How are those New Year’s resolutions going? 5 ways to stay on track January 14, 2015 Ok. So this is 2015. Week three. Work is awfully real. The Christmas holidays are a distant memory, the aftermath of the Christmas office party survived… but what about those fervent, hangover-fuelled New Year resolutions? Like most people, you probably chose something from the standard three tabled buffet of New Year’s Resolution categories: 1. Losing [...]
Boxing Day sales kick off early online at Amazon, John Lewis, Currys, Harrods, Next and Debenhams December 24, 2014 Amazon is kicking off its Boxing Day sale on Christmas Day. That’s right, you can start hunting for deals if Santa didn’t bring what you wanted before you’ve even had time to digest Christmas dinner. But there are also a host of retailers waiting to open their doors to sale shoppers on Boxing Day that [...]
Festive drinks December 2, 2014 Drinkable delights for a very merry Christmas Courvoisier XO If it’s good enough for Napoleon, it’s good enough for your loved ones. Award-winning Courvoisier XO is rich, full-bodied and smooth. £70.95 thewhiskyexchange.com D1 Daringly Dry Gin There’s no G&T like a Daringly Dry G&T. Complete with funky bottle. £39.95 harveynichols.com Balblair 69 This exceptional single [...]
Something for the weekend November 13, 2014 On the terraces: COLOMBIA VS USA AT CRAVEN COTTAGE Your chance to see some top international action tonight, with many stars of the World Cup (including Tim Howard and Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez) expected to show up for this friendly between the USA and Colombia. Adult tickets start at £20, children at £10, visit fulhamfc.com. [...]
Diageo lands Tequila Don Julio in exchange for Bushmills Irish whiskey November 3, 2014 UK drinks giant Diageo has secured a deal with Casa Cuervo, owner of leading tequila brand Jose Cuervo, to acquire full ownership of tequila Don Julio. Don Julio is produced in Mexico and is the eighth biggest tequila brand in the US. In exchange for the brand, Diageo will sell off Irish whiskey Bushmills to [...]
Enjoy a tranquil escape down the Mekong in Laos October 9, 2014 By David Leck It’s a short journey from Chiang Rai in Thailand to the north-eastern corner of Laos – and to a border crossing that evokes the days before the onslaught of soulless airports and mega-brand domination. Despite the recent opening of the “Friendship Bridge” spanning the Mekong River the small town of Houeyxai is [...]
Welsh cakes, whiskey and rugby balls: What’s in the Nato goody bag? September 5, 2014 US President Barack Obama, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko and German chancellor Angela Merkel were among the Nato leaders presented with a goody bag of Welsh goods today – and the contents certainly made us stop and look. No doubt Obama and Merkel bonded over the Welsh cakes they received. Maybe Poroshenko used the honey [...]
Club des Chefs des Chefs members won’t say, but we’ve had a look at our world leaders’ eating habits July 8, 2014 Every year, a select group of people get together to swap state secrets. I’m not talking about the nuclear codes, trade agreements or defence budgets. These are secrets of a more intimate kind: how does Obama like his steak? What does the queen have for breakfast? Does Angela Merkel prefer ketchup or mayo? Club des [...]
City & Gild: Rolf Harris, Andy Coulson and the business of image over behaviour July 4, 2014 I’m gutted about Rolf Harris. A budding artist as a kid, I watched Rolf on a regular basis, taking great delight in his incredible talent and bizarre catchphrases. I am loath to admit I have even hummed his songs every now and then. I believed in Rolf Harris. He cultivated an image of a genuine, [...]
John O’Groats: Scotland’s tip top scenic spot June 27, 2014 If ever there was a place where the buildings should huddle together for warmth it was here, but the roughly strewn archipelago of bungalows stand apart from each other, slightly standoffish in their brown pebbledash. John O’Groats is a strange place, twinned in everybody’s imagination with another strange place, Land’s End. I asked drinkers in [...]