking about it.”
 
“You’re ring-fencing costs and you’re thinking about how we can manage to create the best possible print product every day, which we do, and still drive growth where growth is – and that’s going to be on the digital side. It just is. It’s not going to come from the print side.”
 
The Guardian's data insights team looks at metrics for success that can be aligned with the outlet's strategy, including that of attracting paid members.
 
Athan Stephanopolous of NowThis said the company's insights team works closely with editorial to "measure the performance of every single piece of content on each platform" it publishes on, but putting this data in the larger context of "success" differently according to each platform's specifics. He confirmed that Snapchat has become its most important platform - now 15% of monthly traffic.
 
"We have to think about people's behaviour. If we only consider the stories that are important to us, it's a futile exercise if people are not interested in them. Said Stephanopolous.”
 
He went on to say: "When someone likes your page, they're essentially giving you the authority to enter their newsfeed, so we have to take that seriously."
 
Click here to watch the full discussion, as recorded live on Periscope.

This article was first published on 12ahead.com and on the blog of The Knowledge Engineers.

Want to enjoy the BEST oysters and Dom in London? Head to the Loch Fyne in Covent Garden. Just perfect!

Special thanks to Oman Air.

The last 10 minutes of any flight into London's Heathrow Airport are the best moments to capture photos...unless you're lucky enough to be a Captain and sit on the left-hand side, then ALWAYS try to get a right-hand side window seat...that way no matter whichever way you are landing from, you get to see Central London (provided its not cloudy!)

...this time at London's Trafalgar Square. Anti-austerity campaigners from Portugal, Greece, Spain and Italy rally at Trafalgar Square in the English Captial to support of the newly elected government officials in Greece to negotiate a better deal with the European Union with regard to the Greek national debt crisis

Dulwich College never fails to captivate.

London's views are captivating, no matter if it rains or is sunny. I'll take rain over toxic filth any day. 

My latest feature article for the Shanghai Daily is a travel report on how to spend 72 hours in London.

The images of London that I captured here, were published in the London Evening Standard on June 2. The double-page layout print is shown below.

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These photos were taken using the manual HRD technique. Minimal amount of Photoshop editing was used (only to improve the contrast and brightness), and no filters were applied. The sky was relatively blue on that evening and I suppose the navy blue colour appeared out of the HRD method. 

Wanna visit London? Check out more at www.visitlondon.com! 
了解更多关于伦敦@http://london.cn/

Located in the heart of London's Covent Garden, at first glance Sticks'n'Sushi looks like any other Japanese eatery providing nothing but the finest of exports of Japan's signature cuisine. So where does the Danish concept come from? The brand was founded 18 years ago in Copenhagen by three entrepreneurs - brothers Jens and Kim Rahbek and Thor Andersen - who are all of half-Danish, Half-Japanese heritage. They decided to add a unique angle and touch to the otherwise average sushi that was available in Denmark at that time. Now, it must be said that there is no surprise that any food which is cooked outside of it's country of origin is hard to beat the real stuff - it may be classed as authentic as possible, however it will never be the same as it would back in it's native place (i.e. Japanese food tastes only good IN Japan and so on...trust me on that quote...it's true for any cuisine no matter how much expats boast on about providing the true 'authentic' experience in their adopted country!). 

Nevertheless, on that note I must say that the sushi at Stick'n'Sushi does taste authentic as it can be and is perhaps more healthier than most (native Japanese people may or may not disagree..). It's definitely a unique cuisine that combined the mixed-race heritages together using food, and that concept is firmly embedded in the culture of the eatery's decoration, ambiance, music, and of course the rare combination of traditional sushi and yakitori sticks. The service was extraordinaire too. It is therefore no wonder that the Sticks'n'Sushi brand has experienced huge success and has arguably become known as the provider of the best Japanese cuisine in the Nordics.  

There are two restaurants in the U.K. - one each in Wimbledon and Covent Garden. 

On a junction of a busy London street lies a well place set of flowers wrapped around a road sign pole. These are not some sort of decoration, but most probably a remembrance tribute to a cyclist or a pedestrian who fell victim to a road accident. Behind the flowers a cycle lane can be clearly seen. Road accidents can happen anywhere, and sadly the chances get higher in a busy metropolis such as London.  

It's also worth pointing out how amazing how time plays an important part in our lives. While there has been a gradual decline in cycling in countries where it was seen as the traditional mode of transport, such as in China, Vietnam and India; on the other hand there has been a surge in cycling in cities such as London where cycling was not so common.

Been open for over 400 years, Borough Market is one of the oldest and most liveliest markets in London. Rather than being just another market selling fresh seafood, fruit and vegetables, Borough Market has been known since times in memorial for selling exotic meat, and other unique offerings (wheatgrass drink anyone?!). No tourist should leave London without experiencing this fascinating place...go and see it as soon as you can!

Westminster Cathedral is somewhat of a gem which not many people see despite it's presence right in the heart of Victoria because everyone is too busy either commuting to/from work or just don't notice the huge building. Located right next to Victoria Station, and opposite the London HQ of Google and Microsoft, the Cathedral offers some nice views of London from the top of the tower.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the tower was the best and highest vantage point to get nice views of the capital. However, these days the views are becoming obstructed due to the large number of high rise glass buildings that are sprouting around London. It's probably a good time to go and experience the views from here before it's closed down in the future (I wouldn't be surprised). There is an admission fee of £5.00.  

