Robert Pattinson is so hot right now. Over the last year or so he’s been in everything from Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi satire Mickey 17 to The Drama and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, with Primetime and Dune: Part Three thrown in for good measure. Then there’s The Batman Part II just over the horizon too. […]
‘Recently I went to Invercargill on business…’ – say that intro in a bar or cafe and you have to pause out of courtesy, like a stand-up comedian, to allow your listeners time to insert their hoots of derision and/or region-specific jokes. I know the drill, I’ve heard it all before; I once spent a […]
When Person of Interest first showed up on Netflix, I didn’t bother. It just looked like the usual post-9/11 American alarmist junk, sketching caricatures of babble-headed terrorists thwarted by heroic government agents’ oppressive surveillance techniques. Years later, I gave it another crack and was shocked to realise I’d been completely wrong. Sure, it looked like […]
Rick Beato is absolutely serving right now. The grey-haired, 64-year-old American producer, engineer and music educator is now the ultimate Dad Rock icon on YouTube. With nearly 6 million subscribers and over 2 billion total views he leaves serious global brands like Tame Impala, The 1975 and even Foo Fighters in his wake. So what […]
I have to admit: I’ve missed Sky. I got rid of it after NZR appointed Fozzie as All Blacks coach back in late 2019 in a truly ridiculous and ill-judged promotion. Even when Razor was appointed in 2023, I remained suspicious – and wisely so as it turned out. Yet, upon Dave Rennie’s glorious ascension […]
It’s a national disgrace. As best anyone can tell, there isn’t a single road-registered Koenigsegg left in New Zealand. Not one Egg. Not a Jesko. Not even an ageing CCX gathering dust in some Waikato hayshed. For a country that has produced Bruce McLaren, John Britten, Burt Munro and George Begg, that just ain’t good […]
Ryan Gosling walks into a room, or onto a screen, and the temperature instantly changes. Women feel it immediately. Men don’t seem to mind either. Some even smile. That’s almost impossible to pull off and almost nobody else can do it. What is that thing exactly? Turns out, it’s everything. From Mouse to Man To […]
As a kid I had a copy of the Guinness Book of Records, and a few pages were more thumbed than others: the world’s tallest man, the fastest time for running 100m and the world’s tallest building. The 20th century saw increased activity in the latter with the Empire State Building grabbing the mantle in […]
Blimmin’ hackers! Always trying to get something for nothing. Breaking rules, squirming through loopholes and generally acting like unwanted raiders in the systems we use every day to survive in this modern world. Um… but before we get too high and mighty, we probably should take a moment to reflect on some of the stuff […]
So, Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson has been sacked as All Black coach. Wow, that doesn’t happen very often. In fact, this was a first. Sure, previous coaches have not had their contracts renewed when they would obviously have liked to have continued; Ian Foster, John Mitchell and Wayne Smith being recent examples. But all those prior […]
Social media’s killing us! Dumbing everything down to ‘vibe’ level. Whereas once upon a time we’d say something erudite like; ‘Her promise was like a politician’s handshake: full of conviction but with a firm grip on reality’ – now we just say💁♀️👍🤝! Our former love of metaphor, shrewd assessment and, above all, subtlety is gone. […]
When Peaky Blinders first burst onto our screens back in 2013 we hadn’t seen anything like it for yonks. After a diet of glitzy shows like Madmen, OTT spectacles like Game of Thrones and beautifully costumed dramas like Boardwalk Empire – here came something genuinely gritty. Every scene seemed to feature belching smoke, thick fog, […]
‘Oh my, Standards have sure slipped’, ‘that’s not up to Standard’ and; ‘that’s the Gold Standard’. Talk to anyone over the age of thirty and you’ll hear such comments soon enough. But what are they actually wahing on about? What Are Standards? Standards are like those other invisible things that surround us like radio waves, […]
Image Above: Hubble captured this image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on July 21, 2025, when the comet was 277 million miles from Earth. Hubble shows that the comet has a teardrop-shaped cocoon of dust coming off its solid, icy nucleus. Comet – or was it alien spacecraft?! – 3I/ATLAS barged its way uninvited through […]
The future’s always sneaking up on us, ready to leap out when we least expect it. Today we can be happy slurping away at a milkshake through a plastic straw, yet tomorrow we might just as easily get arrested for not using a sipper made from micro-woven hemp husk. But the future’s not always woke […]
So Keir Starmer has just resigned as British PM? Well, no he hasn’t – but he is proposing a universal digital ID which sounds very, very similar to the ‘Poll Tax’ which Margaret Thatcher tried busting out back in the 80s. And though she was tough as old boots, the Iron Lady was melted down […]
