Paul Wheatley

Business Spotlight, August 2020: interview with owner & founder of Pikala Bikes, Cantal Bakker. Based in Marrakech, Bakker, from the Netherlands, has extended it from a bike-hire company to the centre of numerous social & educational initiatives.

A cycle of success
We couldn’t find any bikes to hire,” says Cantal Bakker. “I was on holiday in Marrakech in 2014, and my boyfriend suggested we rent bikes so we could explore a bit further than the usual tourist areas. In the end, we borrowed bikes from some locals.” It was rare to see people on bikes in Marrakech, Bakker explains. As they rode along, people would sometimes shout Pikala! — the local word for “bike”.

Jump forward six years and Bakker now runs a business in Marrakech that does more than just rent out bikes. It is responsible for numerous social initiatives, many of which help to educate young Moroccans. Situated in Marrakech’s medina, Pikala Bikes is housed in an old building painted in the usual sun-baked Marrakech pastel orange colour. It is next to a busy road with a never-ending stream of cars and scooters. An orange, white and blue metal sign above the open-fronted entrance reads “Pikala Bicycle Atelier”. Next to it hangs an orange sign bearing the word “Education” written in both English and Arabic. Together, they represent Bakker’s vision.

Business Spotlight magazine 5/2020

Six-page feature on Canada, with thanks for expert interviews to: Kirsten Reid, PhD researcher at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, and an expert in biodiversity and climate change

Johanne Mednick Myles, co-author with Tuula Lindholm of the book Navigating the Intercultural Classroom

John Berry, emeritus professor of psychology
at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario - he’s now Chief Research Fellow at the Centre for Sociocultural Research at Russia’s HSE University. He is an expert on cross-cultural psychology, and is one of the world’s leading researchers on immigration and
multiculturalism.

Article for Business Spotlight magazine, 6/2020.

Interviews with: Dr Griseldis Kirsch, a senior lecturer in contemporary Japanese culture at SOAS University of London - Kirsch was an expert advisor on the Amazon series The Man in the High Castle.

Article for Business Spotlight magazine, 3/2020.

Interviews with: Dr Rachael Ka’ai-Mahuta, senior lecturer at the National Maori Language Institute at the International Centre for Language Revitalisation, Auckland University of Technology.
Professor Robert McLachlan, mathematician at Massey University, runs the Planetary Ecology blog, blog.planetaryecology.org
And Brad Coombes, an expert on the Maori relationship with the land and environment and senior lecturer at the School of Environment at the University of Auckland

Introduction:
There are few countries in the world with such an alluring reputation as New Zealand — or Aotearoa (“land of the long white cloud”), as
it is known in the Maori language. For some, it’s the beautiful landscapes; for others, it’s the country’s welcoming population or its high standard of living. Then there’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, admired across the world as a leader of integrity and honesty.

This image is not without merit. But as the election in September this year will make clear, the country and its prime minister also face major challenges.

In early 2019 I did an interview with one of the greats of the illustration world, Axel Scheffler, for Spotlight magazine (5/2019). Originally from Hamburg, he has seen Britain as his home since the early 1980s - or at least he had done, until Brexit careered into his world. Like many people he worries about the political climate across the UK and his place in it.

My thanks to Axel for his engagement and openess, and also to Liz Neville, who set up the interview and organised the wonderful images with which the designers could illustrate the article.

Britain’s favourite illustrator (is from Germany!)

With works to his name that range from The Gruffalo and Stick Man to The Highway Rat and The Snail and the Whale, Axel Scheffler has become something of a superstar illustrator. Scheffler’s lovingly crafted drawings of the giant brown Gruffalo, with its famous “terrible tusks and terrible claws”, have delighted millions of children (not to mention parents) since they appeared in 1999. His close relationship with Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson continues to be hugely productive, much to the delight of their fans worldwide.

It might appear odd, then, with all the awards and affection showered on Scheffler, that he doesn’t think the future looks quite so rosy …

One of the most interesting I’ve researched and written, this article about Pakistan was a joy to do. Thanks for interviews to Kamran Khan, general secretary of the UK Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and to Karachi-born artist and academic Huma Mulji, who with her words painted a wonderful picture of her home city.

And particularly to Ramsha Jahangir, an inspirational journalist at the country’s Dawn newspaper. Ramsha not only gave me great insights into the challenges facing female journalists there but also helped me build a more nuanced image of her country than the overwhelmingly negative one portrayed in most media.

