Merchants of Norwich: on the trail of the city’s lost fortunes
Here’s my recent travel story for The Independent, a lockdown-friendly tour of our fine city of #Norwich. My quest for clues takes me through the medieval streets of one of East Anglia’s finest cities. It’s a fascinating story: for hundreds of years Norwich was England’s richest provincial city. But just when the rest of the […]
Life in lockdown – exploring Norwich’s history
Lots of us have been rediscovering our home patch during the first Covid-19 lockdown. Now we’re back into lockdown again, I’ve been exploring the Colegate area in the oldest part of #Norwich – a thousand years of history in just one short walk. And it’s quite a rollercoaster, from fabulous wealth to near-bankruptcy and back […]
Trams in Norwich? Brilliant idea
If they work for Padua, they’ll work for our fine city. I’m joining the debate about trams for Norwich – and I’m all for modern tram systems. Cities around the world are battling to solve the problems of urban traffic jams and filthy air conditions – it’s not unique to Norwich. So it makes sense […]
Qatar – the Barzan Gas Project
I’ve been in Doha, Qatar, writing about the $10.4bn Barzan Gas Project for RasGas. Working with The Point again and other media partners, we’ve been developing a commemorative book – 166+ pages – over a period of around six months. Barzan is one of the world’s largest natural gas projects to date, and the book […]
Work in progress: Italy feature
I’m finalising the latest “country” feature for RasGas magazine. It’s focusing on Italy’s economy and I’ve uncovered a lot of surprises. In the north, in regions like the Veneto, business is booming. Italy is changing fast, so it’s not the poor relation in Europe that you might expect. Far from it, I’m finding… The story will be published in […]
Arcadis – set of 10 brochures
Working with The Point, I’ve been writing the copy for a series of 10 brochures for Arcadis. They’re one of the world’s largest consultancies in natural and built assets, so it’s been a fantastic project. I’ve interviewed their global sector leads in sectors ranging from bridges to urban transportation, finding out the key concerns. For […]
Belgium’s unique strategic advantage
Belgium’s history, location and ambition give it a unique strategic advantage. My latest feature for RasGas magazine explains why this country and its economy are important for Europe. It’s a small country with a big strategic position, at a crossroads in Europe where maritime and overland trade routes meet. It’s the heart of Europe, hosting the European […]
Taiwan: Asia’s high-tech powerhouse
I’ve been writing for RasGas magazine on Taiwan’s economy. It’s everyone’s idea of a success story: one of the four Asia ‘tiger economies’, manufacturing more of the world’s IT products than anyone else – but things are not quite as simple as that. There’s a complex (and politically tense) relationship with China. Most of Taiwan’s manufacturing […]
India’s economy… the rollercoaster ride from superpower to steep decline and back again
I’ve been writing for RasGas magazine on India’s economy. Ravaged – almost destroyed – by the British in the colonial era, it’s had a rollercoaster ride in recent years. It’s one of the BRIC economies and seemed unstoppable, but then hit a massive downturn. Forecasters were gloomy; political inertia and weak domestic demand seemed too […]
What our East of England MEPs really think about the Eurozone
What do our MEPs and business really think about Europe? It turns out that there’s a strong view in favour of staying in Europe (more than 90 per cent of local businesses think that leaving Europe would be bad for business). I’ve been interviewing our local MEPs for their views on Europe and the Eurozone, […]