And in more hot Guinness Book of Records news; Turkmenistani capital Ashgabat has finally lifted the prestigious title of World’s Highest Density of White Marble-clad Buildings. After a fierce competition that’s raged for at least a couple of millennia, Ashgabat wrenched the title from the grasp of divisional heavyweights like Agra, Washington, Athens and Rome. […]
Cooping, thatching and wainwrighting; all great skills we used to be expert in once upon a time – but ask anyone to make a barrel, straw roof or wagon today and you’re more likely to get blank stares than quality products. The sad truth is; we just don’t need those skills anymore so we’ve let […]
In case you hadn’t heard; we’re living in the Digital Age. Therefore we expect – nay, demand! – neat, clean, efficient answers. No more of those messy analogue imperfections. Ours is a world of instant updates, real-time data, and domestic appliances that answer our questions on demand. So when scientists, economists or politicians can’t explain […]
In case you hadn’t noticed; Pedro Pascal is so hot right now. Fresh off a never-ending series of hit shows he’s made a significant impact on like: Game of Thrones, Narcos, The Last Of Us, and The Mandalorian, Pedro seems to be everywhere. His tired, lived-in face with its kind and caring eyes seems to […]
In May this year, An executive order from the United States was written up titled ‘Delivering Most‑Favored‑Nation Prescription Drug Pricing.’ The idea here was for American health agencies to set U.S. drug prices equal to the lowest price paid by comparable (i.e. ‘wealthy’) nations. It’s been tried before with a similar MFN scheme in 2020 […]
Anybody know who convinced Americans that Elon Musk was the ideal auditor for government spending? Or who managed to sell Joe Rogan as a legit expert on archaeology? If you know these dudes, send them our way – we’ll need their help explaining why CRISPR might be more like penicillin than Frankenstein. Gene Modding is […]
There are people who are really good at what they do; Usain Bolt dominated race sprints, Adadeus Mozart knew how to write music and Steve Jobs was pretty good at innovation. Then there are people who are really good at several things at once, or polymaths. One such is C B Fry who captained England […]
Fresh on the heels of Elon Musk’s DOGE governmental sack-a-thon comes the news that the U.S. Air Force is going to spend at least US$20 billion on a brand-new F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet from Boeing. Well, obviously getting rid of the Department of Education is going to make that a lot more affordable! Why now? […]
‘Sportswashing’ is a term used by people of one political paradigm to accuse the leading actors of a different political paradigm of hiding their corruption/authoritarian methods/human rights violations behind a major sports event. I.e. those dastardly foreigners are in the business of ‘cleaning up’ their tawdry image through an association with the innocence and universal […]
As humans, we believe in certain things; that the sun will rise in the east, we’ll have to pay taxes, and; ‘nope, this ain’t going to be the Warriors’ year neither!’ Our trust in these axioms is the bedrock of our belief system, the very spine of our existence. Knowing these things to be true […]
For most people success comes and goes – but for more than 4 decades Tom Cruise has made winning seem as easy as simply breathing in oxygen. Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning from Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Image Courtesy of Paramount Pictures and Skydance. Over the past 40 […]
Ever wanted to stay a night in a hotel room that was more than a deposit on a house? Well this is what it looks like. Welcome to Atlantis The Royal, placed on the manmade outer ring of the palm outcropping into the beautiful waters of the Persian Gulf. You can’t get a more premium […]
Oh, it got ugly! American uber investor BlackRock dumped SolarZero, a clean, green, Kiwi energy company just before Christmas leaving staff without holiday pay and subbies out of pocket – some to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. Why does this keep happening over and over again? Can we never learn? No Risk, […]
He’s back! Traditionally new American presidents are judged after 100 days in office, but in this case, that seems far too languid a timeline. We think Trump’s first months will be such a whirlwind of change it’ll make FDR’s frantic flurry of Great Depression legislation seem as lifeless as an RBNZ press conference. A Mandate […]
We’ve already got electric cars, how about planes too? A couple of years ago the Government said they wanted to decarbonise New Zealand’s transport sector and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Part of this was mandating government agencies to prioritise the selection of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) for new […]
I have to admit, in all my years on this Earth I have given Greenland little consideration. In fact, if it hadn’t been for all those outraged cartographers using it as Exhibit A of how the Mercator Projection world map distorts country size, I would’ve forgotten it even existed. The largest island in the world, […]
