When I get to heaven, tie me to a tree For I’ll begin to roam and soon you’ll know where I will be I was born under a wanderin’ star A wanderin’, wanderin’ star A red dragon made from flowers. A floral rugby ball. A garland of leeks. Symbols of a passionate Welshman’s life. A
Miscellaneous
Spicing up the airport dining scene
So here’s the answer to the question I asked in an earlier Blog – where is this picture taken? It may look as though I’ve just stepped outside a downtown bar in India but in fact I’m airside in the international departures area of Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport in Mumbai. To be more precise, I’m in
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Miscellaneous
And now we are ten
“I remember the last time I was on tour, when I was 60, just a kid with a crazy dream…” – Leonard Cohen on stage at 75 This month The Moodie Report turns ten years old, marking a decade since we launched our original product – a six-page PDF report. Where did all the time go?
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Miscellaneous
My Wild Week With Lady Gaga
In the parlance of Mother Monster: “Paws Up”. I’ve just about recovered after spending seven days or so following Lady Gaga back and forth across the Atlantic and La Manche. It’s been bizarre, brilliant and is probably un-Bloggable. You really had to be there…but I’ll try. The expectant crowd awaits Lady G at the Guggenheim
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Miscellaneous
Transport of delight
Ok then, your starter for one, where was this picture taken? The white wine (Sauvignon Blanc of course) might be a clue. Or not. And the method of transport could offer some further hints. Metropolitan Mumbai perhaps? Downtown Delhi? All will be revealed in my next Blog…
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Miscellaneous
To absent friends
It’s been a long, strange week. One of contrasting experiences and emotions. This week I had to perform the worst professional duty I can imagine – to write the obituary of a close friend. I received the news of Alan Edward’s sudden death immediately after I got off the plane from London at Mumbai Airport.
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Miscellaneous
Whatever Floats Your Boat
“There is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” So said Ratty to Mole in Kenneth Grahame’s “Wind in the Willows”, and (apart from shoe shopping perhaps), it’s a sentiment I share. Poetry in motion: The Prada Luna Rossa catamarans in Venice So I was overjoyed
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Miscellaneous
Captain McLoughlin gets us to Mumbai
I’ve arrived in Mumbai, India after one of the more eventful flights of my career. All was going well on a clear night at London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 as British Airways 199 began to reverse out towards the runway for take-off. Then – ‘bang’ – the lights went out and there was the slow
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Miscellaneous
Calling all dinosaurs
It just seems like the blink of an eye ago that I was a (comparatively) young reporter in this industry, trying to make my way in a business that frankly I had no idea about. But it isn’t the blink of any eye, it’s quarter of a century, and to confirm that fact, a timely
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Miscellaneous
Dan gets a fine surprise as he joins the race to Dubai
My Blog asking for readers’ lists of their top five airport speciality stores attracted a great response from Abu Dhabi Airports Company Senior Vice President Commercial Dan Cappell (above). Remember we’re offering several chances to win a ticket in Dubai Duty Free’s ‘Finest Surprise’ luxury car draw to the best contributions. Here’s what Dan had
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Miscellaneous
Travel retail’s latest listings programme
“There is nothing more wonderful than a list, instrument of wondrous hypotyposis.” ― Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose Eco, the great Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist was right – we might not know what hypotyposis means (for that matter, what is a semiotician?) but like a top sailor we all do like
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Miscellaneous
Getting ready to go Gaga
This writer never needs much persuading to fly to NYC, but when this particular invitation was delivered I set a new PB with my RSVP. In beauty terms it is, quite simply, the hottest ticket in town. The hottest ticket in town Next week is the official launch event of Lady Gaga Fame, the first
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Miscellaneous
Weighing those findings
A new report says that 4 million UK passengers miss their flights every year “because they are busy shopping in the airport”. The survey of 1,000 UK consumers was commissioned by NCR Corporation from Opinion Research Corporation. It said: “2% of those surveyed (equivalent to 4 million passengers*) admit to having missed flights because they