How Caelumest Ginis and Ginger Vitis got Blitzed then Bloomed

Norbert Pinkley ordered his fourth gin with alacrity. “Certainly Sir, on the rocks?” “No, just down on my luck.”

Catching up with old friends for a last tango and the perfect re-torte

Through some exquisite contemporary design and advanced techniques, Arte by Padaria turns the humble cake into a culinary and artistic masterpiece.

Marking a grim anniversary and rediscovering the industry of beautiful memories

Life has changed so very much for every travel retail company on the planet since precisely one year ago today when the first death from a then-unnamed coronavirus was recorded in Wuhan, China.

TVA in place but now free of duty – thank you and farewell Mr Danzka

‘If you only walk on sunny days you’ll never reach your destination.’ Over a near 50-year career, Torben has walked on plenty of both and cruelly, his final year in business coincided with the stormiest of them all.

Travel

January 3, 2021

Your flight time will be 8,760 hours… you may experience some turbulence

In cities such as Seoul and Taipei we’ve seen plenty of flights to ‘nowhere’ in recent months. Is the Essence Corp Airlines destination more tangible?

Events

December 31, 2020

Surely ye’ll be your pint-stoup! – Bidding a not so fond farewell to 2020

I plan an alternative cry on this, the last day of 2020, an annus horribilis (Latin for ‘horrible year’, or in Antipodean ‘a bloody awful one’) if ever there was one.

Miscellaneous

December 29, 2020

A silver-ferned devil in Hong Kong and a breath of fresh Presidential air at TFWA

What a difference a change of President makes. No, I’m not talking the US where sometime between now and Jo Biden’s inauguration day, Donald Trump will finally be prised like a limpet from a rock out of the White House.

Miscellaneous

December 25, 2020

Why it remains a wonderful life

I now have the Bob Dylan Xmas album playing and I can confirm that no-one has ever wrecked ‘Little Drummer Boy’ quite so magnificently.

Events

December 20, 2020

Switching tack amid ever-changing winds

What worked (or didn’t) in 2020 might not get the same result next year. Anticipate the next gust of favourable wind, constantly keep watch for the adverse variety.

Quirky

December 15, 2020

How ARI’s resident ‘Andy man’ created an international DIY gin distillery

Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world he walked into his own. Here’s your chance to win a bottle of gin of your choice while applauding distil-it-yourself in-gin-uity.

Lifestyle

December 12, 2020

Eastern calm, aviation chaos and putting a sticking plaster on a pandemic

Down below in the churning waters, some hardy souls take their daily swim, while by the cross-harbour ferry terminal to North Point an early morning Tai Chi class and an elderly couple line-fishing from a rickety boat add to the timeless eastern calm.