‘Buy land, my boy, they’re not making any more of it.’ So said Mark Twain when discussing how the value of real estate rises with a growing population, but his observation is just as relevant today with arable land. As the world’s populace swells, so does the pressure on our agricultural sector to produce more […]
So, Joe Biden finally read the room and folded his hand. Uh, hindsight is a wonderful thing, but he may have been the only person left on the planet who thought a doddery old eightysomething with obvious memory and alertness issues was the ideal choice for America’s biggest job. Though it seems he’d got away […]
Now that Joe Biden has (finally!) been rudely woken from that nice nap where he was dreaming of winning a second term in November, he joins the ever-lengthening list of former world leaders now on the lookout for new digs. Whilst we have covered Sleepy Joe’s future options elsewhere in this august magazine, we also […]
Sci-Fi movies, how accurate are they really? Many of them feature a future date within the storyline as though the movie was a Nostrodamus-like vision of the future. Some of these named years are obviously arbitrary – the writer simply used any old date so long as it was in the future; as George Orwell […]
A year ago, you could go to any party and within minutes of meeting someone you’d end up discussing how Taika and co had got it so wrong in Love and Thunder after getting so right in Ragnarok. Yet, if you go to a similar gathering this weekend and have the temerity to utter the […]
Okay, so how’s your experimentation with electric vehicles going? Ah, so you’re still driving a hybrid huh? Well, you and many others it’s fair to say as hybrid sales have been up big time over the last few years – culminating in a staggering 69% increase here in New Zealand between 2022 and 2023. Far […]
The more things change, the more they stay the same. So, for all the – frankly massive – adjustments we’ve seen in recent years with the rise and rise of online shopping alongside e-commerce, online advertising and influencer activities, it still pays to do things the old way too. Because nothing beats sending actual human […]
The Rugby World Cup is a great reminder of the value of teamwork. Sure every successful team has their superstars who run in spectacular solo tries or exhibit masterful control of the play around the field – but inevitably the winning team is the one with the best teamwork on display. This is the side […]
Plugs and ports – they’re all the same nowadays aren’t they? Well, they might all look the same and even run the same devices, but that’s where the similarities stop because some connections are definitely better than others. What is Thunderbolt 4? Thunderbolt 4 plugs and ports look just like USB-C ones, you […]
Time, it’s the one thing we all want more of, yet we can’t buy it no matter how well our shares have been doing. Time would also make such a great Christmas present for the person who has pretty much everything else as it’s a safe bet that someone that successful won’t have a lot […]
Go on any social media feed and it won’t be long before you stumble across some prophet of doom loudly proclaiming; ‘Artificial Intelligence is here! The world is over! Cue the Terminators to march in over piles of our disembodied skulls!’ The prevailing sentiment with these people seems to be that; as AI becomes […]
Let’s face it, we don’t celebrate enough in the business world. The other day I was part of a global pitch that went very, very well and afterward I wanted to go and have a drink with my colleagues to rejoice in all the hard work we’d put in and the incredible teamwork that had […]
Syrah is a typically fruity and peppery red wine usually in a dark colour and with a strong tannic mouthfeel. Popular all over the world, it is somewhat confusingly called ‘Shiraz’ in some parts – especially Australia. This is despite the ‘Syrah/Shiraz’ grape having nothing to do with its namesake city in Persia; as […]
Lights! Camera! Action! Sip! The Whānau Mārama NZ International Film Festival is back and so is Spy Valley as official wine sponsor for another season of our favourite celebration of high-quality international cinema. Spy Valley are the natural pick as sponsors for this epic national event celebrating global art and culture as they’ve always had […]
Good news! We’re living longer than ever. According to the World Health Organization, the number of people living beyond 80 years of age is expected to triple between 2020 and 2050. Awesome! How on Earth did that happen? Well, there is no one particular reason, it’s more a series of events and changed attitudes that […]
Every now and then we see something that gives us a glimpse of how the future is going to roll out. Arthur C. Clarke looked at a radio antenna and imagined that it would be a much more effective communications tool if it were floating in space at the same speed as the Earth; Robert […]
Recently I went to the Central Otago region for a new vehicle launch and a couple of my colleagues were very excited – and not just about driving the new car: ‘Oo, when we get some time off we should go and try some of the local Pinot Noir!’ Of course, I thought that was […]