News: A completely updated ebook version of the orginal Monks to Modernity book is almost finished and should be out later this year (winter 2020). Parts have been rewritten to reflect new research on the city, up-to-date details on the eventful years 2010 to 2020, such as the refugee crisis (which I covered, at Munich’s main station, for Associated Press), and it will feature lots of new (and some classic historic) photos.

From the back cover (Volk Verlag, Munich):

Munich? Grand capital of Bavaria: city of art, the Oktoberfest and Germany's vaunted high-tech capital? Or city of angst: birthplace of Nazism, home to the British and French policy of `Appeasement' and the tragedy of the 1972 Olympics?

Few cities suffer from such a complex collection of contrasting images and stereotypes as Munich does. Encompassing numerous figures of European import, ranging from Holy Roman Emperors to artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, and from Thomas Mann to footballer Franz Beckenbauer, Paul Wheatley's Munich: From Monks to Modernity is a much-needed first comprehensive English-language history of Munich for decades. The book's readability makes it ideal for people wanting a short and vivid introduction to the 850 years of Munich's history.

‘Munich isn’t just the home of Oktoberfest but a powerhouse of commerce with an increasing eco-conscience, says Paul Wheatley.‘

Thanks to the following for the interviews that made this article possible:

Peter Franklin is a professor of intercultural business and management communication at the Konstanz University of Applied Sciences; Jonathan Portes is a professor of economics and public policy at King’s College London and one of the country’s leading experts on Brexit and immigration; Rachel Launay is the director of the British Council in Berlin; and Mathias Dubbert is director, European policy, EU foreign trade promotion for the German Chamber of Commerce (DIHK) in Brussels.

Article intro:

Since the momentous Brexit referendum on 23 June 2016, however, the UK has been mired in political chaos. The vote split the country, with 52 per cent wanting to leave the EU and 48 per cent voting to remain. The final outcome of the Brexit debates and negotiations re- mains unknown. Whatever the outcome, the country needs to gather its thoughts, come back together and start to heal. In this special report, we hear from experts on intercultural communication, economics, language and business.

In early 2019 an editior of Thai airlines magazine Sawasdee approached me to come up with a destination piece about Munich. Though I had previously written for the magazine, my evolving views on the climate emergency meant I would have to tell them that I couldn’t do it.

I then hit on the idea of asking if they would be interested in an article on Munich and green issues? To my delight and the editor’s credit, she said she would.

I approached Fabian Norden, a political advisor to a Green politician in the Bavarian parliament; and Stephanie Weigel, who has led Tollwood festival’s environmental department for more than a decade. They both did fabulous interviews with me, and my warmest thanks go out to both.

The article on the Sawasdee website is a much-shortened version than the original – the longer version is available in the June edition of the printed magazine.

Business Spotlight 01/2020 - available on Spotlight shop website

The article includes an interview with Marcus Tanner, former Balkans correspondent for British newspaper The Independent, and author of Croatia: A Nation Forged in War. Plus Tea Vidović, an intercultural expert at Croatia’s Centre for Peace Studies, and Daniela Angelina Jelinčić, a researcher at the Institute for Development and International Relations in the capital, Zagreb, co-author of the book Creating and Managing Experiences in Cultural Tourism.

Introduction:
It is only when you see the arrival of the staggeringly large
cruise ships — disgorging thousands of holidaymakers
each day — that you begin to appreciate the impact of
tourism on a country as small as Croatia. They come for
the picture-postcard coastlines, the historic architecture
and an increasingly in-vogue foodie culture.
Yet the cruise ships paint a misleading picture. Most
international tourists come from the EU and arrive by
car, as evidenced by traffic jams at many border crossings
with Slovenia. Hot summers and relatively low prices
make Croatia a top destination for millions of Europeans.

This March 2018 feature for the Antiques Trade Gazette provides a glimpse into the auction-house scene in Germany. I interviewed three auctioneers/owners about the German market, and the challenges of balancing the ongoing transition to online bidding with traditional methods of running sales.

The Antiques Trade Gazette Print Edition comes our weekly, Saturdays

Julia Wendl, Kunst-Auktionshaus Wendl, Rudolstadt
Rigmor Stussel, Grisebach, Berlin
Eva-Maria Uebach-Kendzia, Kendzia, Hamburg

Local experience, global ambitions

Three German auction houses tell how they aim to strike the right balance between bricks and mortar sales and enhancing the online experience. Paul Wheatley reports ...

