The Weekend Opener
from Andrew Tuck
Industrial design needs to clean up its act and save the rest of us the trouble
When did planes get so filthy? If passengers don’t hand over their garbage to the crew before landing, then all the pressure falls on a cleaning team that’s given just minutes to prepare an…
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Bear in mind
I watched a 15-second video on social media (give me a break, we all have weak moments) of men in a boat in Arctic waters saving a polar-bear cub. They help the furry bundle…
Down to business
On Thursday, when I checked the messages on my phone, I saw that there was an update from the on-the-ball organisers of the Greece Talks conference. Its content was precise and clear. “Andrew, the…
Best of pluck
The new issue of Monocle: The Entrepreneurs is out and, of course, we would like you to purchase a copy or, better still, become a subscriber, so that you can receive all our magazines.…
Inside scoop
How our homes look somehow feels important. Done well, they can reflect our tastes and the times that we move in. We buy interior-design magazines, visit endless stores in search of the most apposite…
Perfect Zen
After filing last week’s column from Tokyo, I still had a whole weekend in the city up my sleeve before I would have to return to base camp. You don’t mind joining me for…
From Tokyo with Lovots
1Last weekend we went to stay with friends of decades’ standing in deepest Wiltshire, a bucolic part of England that’s as beautiful as the Cotswolds but without the coach tours. They live in a…
Sitting pretty
It was 18 years ago that we went to the B&B Italia store on the Brompton Road in Knightsbridge and bought a sofa: a “Harry”. We had it covered in a dark-grey fabric to…
Hair of the dog
1In the normal routine after The Monocle Quality of Life Conference finishes, the team disperse and, as the adrenalin fades, a silence sets in. After the Athens edition, a few of us went to…
Insights from Istanbul
The Monocle team has been in Istanbul this week for our annual Quality of Life Conference. The city has provided the perfect backdrop for conversations on topics ranging from global security to how Turkey…
Abroad church
1After Monocle’s 2025 planning session in Zürich this past week, I exited stage left and, instead of returning to London, went back to Palma de Mallorca. In Europe at this time of year, flying…
