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War Reporting for Cowards, by Chris Ayres October 13, 2006

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Reviews , add a comment

A Hollywood reporter for the Times, used to the rigours of interviewing celebrities and covering first night parties finds himself embedded with the US Marines in Iraq. More or less, he copes.

Its a nice, light book with some interesting insights into the realities of the war in Iraq, and the extent to which an embedded reporter is likely to ‘go native’ with the unit to which he’s attached.

Books everywhere October 12, 2006

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Camden,Reviews , 4 comments

I have a very small flat. I have a lot of books. This is rapidly becoming a problem. I try to give one away for every one I get / buy, but it rarely works that way. When a friend recently moved to Ireland, I ended up with a boxful to distribute to mutual friends, but somehow haven’t quite got around to it. What with that and all the wonderful bookshops here abouts, I am going to end up sleeping in the bathroom soon.

I do try to give them away, either to friends or to the excellent secondhand shop run by Amnesty International just up the road in Eversholt St. Its a worthy cause, and a very good shop. Unfortunately that means that I find myself accidently and quite inexplicably coming out with as many books as I had when I went in.

Sitting before me is a pile of paperbacks. They are going to Amnesty tomorrow, but before they do, I am going to review them for the blog. By the wonders of WordPress’ facility to create a post for future dates, you’ll see them over the coming week.

Bubbles for a day October 10, 2006

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Travel , 3 comments

Early on a chilly Parisien autumn morning, I strolled to the Gare de l’Est and caught the train to Reims, the heart of Champagne. With the International Herald Tribune and an espresso in hand, the hour and forty minutes passed quickly and soon we were passing through Epernay with vineyards lining the sloping countryside.

I hadn’t been very organised, apart from looking through some websites before leaving London, so I was at a bit of a loss when I arrived. I know you could visit Tattinger with no appointment, but didn’t have a map or any idea about any of the others.

First stop then was the tourist information office. I figured it would be close to the cathedral, which was badly damaged during both world wars, along with the rest of Reims, and all its stained glass destroyed, but the building has been repaired and it stands looming gigantic over the city. There is a lot to see and do in Reims other than the Champagne houses – excellent museums and the cathedral – but I was here for the bubbles.

With the aid of a map and a bus pass, I managed to see three houses – Piper Heidsieck, Tattinger and Mumms.

The first was Piper Heidsieck, the first French champagne I ever tasted, back in the late ’80s on a wine waiters course I did in New Zealand. French Champagne was extremely expensive and not common in NZ then, at least not for me, and I still remember how it contrasted with the local methode champenoise of the day – dryer and with far smaller, more delicate bubbles.

The tour here is perhaps best described as touristy, if not tacky then definitely a created ‘Champagne Experience’. I don’t believe Piper Heidsieck actually make Champagne in central Reims any more, and instead they have turned the cellars into a series of displays. You buy your ticket and go down about 20 metres underground to the cellars where you board a small electric car and select your language. For the next thirty minutes or so, you are taken through the tunnels, and told the story of Piper Heidsieck and the champagne making process. If you’re on your own, as I was, this is a bit odd as the tunnels are dark. It’s not a trip for the claustrophobic.

Next stop was the venerable, and significantly more upmarket Taittinger. The woman on the door spoke such clear French that I decided to go on a French-speaking tour rather than wait until the afternoon thus rather over-stretching my linguistic abilities, but I managed to follow most of it, I think. This was a proper tour of the caves, down in the chisled limestone parts of which were originally the cellars of the church above, and the house of the Comtes de Champagne. The oldest part of the caves is an excavated pyramid dating back to the 4th century AD.

At about 15m below ground the limestone is permanently damp with mould growing prolifically, and the temperature consistently chilled. Rows upon rows of bottles filled the caverns, stretching out into the dark. Apparently there are 20km of tunnels here, filled with Champagne.

My third, and final, stop was at Mumm. This tour placed far more emphasis on the production of Champagne, and the industrial processes behind it. The house is a little out of the city, near the station, and it is clearly a working factory with great stainless steel vats which the other houses hide carefully from visitors view. Like Tattinger, it was a proper tour of the cellars, as well as a small museum of machines used in champagne-making, such as this device for moving the sediment into the neck of the bottles so that it can be frozen and expelled.

Of course, every tour ends with a tasting, though I seem to have caught the poor tour guide at an odd moment here.

A coffee for your portfolio? October 9, 2006

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Investing , add a comment

Its time to start thinking about my share investments again, after I’ve left them be over the summer.  The Little Green Portfolio of green shares in my SIPP has become rather more little, with all the stocks languishing sadly.

