Category: Travel

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    Yes we Cannes

    I’m currently sat in Nice Cote d’Azur Airport having just completed my second Cannes show. The Cannes event is my industry’s biggest of the year and it generally leaves a few people rather broken. From the moment the opening cocktail party starts on Sunday, until the show closes on Friday afternoon, it is a rollercoaster…

  • Escape to Amsterdam

    Sometimes the perfect preparation for a crazy time is an escape; with a new term looming for S and my busy season fast approaching we decided to hit the road for a city break. Truth be told, the last year has been pretty manic for the two of us and it was ideal to take…

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    Escape to the country

    With weather like we are having it seems a crime to rush away to foreign climes. S and I love a good globe-trotting jaunt just as much as the next person, but as the madness of the last few weeks faded away we decided to escape for some R&R in the countryside. S knew of…

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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…

  • Grabbing a coffee Hiit in St Albans

    I am, and have always been, a big fan of what Agent Dale Cooper would call a “damn fine cup of coffee”. Ok, I am also a fan of a slightly dated pop culture reference. Sue me. Actually is it possible to have a dated pop culture reference? If it’s dated is it still pop…

  • A Highland swing

    “To mountain spring, To river flows, Where the heather and the thistle grows…” I saw that on a poster a couple of years ago and never really got it. Until now. Despite Scotland being attached to England and ostensibly only a few hours north, I had never ventured up there. But last week work took…

  • A distillery opening with The Macallan

    I have just been lucky enough to witness a true once-in-a-generation moment. The nice folks at Edrington and The Macallan flew me up to join a party of about 500 others to get an exclusive first-look at their new distillery on Speyside. Unsurprisingly, there were drams galore. Obviously this one was for work – and…

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    Champagne rooftop nights in Singapore

    I know Las Vegas is traditionally called the “bright light city” but I am going to put in a vote for Singapore to be, at the least, a very close second. Every year my whole industry descends on Singapore for its second biggest annual event. So last week I packed up my case with two…

  • The Secret Garden of Madrid

    Madrid is famous for many things: art, markets, plazas…but tucked away on top of a shop in the middle of the city it has its own secret garden. El Jardin Secreto is hidden away on the top floor of the Salvador Bachiller department store. And it is wonderful. If I was to plan the perfect…