Finnair renews its baggage rules

August 9th, 2010 Author: Roger

 
 

From the beginning of September 2010, the cost of an economy ticket will include a single check-in item of luggage with a maximum weight of 23 kilos. The previous limit was 20 kilos. The maximum permitted combined measurements of the bag (height plus length plus width) will be 158 centimeters.
The aim of the new rules [...]

Defense Culinaire

May 11th, 2010 Author: Roger

I’m fond of recalling a Len Deighton character who asked: ‘Do you like garlic?’ to get the reply, ‘Yes, but not secondhand!’
 
It figures, doesn’t it? The smell of frying onions is marvelous – but only if they are your onions!   Gratuitous cooking smells are invariably noxious – an invasion of privacy; an assault on our [...]

Writing news stories; features; and columns

May 3rd, 2010 Author: Roger

‘Writers’ Workshop’ April 23-25, 2010. Summer Lodge, Dorset, England
-What is the story? The angle? It may be clear at the outset; it may emerge, or change, in the course of research. (Writing a weekly – especially a monthly – column, there is the risk of being pre-empted by news reports; the more spectacular the news, [...]

10 uplifting facts about airline culture

April 6th, 2010 Author: Roger

1 A cat flew across the Atlantic Ocean eight years before Charles Lindbergh. The cat, named Wopsie or Whoopsie, was a stowaway aboard the dirigible R34 when it traveled from Scotland to New York in 1919. The cat wasn’t the only creature who beat Lindy to a trans-Atlantic flight. More than 80 people also did. [...]

Top 10 Romantic Hotels?

February 4th, 2010 Author: Roger

We could all make our own list. But here’s an interesting take from the on-line hotel comparison site www.trivago.co.uk. According to Trivago, they all offer a ’special atmosphere and have very good reviews from travellers:’
1. Santini Residence, Prague
The elegant Santini Residence offers nine spacious suites, where couples can enjoy hours of leisure time together. Some [...]

The joys of convalescence

December 28th, 2009 Author: Roger

The joys of convalescence: there comes a time during convalescence when you start to enjoy the process of recovery; obligations have been lifted for a while; you are freed from deadlines; you are fussed over; the work ethic has been suspended; guilt is assuaged; you are free to roam and experiment. And be creative. It [...]

A blast from the past: QUIRKY TIPS FROM THE FAMOUS

December 14th, 2009 Author: Roger

 
 

Recruit a worldwide team of 200 peripatetic celebrities, critics, food writers, hoteliers, restaurateurs and assorted entrepreneurs and ask them to report on what they consider to be the best in travel: This is the formula for the fifth edition of Courvoisier’s “The Book of the Best,” published this month in London (Vermilion/Random House, £12.99). It [...]

More recipes from the heart: Roger’s Cook Book

November 27th, 2009 Author: Roger

About 100 years ago, my agent, Pat Lomax, was quite interested in my idea for a cook book: ‘food and the single man.’
The moment has long passed. But having revisited my notes, I am intrigued once more. so here are my:  
 
NOTES IN PROGRESS
 
Food and the single man: recipes for survival (and seduction)
 
 
Rack of lamb:
Spike a small carre [...]

Recipes from the heart

November 27th, 2009 Author: Roger

 
 
Beatrice Tollman, President and Founder of the Red Carnation Hotel Collection, a luxury collection of five and four-star family run boutique properties, has recently published a cookbook that is her memoir of “A Life in Food”, all proceeds of which will be going to her two favorite UK charities, the Starlight Children’s Foundation and The [...]

a la carte too far?

October 12th, 2009 Author: Roger

Where on earth will it end? Is a la carte pricing just the flavor of the month or the magic bullet of the decade? Or are the so-called ‘legacy’ carriers simply grasping at straws?

I was strutting my usual stuff at an ‘a la carte airline pricing’ conference the other day – that the airlines [...]