A Taste of Portugal…In Andover!
I had to go into Andover today. It’s not the most attractive of towns but my friend John had told me about this little place (pictured). It’s a Portuguese bar, café, and shop, selling produce only from Portugal. It even had Portuguese TV on the screen on the wall. You can get a nice coffee, a glass of wine, or a pint of Sagres. I wish there were more little places like this. It can, albeit briefly, make you feel like you are on ...
Johnson’s Gamble that Backfired
If anyone was still in denial about the level of corruption at the heart of government, they shouldn’t be now. It was ruled that Owen Paterson had broken the code of conduct when he lobbied ministers at the Department for International Trade and officials at the Food Standards Agency (FSA). This was carried out on behalf of two companies. For this lobbying, he was paid £100,000 a year by the healthcare company Randox and £12,000 by ...
Pomp, Ceremony & Graduation
I went to my son’s graduation last night. It was not something I have experienced before, so I was not sure what to expect. The drive down to Bournemouth on a dark Monday evening was straightforward, apart from a bit of a standard Bob Lethaby debacle with the parking. In the Reception I eventually arrived at the BIC fully armed with my ticket and negative Covid-19 test, only to be asked for neither. I stood around, feeling a little lost ...
Caring for the Environment – That’s for Snowflakes
When I was out and about in the northern countryside last week, a Twitter shitstorm was kicking off, quite literally. It was all to do with water companies pumping raw sewage into Britain’s coastlines and rivers. Amendment & U-Turns In case you hadn’t noticed, it was all about an amendment in the Environment Bill. It was put forward by the Duke of Wellington, no less. The amendment was, on paper, a reasonable one. It was to ...
The Dales, The Lakes and The Peaks!
It was good to head up north for a few days. We left on Saturday morning and made tracks towards Lancaster, the home of Jennifer’s son whilst he studies at university. All seemed well as we came off the A303 and had a straightforward trip up the A34, over the Chilterns and towards Oxford. Once past Oxford, things turned ugly. A 4-mile tailback all the way to the M40 set the precedent for a day in stop start traffic. The stuttering journey ...