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A day spent travelling by train

Last Sunday, of all things, it fell to me as the possessor of a senior Railcard to travel by train from Richmond in Surrey to Bicester – ordinarily a 90 minute drive up the M40 beyond Oxford if one is allowed to make it – which I am currently not, the court authorities having recently [...]

September 16, 2021 // 0 Comments

Slipping off the pace (but not necessarily quietly!) …

My latest dispatch from the front line of the battle between “how thing used to be” (sensible, straightforward, logical and – albeit not perhaps not necessarily fair – at least always transparent and understandable) and the complete illogicality as to how the world works in the 21st [...]

September 5, 2021 // 0 Comments

All’s well that drains well

Last week water was settling in my kitchen sink without draining. My handyman Bert was recalled from the Western Front of my beach hut refurb and, upon dismantling a pipe below the sink, removed the remains of the ground coffee that was causing the blockage. I thought this had done the trick but [...]

September 5, 2021 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard/Imperial Treasure

When I was first invited to Imperial Treasure by a bon viveur in the advertising world he said the restaurant raised Chinese cuisine to a wholly new level. He could have been talking of the prices but for both he is correct. The chain, started in China, acquired Michelin stars and perhaps [...]

September 3, 2021 // 0 Comments

The Tanner Report: Fulham 2 Hull 0

This performance was more Jose Mourinho than Jean Tigana but not early Scott Parker. Having achieved a two goal lead through goals from the rejuvenated Mitrovic and the impressive Fabio Carvalho we closed the game out. We should have scored another but I can only recall one Hull shot on goal all [...]

August 22, 2021 // 0 Comments

Canaletto at the Holburne

As I left the Holburne museum in Bath I heard two men say of Canaletto: “They all look the same …” It’s a crude description but has some merit to it. Caneletto was a commercial painter sponsored by a clever, very wealthy businessman Joseph Smith, the English consul of Venice in [...]

August 20, 2021 // 0 Comments

A bleeping nuisance

My day yesterday began at 3.30am when I was rudely awaken by an insistent and atonal beep. I traced it to my smoke alarm though there was no smoke. Nowadays you do not get an instruction manual but have to google, which explained that the battery needed replacement. I thought it a simple job at [...]

August 17, 2021 // 0 Comments

Third day of the Test

As it will all about Joe Root – rightly so – I thought I might post more about the Lords experience from the debenture level. Admission is less of a palaver as the Covid restrictions have been eased and left at the discretion of the person. However you still have to show  your [...]

August 15, 2021 // 0 Comments

Cosi fan tutte ( Glyndebourne) & opera v musicals

Last night I saw Cosi fan tutte at Glyndebourne. It was the third cooperation between Mozart and the librettist Lorenzo da Ponte. It might be termed opera buffa (comic opera) as it’s light-hearted, even silly, and unlikely to resonate with a modern audience. The story is of two soldier [...]

August 11, 2021 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard: two new, two old

When a new restaurant opens in my adopted city it’s something of an event. Here I am reviewing two: Burnt Orange in Middle Street and Taste in Brighton Marina. That any restaurant is opening whilst we are in pandemic mode is itself significant. Middle Street is one of the more interesting streets [...]

August 10, 2021 // 0 Comments

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