Author: Chris Mads

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    The Great Masked Ball

    Tonight S and I donned our best masks and finery and headed off to The Great Masked Ball. This Swan Lake-themed immersive theatre and dining experience was one S stumbled across via those kind folks at Design My Night. In the vein of so many of these sort of events, we received instructions and invitations…

  • The summer of the waistcoat

    A few years ago a young man sat at a desk in a small English town and rubbed his hand across a clean-shaven chin. As he sipped a cup of tea he peered out of the window at what was, presumably, a fairly mundane view, and contemplated the world going by outside and his place…

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    This is why we can’t have nice things

    I still remember the feeling; that sinking in the pit of my stomach. My heart was in my mouth and I hardly dared take a breath as the results were announced. I had taken my chance and had my say, but I knew thousands of others around the country had done the same and now…

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    Fun in the sun at RHS Hampton Court

    First off, apologies for the long silence. It has been a crazy couple of weeks and one side effect of writing for a living is that blogging can seem like a busman’s holiday when things get hectic at this end. I’m not sure why. I’m probably not doing it right, but there you go. Either…

  • Up in the Swiss hills

    It has been a busy couple of days. I’ve been buzzing around Switzerland visiting herb farms and gardens up in the hills surrounding Basel. It might seem like an odd way to spend a couple of days, but it’s not; I’m here for work, to see the people behind Swiss herbal sweet brand Ricola. It…

  • Sunset over the Downs

    This post was supposed to be titled “Nerd Prom” and be celebrating S and I enjoying a night out for her work – but I forgot to take enough photos of us to merit that. Luckily, Mother Nature came to my rescue. Last night S and I got all dressed up and headed up to…

  • The art of the smart t-shirt

    Is it ever acceptable to wear a t-shirt to a formal occasion? It is not a question I have ever really pondered because I’ve thought the answer was simple: No. That is until this weekend. To mark Father’s Day on Sunday, my sister Kate and I had got our dad tickets to The Play That…

  • Going round The Rink at Southwark Playhouse

    Southwark Playhouse is a real jewel in London’s theatrical crown. Over the last couple of years I have seen lots of brilliant shows there, from Pippin to Working. But last night I saw one of the best things I have seen, not just at Southwark but anywhere. I was a late replacement to join S…

  • Blogging on the go

    I read something the other day which made me think. Like many other bloggers out there I have blogs which I have followed for ages. They are created by writers who I used as inspiration or a how-to guide when I started out and whose work I still follow and try to learn from. A…

  • Talking gin with the master of mixing

    More than a decade ago Desmond Payne was sat at a bar in Japan. But he had a problem. Tonic in Japan tastes different and it was ruining his gin and tonic. “So I looked around me,” he says. “And I thought: ‘What are people drinking?’ Tea. Green tea mostly. “Does tea and gin work?…