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Miami nice: A salute to Juan

I may just have been served by one of the nicest sales people I have ever encountered in a duty free store. The encounter happened at Miami International Airport Concourse B, just beforeI took a Virgin Atlantic Airways flight to London Heathrow. As always I decided to peruse the duty free shops, all run here by Duty

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DFASS puts the icing on the cake

The Moodie Report’s temporary Miami bureau is in full production mode and comparing this view and temperature with what faces me when I return to wintry London overnight, I might just make this a permanent base. It’s been a great week here in Florida, starting with my visit on Tuesday to Orlando International Airport to see

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On the rocky road to Dublin

I’m writing this from 35,000 feet… 34,000 feet…. 34,450 feet…. We’re over the Atlantic Ocean and Virgin Atlantic Airways flight 15 has been bumping around like some crazed rodeo ride for the past 45 minutes. Looking around the cabin, people are trying to put a brave face on things but there are more green faces

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Outlook ‘fine’ in Dubai at the Pinkie Pairs

in·frac·tion (n) – The act or an instance of infringing; a violation. Word reaches The Moodie Blog of strange goings on at the annual ‘Pinkie Pairs’ golf tournament played in Dubai to coincide with the Middle East Duty Free Association (MEDFA) conference and the Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup. The tournament, organised by Premier Portfolio, has become

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Scoring football’s biggest goal of all

“No child should have to live on the streets.” So says Julián Díaz, CEO of Dufry, which today announced it is to sponsor the next Street Child World Cup in Rio de Janeiro in March 2014. And so (should) say all of us. In a world where so many of us live in comfort and

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Why I remain (always) the man in black

Ah, I’d love to wear a rainbow every day, And tell the world that everything’s OK, But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back, ‘Till things are brighter, I’m the Man In Black – Johnny Cash 48 hours later, it’s time to take off the dark sunglasses. To come out of

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Camel connoisseurs

Translated from the Arabic, ‘Al Nassma’ means ‘the refreshing breeze from the desert’. Today the UAE company that bears the same name wants to blow a wind of change through the premium chocolate category – with the aid of its 3,000-strong herd of camels. A visit to Al Nassma’s premises is an eye-opening experience for the

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Middle East musing as Dubai delivers the goods

I’m 40,000 feet above the Black Sea close to the Bulgarian coastal city of Burgas, some three hours from London on the way back from Dubai. Outside it’s 63 degrees Celsius below, roughly the temperature in Dubai today when I left. Ok, ok I exaggerate… but in the 20 years I have been visiting the Emirate,

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“There’s gold in them thar hills!”

“Deffrwch Cymru cysglyd gwlad y gan, Dwfn yw’r gwendid bychan yw y fflam Every day when I wake up I thank the lord I’m Welsh” – International Velvet, Catatonia Regular readers of The Moodie Blog will know that I get about a fair bit, albeit in the line of duty. So far this year I’ve

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A foretaste of Western Australia – on site at Perth’s T2

There’s no substitute for getting on location to understand an airport. At Perth Airport right now that means donning hardhat, safety glasses and steel-capped boots to enter the Terminal 2 construction site. With snappy fluorescent vests over our equally snappy business attire, Perth Airport’s Executive General Manager Commercial Services Scott Norris, General Manager Retail Rebecca

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Why we do like Mundays

Gerry Munday has seen a few Furla Candy bags(above) in her time but the one she came to grips with on Saturday night was surely the icing on the cake. The popular fashion and accessories specialist (and Furla Global Travel Retail Director) was celebrating a birthday of some significance on the night that she arrived in Dubai

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No living without Ewe in Belfast

Word reaches The Moodie Blog that a prolific ‘sheep’ artist has been commissioned to paint quirky artwork at George Best Belfast City Airport in Northern Ireland. Ann Gadd (below right), apparently South Africa’s best-selling and most popular female artist, arrived in Belfast this week to produce a series of paintings to add to her ‘Ewe’

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Six of the best as Foxes go hunting for promotion

Now that’s more like it! Last Saturday The Moodie Report’s officially adopted English football team, Leicester City, went on a scoring rampage, hitting six goals past a hapless (and goal-less) Ipswich Town As reported, Leicester City is owned by Asian Football Investments, a Thai consortium led by Vichai Raksriaksorn, Chairman of one of Asia’s leading travel

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