As a tourist in London it is sometimes challenging to find a really good genuine English restaurant that serves nothing but the best of British cuisine and not your off-the-cuff eatery catering solely for tourists. Because I have lived in China for many years, so therefore I wanted to relive my English taste buds and indulge in some home-made English dishes such as ‘Fish and Chips’, ‘Salt Baked, Cotswold Chicken’ or ‘Twice Cooked Pork Belly’.  The Mews of Mayfair, with its four-floor restaurant and bar, provides those dishes and much more.

Are there downsides? The only one I could observe was the awkward location of the eatery. It is difficult to find - but so are rare gems. The restaurant and it's amazing, yet underused,  Cartizze Bar is neatly hidden away on Lancashire Court, a posh lane near the affluent ---New Bond Street---. It's perhaps one of the main reasons why 60% of the restaurant was empty when I went there - and the bar was closed at a time when it shouldn't have been. The Cartizze will look like a simple hole in the wall if you have ever experienced real top quality bars - such as the Ozone Bar at The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, Azzure bar in Hong Kong, MINT in Shanghai, or the Flair at The Ritz-Carlton Pudong Shanghai. In other words, I found it to be nothing extraordinary. It's a nice place for professionals to meet though- no doubt about that. 

An eatery, such this ---Mews of Mayfair---, could easily be pictured doing so well in a place such as Shanghai Xintiandi, Suzhou's Tianyu area. or even in Dubai's ---Wafi City---...it's the kind of stuff that expats would love to go to. But the problem with chic eateries in the West is that their management are sadly not well advised or equipped to deal with such international business ventures. It's sad...and there is a huge expat market that is missing out on great home cooked food- expats in China still have to go to 5-star hotels in order for us to get a close enough experience to authentic Western food. It's just like, say for example, Chinese expats not having to get their authentic Beijing duck in London or Paris (Chinese food only tastes good IN China), or Indian expats in Europe having to indulge in 'Indian food' that is actually cooked by Bengalis (no offence to Bengali people)...and so on.

The cost for a meal for two people can go up to around £100 on average. While the restaurant may come across as being too posh for most people, a quick glance at the Menu suggests that there are dishes that are affordable by everyone. For example, a massive plate of--- 'Fish and Chips, Pea and Mint Puree, Wasabi Tartare'--- for less than £16.

在伦敦旅游它有时具有挑战性的找到一个真正的好真正的英式餐厅，供应什么，但最好的英国美食，而不是你的现成的，袖口食堂餐饮专为游客。因为我已经在中国生活了很多年，所以因此我想重温我的英语味蕾，并沉迷于一些自制的英式菜肴，如--- ‘Fish and Chips’, ‘Salt Baked, Cotswold Chicken’ or ‘Twice Cooked Pork Belly’.-本 Mews of Mayfair ,与它的四层楼的餐厅和酒吧，提供那些菜等等。

有没有缺点？唯一个我可以观察是食堂的尴尬位置。这是很难找到 - 而且还有稀有宝石。餐厅和它的惊人，但平衡使用，定价过高, Cartizze Bar被整齐地隐藏起来的 Lancashire Court 附近的富裕 New Bond Street一个豪华的车道。这也许是主要的原因，为什么餐厅的 60％是空的，当我去那里之一 - 酒吧被关闭的时候它不应该。该 Cartizze Bar 看起来就像墙上有一个简单的洞，如果你曾经经历过真正的顶级品质的酒吧 - 如 Ozone Bar 在 The Ritz-Carlton 香港， Azzure Bar 在香港， MINT 在上海，或 Flair Bar 在 The Ritz-Carlton Pudong 上海。换句话说，这是什么了不起的事。

一个小餐馆，这这样的---马厩 The Mews of Mayfair ，很容易被描绘得这么好的一个地方，如上海新天地，苏州天宇区。甚至在迪拜---瓦菲--- ...这是什么样的东西，外国人很愿意去。但在西方别致的餐馆，问题是他们的管理是可悲的不是很好的建议，或有能力应付这样的国际商业投资。这是可悲的...... ，有一个巨大的外籍人士市场是错过了伟大的家庭熟食，外国人在中国还是得去5星级酒店为了让我们得到一个接近足够的经验，正宗的西餐。这就像，例如说，中国的外籍人士不必让他们地道的北京烤鸭在伦敦或巴黎（中国食品只有口味好于中国） ，或有沉迷于“印度菜” ，实际上是由熟印度外籍人士在欧洲孟加拉（没有冒犯的班的人！ ） ......等等。

成本一顿饭，两个人可以去高达约 100 英镑的平均水平。而餐厅则可能会遇到由于过于豪华对大多数人来说，一个快速浏览菜单表明，有菜有负担的人。例如，一个大规模的板  'Fish and Chips, Pea and Mint Puree, Wasabi Tartare' 为小于16英镑。


Additional reporting by Ruila Lin