WHEN IN SEVILLE
Far too much to recommend in beautiful Seville. I could have filled double the space in The Guardian City Guide. Start there, but here are four more top places. Las … Continue reading
BRITISH BOHEMIA
Thirty years ago a zoroastrian from Zanzibar with eye make-up, buckteeth and unusually stretchy clothes, lost in his music whatever it was about, was a reminder that there were bohemians … Continue reading
OLIVE OIL FRAUD
Meant to include a link to this feature on extra virgin olive oil fraud in Italy, written a while back for Reader’s Digest. Fascinating to research the industry in Bari. … Continue reading
A REFERENDUM RANT
It’s a small sidebar in the whole Brexit palaver but it says everything about enduring, prevailing, out-of-the-loop, backward looking little Britain attitudes. Shame on The Guardian, The Independent, the BBC … Continue reading
COSTA RICA: TOP SPOTS IN PICTURES
Here’s some photos of Costa Rica’s beach, bar, rainforest and hotel highlights. To join me for nine months on a jungle beach visit somewheresville.org. Many hotels and destinations feature in … Continue reading
COSTA RICA: TRACKS LESS TRAVELLED
If you’re planning on visiting Costa Rica, check out the holiday guide in The Guardian. The dreamy republic has been my home off and on over the years, and based … Continue reading
COSTA RICA: WHAT TO PACK
What to pack for a trip to Costa Rica? Unless you are a diver, or planning on spending two weeks lolling about in the Four Seasons, my list might work … Continue reading
ALMERIA
Recently had an action-packed tour of Cabo de Gata and the edges of the Tabernas desert in Almeria, researching an article for The Guardian. Here’s some extra bits.
THE VUELTA, A TOUR OF SPAIN
The Vuelta Ciclista a España aka The Tour of Spain is taking place for a 70th time. The event starts on August 22 in Puerto Banús and – after some brand new challenging … Continue reading
WHAT THE VUELTA NEEDS IS DUCKS & FREE STUFF
The Vuelta Ciclista a España aka The Tour of Spain takes place for a 70th time at the end of August. The event starts on August 22 in Puerto Banús and – … Continue reading
Guardian | Huelva Coast
I wrote a holiday guide to the Huelva coast for The Guardian which I hope will be useful this summer. This is a quintessential, mainly local, family seaside destination with … Continue reading
Huelva Buenas Noticias
Huelva Buenas Noticias interviewed me to get my thoughts on the Huelva coast following a research trip in preparation for a Guardian travel piece. All is lovelier than you expect … Continue reading
10 great public transport rides | Travel | The Guardian
Ten reminders that the best travel experience are often the cheapest (luckily), just as long as you’re not in a hurry. I recommended the Sabalito border crossing, Costa Rica to Panama (although the … Continue reading
Jerez | Travel | The Guardian
Spain’s gastronomic maridaje – the marriage of food and wine – is a definite threesome in Jerez de la Frontera, where all life is fuelled by sherry and tapas, but … Continue reading
Podemos, Andalucia, Elections
It all looked very possible in Sol, Madrid on January 31: Podemos could just rise and rise and win Spain’s general election. It might be led by geeky, scruffy, and … Continue reading
Smart Cities | Business Life
All cities struggle to manage water, power, transport, waste and pollution, and urban populations are said to be growing at the rate of 10,000 people an hour. So the future … Continue reading
Costa de la Luz | Travel | The Guardian
Guide to the moorish jewels and the spaces in between the coastal towns of Cádiz province – craggy mountains, pine forests, fields and endless beaches. Read it over at The Guardian
Visualisation | Business Life
Half the human brain is dedicated to the task of attaching meaning to visual signals. As the amount of information we ingest daily increases, could pictures do a better job … Continue reading
Personalisation | Business Life
As technology advances, marketing techniques become ever more sophisticated and the amount of information that can be mined from our day-to-day lives increases. Advertisers know where we are and they … Continue reading
The Love Business | Business Life
All you need is love? Not so, say British retailers, who’ll be using the increasingly long run-up to Valentine’s Day to provide a comprehensive list of what we can accessorise … Continue reading
Hotels: 10 Predictions | Business Life
Ten top predictions for hotels was written for Business Life in 2007. It’s interesting now to see which predictions were on the ball, and which . . . well, weren’t. … Continue reading
The Narky Sea | Somewheresville
Blog post from somewheresville hot (www.somewheresville.org), a series of posts about life in the remote Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. I hate the sea. I’ve been thinking about it a lot … Continue reading
Sierpe: A Trip to Town | Somewheresville
Blog post from Somewheresville Hot (www.somewheresville.org), a series of pieces about life in the wilds of the Osa, Southern Costa Rica. The first place you come to when you take … Continue reading
America: What Was It? | Somewheresville
Blog entry from somewheresville (www.somewheresville.org). It’s vast, a load of different countries tied together with strings of Arbys and Taco Bells. In some, people are very busy accumulating more and … Continue reading
Motels & Shootings | Somewheresville
Blog entry from somewheresville (www.somewheresville.org). The road trip was initially east to west. That was so nice, I added west to east. The minute the car was turned to face … Continue reading
