Alan West has another of his odd terns.. The homeward ferry from Brittany is gliding past the Isle of Wight; past Ventnor to be precise and I am standing on deck in the evening sun, enjoying the offshore breeze. How can I be so precise from three miles out? Well, Google maps and the satellite…
You will miss me when I am gone
It is Saturday morning and I am enjoying a cappuccino with a friend. It may be the general gloominess of the season but he is concerned about his obituary. Don't worry, I say consolingly, I will write an obituary for you. I am already warming to the idea of finding something nice to say about him.…
Present imperfect
That's the last time I take a bottle of Grand Cru Chablis to a dinner party, I said grumpily as we threaded our way down the garden path. I realised that I had become a little unsteady on my feet - just as well that the taxi had arrived to pick us up at the appointed…
To do or not to do
Alan West's cat turns out to be a student of philosopher, Donald Rumsfeld... When it comes to life’s “to do or not to do” questions, a kind of Rumsfeldian logic can be applied - There are many things that we can do and therefore do do, quite profitably. There are those things that we can do…
Lost for words
"There must be a German word for it," I said, as we breezed past the entrance gate. The magnificent sandstone facade of the house, basking in the evening sun, suddenly shot into in my rear view mirror. "German word for what?" asked my wife. "Realising that was your turning, just after you've gone past it."…
Same old, same old
Though I'm fortunate to work mostly from home, twice a week I put on a suit and head off to the City. This gives me some credibility with my neighbours, in that I visibly have a proper job and don’t spend my days “fiddling around” as a neighbour once rather dismissively described my working from…
Silver Lining
Yesterday in Kew Gardens it was a clear, cool Spring day with one of those pale blue English skies. Unlike previous visits over the past 25 years since I have lived in this part of London, you could hear birdsong not drowned out by the constant drone of aircraft a few hundred feet overhead and…
The Great Pears Soap Reversal
Following adverse consumer reaction and campaigns here on greyhares and on Facebook, Unilever has announced a rethink of the disastrous reformulation of its much loved 200 year old brand, Pears Transparent Soap. The Daily Mail of 7th January reports that "following a deluge of complaints, owners of the brand Hindustan Unilever Ltd which is based in Mumbai…