Why We Queue for a Queen
We are a nation of followers. That’s why we queue. Edward de Bono, the lateral thinker whose life I researched, proposed our brains work in self-organising patterning systems. We are designed to think...
View ArticleHome from Home: Bainland Lodge Retreats
Stood atop the ancient walls of William the Conqueror’s beloved Lincoln Castle, I feel a tad befuddled. No amount of gawping at the gothic spires of the city’s cathedral, once the tallest building in...
View ArticleThe Best of Bankside: CitizenM Bankside & Santa Remedio
‘If you’re a citizen of the world, you’re a citizen of nowhere.’ So Theresa May opined during her brief, unlamented stint as Prime Minister. But what makes us citizens of a country, or indeed the...
View ArticleSunshine and Sanctuary at the Stowaway Festival
Overwhelmed by Glasto, Reading, Wireless et al, music fiend and unsung DJ, Ollie Pickup, seeks some family-friendly vibes at a boutique music and arts jamboree set in the beautiful Buckinghamshire...
View ArticleA Wild Weekend at Fritton Lake
“I’m not saying this to scare you, I’m saying this to keep you safe,” announced Matt, our charismatic horticulturalist-cum-safari guide, his raise eyebrows paralysed momentarily, awaiting some sort of...
View ArticlePickleball: An Insider’s Guide
Wondering how this kooky sport became the number one choice for the Hollywood elite? Leo Bear serves up the winning formula… Move over padel, all eyes are on Pickleball. Not heard of it? You soon will....
View ArticleA Missive from My Club
Last week I joined a club. No, I mean literally. This is not a throwaway statement about how I acknowledged a friend becoming a new parent, nor shared an unfortunate event, nor have I joined a sporting...
View ArticleChristmas at The Sloane Club
It’s been a little over a month since I joined my club, and I’m starting to feel like part of the furniture – certainly, I have my favourite spot in the Chelsea room (and it’s fair to say I bristle a...
View ArticleSeason’s Greetings
To all our readers, we wish you the very best of the festive season, wherever, however and whomever you may be enjoying it with. And in the spirit of the holiday, we shall leave you with the sentiments...
View ArticleA Dr Who Dinosaur Speaks
Photographer, artist and erstwhile Dr Who director, Paul Joyce, offers an insight into the making of the Time Lord… One can almost hear the sigh of relief breathed by Idris Elba when at last the young...
View ArticleAfternoon Tea at The Beaumont
Despite its close proximity to bustling Oxford Street and winning the coveted Award of Excellence at the latest Afternoon Tea Awards, The Beaumont Hotel’s Afternoon Tea, served in their glamorous Art...
View ArticleThe Collective at Woolsery
You might imagine that from Silicon Valley to the wilds of North Devon is a bit of a stretch. For Michael Birch, however, who with his wife Xochi founded Bebo, the social networking website in 2005,...
View ArticleThe 2024 European Song Contest: A Verdict
Our outspoken ‘on screen’ critic Paul Joyce comes up with another polemic to split opinion, this time on an international institution. As the UK receives a damning nul points from the public this year,...
View ArticleHome from Home: The Head Gardener’s Cottage, Audley End
Aimlessly lolling on what has to be the most grandiose stretch of the River Cam, a flute of Bolly in hand, I’m feeling decidedly smug… and perhaps, a little bit naughty. Up until now, Audley End’s...
View ArticleHayfever: A Hay Festival Retrospective, Part I
“Where’s the bowl??? I’m going to be sick!!! “He needs the bowl!” I called over my shoulder. “Here’s the bowl!” Barked a disembodied voice as my wife stuck it through, between the seats. I grabbed it...
View ArticleHayfever: A Hay Festival Retrospective, Part II
On Thursday, four days in, another sharp gear change – a panel discussion titled Compassion in Politics (which one of the panellists pointed out was an oxymoron.) I was attracted to it by the presence...
View ArticleIt’s a Bird’s Life at Sleepy Owl Treehouse
The fact I leave Sleepy Owl Treehouse with bags under my eyes is in no way a reflection of the tranquility that one finds during a stay at this boutique escape. No, this is simply the result of...
View ArticleA Murder Mystery on British Pullman
If King’s Cross’s 9 3/4 is London’s most famous platform, then Victoria’s no. 2 must surely be its second. It achieves something similar, if not identical; transportation, almost as if by magic, into...
View ArticleA First Class Fayre on GWR
There is no more exciting or romantic way to enjoy lunch or dinner than on a train. Planes, yachts, cruise ships – whatever. There’s something timelessly stylish about getting on board a locomotive,...
View ArticleWild at Heart at Gravetye Manor
I swear my breaths are longer here. As I inhale another theatrically large gulp of fine Sussex air, heavy in pollen and scented by log fires, it dawns on me that I’m trying to breathe it all in,...
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