Money Can’t Buy You Class, But It Can Make You Crass

I am not really into superhero movies. The only superhero I like is the Phantom, and his only superpower are his moral certainty and his mystique (ie Ghost Who Walks, Man Who Can Never Die). [I will of course make an exception for Wonder Woman. And Black Widow. And Alison Brie as Captain Marvel.] Hence …

What to do with 14700 Frequent Flyer Points and Similar First World Problems

My father was my more adventurous parent. At 17, he rode his bicycle from Treviso to Turin to go and live with his eldest brother and look for work. In the eleven intervening years before he boarded a Fokker Friendship for a long haul flight to Australia, he worked as a coal miner in Switzerland …

At The Treasury Wine Estate AGM

Still very jet lagged last Monday, my first public appearance after visiting my elderly mother was to attend the Treasury Wine Estate AGM with one of my close friends and fellow shareholder. I don’t usually make a point of attending AGMs but now that I am retired this will change. Back in the good old …

In Which I Discover I Am Descended From A Count

During my recent trip to Italy I met one of my first cousins for the first time and he illuminated me on some aspects of our family history. I always vaguely knew that we were remotely related to nobility on my maternal grandmother’s side. But I always thought it was quite far back. As it …

Reflections on the Andrews Technocracy – Watch This Space

President Reagan once joked that Soviet leaders seemed to die whilst he was travelling, so he needed to travel more. This week, whilst in Italy, we have seen the resignation of one figure I despise and the apparent disgrace of another. As I cannot blog on my app in any detail, please watch this space …