In these uncertain days – political gamesmanship to the fore and all that, it is really difficiult to predict anything at all about how retail stores and businesses are going to fare after brexit.  It’s impossible to get a straight answer to any question about importing or exporting;  On the news yesterday a think tank […]

I suscribe to a magazine website that allows me access to a wide choice of publications.  It’s rather like going into a large supermarket wanting just breakfast cereal – my word, there are both sides of one aisle dedicated to the massive choice we have available today.   There are the sugary ones that children have […]

I can be fairly described representing the bah humbug side towards the Christmas lunacy – I know several families who spend an inordinate amount of money on the childrens’ presents and on themselves;  money they simply can’t afford.  They justify it by suggesting their offspring will somehow be blighted if they don’t show ownership of […]

There are rarely shopping forays for me more exciting than buying a holiday, and then buying stuff for that holiday!  I do of course buy lots of gifts for family – when I really have to, but most of my relatives are either older and retired, awash with plenty of spendable cash.  The other side […]

It’s that tricky time of year again – heading towards the christmas present buying frenzy.  It catches some of us every year.  I have always been a bah humbug when it comes to buying presents for those who seem to have absolutely everything already!  I do look back to the early days of my schooling […]

Gosh there’s a huge lot of problems on the horizon with the brexit negotiations taking ever less positive turns.    I can well remember my parents being able to buy all kinds of things from every country that ever traded.  Toys came direct from Japan and Taiwan and HongKong, especially small transistor and motor activated ones.  […]

When my wife packs a holiday suit case, there are the inevitable linen trousers, linen dresses, long line tunic tops to go over her ‘problem area’ – bottom to you and me  There are never any good honest jeans.  Denim is an absolute necessity in my life – not a gift.  I cannot live without […]

The glorious sun and sounds of hot summer holidays reminds me of a fantastic trip I took to New York.  I didn’t fly there directly from UK but on my way home from Texas where I’d been staying with relatives.  I met up with one of them and we flew to JFK for 4 days […]

Ah the wonderful summer season of cricket, tennis, holidays, football . . . . football??  Yes, well this year we have the world cup going on in Russia.   What a great festival it seems to have been so far – none of the anticipated trouble that seemed ominously present last time.  The crowds have not […]

Ah these days with the exit from europe making a very jerky but sure way through, it seems odd to be constantly looking for our next holiday in the sun.  This used to be always somewhere like the Costa Brava or Costa del Sol areas.  Benidorm or Ibiza, Majorca etc. were the places to be […]