Penny Mordaunt’s pleading speech in Atlanta — At the weekend, David Frost resigned as the UK government’s lead Brexit negotiator. This indicates deep divisions in the government’s vision for Brexit with Frost raising concerns about the government’s ‘direction of travel’. Hard Brexit as envisioned by the ruling clique is clearly in the balance. While stories about the…

How my family history helped to understand my own time — “Times have changed and many things are in a state of transition. It can’t be expected of an old timer to see eye to eye with everything new. Changes are not always for the best.” When I was a child, I loved visiting my grandparents in South Shields. From the…

This week in his speech at Davos, President Xi called for renewed international cooperation and multilateralism, but stood firm on his views that countries should be left to determine their own “internal affairs”. …

Hope, optimism and new skills by book — Hi there! Here we are again. In the midst of a nationwide lockdown. This time, however, it may all feel a little more difficult. …

The impact of sustainability on style — Every industry has been touched by sustainability. Driven by consumer demand and the environmental imperative, the fashion industry is no exception. But it is a terms that has become so ubiquitous as almost to be utterly meaningless. …

Reflections on life in Covent Garden during the COVID-19 pandemic — From the depths of great despair in history have come moments of great change and progress. Out of the shadows of WWI emerged women’s suffrage. From the devastation of WWII the shining legacy of our National Health Service. The area of London smack in the middle of Westminster and the…

Last week it emerged that the UK is off course to meeting its legally binding target of net-zero emissions by 2050. In 2019, when the target was introduced, it was hailed as one of the most ambitious in the world. The UK had become the first major economy to introduce…

How to prepare for your next trip — One of the most visible impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the almost complete halt to human mobility. International travel reached its low point in April 2020, with global passenger numbers down 55% from 2019. Many countries also closed their public transport networks and restricted internal travel. Since the…

More uncertainty in the UK Government’s COVID response — From July 10 travellers into England from countries including France, Germany and Italy no longer need to self-isolate for 14 days. The Department of Transport has released a list of 59 countries to which this applies. There are notable absences from this list — the US, Greece and Portugal to…