Back in March, when I first started my SIPP, I put together some guidelines for myself in picking shares.  I think the mistake I made was not to consider whether the share I was contemplating adding to the portfolio was at a peak price anyway.  Most of the ones I bought were at alltime highs, and that may be part of why they haven’t recovered although the market itself has.

I’m now thinking about another purchase, not for my SIPP, but for my ISA.  That means it can’t be an AIM listed stock, but has to be from the main market.  A company I’m considering is Caffe Nero.

Caffe Nero were founded in the late nineties, and with a chain of just under 300 shops throughout the United Kingdom is the smallest of the three main coffee companies.  Their main competitors are Costa Coffee and Starbucks, though of course they complete in the general leisure market as well, against local coffee shops and probably pubs too.  Their coffee is stronger and, in my opinion at least, rather better than either of the other two. 

The coffee shop market in the UK is expanding, and dominated by the chains, in contrast to the more traditional coffee markets in Europe which are dominated by independent stores.  According to Allegra, there is still considerable room for growth in the UK.  They have mooted plans to expand into Northern Europe and the Middle East, though nothing has happened on that front yet.

Their recent results are good, and they are now generating sufficient cash to fund their expansion plans from trading.  There is also a possible management buyout in the wind, with the founder wanting to take the company private.  For these reasons, Investors Chronicle tipped them this week.

Looking at the share price chart for this over the last few months leaves me worried though.  The price has just passed an all-time high of 264, and overall it performed much more miserably over the summer months than the rest of the sector.  The good results last week don’t seem to have helped the price much.

I think I’ll leave this one for the time being.

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10 Thoughts About Paris October 7, 2006

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Travel , add a comment

1.   Any Metro that has such beautiful signs has to be a good thing.

2.  If you live near London, take Eurostar.  Its better for the environment, and much, much less stressful.  Waltz though checkin and the security checks in a few minutes carrying as many toiletries as you wish, and let it take you straight into the heart of Paris.

3.  Walking around the streets of Paris is as good as any of the ‘sights’.  Its very easy to get lost with all the odd angles, but you’ll find something beautiful, or at least a good cafe.  I was staying in the 3rd district, home of the Marais, and spent the best part of three days just wandering, stopping in at the occasional museum or interesting building, having coffee and just enjoying the area.

4.  If you dine alone, the 25cl carafe is an excellent idea.  Served with a small glass, you drink less, but it still lasts the whole meal.

5.  If you’re looking for a meal near the Place de la Republique, try Fontaines d’Elysabeth on 1 Rue Ste Elysabeth (ph 01.42.74.36.41).  Its very small, and there’s no name outside, but the cassoulet was delicious and two courses of the menu du jour was only €12 (about £8).

6.  Apartment buildings above shops and cafes bring life into the central city, rather than separating residential and commercial districts.  Its not much fun living on the ground floor anyway, and so much better to have a friendly local cafe on your doorstep.  Parisiens are slim because so many of them walk up 4 or 5 flights of stairs every time they go home.

7.  The whole thing about French people being snotty about speaking English is an utter myth.  Its good manners to try to speak French, but like most big cities many people speak a fair bit of English, especially if they’re dealing with tourists.

8.  The Musee Carnavelet has an excellent collection of the history of Paris, particularly of revolutionary times, and is well worth seeing.  Its also free.

9.  Every time I visit Paris, I find something new in the Louvre.  Its so vast that a single visit is overwhelming, so its easiest just to aim for one area. 

This time, I saw the Mesopotamian collection, including the Freize of the Archers from the palace of Darius I at Persepolis.  Beautifully coloured and lifelike, they’re works of art as well as interesting ancient monuments. 

10.  Finally, a word on hotels.  I tend to go for a single room in 1-2 star hotels and small pensions in most places, with my own bathroom.
The Hotel Americain, where I stayed for four nights, was good for €72 per night for a single.  Staff were friendly, it was clean and warm – a good basic hotel.  The bathroom was a bit odd, with a shower tray and a shower head at waist height, as is common in Greece. 
For the last two nights I stayed at Hotel Meteore, just down the road, for a mere €60 per night for a double room.  It was clean and a decent room, but cold with a lot of street noise.  They also demand upfront payment.  Go in summer, and take earplugs.

I am a free woman September 29, 2006

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Being Freelance , 2 comments

My current contract finished today and so I am once again either carrying out intense marketing and business development activity, or being an unemployed bum, depending on your view of things.  Tomorrow, I’m off to France for a week, but after that there’s a very good chance there will be a lot more blogging going on around here.

