A touching tribute to Patrick Moran

At TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes yesterday, Brown-Forman hosted a short gathering to honour the memory of one of their (and the industry’s) finest executive, Patrick Moran (above), who passed away in May. Patrick held a series of senior positions in duty free and travel retail over three decades, including periods with DFS Group, Courvoisier,

Read More

Bowled over at Lord’s with Hardys

Over the years, through the course of my work, I have been fortunate enough to attend many great sporting events. The invitations, and corresponding hospitality, have included horse-racing at Ascot, arena polo at Hickstead, tennis at Wimbledon and several rugby union matches, among them the nerve-shredding 1999 Five Nations (as was) game in Paris, which

Read More

I’m on top of the world

‘Been dreaming of this since a child I’m on top of the world.’ – Imagine Dragons I am writing from familiar turf. Or to be more precise, familiar air space. I’m 34,000 feet up in the sky, flying over the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, 3,140 miles and six-and-a-half hours away from London. I’m on Cathay

Read More

The loneliness of the long-distance writer

I’m at London Heathrow Airport T3, about to jump another long-haul flight. Desperately trying to buy an upgrade from my economy ticket as I need to work non-stop for the next few hours on our Cannes print issue which is looming menacingly over me like a modern- day guillotine. I’ve had my compulsory Paul Smith

Read More

Welcome to the Moodie Monsters’ Ball

Well my friends are gone and my (last) hair is grey I ache in the places where I used to play – Leonard Cohen, Tower of Song “Why haven’t you updated your Blog? Is something wrong?” – an e-mail from a concerned reader 7/10/2014 12 years ago I gave birth. An immaculate conception that created

Read More