For the full article, see print editions on the Antiques Trade Gazette website, 24 March issue

Business Spotlight issue 5/2018

Thanks to Ramon Pacheco Pardo (senior lecturer in international relations at King’s College London), Susanne Woehrle (German Chamber of Commerce in Seoul) and Anne Ladouceur (owner of the website Korea4Expats.com).

From War to Economic Wonder

Divided into democracy and dictatorship after a catastrophic war. Separated by a militarized border. And home to vastly different economic models. Sound familiar? Yes, there are more than just symbolic similarities between post-Second World War Germany and the post-war Korean Peninsula.

After 1945, West Germany slowly recovered from the Second World War and — with Allied guidance — developed into a highly successful democracy, with its famous social-market economy. Likewise, after the end of the Korean War, in 1953, South Korea embraced capitalism and democracy, with enormous growth rates.

But the paths diverge in one major respect: following a peaceful revolution, communist East Germany and the capitalist West were reunified. There is little sign of this happening on the Korean Peninsula. Far from being part of a unified single state, or even one of two separate prosperous entities, the North is characterized by dictatorial rule and a desperately poor population.

Article for Business Spotlight, February 2018

Interviews include: Philipp Ther, whose Europe Since 1989 was published in English in 2016. He has written extensively on European nationalism and migration.
Barbara Covarrubias Venegas, president of SIETAR Austria (Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research; ) and researcher at Vienna’s University of Applied Sciences for management and communication.
Klaus-Börge Boeckmann, who teaches German as a foreign language at the University of Vienna.

Searching for a consensus

Integration is a two-sided process,” says Philipp Ther, a professor of history at Austria’s University of Vienna. “And it depends as much on the people who come as the people already here. This means that integration also depends on the openness of the receiving
societies.”
“Integration”, “migration” and “right-wing populism” were themes at the forefront of the October 2017 Austrian election, and it sometimes seemed there was little else worthy of discussion. While critics
inveigh against the miserable level of the debate on migration, others gleefully point to the election result, which involved handing power to a coalition of the centre-right ÖVP (Austrian People’s Party) and the populist right FPÖ (Freedom Party). Many commentators predict that the new chancellor, 31-year-old Sebastian Kurz, will rule for at least a decade. It is, however, the potential influence of the ÖVP’s coalition partner — the anti-Muslim, anti-immigration and EU-sceptic FPÖ — on social cohesion that worries many ...

A series of interviews with architects about creating eco-friendly architecture for Centurion magazine (published in the early 2010s)

Introducing Ecotecture

Top architects reveal the latest developments in sustainable architecture, or ‘ecotecture’, and its importance for the future

Werner Sobek, internationally renowned architect, with offices across the world, from Stuttgart and Dubai to New York and Moscow, and one of the driving forces behind the push for a more sustainable form of architecture

London-based Justin Bere of bere:architects

Reiulf Ramstad, head of Norway’s Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter, who created the Trollstigen project

It also includes a separate interview with Gerard Evenden, now a Senior Executive Partner at Foster + Partners

Sawasdee magazine article on Munich as a destination (2018)

Consistently named as one of the best places in the world to live, Munich has an air of confidence, helped by decades of a strong economy, a keen sense of its Bavarian identity, and great transport and other infrastructure. The likes of BMW and Siemens are headquartered here, and it has also been a major cultural centre of renown for centuries ...

A decade ago it was considered the “sick man of Europe.” Today, the German economy is powering ahead of its rivals, driven forward by the innovation- and export-focused German Mittelstand.

Humorist Evan Esar once defined statistics as the science of producing unreliable facts from reliable figures. But reliable fact is that the German Mittelstand is the backbone of the German economic model. And the numbers support this: The German Mittelstand makes up 99.7 percent of all German businesses, employs some 60 percent of the German workforce and generates around 40 percent of Germany’s export sales. In 2012, it is expected to create 200,000 new jobs.

The Institut fur Mittelstand-forschung Bonn (IfM) describes the Mittelstand as companies with fewer than 500 employees and an annual turnover of up to 50 million euros – on the surface, not that different from SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises). Until recently, these firms were an assortment of locally rooted, family-run or family-owned businesses that had been around for generations. The advent of globalization presented an opportunity to expand and achieve some remarkable results. As described in the 2012 edition of Prof. Bernd Venohr and Dr. Florian Langenscheidt’s Lexikon der Deutschen Weltmarktfuhrer (Dictionary of German World Market Leaders), around 1,500 Mittelstand companies from Germany are currently world leaders in niche markets. Even so, few people have ever heard of them.

