23/10/2013
I recently spent a few days in the city of Valencia in Spain, and given that my eyes are always on the lookout for cool things, I thought I’d share a few of my snaps. While I could show you the same tourist photos as most would drag out, showing all the magnificent showcase buildings along the fantastic green park…
22/10/2013
Most people know that when you refer to a ballpoint pen as a “biro”, you’re really referring to a brand-name writing device manufactured by the Société Bic (which, although it sound more like a dyslectic cycling club is actually a major maker of ballpoint pens and relatd). There are quite a few products where the brand of the most famous…
21/10/2013
If there ever was a type of clothing that never goes out of fashion, it has to be denim. The styles and looks change over time, but the fact is that the popularity of denim, or blue jeans, has been near constant for the better part of 60 years. The basic sturdy blue cotton fabric has shown quite amazing persistence and…
19/10/2013
Now, right at the start of this post I know it’s not in really going to fit in with my usual material. It’s not about clothes, or cool old things, or any of my usual passions, yet it’s on my mind and I’d like to share it with you, esteemed reader. Last night I was at a restaurant in Valencia…
18/10/2013
In another post where I talk smack about stuff I really shouldn’t talk about, given that I’m a civil engineer not a marketing guru, I give you: What makes a brand? A name, a designer, a style, something ethereal and mystic, history, or something else entirely? To me, names come and go, designers are rarely given celebrity status, styles come…
06/10/2013
For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted a proper tweed jacket. Not one of those thin looks-like-tweed jackets that you typically find in the shops, more a blazer than a jacket, and certainly not for wearing outdoors, but a rugged, thick and proper jacket. Every time I’d see something tweed-like, I’d feel it, and every time it was…
05/10/2013
For most of my life, entering a clothes shop, all on my lonesome, has been a pretty traumatic affair and something best avoided. I’m well aware that many guys have an aversion to clothes shops, for a variety of reasons, others proclaiming shopping as too tedious (yet they will happily spend all day shopping for fishing gear or model trains).…
05/10/2013
This time of year our thoughts naturally turn to that most seasonal of ailments, what we nominally describe as cold hands. How many times have you bidden farewell to your toasty abode, only to find yourself wandering the miserable cold streets, in the compromised gait of a man with hands in pockets? It’s an ill wind that chills thine naked…
04/10/2013
These days (and even starting with those words make me feel like an old man) it’s all about the social media, and all the various platforms that are more or less popular at the moment. It’s not enough to just write blog posts, they have to be announced on Facebook and Twitter as well. Plus Twitter is there to handle…
02/10/2013
Yesterday was an odd day. We’re currently in Bergen, and apart from being a delightful town, it offers some decent opportunities for shopping. I’ve previously written about the shops I consider good in Bergen, such as T-Michael, Lot 333, Twisted and Tilsammans. Today I visited the emporium I normally only trudge through, eyes down, when trailing WellDressedGirlfriend, or picking up…