Mr Happy and Mr Grumpy battle for control in the Lockdown Bureau

“Martin, this will be the first time so many of us have exhibited at a ‘cancelled’ Expo. Now that’s what I call virtual!”

Pointing out the Wights and wrongs of UK offshore duty free

I’m pretty confident that my Dufry Isle of Wight Offshore Duty Free store, paying a healthy rent (variable of course) to the local authorities, could add a whole lot to tourism and spending numbers.

Green shoots, red poppies and plane spotting in the Lockdown Bureau

There is always North Korea, where not a single case is reported, but I am just a little worried about the reliability of that number and also Pyongyang’s appeal as a holiday destination.

A dram of Writers’ Tears and a drop of James Joyce to banish the COVID-19 blues

I was excited to receive a package in my Lockdown Bureau a few days back from Writers’ Tears that appeared to be a book, accompanied by a bar of soap. Were they trying to tell me something?

Losing track of time in the Lockdown Bureau

This government constantly urges us to clap for our carers while it carries direct responsibility for killing so many of them.

How no flights, corona, inaction became lights, camera, action at Vilnius Airport

What movies would you show at your airport during the COVID-19 crisis?Here’s The Moodie Blog’s suggestions.

How Chaps Holland learned to never wash alone

Gerry Marsden would be reaching for his Pacemaker if he ever heard the travel retail reworking of his (and originally Rodgers & Hammerstein’s) song that became a famous Liverpool FC anthem.

Hanging tough in the Self-Isolation Bureau

Another thing is exposed in crisis. Your values. How you treat people. Customers, staff, colleagues. Don’t demand assistance and not give it. Remember, people will remember how you treated them during this crisis.

Miscellaneous

March 30, 2020

Breakfast with the birds at Chez Moodie

One family man, an ex-duty free executive, rendered jobless by the shutdown of the hospitality industry, is going to work for Amazon rather than take a government handout, figuring the money is needed more by others. You are the man Steve.

Events

March 25, 2020

My Wilson moment in the Moodie Davitt Castaway Bureau

“Sorry, terms & conditions apply.” If you’re told that, remind the party concerned that so will terms and conditions when the good times return. As in who you do business with.

Miscellaneous

March 14, 2020

The end of certainty

It was as if each of them was simply trying to come to terms with the change to the human condition as much as they were trying to navigate the immediate future for their businesses.

Airports

March 11, 2020

Multi-hyphenating on the bright side of life

My music taste has taken a turn for the darker (a splash of Mahler, lots of Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave, even Bob Dylan’s Stuck inside of London with the COVID-19 Blues Again).

Events

March 1, 2020

A drop of Cloudy Bay to offset these cloudy days

In terms of Paul McCartney’s opening lines, I got my retaliation in early.

Lifestyle