By Paul Casciato

LONDON (Reuters Life!) – “Young-at-heart” pensioners around the world are living life to the full without considering how they might be cared for when they become ill or infirm in the future, according to a new study.

Across the globe, 72 percent of those aged 65 and above do not consider themselves to be “old” and only 22 percent have put money aside for old age, according to new research that has been released by private health insurance company Bupa.

By Paul Casciato

LONDON (Reuters Life!) – The direct value of the fashion industry to the British economy is nearly 21 billion pounds ($32.75 billion) according to a study released on the eve of London Fashion Week.

The “Value of the UK Fashion Industry” report, commissioned by the British Fashion Council (BFC), defines the industry and analyses the economic value of Britain’s fashion industry for the first time, the BFC said in a statement with the report’s release.

By Paul Casciato

LONDON (Reuters Life!) – Got 48 hours to explore the British capital during a business trip? Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help visitors explore London’s mix of old world charm and modern culture.

Friday

4:00 p.m. If you’ve been here on business all week, make like the locals and conveniently misunderstand the timing or location of that late Friday afternoon meeting so you can slip away to the pub instead. Reschedule by text after the meeting has started and be all apologetic on Monday. Don’t fret, most of the other attendees will have made their excuses too.

LONDON (Reuters) – Employees who fritter time away on Facebook, Twitter and other social media Web sites are costing British businesses billions, new research suggests.

British employment website MyJobGroup.co.uk said it polled 1,000 British workers and found that nearly six percent, or 2 million, of Britain’s 34 million-strong workforce spent over an hour per day on social media while at work, amounting to more than one eighth of their entire working day.

LONDON (Reuters) – Employees who fritter time away on Facebook, Twitter and other social media Web sites are costing British businesses billions, new research suggests.

British employment website MyJobGroup.co.uk said it polled 1,000 British workers and found that nearly six percent, or 2 million, of Britain’s 34 million-strong workforce spent over an hour per day on social media while at work, amounting to more than one eighth of their entire working day.

By Paul Casciato

LONDON (Reuters Life!) – British Girl Guides have demanded Prime Minister David Cameron introduce labeling to distinguish between airbrushed and natural images of women in glossy magazines and advertisements.

Girlguiding UK, the country’s largest organization for girls and young women, said on Wednesday it had launched a petition demanding Cameron take action to help “shape a generation of self-confident girls and young women.”

By Paul Casciato

LONDON (Reuters Life!) – It’s supposed to be a mark of distinction, but going grey is now the top concern for British men, according to new research.

Hair color is the number one appearance concern for men today, with more than half of British men worrying about graying hair, and 45 marks the age when panic really sets in, according to a poll from market research firm Mintel.

LONDON (Reuters) – William Shakespeare’s Globe theater has finally put a 400-year-old taboo to rest by staging the play which burned the original house down during the Bard’s lifetime.

The theater on the south bank of the River Thames in London, which burned to the ground during the staging of a play about Henry VIII in 1613 and was rebuilt in the late 1990s, has staged the first version of the play that has come to be called “Henry VIII” since that fateful day.

LONDON (Reuters) – The limos, big hair, ball gowns and boys in formal outfits of U.S.-style high school proms have now become a widespread rite of passage for British teens, according to a survey.

The prom is now deemed more significant for kids finishing school than other milestones such as exam results day.

LONDON (Reuters) – Labels touting wines made with Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot grapes are familiar to the average wine lover, but how does one decide whether to go for an Okuzgozu or an Emir?

A small number of wine connoisseurs who have been cottoning on to a revolution in Turkish wine production led by such winemakers as Daniel O’Donnell at Kayra Wines in the Turkish region of Anatolia, will tell you pretty firmly that Emir is white and Okuzgozu is red, for a start.