Toompea Time

There was a fine view of this tower, Pikk Hermann, from the fifth floor of one of the Radissons in Tallinn.

On Stage Coaches

In my terraced street there have been a few false starts. The pavements were taken up to lay cables for TV; roofs were adorned with giant white mushrooms for TV; a proposal to communally install solar panels did not gain traction; plastic caddies for bio-waste likewise did not get wide take-up.

On Hackney Coaches

An almost contemporary of Sir Walter is Sir Thomas Lipton – both successful self-made men from humble beginnings. Like Walter, Thomas Lipton was a friend of Edward VII leading the Kaiser to mock the king for going boating with his grocer. He already went carriage driving with his wine merchant. That says much about social… Continue reading On Hackney Coaches

Sir Walter

The most interesting of the Gilbey brothers is Walter. They were all good businessmen and philanthropic but Walter had a deeper hinterland. “In 1858, the year after his return from the Crimean War, Walter had married Ellen Parish, the fourth daughter of the landlord of the White Horse Inn at North Street, and soon after… Continue reading Sir Walter

From Gilbey to Guinness

W. A. Gilbey was founded in 1857 and was initially successful because wine imported from South Africa attracted less duty and the brothers passed on this advantage to their customers. That got them off the ground but almost immediately, in 1860, the rules changed.

Basilica of Saint-Denis

If you watch rugby you will have heard of the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. It was built for the 1998 football World Cup. I went to Saint-Denis, three stops north of Gard du Nord on the RER, on Monday morning to see an older building.

MAD in Paris

What would you get if you crossed the  V & A with the Design Museum? It would be MAD; the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.