Ancient days in the New Forest, England’s medieval mosaic landscape

Posted by on May 20, 2012 in Travel Features I’ve republished my travel in Britain e-book Awaydays in Britain – Spoilt for Choice [Kindle Edition]. Follow this link: http://amzn.to/rH4Api This book arose from my travels around the UK over the past 10 years,  to gather information for a series I write for the Mail on Sunday. Though I enjoy foreign travel,  there is something peculiarly appealing about the short break on home soil....
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Oxford becomes Europe’s most electric car friendly city

Posted by on May 17, 2012 in Environment Blog, Green Technology Two years ago today I attended the launch of the Nissan Leaf electric car in London. It was almost a year before the car was delivered in the UK , and even then 2011 did not remotely live up to the predictions government ministers made for it is the year of the electric vehicle (EV).   But on this rather important anniversary there are signs that the tide is beginning to turn for these...
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Germany sets the pace in greening the London 2012 Olympics.

Posted by on May 4, 2012 in Environment Blog Have the first gold medals of the 2012 London Olympic Games already been won, and by the Germans? The games organisers LOCOG stipulated that the cars in the official Olympic fleet should fuel-efficient, and emit an average of no more than 120 grammes of CO2  per kilometer (g/km). BMW, the official supplier, have beaten that threshold, with an average CO2 emission, across the fleet, of...
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Why unkempt and glorious old Naples is a Euopean city apart

Posted by on Apr 27, 2012 in Travel Features Naples has  fabulous churches, palaces, galleries and ancient squares. It is set on the world’s greatest bay, and against one of its most thrilling backdrops, the massive brooding cone of Vesuvius. Oh, and they invented pizza here. This is one of the most authentic European cities I know. It contrives to be perfectly itself, fading, rundown, without even the benefit of internationally known...
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Could high speed elegance help connect Naples?

Posted by on Apr 27, 2012 in Travel Blog I have just “booked” myself a fabulous excursion from Rome. I’m “travelling” on the late morning high speed Italo train to Naples, returning 2 days later on the late afternoon service. Journey time in each case is one hour and 8 minutes. It’s costing me just €40 for a return trip on the world’s most modern high-speed train. I don’t even need a physical...
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Finally, car ads that promote mpg as a serious selling point

Posted by on Apr 24, 2012 in Environment Blog Are car manufacturers, or more to the point the copywriters who write their adverts, finally getting the message about fuel economy and how important a selling point it should be? With petrol prices running at record highs, and panic at the pumps only a union leader’s ultimatum (or Cabinet minister’s misdirected warning) away, you might think a vehicle’s mpg figures should be the...
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