Hidden champions
You may be familiar with Miele (a world leader in electric household goods) and Meissen (a luxury porcelain manufacuturer), but how about Wacker Neuson (a leader in everything from dump trucks to demolition machines), BavariaYacht (a top manufacturer of 30- to 45-foot yachts), Alfred Karcher (the world’s largest producer of cleaning equipment) and Alfi (a leading producer of uniquely designed household goods)?

Using the analogy of a three-legged stool, Venohr says there are three core elements that underpin the success of Germany’s Mittelstand. They are summed up by the following rubrics: (1) family ownership, (2) niche markets and innovation, and (3) continued improvement.

Of Mittelstand companies, 70 percent are family-owned and 70 percent are located in small towns and rural areas. This helps the company cultivate long-term relationships with its employees and retain expert knowledge in order to be more efficient and stay ahead of competitors.

Family ownership is also a characteristic that transfers to the company’s relationship to its customers around the world. This engenders an environment of genuine trust and promotes long-term investment in the company. It is also an implicit rejection of the short-term, profit-centered, hire-and-fire Anglo- Saxon economic model. Flat hierarchies, low employee turnover figures and average leadership periods of 20 years contribute to stability. Loyalty is at the heart of the Mittelstand.

The second core element identified by Venohr is leadership in niche markets. Simply put, finding a gap in the market and developing a strategy to become the dominant global player. This is based on a combination of “superior product quality and a focus on customer needs, driven by constant innovation.” Unsurpassed customer support combined with a strong commitment to solving problems further increases the loyalty of customers.

The third piece of the Mittelstand jigsaw is its continuous re-evaluation of the value chain, whereby best practices are achieved and then optimized. In short, a continuous improvement of products and services.

“I want the United Kingdom to have its own version of the German
Mittelstand – a backbone of medium- sized companies that exports, innovates and generates growth,” said John Cridland, Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in October 2011. With a better- functioning cadre of Mittelstand companies, a commensurate CBI report noted that a further 20-50 billion British pounds could be added to the United Kingdom’s annual gross domestic product. But is this realistic? Isn’t the German Mittelstand the result of generations of development, and geographic and cultural factors? Is there not something specifically German about the way the Mittelstand operates? It can be argued that in order to condense the Mittelstand down to a quantitative (more successful firms and better GDP) rather than qualitative (the way the Mittelstand operates) value is to rather miss the point. The German Mittelstand is a complex construction explains Michael Holz of the IfM Bonn: “It isn’t just economic. It also has a political, social and psychological context.” Without doubt, it is powered by much more than the balance sheet.

Entrepreneurial bond
Similarly, Dr. Ulrich Hoppe, Director- General of the German-British Chamber of Industry and Commerce, highlights a cultural difference between the Anglo-Saxon and German models. He points to the existence in the United Kingdom of “serial entrepreneurs,” people who start up companies only to sell them at an opportune moment. “In Germany,” he says, “an entrepreneur is linked to the company, the product and the service they are providing,” keeping hold of it through good times and bad.

And then there is flexibility. German firms hit the headlines in the wake of economic turbulence in 2008/9 when employers were able to persuade their employees to work fewer hours. Supported by the government, short- term work was arranged in a flexible way in order to keep as many employees as possible. Such agreements are
premised on medium- and long-term perspectives, whereby companies undertake investments that will be profitable in the long run and not necessarily the running or next year.

With this in mind, it is no surprise that Mittelstand firms spend two or three times as much on research and development as many international rivals. Or that many companies rely on local banks in sync with the Mittelstand model. Close, long-term relationships mean these banks understand the risks involved when lending money.

A more focused strategy of finding niche markets – combined with closer working relationships with employees, customers and banks – could enhance the efficiency of SMEs abroad. It is difficult, though, to see the market- driven model of the United Kingdom and United States embracing the intricacies of the German Mittelstand.

The Mittelstand model, however, is not without its imperfections. Long-term strategies are fine, but if a firm is in crisis today, it needs to change direction now rather than wait for a better tomorrow. There is also the more pertinent question of family succession, with critics arguing there are signs that young people are not as enthusiastic about taking over the family business as they used to be. In addition, Germany is facing an existential demographic crisis and lacks enough highly trained young people to fill empty positions. For a high-wage model that relies on constant innovation, this represents a serious problem.

