Just the tonic we needed after walking to work on a cold, blustery March morn: Richard Branson is mulling over introducing a direct service between London and Kerala. Pressed during a holiday to the south Indian region about whether a connecting flight is on the cards, the Virgin Atlantic boss offered this gnomic reply: "It could be, but there is no immediate plan". Okay, it's hardly a ringing endorsement, but it has got Londonist......

As the squads for next month's cricket world cup in the Caribbean are announced news reaches us of an intriguing public gathering of some of the game's cognoscenti in London on the eve of the tournament. From Thursday 1st to Saturday 3rd March the Institute of Commonwealth Studies plays host to the international conference "Cricket: Dawn of a new world – growth, development and commerce" on the premises of Goodenough College at Mecklenburgh Square......