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Articles by Robert Tickler

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About Robert Tickler

A man of financial substance, Robert has a wide range of interests and opinions to match. More Posts

NHS ( part two)

We do not have too many rules on the Rust but we are not encouraged to repeat the same theme two days running. However I make no apology for returning to yesterday’s topic of the alleged demise of the NHS. Yesterday I saw my private doctor for a flu jab. I very much like my doctor as he is [...]

January 13, 2017 // 0 Comments

Looking from all angles

The advantages of a long trip away are not just to experience new places, cultures and people but to achieve a certain distance and perspective on your own country when you return after 6 weeks. Listening to the various news media, a dominant story has been the crisis in the National Health. One [...]

January 11, 2017 // 0 Comments

Summing up

If I had to describe Hong Kong in two words those would be ‘commercial bustle’.  It certainly shames our commerce. Let me give you an example. Having lost 2 pair of glasses in India, I called my opticians for a new pair. A fortnight later they were not ready. Yesterday I attended an [...]

January 5, 2017 // 0 Comments

Hong Kong/ final port of call

If I had to cite the principal attraction of cruising it would be entering a new country or port of it by sea. Here are some pics I took of the Hong Kong skyline as we sailed in and also at night when there is a laser show. One of the irritants – at least on this cruise – is the level [...]

January 3, 2017 // 0 Comments

My new China

Before we disembarked for China there was an incident which typified cruise life. I bumped into Dorking Man in the lounge where we were requested to convene. We arrived that early that we were the only two in the lounge but we were on different tours. We started to chat only to be informed that [...]

January 3, 2017 // 0 Comments

Goodnight Vietnam

We are now leaving Vietnam for China. The country has made a strong and favourable impression on me. It is a fascinating fusion of state one-party capitalism and budding capitalism. Even in our short stay we encountered a young boy no more than 15 running between coach drop-offs trying to sell his [...]

January 1, 2017 // 0 Comments

Cruising into paradise

There are certain occasions when cruising and boat travel comes into their own and yesterday was one. In planning my trip a friend advised that I should not miss Ha Long Bay, a world heritage site and he was right. My day started with my customary brush with authority. As I made my way to the [...]

December 31, 2016 // 0 Comments

East is east and west is west or is it?

Although it is undoubtedly a convenience to disembark with minimal formalities the excursions on Vietnam have been unsatisfying. To be fair a shuttle bus is laid on and you can do your own thing – a phrase not generally applied to cruise life. I also suspect that never forgetting this is [...]

December 28, 2016 // 0 Comments

Good morning Vietnam

When I take my morning constitutional on deck 9 I always see a hulking man in his sixties, an American with a thick Brooklyn accent, with a slim girl who must be half his age. They were on the tour of Ho Samui and at a poolside disco when he, rather the worse for wear, danced in an uncoordinated [...]

December 26, 2016 // 0 Comments

On bored

John Betjeman in his poem the Village Inn penned these lines: “and village bores more sure to roam To  village inns than stay at home“ You could substitute cruise ships for village inns for you are at sea at the mercy of the floating bore. Our next port of call is Ho Chi Minh city, [...]

December 26, 2016 // 0 Comments

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