I’ve decided that this time I will take a few months to see if i can develop my work in a rather different way, with 4-5 clients in any given year rather than one long project.  I’ve been revamping the website, putting together lists of prospects and setting up meetings for when I’m back in early October, so I don’t expect to spend a lot of time loafing around in cafes.  Probably.

But for this afternoon, I’m sitting in a cafe in Brighton, waiting for some friends to join me in an hour or so, finishing off a little paperwork and watching the world go by.  It’s a good life.

Children of Men September 26, 2006

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : London,Reviews , 1 comment so far

I’m having a busy couple of weeks and sadly this blog has suffered a little as I concentrate on setting up the marketing effort for a change to my business, finish off my current contract and prepare for a wedding and short holiday in France. I did manage to find time to get to the cinema on Saturday evening, and saw the deeply disturbing distopia, Children of Men.

Set in the near future, in an instantly recognisable but considerably grimmer (and grimier) London, no babies have been born for 18 years. Society is slowly collapsing in despair, as cults thrive and a group of terrorist / activists try to stir up ‘the uprising’. A Minister has taken over Battersea Power Station and turned it into a private apartment while outside the Clean Air Act has clearly been repealed.

In the midst of all this Our Hero, played by Clive Owen, survives a nearby bombing and is kidnapped by the ‘terrorist’ organisation supposedly responsible. Its leader is his long-lost partner, and she has a mission for him – to take a young woman to meet a boat on the south coast.

Violence is gritty and realistic in the way that British movies portray it – when someone’s head is smashed with a brick, you can almost feel it. The squalor of the concentration camp on the coast filled with illegal immigrants is palpable. The contrast between the urban scenes and the clean, green and pleasant countryside, perhaps recovering as the number of people dwindles, cries out ‘England’.

The star is the setting, the scene that embodies the themes of dispair and decay. And although the plot presents hope, it is faint and unlikely.

This is not a movie to see if you want to be cheered up, or to relax. But it is probably one of the best movies I’ve seen this year, and highly recommended.

Appeals to me September 25, 2006

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , 1 comment so far

A few blokes playing around with treadmills and a very poppy song.  Not great art, but greatly amusing.

An Inconvenient Truth September 18, 2006

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Environment , 5 comments

Al Gore’s movie has made it to the UK, and it is essential viewing.  If you’re already a committed environmentalist, you may not learn many new facts, but his clear, wryly humourous way of describing the situation is an important lesson in how to communicate the problems we face.  If you’re not sure, or perhaps even a climate sceptic then please, go and see it.  At the least, it will give you food for thought, and Al Gore is an entertaining speaker.

I remember as a child seeing the film ‘Atomic Cafe’ in a cold church hall, sponsors by the NZ precursor to the Greens, the Values Party, and being terrified.  These days, I’m perhaps a little less sensitive and a lot more familiar with the arguements, but in some ways this film is just as terrifying and will hopefully cause people to rethink what they, and the institutions that dominate our society, are doing.

If you’re still a sceptic, or find yourself talking to one, I’ve added a site to the blogroll which will be of interest.  A Few Thinks Illconsidered looks at the many and various arguements against global warming and demolishes them.  One of the most important statistics Gore trots out is that from the review in Science of 928 papers in the literature not a single one disagreed with the statement from the Interdisciplinary Panel on Climate Change that
“Human activities … are modifying the concentration of atmospheric
constituents … that absorb or scatter radiant energy. … [M]ost of
the observed warming over the last 50 years is likely to have been due
to the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations”.  He had a contrasting statistic, which I’d not seen before, of a similar survey in the popular press which showed 53% of articles sceptical. 

Another good site, which is always happy to take reasonable comments
and questions, is RealClimate, a conglomeration of climate change
scientists trying to explain the problem.  Its not always easy, and rarely comes in a simple soundbite, but does host very good debate.

We’ve have to start understanding the science.  Question it, of course.  Check the motives of those who present it, definitely, but make sure you understand it and, if you remain a sceptic, are doing so with a valid, reasoned arguement.   This is too important to leave to those who will listen to soundbites.

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Sheep Poo Paper September 15, 2006

Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Environment,Investing , add a comment

No, its not for wiping their woolly backsides. That would be silly. In fact, its a nice wee eco-friendly business.

Because sheep don’t digest the long cellulose fibres in grass very well, most of it passes through and, once sterilised, makes a rather good base for paper. Yes, its in Wales (though it wouldn’t surprise me if there was something similar in the Waikato, NZ).

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