New Zealand did so well for so long by keeping its borders shut. But the Delta variant sneaked through a defence that had hitherto been tighter than that of the country’s mighty All Blacks rugby team.
Events
Hopefully not a once in a blue moon Hong Kong encounter
We joked that it was the biggest travel retail gathering of the year and remembered that this was like it used to be in travel retail before a certain nasty virus came along and blighted our industry and our lives.
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Events
A heavenly view in Ystradgynlais and a 365 view of TFWA
This is just about as quiet an interim bureau as I have ever inhabited during the past 19 years, especially as it is one of those rare places in the UK that has no wi-fi signal, perhaps a sign from someone on high telling me I need to slow down.
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Events
Leading from the front at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open
As the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open takes place, even with limited numbers and with all of the necessary safety measures, it also offers an important sense of normality returning to Irish life.
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Events
How Khun Top, Susan Whelan and the flying Foxes honoured a legacy
This was a triumph not only for those players, the club and Khun Top, then. It was a triumph of legacy as that giant visage of Khun Vichai and the accompanying words implied.
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Events
The mouse that roared and the SK-II campaign that soared
The sceptics’ voices have fallen silent. As day three of the four-day event begins, it is clear that the organisers have a triumph on their hands. Dead MICE? This is the mouse that roared.
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Events
My Neil Armstrong moment is complete
I know that I am a lot safer as of today and that so is the world, thanks to the outstanding efforts of the teams here in Hong Kong and all around the globe.
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Events
How I avoided my Rudy Giuliani moment and became the face of Clinique instead
Would my opening remarks turn into a reprise of the risible Rudy Giuliani’s infamous Four Seasons Total Landscaping post-election press conference as dark hair dye ran down the side of his face in the Philadelphia heat?
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Events
Getting rid of the rat and riding with the Ox
“The ox, in Chinese culture, is a hardworking zodiac sign. It usually signifies movements so, hopefully, the world will be less static than last year and get moving again in the second half of the year.”
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Events
How the Whirlwind Walsh World Tour will send a terminally ill child on the trip of a lifetime
The Walshes are taking part in what’s been dubbed ‘The World Tour’ for Dreamflight this month. They will virtually travel (walking and cycling) some 44,000 kms to circumnavigate the globe without leaving home.
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Events
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.
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Events
Time passes slowly till we reach that elusive horizon
My LinkedIn network is now heavily punctuated with that now familiar white out of green hashtag, ‘#Open to work’. When are those vaccines due again?
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Miscellaneous
Out of the darkness and into light
As autumn bathes the northern hemisphere in golden leaves and spring brings rebirth to the south, a pitch-black shadow that has hung over the whole world throughout all seasons may soon be lifting.