There is a well-known and playful joke about a tourist in Ireland who asks one of the locals for directions to Dublin. The Irishman replies: ‘Well sir, if I were you, I wouldn’t start from here’. This is very much how I feel about the…

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Personalisation is making waves in the marketing community. What started as the tailoring of an email greeting (from the stock ‘Dear Valued Customer’ to the cheerily familiar ‘Dear Louise’) is evolving rapidly and imaginatively. When, towards the end of last year, Marmite offered its users the…

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Last week the nation’s favourite grandmother, our Queen, entered her tenth decade. She is riding a wave of popularity, it seems, for her unstinting sense of duty and, in recent times anyway, for doing the right thing. Of course, it helps to be a grandmother….

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Last week I went to see William Boyd’s new play ‘The Argument’ at the Hampstead Theatre. The title sells it short! In fact this one act drama features 10 arguments which take place within a troubled marriage, exploring the different eruptions which a relationship in…

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It seems to me that in the US and UK at least we are entering a period which will be dominated by the microphone hoggers. The only person making salient news across the pond is the shy, retiring Donald Trump. Like his hair, he is…

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The start of any year is rife with speculation. Futurists, temporary and permanent, are exploring predictions and possibilities, seeking guidance from a wide range of indicators across all aspects of our over-stimulated lives. As ever, sport is a favourite point of reference. What we can we…

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