The man who broke the news was chubby, red-faced and very short-sighted. And therein lay the first clue. Not so much wearing his heart on his sleeve as wearing his wares on the bridge of his nose. An optician, then. […]

When you’ve got a problem, what do you do? Brush it under the carpet, or fess up and fix it? In my software days, I always went for the latter course of action. Not that I’m innately more honest than […]

Oh you thought were were witnessing a general election campaign? No, no. I made the same mistake to begin with. What we’re seeing now is something entirely different. A general perception campaign. Every since the leaders’ debates kicked off two […]

Every January, I play a little game. I check how long it is before I see the evergreen headline New Year, New You! somewhere. In past years, winners have been my gym, The Times, and my ex-ex-mobile phone operator (brand […]

Let’s pick a country at random. How about Brazil? (Top row, second from the left.) What images come to mind? Sugarloaf Mountain? The long sandy beach of Copacabana? Ronnie Biggs? It it stable? Safe? Corrupt? Would you consider living there? Retiring […]