We meet for drinks at 5. I am the last one there. I’d been on a wine tour. Again. Well, somebody has to do it. Already the guide is explaining our route, the terrain, our strategy. Everyone is in couples, and I get that look – the one that says, ‘So why is he by […]

Read more "Sounds Like Marlborough (Revisited)"

The small town of Whakatane is nondescript: dreary. The two major supermarkets, Countdown and New World, vie for your weekly shop. Brash functional stores line the road in, selling farm machinery, cars, boat equipment. MacDonalds, Burger King and KFC all in a row, a furniture store, a stationery shop and lots of empty lots with […]

Read more "The White Island Rendezvous"

I love my food. Life is a tussle between my waistline and my vanity. I am a gourmet and a gourmand. Just call me: I’ll take you to Brixton Pop, for amazing food inside a world of shipping containers. Vietnamese noodle here, pizza with truffle there; soft plump gyoza here, perfect sushi there. Washed down […]

Read more "In front of restaurants and behind bars"

iPad – check. iPhone – check. Camera – check. Hearing aids – check. Headphones – check. Smart watch – check. Electric toothbrush – check. Beard trimmer – check. Chargers and adapters for all the above – check. Combine harvester – check. Why oh why do I pack more gadgets and leads each year? Why do […]

Read more "A device too far"