Capability Brown - the original networker
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Capability Brown - the original networker

"Since our lives are short, let us leave something behind to show we have lived"   - Pliny (on a memorial to Capability Brown at Stowe Gardens) Networker and Gardener It may have escaped your attention that this year marks not only the…
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Tactical Nuclear Penguin - the sexy side of the rebrand

This is the philosophy of BrewDog, a Scottish independent brewer which was created in April 2007 with 2 employees (+ 1 dog) selling 1,000 hl of home-brewed beer out of the back of a van. 8 years later on, BrewDog has mushroomed to 540…
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My summit is just out of reach....

Two stories caught my eye in the paper this week, both on the same day to be exact (Tue 26th January), both on the subject of risk-taking and leadership. Henry Worsley, Polar Explorer Three months previously (mid Nov-15), Henry Worsley…
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Don't whine about the wine, critique the copy

"A velvety chocolate texture and enticingly layered, yet creamy, nose, this wine abounds with focused cassis and a silky ruby finish. Lush, elegant, and nuanced. Pair with pork and shellfish."  Can you guess the wine? I attended the London…

The Curse of the Follow-up

"A sequel is an admission that you've been reduced to imitating yourself" - Don Marquis You do one write-up....that's well received, so they ask for another one....but how do you avoid falling into the repetition trap? I first wrote about…
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How to write like Phillip Larkin...

OK, I'll come clean and admit it - I like poetry....I really do. That's perhaps not an earth-shattering revelation for a middle-aged male, but for a teenager trying desperately to be cool it wasn't really the done thing. Oh, and my favourite…
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Personality Profiling & The Lasso of Truth

I must admit, I'm not much of a believer when it comes to profiling, apart from the one when the tv detective deduces that the killer is a left-handed Australian with crooked teeth and an Oedipus complex....all from an empty teacup. So, it was…

"His eyes are bulging like the belly of a hungry chaffinch"

One of the best things about January for me is the darts. At a time when we’ve all over-indulged, I find it somewhat comforting to watch beer barrel-shaped men standing on a brightly-lit stage, clad in flammable polyester, surrounded by…