I arrive at Victoria sweating like a Good Morning Britain producer after Richard Madeley’s done a 6am swear and then gone full Partridge while conducting an interview with a woman’s breasts. After half an hour on the underground I’m hot enough to sauté scallops under my armpits, and at this point it occurs to me…
Tag: drink
Eating cheap from your local market
My local market is located in West London on the Portobello Road, which starts at Notting Hill Gate and ends just after the Golborne Road, where vendors run small stalls in an area packed with tourists and students. It is open from Monday to Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, when the market is especially busy. The…
Train travel and the expensive extras
I’m making a train journey today (that is, today as I’m writing, not the day this is being published) and I’ve had an hour to kill in Edinburgh Waverley station. It’s a large station; as you’d expect in a big hub of a city but not as big as, say, London Victoria, but certainly bigger…
To freshers and beyond: how to budget at university
Freshers! Well done, you’re about to embark on the most exciting three years of your life (hopefully). But there’s no doubt about it – you’ll be tempted to spend a lot more than you should on your first year at university when you get that loan. I’ve just graduated, so here’s a bit of what I…
Meet the coffee spend-thrift who baulks at 69p apps. Sound like you?
I love a fancy coffee, and think nothing of spending £2-£4 on a cheeky cup of java to boost my mood. In fact, I think I was the target demographic for Amy Rowe’s blog a few weeks ago on spending all your money on coffee. When your other half would pick a cuppa over food…
Five marathon training tricks for the over-40s
I will run my first marathon this October in Budapest, rather than London, which is where I work, or Brighton, my hometown. I opted for an October race because it means you get to train when it’s relatively warm, light and sunny. Even in Britain. Those other marathons are in April, meaning you have…
Weather got you hot under the collar? Five ways to keep cool
So the UK is experiencing a few heatwaves and it’s slowly turning everyone slightly insane. After 10 months of moaning about how terrible British weather is, summer has finally arrived – with vengeance! Having spent last year living in Burkina Faso experiencing 40+ degree heat every day – no such thing as air con there…
Is less more? Why I am joining the minimalist movement!
I recently met up with consumer finance journalist and blogger Michelle McGagh. Michelle is making the news herself as she has undertaken a challenge to last the whole of 2016 – a challenge to induce palpitations in anyone else. Are we talking about white-water rafting? Sky-diving? Sailing solo round the world? Nowhere close. Michelle’s challenge,…
How to have the perfect wedding for around £5K (it can be done!)
OK, wedding’s done, all married up and that. It’s taken us about two months to recover, financially. But we saved, rather than using credit cards or anything, so we’re as we were, without any financial hangovers. My good lady wife, M, would be the first to admit our thrifty wedding plans slipped the leash, and…
Dubai on a budget? Here’s how it can be done!
Dubai, home to the world’s largest shopping mall, markets dripping with gold, seven star hotels and manmade islands, might seem like an unlikely choice for a budget getaway. The Emirate welcomed 14.2 million overnight visitors to its glittering cityscape of iconic skyscrapers in 2015, but not all of them (surely?) had unlimited funds for splurging on…