Last night, fresh off a plane from Istanbul (more of which another time!) this writer high-tailed it across London to one of the summer season’s hottest tickets: the annual WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Pre-Wimbledon Party. Looking short next to the amazing Ana Ivanovic I was a guest of Dubai Duty Free, the presenting sponsor of
Miscellaneous
All set for a FAB-ulous time in Amsterdam
I’m writing from The Moodie Report’s (sadly) temporary bureau at the magnificent Okura Hotel in Amsterdam, where the annual Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) Conference & Awards kicks off in a few hours. After all the stresses of last-minute event preparations and the biggest breaking news week I can remember in the history of The
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Miscellaneous
Mann Power
Well, I did it. Yesterday I ran my leg of The Moodie Multi-National Marathon. And it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be – reader, it was much, much worse. Today is no better. I’m stiffer in the hips than Gavin Henson on Strictly Come Dancing. In hindsight, my night-before preparation was perhaps
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Miscellaneous
Inspired Irish go oh so close to an almighty, All Black upset
Our competition to pick the winner (and the score) of the All Blacks v Ireland rugby international in Christchurch, New Zealand at the weekend attracted plenty of entrants but few got anywhere near the final score. All week the New Zealand media (with the exception of yours truly) had predicted that the All Blacks would
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Miscellaneous
A pint or two of the Black stuff as a wager is accepted
Aer Rianta International CEO Jack MacGowan has bravely accepted my wager on the outcome of this weekend’s rugby international in my hometown of Christchurch, New Zealand – and added a nice twist to it. As I wrote in my last Blog, this is the first rugby international to be played in Christchurch since the deadly
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Miscellaneous
A big day for the people of Christchurch but will Irish eyes be smiling?
Saturday is a very special day for the people of Christchurch, New Zealand. The city has had the heart (physical not spiritual) torn out of it over the past two years by two devastating earthquakes and thousands upon thousands of aftershocks. The Central Business District was largely destroyed by the deadly February 2011 quake and,
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Events
Let the Games begin…
As I write this Blog, we’ve just passed US$100,000 in fund-raising on the official Moodie Multi-National Marathon fund-raising site. The big event takes place on 15-18 June (with some variations, see below). That’s a lot of money for Hand in Hand for Haiti, travel retail’s own charity that not only funds, but runs, the wonderful Lycée
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Miscellaneous
Cometh the hour; cometh the Mann
They say time flies when you’re having fun. It also flies when you’re supposed to be training for a Marathon. And for most normal people, that’s anything but fun… Pleasure and pain in such close proximity… In February – just four short months ago – I blogged about my intention to run in the second
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Miscellaneous
Tackling Mount Difficulty
Today marks two years since I was diagnosed with stomach cancer, an important landmark as any cancer patient will know. That day seems an eternity ago. In front of me as I write on a cold London morning is a bottle of Mount Difficulty Pinot Noir from New Zealand which I bought (and, I have to say,
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Miscellaneous
Memories of Danny
May 25 was the first anniversary of the tragic death of CTC-ARI Airports General Manager Danny Galvin in a road accident in Cyprus – and a year on family and friends gathered in Cork to mark the occasion. The event included a church service, a golf outing (where the top prize was the inaugural award
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People
Bionic Bull back on his feet
Meet travel retail’s first bionic Bull. Stuart Bull, long-time International Consultant for Mars International Travel Retail, is now back on his feet after what he describes as a ‘bi-lateral knee replacement’. In confectionery terms, both the Bull knees, worn out after his younger-day exertions as a marathon runner (at which he was highly adept) and
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Miscellaneous
The bizarre new world of tobacco ‘display’
‘Tobacco sold here’ says the sign. But otherwise you wouldn’t know it. The only other evidence that one can purchase cigarettes is the wording alongside – “It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18.” Welcome to the bizarre new world of tobacco retailing in the UK High Street, where
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Miscellaneous
A new chapter in our journey begins
Today is a red-letter day for The Moodie Report as we start trading from our new UK headquarters by the River Thames on the outskirts of West London. We’ve moved just around the corner from our old offices to The Old Pumping Station, a beautifully renovated 19th century Victorian public utility building in a waterside
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