The Capitalist: Pub landlord swaps pints for paint in fight against Labour
A pub landlord gets creative, Linkedin tells us their secrets and a new sewer-side spot; catch up with the latest gossip in The Capitalist
‘SOUR TASTE NOT FROM MY BEER’
The hospitality backlash against last year’s Budget is far from reaching last orders as one artist and pub landlord converts his boozer into an art gallery in protest. Birmingham-based artist and landlord of the 19th-century pub The Gunmakers Arms, Mason Newman, has completed a series of satirical caricatures of Sir Keir Starmer.
Along with decorating his pub with the artistic critiques, Newman, who has already barred the Prime Minister and his Chancellor from the venue, is also introducing a new house beer named ‘Pinokeir’. The self-described “poor man’s Andy Warhol”, who’s previously worked with Ozzy Osbourne and Madonna, says publicans have been “pushed to breaking point”.
“A £1,600 saving spread over several years barely touches the sides… There’s been plenty of talk about support, but very little that actually makes a difference, and trust me, that sour taste isn’t coming from my beer.”
Political satire fans can find a wider news-agenda-focused exhibition series from Newman, launching at the Indelible Fine Art Gallery in Brighton.
HOW TO BECOME A LINKEDINFLUENCER
Linkedin popped over this week to give The Capitalist a lesson in etiquette. How to make a post go viral? Certainly not by sharing one of those notorious rags-to-riches tales popular on the platform, the website’s editors told us: instead, Linkedin favours detail-led posts that offer genuine insight rather than sensationalism. Oh, and you’re best to post yours on a Tuesday or a Thursday for maximum engagement.
Fascinatingly, editors from the platform also revealed that, unlike rival platform X, users tend to be well-behaved, rather than sharing dodgy conspiracy theories, because – shock, horror – their bosses are watching. While we’ve got you, did you know that 20 years ago we set up CityAM on laptops based out of our living rooms, and now we’re a global brand? No? Well read on: here are our secrets to success…
A SIT BY A SEWER
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’s normally a good rule to go by, but nobody told the designer of the benches installed on a new public embankment near Blackfriars. The Bazalgette Embankment is not a cheery place, festooned as it is with drab installations and large black slabs, but the benches have got people talking. How to describe them? A few years ago when AI video was in its infancy, users were tickled by the results of requests to ‘show Will Smith eating pasta’ – and these benches look like that; benchy elements but totally distorted. Appropriately for a s**t bench, the site sits on top of a new sewage system. Don’t all rush there at once.
BROOKLYN TOASTS ESTRANGEMENT
Brooklyn Beckham and his wife Nicola Peltz are entitled to some R&R amid their brutal family feud, and it seems that they’re finding comfort in life’s finer things, specifically a £17,000 bottle of 1831 Château d’Yquem which the pair were papped swilling on a recent date night. Not that The Capitalist is jealous, but we do feel that this particular wine should be accompanied by something a little smarter than a t-shirt and baseball cap. Come on Brooklyn, dress for the occasion – and send us the receipt for Bill of the Week.