The Reporter

The Reporter

Backstage gaspLast week, the Reporter told how Ticketmaster was selling "hospitality package" tickets for Leonard Cohen's July concert at London's 02 Arena for £285 each. However, that is a mere bagatelle when compared with the £500 being charged for "side-stage experience" tickets to Bon Jovi's stadium shows in June. For your half a grand (plus booking fee), you get to "join Bon Jovi (pictured below) on the side of the stage during the concert for three songs," plus you get a "golden circle" ticket, autographed programme and $100 voucher to buy merchandise online. The way things are going, you'll soon be able to buy a ticket for £5,000 which gets you into the Jacuzzi after the gig.

Alternatively, you might want to consider the one-day festival taking place at the Hop Farm in Paddock Wood, Kent, on July 6, which is being headlined by Neil Young. The organisers say this will be "totally unbranded, free of registration and without any VIP areas ... you turn up with your ticket and enjoy the same experience as every other ticket holder".

Expectant widowHayley Hunt, the current wearer of the black cape in Scottish Widows's adverts, is expecting a baby. You might think that would be a problem for the Edinburgh-based insurer, but there is no question of its Widow being sent packing; in fact, the company has just commissioned its 2009 calendar, which will feature a six-months-pregnant Hunt. The.....continued below

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calendar will be photographed by Elisabeth Hoff, who is best-known for her Lipgloss series of art photographs, as well as high-profile fashion, beauty and music photography. Presumably Ms Hunt's bump will be hidden behind that voluminous cape. Or perhaps there will be shots of her splayed out on the sofa, gnawing on a piece of coal and flicking through a maternity clothes catalogue.

Moving statistics Buckinghamshire has been named the county with the best quality of life, boasting as it does the healthiest and some of the highest-paid residents in the country. That's one of the findings of a survey carried out by the Halifax. "Residents of Buckinghamshire are not just the healthiest but they also have the highest life expectancy rates (80 years for newborns). People living in the county are also typically well remunerated with an average annual salary of £40,000," it says. Most Buckinghamshire householders are owner-occupiers (77%), while GCSE results are better than the norm, and the area sees slightly more sunshine per week (28.7 hours) than the average for other counties. The highest-ranked county in northern England is North Yorkshire, which has a high employment rate, a high owner-occupation rate and a low level of carbon emissions. Top in Scotland and Wales are East Dunbartonshire and the Vale of Glamorgan respectively.

You can't take it with youMore than 60% of working Brits plan to spend all their savings during their retirement years, leaving nothing to their heirs, according to research from insurer Axa. The company says this is a growing trend across the globe. However, it's the next generation in Spain who look like being the biggest losers: 79% of working Spaniards plan to spend, spend, spend after they clock off for the last time.