As a kid; whenever I heard the word ‘scenario’ I could taste baked beans like I’d just put a forkful in my mouth. Plus, whenever I saw a car painted in any shiny metallic colour I instantly recalled the smell of Gregg’s instant coffee. Later on I learned that this type of affliction was called […]
The Mission Estate 2019 Huchet Syrah – reverentially named after Brother Cyprian Huchet, one of Missions and New Zealand’s pioneering winemakers from the 19th century – boasts a distinctive character, exhibiting a deep garnet hue with aromas of blackberries, violets, and cracked black pepper. On the palate, it showcases a harmonious blend of ripe dark […]
While the Myers NmG and Aston Martin Superleggera are technically both ‘cars’ that can get you from A to B – let’s be honest, you’d only drive one of them around to pick up your date on a Saturday night! It’s exactly the same scenario with DJ systems, there are some decks that are perfectly […]
We invented robots to weld the same bits of door framing on a car assembly line; to lift impossibly heavy weights; and to greet wave after wave of tourists at the door of a museum with exactly the same bright and breezy message a million times over. In short, we developed robots to do the […]
‘I see the western wheat fields dry out – sometimes.’ ‘The Pink Oboe floats downriver pleasantly.’ Confused? You’re supposed to be! Covert agents are given clandestine phrases and counter phrases to utter when meeting other spies so they know they’re spilling their secret intel to someone they can ‘trust’. The phrases are not meant to […]
There are only two questions you need to ask yourself before you go to Central Otago; why am I not there already? And where am I going to stay? The first question is completely valid as Central Otago is fast becoming the go to destination in New Zealand for any kind of holiday but especially […]
What’s in a name? Well, considering many of our given or nicknames, they may seem pretty ordinary and, dare I say it, arbitrary. But there is much more to names than we give them credit for. Even ‘Davo’ from down at the pub has not just got a name, he’s got a great name as […]
Okay, so you’ve had plenty of meetings with your clients – and they’ve gone well. You’ve promised them this and/or that – then delivered (hopefully over-delivered!) You’ve talked often and have a good rapport, i.e.; you actually understand their business and goals almost as well as they do. Is that enough? Well, many would say; […]
Marlborough – we all know the region is home to some of the best Sauvignon Blanc produced in the world. It’s a given, we’ve known that ever since we were kids; it’s an inherent fact like the All Blacks are the best international rugby team in the world and Wellington is the windiest capital city […]
The Bruichladdich Black Art Edition 09.1 is the most recent addition to the renowned Black Art series from the Islay distillery. And is a testament to the masterful blending skills of Head Distiller Adam Hannett, who has created a complex and elegant whisky that showcases the best of Bruichladdich’s craft. At 29 years of age, […]
So, you’re heading to Central Otago for the wine but don’t want to spend your entire time parked at the restaurant table sipping pinot? Then you’re in luck as the region has a lot to offer, particularly if you’re a rugged outdoorsy type. There is a wide variety of things to do and places to […]
The secret to being a great entertainer is easy – just serve good finger food. That’s all there is to it. (Although not letting the office jazz bore anywhere near the Spotify playlist will help a lot too!) Your food doesn’t have to be super artistic, it should just be able to be eaten whilst […]
Whisky tasting, you’ve got a selection of bottles in front of you, a collection of mates beside you and you’re ready to go. The problem is; how are you going to do it? Sip the tasting glasses and say; ‘Mm, that one was ‘yummy’ or; ‘Oo, that one was a bit average’? Well, you can […]
There are acquaintances, friends, good friends and BFFs – but all of them pale in comparison with ‘beautiful friendships’. These are usually forged over several drinks and sometimes even involve some form of collusion in concealing a crime – although this is not mandatory! The most famous example of such a bond comes from the […]
Sons of Scotland, I am William Wallace and I see a whole army of my countrymen here in defiance of tyranny. You have come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What would you do with that freedom? This one is all about inspiration; to celebrate a proud Scotsman who stirred his […]
The end of a fine meal; what better time to have a cup of hot, rich, flavourful coffee? Funnily enough, this is also the ideal time to sit back and reflect on the successes of your day over a glass of carefully-crafted, fruity, full-bodied whisky. Hmm, imagine if those two things were designed to go […]
There’s something inherently cool about the West Coast of America! Maybe it’s because of all those cool West Coast road trip movies Hollywood has made over the years. Movies like; Easy Rider, Vanishing Point, Sideways or even Thelma & Louise – which was set elsewhere but filmed in California. They all portray that environment of […]
