Over the last decade there has been a massive societal change. Back in 2006, most of us didn’t have smartphones (the first iPhone was released in June 2007). We had…
On running and wine
A couple of weeks ago I was chatting with my twin sister, Anne. I don’t remember exactly what we were talking about, but the conversation came on to the subject…
The history of coffee: a seminar with Ian Picco
Coffee is interesting and I don’t know all that much about it. So it was really interesting to attend a seminar on the history of coffee at Texsom, presented by…
Craft Dark Milk Chocolate tasting with Cocoa Runners
A while back I went to my first ever chocolate tasting. It was held at the Winemakers Club under the arches at Farringdon, with Spencer Hyman of Cocoa Runners. The…
Sometimes we don’t taste the same wine often enough
Sometimes we don’t taste the same wine often enough. That seems like a strange statement, I know, but let me explain what I mean by this by using music as…
In Seattle: Le Pichet and Bar Melusine
There are few compelling reasons to be rich. But one of them is so that you have enough budget to eat out all the time. While I was in Seattle…
In Oregon: heading to the coast and Cannon Beach
In a gap between visiting wineries in the Willamette Valley, I had the chance to visit the Oregon coast for the first time. We stayed at Cannon Beach. It has…
Flying long haul budget: what’s the WestJet experience like?
I’m flying quite a bit at the moment. This year I’ve been to New Zealand, Portugal twice, France three times (Beaujolais, Alsace, Champagne), Germany, Spain, South Africa (twice), California (twice)…
Unintended and unexpected consequences
I was at a dinner last night when I heard the news. I really wasn’t expecting the British people to vote to leave the European Union. I was shocked. So,…