At the height of his career Van Halen lead singer David Lee Roth , became known  for his strange and extravagant demands when the band were on tour.
All artists have what’s called a ‘rider’ – basically a list of the things they need in their dressing room at an event.  Lee Roth’s rider was particularly demanding . Continue reading →

The Institute Of Directors on Pall Mall is a bastion of British conservatism, as a friend of mine discovered to his cost.

Martin, a film producer, had arranged to meet with a potential investor at the institute, and arrived in his normal attire of  jacket, shirt, jeans and cowboy boots. He was met at the entrance by a doorman dressed in smart black suit, freshly polished shoes and tie.

“Can I help you sir?” he asked. Continue reading →

You have to take opportunities when you can,  so with my daughter away on a school trip to New York (the furthest I ever went was Scarborough) we decided to have a  weekend away in Norfolk.

Now the last time I went to Norfolk, I was about 12 years old – a two week caravan holiday in Great Yarmouth. I can remember very little about it,  other than it rained, and certainly  nothing of the journey. That’s  just as well, because if I had remembered the journey,  I’d have probably gone somewhere else. Continue reading →

In his book  “A Mathematician Plays The Stock Market” John Allen Paulos tells the story of a man and his wife, who travel to Las Vegas to do some sightseeing, and do a little conservative gambling. Continue reading →

I’ve watched quite a bit of the winter Olympics  over the past week or so, and realised something pretty fundamental – almost every event is designed to kill or maim the competitors. The criteria for an event making it into the games seems to be fairly simple – Continue reading →