INSPIRATIONAL HOTELS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA (Feb23)
We weren’t far from Singapore, but it was another world. Two tropical Indonesian islands to the East of Bintan, which is just South of the Asian city-state. I have to admit that I’m a very critical tourist – I generally challenge hotels on everything including what’s happening to their sewage, how they source their […]
Where the Rainforest Meets the Sea (Apr22)
It felt magical. We walked through the thick tangled forest and yet only meters away were the waves crashing onshore and brightly coloured crabs scuttling into their holes. We were watching monkeys swinging through the trees – there are four species indigenous to the Osa Peninsula in the South West corner of Costa Rica. We […]
Scorched earth in Sicily (Oct20)
What a beautiful time of year to come to this island perched on Italy’s toe. We were lucky to have clear blue skies and the trees were turning gold. One of the most striking things about the island is the number of wind turbines on nearly every horizon. I rather like them both visually and […]
Behind the Scenes in Paradise (Feb17)
I’m hoping that my eco-footprint, on our luxury holiday staying at the Six Senses Hotel, Zil Payson, in the Seychelles – is considerably less than other guests! How so? It comes mainly from my aversion to air conditioning. Our residence was one of 30 beautiful villas nestled in the hills and rocks of Felicite Island. We […]
Rant about disposable napkins (Apr09)
“Do you ever find it annoying when you’re given wads of napkins and bags you don’t need?”. I was amazed to find this statement on Pret a Manger’s website. The answer is ‘yes – very annoying’. The reason for my surprise was because I think that Pret is once of the worst culprits of napkin […]
Yo Sushi is Wasteful (Dec08)
It’s a shame there’s not a Yo Sushi at Waterloo because that’s my regular train station and I’m a fan. If I’m going through Paddington I often perch on one of their stools and help myself to something exciting from the conveyor belt – and at airports too. If you’re interested, it’s not too difficult […]
Between the Sheets (Apr08)
I spend quite a lot of time staying at hotels or other people’s houses, often for only one night at a time. And I realise that I’m getting quite obsessed about sheets. Well actually, not just sheets – pillowcases, towels, bathmats and anything else that has to be laundered. Most of you will have seen […]
McDonalds Testimonial (May07)
“Julia participated in a panel discussion that explored our CSR past, present and future. We encouraged her to be provocative because we want to be challenged to create game changing social and environmental policies and programs. And she sure delivered. She has strong opinions about McDonald’s, and she’s not afraid to vocalize them.” “Most of […]
A McDonald’s experience (Apr07)
I thought I’d do a bit of comparison on fuel efficiency between the UK and the US. Went to Heathrow in an 8-seater vehicle – it was on its way to collect a large group. But at 36mpg even that was less thirsty than the flashy black Lincoln that collected me from Chicago’s O’Hare airport […]
A few hours in Naples (Mar07)
Should I even admit to flying to Naples for a stint of no more than 3 hours? Perhaps even more heretical was that I went to make a presentation to the European Management team at McDonalds. This is a company I haven’t been very fond of in the past – they tried to get the […]
