Category: Travel

Art & Architecture

At least my ninth visit to Venice but my first in January. Among the advantages at this time of year are clear skies and a low sun, creating a coruscating light show on the canals, and the absence of crowds.

The Queen of Spades

The Queen of Spades at Covent Garden has a lot of super music and is an interesting production by Norwegian director Stefan Herheim. The road to operatic hell is paved with ‘interesting’ productions.

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Categorised as Music, Travel

Bernstein, Blood and Guts

It’s grand to be back in Wexford and the Talbot is as welcoming as ever. The sea view is magnificent and, in the foreground, trains glide silently past a car park.

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Categorised as Music, Travel

Food for Thought

FTSE is down 1.6% this morning and holding above 7,000 – so far. A good moment to see how defensive my portfolio is.

Montauban to Paris

To Montauban yesterday morning to catch the 09.17 to Paris Montparnasse train that had started from Toulouse. A second class, window seat upstairs not far from the on-board café is a snip at Euros 36. It is a two-hour journey noth-west through Agen to Bordeaux and then another two hours north-east to Paris.

Rain

A wet Sunday at Castle Park (my prep school) was a dreary affair. If you think your schooldays were the best days of your life, I feel sorry for you. After two warm, sunny days at Garrhan the weather turned on Saturday night and it drizzled persistently all day yesterday.

Banjo Boy

When I was at Durham University I saw John Boorman’s 1972 Deliverance for the first time.  It is a chiller/killer/thriller that starts innocently.

Group 5

I regard it as a badge of honour to have Group 5 on my BA boarding pass. I am the last to board (no problem) and there is often no overhead locker space (annoying) but I know that I have paid the lowest fare (satisfying). On Thursday something happened that the BA commissars did not… Continue reading Group 5

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Categorised as Travel

Lyn y Fan Fach

If your Welsh is a bit rusty Lyn y Fan Fach means Lake of the Small Hill. A more apt name would be Small Lake of the Big Hill.

Ingaret the Navigator

It’s an annoying convention that one is expected to bring a gift when going to stay with friends; a convention I often observe in the breach.