The Greatest Show on Earth | FT
Hot ferrets sleep in boxes, low-slung sheep dogs drive ducks over an obstacle course in the sportsfield, and traders do a roaring trade in tripe sticks, candy floss, PVC coated … Continue reading
Sailing for Boys | FT
Having been a decent parent for a dozen years, my powers are inevitably dwindling. My boy and I were constant companions, initially because he was an infant and couldn’t walk, … Continue reading
Primate Tourism | BSpirit
Few tourists would see the misty mountains of the Virunga Conservation Area, the dense forest, hanging vines, orchids, giant lobelias, volcanic peaks (two active, six extinct) and crater lakes and … Continue reading
FARC Hostage Released | The Times
It’s vaguely European, Bogota, with its malls, brick buildings, drizzle and commuters in suits. The two of us sit about talking romance, London and kids; boys specifically, and their thing … Continue reading
Child Soldiers
As a 13-year old soldier in Sierra Leone shooting someone was “as easy as drinking a glass of water” says Ishmael Beah. But given a place at a UNICEF rehabilitation … Continue reading
Town to Call my Own | FT
“You wouldn’t believe how many people want to buy a town” says Rudy Nielson, who has bought and sold a few. “Mainly to say they own one”. With towns, mountain … Continue reading
Future Hotel | Business Life
“The hotel industry is entering an era of unprecedented change”, says Jérôme Destors, Director of Hotel IT at Amadeus. “Change requires bold actions . . . requires hoteliers to think … Continue reading
Right Royal Wedding Business | Business Life
Outgoings Moments after Prince Charles twittered engagement congratulations on Nov 16, the nation was busily totting up the potential costs and profits of a Royal Wedding. Charles’ own wedding (the … Continue reading
Macau Fusion | High Life
Perched on a volcano at night, I’m watching helicopters crisscross the Pearl River Delta and reflecting on a day which involved haggling in Chinese street markets, studying the work of … Continue reading
Michael Morpurgo | FT
As children’s laureate, the author Michael Morpurgo travelled far and wide like a literary missionary for two years, persuading children of the importance of books, the power of great literature to … Continue reading
Simple | FT
Minimalism: It’s the haute couture of housing: striking, radical, beautifully clever, not designed primarily for comfort and generally expensive. But where do you sit your filthy kids? Where do you … Continue reading
45 Minutes from Panama City | The Times
Flanked by 60-storey glass towers in Panama City you’d be forgiven for thinking you were in Miami, Singapore or the year 2020. But just 45 minutes gets you to other … Continue reading
Panama Island Hopping | High Life
I’m wading through shoals of fish in a straw hat, herding coconuts to a fishing boat. Behind me is a tropical island, temporary population: three – me, Ruben the boat … Continue reading
Online Self-Prescription | FT
It took me three minutes to drop 180 Xanax, 180 Ambien, 90 Zocor and 160 Soma into my shopping basket and proceed to checkout. Like most of the online pharmacies … Continue reading
Panama: Designer Communities | FT
The steamy glamour of Panama, and that air of infinite possibility that lures people here in search of a new life is not exclusive to the capital, Panama City. High … Continue reading
Panama’s Pacific Coast Communities | FT
The steamy glamour of Panama, and that air of infinite possibility that lures people here in search of a new life is not exclusive to the capital, Panama City. High … Continue reading
Toronto Hotels: 6 of the Best | The Times
The Drake Hotel: This place has glam rock and lush style. It’s nonchalant, sophisticated, artfully retro and an air of cheeky naughtiness. It is, in short, where the party’s at. A … Continue reading
Costa Rica Villas | CN Traveller
Xandari Resort & Spa, Central Valley: Although there is a second international airport siphoning off visitors in Liberia to the north, Costa Rica’s nerve centre is still the Central Valley, dominated … Continue reading
Great Green British Breaks | Homes & Interiors
Sea Kayaking In Scotland: There can be no better way to explore remote stretches of Scotland’s beautiful, mountainous coastline than to glide along it silently in a kayak. Further rewards of … Continue reading
The Real Costa Rica | The Times
Costa Rica has its Marriotts, Four Seasons, beach resorts and casinos but to experience it at its best you need to grab your rubber boots, slap on the Deet and … Continue reading
Costa Rica Property Investment | FT
Ask any foreigner who has lived in Costa Rica over ten years why they bought property here, and they’ll say they came on holiday and fell in love with the … Continue reading
Watching the Workers | Business Life
Fifty years ago a manager knew when his team clocked on and off. Now employers are using hidden cameras, GPS and RFID tags, keystroke logging and emergent technology to monitor … Continue reading
Secret Life of Desks | Business Life
The position of a person’s desk whether on a podium, down a dust-blown corridor, facing the corner is tacitly understood to signify the difference between success and failure but office … Continue reading
Trans-Siberian with George | High Life
A veteran of the London to Yorkshire rail commute, George was blasé at the prospect of the 19-day journey through Russia, Mongolia and China on the Trans-Siberian Express. The assurance … Continue reading
