Author: Chris Mads

  • Escape to Madrid

    This time last week I was sipping vermouth in a marketplace in Madrid. After a busy start to the year and a family-filled Easter weekend, S and I decided to get away for a quiet few days. We picked Madrid for a few days escape, wandering around a new city. Madrid does not have the…

  • Crystal Head Vodka’s new bottle is cool!

    I will start this out with a confession: I am a big fan of Crystal Head Vodka. The first time I saw one of their skull bottles I thought it was one of the coolest things I had seen. I then met the team behind it at ork events and they were, simply put, some…

  • The Oliviers 2018

    The biggest night in London’s theatre calendar is done for 2018. As awards season rumbles on from The Oscars, eyes turned to the West End for The Oliviers, which celebrate the best of Britain’s theatreland. This year there was one name on everyone’s lips: Hamilton. Indeed host Catherine Tate, in one of the few high…

  • Be back soon

    It’s been a bit quiet here recently. Normally I can blame a spate of radio silence here on a busy work schedule. However my excuse is nowhere near as arduous this time. I’m on holiday this week. After a delightful Easter spent with family (and too much chocolate), S and I have escaped for the…

  • That’s just not cricket

    Oh dear Australia, what have you done? Over the weekend news has seeped out that the Australian cricket team tampered with the ball in their latest test match with South Africa. Captain Steve Smith has been banned for one match and fined his entire match fee after admitting the team’s “leadership group” came up with…

  • A cold day in Shakespeare country

    “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” At the weekend S and I made a quick overnight trip to the home of the Bard, Stratford-upon-Avon. This mini weekend away idea has become quite a success of ours recently. Our working timetables mean we don’t always get strings of days off together, so we make…

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    Travel real tale: What I’ve learned

    I travel for work. I know that sounds very exciting and glamorous – and it is, sort of. But there are a few moments when plane-hopping round the world delivers the sort of head-shaking, face-palming experience that you get in any other work place. Whether it is a 5am flight out of a back-of-beyond airport…

  • Vegan slutty brownies

    I have been a fan of Slutty Brownies for a long time. For the uninitiated, these are simply the best brownies ever created in the history of the world. They are a joy which I first discovered courtesy of the wonderful Rosie and her blog The Londoner. If you haven’t checked her out before I…

  • Two parties in Tel Aviv

    Last week was a bit quiet on the blog – mainly because it wasn’t that quiet off the blog. I headed off to Tel Aviv, Israel, for a work conference. I’ve not been to Israel before but everything I read said Tel Aviv is the livlier, “more youthful” place to visit, as compared to its…

  • Trailer Time: Fantastic Beasts & Avengers

    Don’t say I don’t do anything for you. The movie world has dropped two big trailers in the last couple of days – Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 and Fantastic Beasts 2: The Crimes of Grindelwald. But if these silver screen franchise heavy hitters have passed you by, then grab a cup of tea and…