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Soho House Brighton

Nick Jones has extended his Soho House Group to Brighton but, despite an attractive decor and a terrace with parasols overlooking the Pier, I am doubtful whether it will succeed. To go there you need to be a house member which costs a mere £2,000 annually. I opted for the Friends of Soho House for [...]

August 2, 2022 // 0 Comments

Reflections – Women’s Euros 2022, the Final

Yesterday, from approximately 4.20pm until its conclusion – joining millions of other Brits and television viewers all around the world – I watched the build-up and then the dramas of England’s epic 2-1 (after extra time) victory over Germany in the Final of the women’s Euros 2022 [...]

August 1, 2022 // 0 Comments

The Great Difference

Watching the Charity Shield between Liverpool and Manchester City I was struck by one big difference between the men and women’s game: pace. From the start Liverpool  maximised their pace on the right with Mo Salah and Trent Arnold. Conversely the movement is much slower in the women’s game [...]

July 31, 2022 // 0 Comments

An Army at Dawn/The Day of Battle – Rick Atkinson

Army at Dawn and Day of Battle are the first two parts of the Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson which chronicle the American entrance and input in the Second World War. The first covers the Torch landings (1942) in North Africa, the second the Sicily and Mainland Italian campaign (1943-44). [...]

July 29, 2022 // 0 Comments

Bravo Lionesses

Firstly contrition. I had not anticipated a glorious summer of sport with no major football competition. Well, we had the rejuvenation of England’s Test side under the captaincy of Ben Stokes and coach Brendan McCallum when they achieved seemingly impossible fourth innings targets to win; we had [...]

July 28, 2022 // 0 Comments

Thoughts on the Tour de France

This was the triumph of the team over the individual. Tadej Pogacar simply did not have the back up to beat the superb Jonas Vaugigaard but the Dane’s Sigma team notably Wout van Aert supported him admirably. The tour began in Copenhagen  so it was appropriate that a Dane wore the yellow [...]

July 25, 2022 // 0 Comments

Edinburgh Museums: National Gallery/Portrait Gallery

It’s a difficult question for a national museum as to whether it should showcase national art or collect masterpieces from beyond the borders. The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, whilst showing its Turners, was weighted towards Italian Renaissance and French Art. The northern renaissance [...]

July 24, 2022 // 0 Comments

Gleneagles Hotel

Bob Tickler had it right. After the student accommodation, the Rust Group felt they were entitled to some pampering and where better to get it than the Gleneagles Hotel? It’s the place where the Gleneagles Agreement – effectively banning apartheid South Africa from sport – was [...]

July 23, 2022 // 0 Comments

The Balmoral Hotel

The Balmoral Hotel has an interesting history. Like many of its nature it started life as a railway hotel called the Northern British (Railway Hotel). It is still positioned right above the main station Waverley. It has a clock which runs 3 minutes late to help passengers. Forte Hotel Group [...]

July 22, 2022 // 0 Comments

Goodbye Gleneagles, hello Hotel Balmoral Edinburgh

We were all sad to leave the luxurious Gleneagles. No wonder it hosts so many events. In fact the Head of Events Charlotte is the niece of a friend of Bob Tickler and when we met her she explained that security – including detailed vetting of herself – was a vital feature of putting on [...]

July 21, 2022 // 0 Comments

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