The Margarita is a classic cocktail that has stood the test of time, remaining an eternal favourite at bars and parties the world over. And when it comes to ultimate in summer imbibing, this simple yet tenacious tequila-based drink served on the rocks is hard to beat – its sweet-tart layers of freshly-squeezed lime juice […]
New Year; the absolute best time of year where we can celebrate getting rid of the last one – or revisit the highlights if it was a real goodie – and welcome in the exciting new vintage with all its promise and potential of being the best yet. Of course, if you even have a […]
If the ‘Speed’ era Keanu Reeves came up to you right now and shouted in your face; ‘Pop Quiz; what is it that you like about wine?!’ What would you answer? Well, it probably might take you a few moments to recover from the shock of seeing Keanu so young again – and the fact […]
Ah! We’ve finally reached Summer which also – hopefully! – means plenty of hot, sunny weather to come too. It also means it is time to bust out the summer entertaining dinners for all the friends and family. For such a summery time of year, light, fresh and zingy meals suit best. And what better […]
When you’ve worked hard for decades to create ever higher standards in quality then you want to keep those standards high. And when it’s an entire regional industry that has worked towards that same goal, well, they want everyone to know about it! The Marlborough wine industry is exactly a case in point, many of […]
When you have a chance of victory in any competition, the heart beats faster as the excitement grows, the eyes widen and the tension mounts. At least, usually that is what happens, but in horological competitions – the opposite is true as it is only the steadiest heartbeats keeping an unchanged and deadly accurate pace […]
Let’s face it; Tokyo is a massive city. With 38 odd million people in its catchment area, it is easily the biggest city in the world and you really feel it when you hit Shinjuku railway station at rush hour! It’s a moving wall-to-wall carpet of people. This can be pretty intimidating when you come […]
In Olympic sports, occasionally an athlete like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps or Jesse Owens turns up who so dominates their discipline that not only is their gold medal assured – it also somehow feels inadequate. Mere mortals were also able to win one of these, but they didn’t inspire quite the same feelings of shock […]
Most people who enjoy kicking back with a glass of pinot on the deck on a sunny afternoon with good company and tasty snacks on hand will rarely wonder what it took to make that beautiful bottle of wine. While a few may have some idea of the technical processes, not many will realise there […]
Ever watched a DJ at a party and wished you could do that? Well, Pioneer DJ have brought out the perfect controller to get you started, even if you’re a complete beginner. The all-new DDJ-FLX4 has a professional feel and its simple, user-friendly design makes it super easy for you to find your way around […]
Read any wine magazine – or indeed, the pages of this august website – and you’ll see a lot of how long fine wines will cellar for; five years here, ten there, even twenty plus for that one. But the problem is; the sun’s out, the barbie’s freshly cleaned and the lamb kebabs are ready […]
The gentle flutter of a butterfly’s wing can change the course of history forever. At least that’s the logic behind The Butterfly Effect – a pillar of Chaos Theory – where massive outcomes can be determined by the smallest details along the way, i.e.: how the tiny wind created by a butterfly’s wings can have […]
For some people, their word is law – so, with them, a promise made is a promise kept. One such person is Charles Rolls; better known as the man whose name is half of the legendary marque Rolls-Royce. Back in 1900 Charles had an enthralling vision; an electric version of these new-fangled motor vehicles he […]
If you’re like me, you’re just about ready to PANIC! Why? Because summer is just around the corner and I want to go to the beach and don’t want an unsightly roll of stomach fat to hide the beautifully crafted elastic band at the top of my togs. ‘It wasn’t my fault, Your Honour! Winter […]
Ah, November – my favourite month. You know, it’s the one that straight out belongs to men, courtesy of those wise gentlemen of Melbourne who created Movember for us. Movember means that for thirty days attention will be diverted away from our tattoos, wristwatch, suit and/or shoes, and laser-focused in on our facial hair – […]
Forget what you knew before about dining, a whole new culinary world is emerging. The changes are across the board with what we eat and how we eat it. Some of these changes have been happening for a while now with more and more people having an allergy to this ingredient or a moral objection […]
There are two kinds of people in the world; those that like sweet, and those that like savoury. I definitely prefer to enjoy the umami delights that foods like mushrooms and game can deliver over the pleasures of chocolate every day of the week (and twice on Sundays!) Plus, if you are like me and […]
