Category: NEWS
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Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
How do you know if you’re old and miserable? Well in my opinion your knee-jerk response to snow is a good indicator, especially in England where it is a rare treat. If you see “proper” snow and your immediate inner voice is a grumpy whinge then sorry, you’re old and miserable. If however you have…
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Christmas time, mistletoe and wine (well, don’t worry too much about the mistletoe)
As a former wine industry man I know as well as anyone how much snobbery there is around fermented grape juice. I’ve heard every slight you can imagine in relation to “supermarket wine”: it “tastes like bathwater,” “I wouldn’t clean my toilet with that” etc. Now don’t get me wrong some wines are better than…
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Road trip (for official work purposes)
So I finally made the long awaited in-person trip to my new work place on Thursday. My office is a blank canvas with lots of potential, in part because of the amazing views. đ What price do you put on a beach side location too? Bring on summer âď¸đď¸
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46th President of The United States
Dear America, Four years ago you broke the heart of all the worldâs educated and liberal people by electing a former reality TV host and psychopath to the office of President of the United States. 63,000,000 Americans went to the polls in 2016 and told the world that you were willing to hand the worldâs…
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Changing the seasons
Last weekend I did the quarterly rotation of clothes and home accessories to reflect the change in seasons. The cushions went from summer to autumn, the hot weather attire went back into storage for another year and warmer clothes were retrieved. I will do another rotation in December to bring out the Christmas gear and…
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Is it the end of days or is it just me?
Even the most sickeningly optimistic people would struggle to argue that 2020 has been a vintage year. At the end of 2019 I was happy to declare âgood riddanceâ to a crappy decade (see Brexit, Tory rule, âausterity,â Trump etc). It never occurred to me that 2020 would be so bad that the previous âlost…
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Supporting the high street
On Tuesday (22nd October 2020) I managed to steal a couple of hours in Gloucester Quay. It’s a unique place with a novel juxtaposition of socio-economic eras and architecture. The shopping mall isnât huge but it does have several outlets that are well worth a little detour. If you catch the place on a nice…
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Another day another new artwork
My taste in art isn’t for everybody and I’m fine with that – I like what I like and cannot entirely explain why. I rarely have guests (by choice) so I do not have to concern myself with other peopleâs opinions. I focus entirely on what captivates me and what works in a given space.…
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New job & the beginning of a new era
Back in March/April time I applied for 5 or 6 more senior positions in my industry, looking to move onwards and upwards. It seems bizarre with hindsight that I opted to test the job market as the world went into lock down, and yet great opportunities were advertised. My guess was that recruitment would be…
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Belated Easter gifts
During lockdown the ritual of in-person gift giving was put on hold. I received a cactus and a set of flutes last week having had my first house guests in months.
Dr Martin James 