The Fall And Rise Of Fiorentina
As related here, an extraordinary sequence of events has ensured that Fiorentina will play in Serie A only two years after being stripped of the rights to their old badge and team colours and relegated to Serie C2 afte[…]

Over the river and through the woods… — going to see grandma (and grandpa, on my dad’s side) was always one of those special things for me, because they lived so far away most of the time. Not all the time — for two years, th[…]

It’s a clich’, but I could be in any city in the world right now. Who designs these mass-luxury hotels? This one is a Peninsula but it might as well be a Sheraton or an Intercontinental or a Sofitel. All mid-brown wood with rounded edges.[…]

I can’t sleep tonight….
I feel somewhat guilty for nominating in ILM’s 1990s poll in the first place (I did it by email, so there), and even more guilty for changing my singles nomination: from Thieves’ “Unworthy” […]

More petulance please!
Here on TMFD they’re called petulant and sulky. On ILx our own D. Boyle calls them “blimmin’ prima donnas” and suggests that they are refusing “to be held to account by the people who pay their wag[…]

I dream of other worlds — Michael Benson is my kind of freak, and Beyond — official book website here — is my kind of book. Ever since I was small I was fascinated by things astronomical — one of my most valued books to this […]

A Tale Of Two DJs: one of whom was me, so I’m a bit biased. I DJed last night at a London bar, for a friend’s birthday party. When she asked if I could do it before their proper DJs started, they told her to fax my CV over! These people t[…]

Mmmm…Legos.
An engineering experiment that pushes all of my buttons at the same time: chocolates, Legos, and totally geeky (i.e. awesome) DIY projects. You, too, can follow the progress of the 3D chocolate printer, built out of Legos.[…]

Food Blind Spots
I have a tiny blind spot when it comes to two items of food. I find it almost impossible to distinguish by sight very thin green beans and green chilli’s. Now considering that the chilli in question is astoundingly hot, and the[…]

Context may not be everything, but lack of context is much worse. Tourism is partially about trying to work out how different countries work. You do not speak the language, you may not be able to read the labels, or understand what is going on. That […]