Month: February 2014

My first cover story!

I thought that I might give a little update on my writing as the last few weeks have been very productive ones in terms of writing.  I’m about to have an article published by a leading environmental magazine (more details when it is out) on a subject relating to water poverty in Africa.  It is… Continue reading My first cover story!

Ukraine, Putin and the West – What you need to know

It’s not often I write political pieces, but the scenes on the television news coming out of Kiev are terrible.  Not so long ago, Kiev hosted international football tournaments and was fast becoming a city-break destination for western Europeans rather like Prague or Krakow. Ukraine was moving along the path towards European Union membership which… Continue reading Ukraine, Putin and the West – What you need to know

Walking through a graveyard of giants

I try to go for a walk every day, it adds a bit of routine which is necessary when writing at home in the winter nearly every day.  Sometimes I go along the canal, other times through parks and across the countryside along ancient pathways.  Many of these areas are currently partially flooded as much… Continue reading Walking through a graveyard of giants

Bad bosses, Bullies, Dilbert and the Peter Principle

I don’t know about you but during my 20 years working in a variety of office based environments, the one thing that struck me almost since the first day was that by and large, the majority of managers are to a certain extent unsuitable. In my time so far I have had 11 managers and… Continue reading Bad bosses, Bullies, Dilbert and the Peter Principle

Visiting Montmatre, home of artists and Sacre Couer

So, we have just about reached the end of our short break in Paris.   To be honest I could stay here a lot longer.  There may be a few strange things about the place but overall I love it.  It’s relative compactness and spacious feeling pavements and public transport are a delight and its overwhelmingly… Continue reading Visiting Montmatre, home of artists and Sacre Couer

Another long days walk around beautiful Paris

We have been walking around 10 miles each day around Paris and on Friday we were blessed by sunny weather. It was by no means warm but if you could find somewhere out of the wind, it felt nice or at least it did under several layers. We haven’t yet got lost instead have been… Continue reading Another long days walk around beautiful Paris

Virgin: The best complaint letter in the world

I don’t know about you but I am no good at all at complaining at least not in person.  Being British means that it is generally better to be polite and unhappy than complain and be happy or even more worryingly, be perceived by everyone else to be a complainer. I don’t think I’ve ever… Continue reading Virgin: The best complaint letter in the world