It is amazing, isn’t it how many special days we celebrate each year. Now you might wonder whether many of these special occasions have been created especially for marketing purposes and to enrich one trade or another, such as for example the florists. But far from it. These days, or ‘observances’ as they are officially […]
Author: Grumpy Old Man
The forgotten seafarers
Since the start of the pandemic millions of people around the world have lost their jobs and thousands of companies have closed their doors forever with the fate of many more hanging in the balance once the government rescue schemes expire or are withdrawn. Staff being made redundant are sent home and can benefit from […]
The demise of the British high street
Since the beginning of 2020 I have written several blogs on the sorry state of British retail and the High Street. just just now things got even worse. Much worse. On November 30, the Arcadia Group, the retail empire run by Sir Philip Green, went into administration, followed a day later by an announcement by […]
The problem with money in sports
For once it isn’t a case of there not being enough of it, to the contrary, it’s rather the opposite – and it corrupts club officials’ minds and clouds their judgment. Two examples from earlier this year in the U.K. show once again the nefarious impact money can have on sports: in the rugby league […]
Apple’s green credentials
Apple made a point at its product launches this autumn to emphasise its green credentials. But how green is Apple really? I just treated myself to a new Apple iPad Air (not least to write my blog posts) from my local electronics store in Switzerland, and since the Apple Pencil was cheaper from Apple’s Swiss […]
University Life… but different
My son started in September his second year at Kings College university in London, and it looks nothing like the start to university life he had as she freshman 12 months ago. Staying at a hall of residence was already out of the question last year, since we have a perfectly good and spacious home […]
Mind the generation gap
Now I’m certainly not considering myself a spring chicken, approaching fast my 60th birthday next week, but I feel reasonably young and dynamic, and still quite in tune with people 15 years younger than me, particularly when I look at the current president of the United States who is not only 74 but also the […]
Getting off Scot-free
It’s very frustrating, isn’t it, you and I are held to account for all our deeds and misdeeds and made to pay our taxes. And then there are the diplomats across the world, neither paying taxes in the countries they are being posted to, nor often any other dues on the back of misdeeds, such […]
High street woes
The British High Streets haven’t been an inspiring place to visit for a very long time, and you couldn’t probably distinguish a high street in the North of England from one in the South: The same store and coffee shop chains everywhere with very little individual and local trades left. And then the pandemic hit. […]
To learn or not to learn
I am surprised by the debate in the UK as far as school children returning to class is concerned: Having been off since March and, in particular as far as state schools are concerned, having had very little or no teaching for the best part of the past 6 months, I would have expected that […]
The grumpy older man 