Time. It’s something you can use but not own, and spend but never keep. It is very, very precious as there are never any refunds on what you spend your allotment of time on – so make every second count. Of course, this also makes time a far too rare and valuable commodity to waste […]
Murmuring waves ooze onto the beach in a rhythmic roar offset by the random squawks of children splashing in the surf and gulls squabbling over spilt chips. The setting sun leaks gold right across the ocean for a brief moment, forcing us to look up from the sausages sizzling on the barbeque so we can sear […]
The Beatles, Elmore Leonard and Hush Puppies; they all spent a period of time cooling their heels in the wilderness before they made it big – a period long enough to pump out 23 novels in Elmore’s case – but all eventually got ‘discovered’ by an adoring public. The rest is history as all have […]
There are some things in life that are easy; like wasting money on cheap unreliable hardware solutions that can only disappoint – and some things that are not so easy; like the installation of natural stone. No, dismiss that thought from your mind right now – it is never easy! Anyone who has ever tried […]
2014 was a mixed year weather-wise in Champagne. A rainy autumn and winter gave way to two parched, sunny months, of which June was the sunniest in 50 years. But the summer was also unseasonably cold. Fearing more unexpected changes, legendary champagne maker Bollinger wasted no time harvesting their grapes in September completing the task […]
Here and there dotted about this wondrous Earth we live on are magical places. Freakish regions with a unique climate and terroir that combine to produce something that no other district on the face of the planet can even come close to replicating. For example; Yakutia in Siberia offers up more diamonds than any other […]
The recent pandemic reaction closed borders all over the world removing global travel as an outlet option for discretionary income. This has meant people with means have had to look elsewhere for something to spend the money they had budgeted for experiential consumption as opposed to those funds earmarked for developing more purely financial returns. […]
Red; it’s bold and eye-catching; the colour of passion; can rile up a bull and even make a sports car go faster. You can’t ignore red, it’s what-in-your-face confidence looks like. Legendary fashion maison Montblanc know that, and have always had a thing about the colour red – ever since their legendary “Rouge et Noir” […]
If only there was a huge social event in a beautiful part of the country that had a physical challenge you could attempt alongside your most loyal and trusted friends – and in completing it, you felt better about both the world and yourself afterwards… Actually, tick, tick, tick – the Oxfam Trailwalker answers all […]
There are certain things men of considerable success know that the rest of us don’t. These include; who really gives proper stock tips; where to find the very best tailor; and exactly who to share a good bottle of Château Léoville Las Cases with. And should these refined gentlemen own a luxury European marque like […]
Ask most people what hearing means and they’ll say it is the ability to listen to what the person speaking to us is saying. But hearing isn’t just listening to a single person one-to-one anymore, for some of us who work from home or in similar forms of isolation, our lives are increasingly dominated by […]
Sometimes incredible knowledge gets lost to the human race; like how to make Wootz steel for example. Manufactured in India 2,500 years ago it was used to create swords that were highly prized for their strength and unique patterning in the metal. For a millennium it was regarded as the best steel in the world […]
Civilisation has given us many great things throughout the ages; democracy, music and wisdom to name but a few. But one such mighty gift that is often overlooked is the art of hosting. Yet since the dawn of time we humans have regularly put down our clubs and welcomed strangers to our fires to share […]
Winemaking has been around for a very long time, as evidence has been discovered that it was being made in the Middle East about 8,000 years ago. That makes it one of the oldest skills we as humans have developed and, amazingly, it has changed little over all that time. Other ancient arts like construction […]
You do anything for a long time and it starts to wear you down; your back starts to ache, your boots blister, your shirt chafes. Even seemingly insignificant objects like a screwdriver can feel as heavy as an anvil if you’ve been using it for several hours on end. Fatigue is cumulative and inevitable so, […]
There are two kinds of people in the world; those that enjoy peaty Islay whiskies and those who enjoy peaty Islay whiskies and have made at least one pilgrimage to the Fèis Ìle Festival on the island itself. A ten day event that celebrates the best in Scottish music, song, dancing and of course, a […]
Hey, I thought we were supposed to be aiming for gender equality with women? Yet it turns out that they live about three years or so longer than us on average – plus they get ten more years without their skin ageing. To be fair, on the whole women spend a heap more time and […]