Though such concerns need to be addressed, the model’s success is evident. It is based on specific core values and a way of conducting business that is distinct from the profit-driven model. At its heart is the family enterprise, which focuses on building long-term relationships with employees, banks and customers. The model revolves around creating high-quality products in niche markets and ensuring that a company’s name becomes synonymous with first-class customer service. With such foundations, globalization provides the opportunity for Mittelstand firms to flourish.

Undoubtedly, there will be challenges ahead, but with the global demand for German products showing little sign of slowing, the Mittelstand is set to remain the backbone of a strong German economy for a considerable time to come.

German Mittelstand companies usually have fewer than 500 employees and an annual turnover of up to 50 million euros. They are often export- oriented and focused on innovative and high-value manufactured products. Of them, 1,500 are worldwide leaders in niche markets. Different than SMEs, they are typically family- owned and run businesses that are passed along to the next generation.

Business Spotlight dedicated much of its second edition for 2020 to New York – it features two interviews I did (Business Spotlight 02/2020 is available on the Spotlight shop website):

The first was with Jeff Aristry, a New Yorker now living in Munich, and owner of Big Apple, which specialises in business English, leadership and team coaching.

The second was with Gary Brook, a Brit who has become something of legend in the development of football in the US in thew past three decades. Here’s the introduction:

Turning up with little more than a bag full of balls, an armful of cones, and half a business idea doesn’t sound like a great way to start a career in a new country. But that’s what Gary Book from Bath in southwest England did in the late 1980s. With no business background and only a general notion of what he wanted to do, Book found himself in super-competitive New York.

Within a few years, however, his football coaching business was a leading name in a booming industry. Book had lit a fire that helped to radically change the face of football in the US — or “soccer,” as it is known there.

Book, now 61, comes from a footballing family. His uncle Tony had been a hugely successful professional player and manager with modern-day English Premier League giants Manchester City. Another uncle, Kim, was a professional goalkeeper in England. But after failing to make the grade as a professional himself, Gary Book left university in the early 1980s and taught physical education in the UK.

Issue 1/2018 Business Spotlight magazine

Interview with JULIAN COOPER, emeritus professor of Russian economic studies at the Centre for Russian, European and Eurasian Studies, University of Birmingham, UK.

Would you agree with the notion of “Weimar Russia”, that just like Germany after 1918, Russia in the 1990s saw itself as a humiliated country?  

Yes, broadly. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia had to find a new identity as a much weak- er power. It felt that it was not really respected and taken seriously by the rest of the world, in particular the United States. Russia over the past ten to 15 years has been trying to rebuild and strengthen its military power, which was greatly weakened in the 1990s. I think that the period is now largely over because Russia is playing an active role in world affairs again, for example in Syria, and militarily, it is a much more capable country. Russia feels more confident and I think the feeling of humiliation is, to a large extent, gone now ...

Radical paper cutting - art by Andreas Kocks, Munich (published early 2010s)

Art on a knife-edge

Occasionally – very occasionally – you see something so completely new, so startling, it compels you to sit up and take notice. Catching a first glimpse of In the Beginning or Cannonball, signature works from German artist Andreas Kocks, is one such occasion. These ‘paperworks’ do not merely grab your attention, they leap out at you, leaving you momentarily mesmerised, unable to x your gaze on anything else ...

Academic psychologist Adrian Furnham lectured at Oxford and University College London for more than 25 years, before moving into the business world. He’s now an advisor at the investing consultancy firm Stamford Associaties, advising on the selection and monitoring of asset managers. In our interview, he talks about behavioural economics, how psychologists help choose asset managers and why immigrants make great entrepreneurs.

Article in Business Spotlight magazine, Issue 6/2017

Facing the Future with Optimism

In the late 1990s, Australia seemed to be at a turning point. The country was about to hold a referendum on becoming a republic; the Sydney Summer Olympics were coming in 2000; and Australia was beginning to face up to its treatment of its Aboriginal population. “At the time,” says Ian Henderson, director of the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies at King’s College London, “it felt like we were going forward towards a new kind of Australia.”

The Sydney Olympics were indeed a success, and there has been some progress made on Aboriginal rights and a better understanding of indigenous cultures. But the 1999 republican referendum failed. “We’re the country that voted for the queen!” jokes Henderson ...

Green skiing in the Alps

"At first glance, Werfenweng is one of those delightful mountain towns that anyone familiar with the European Alps will recognise. Located in the heart of Austria's Tennengebirge range, around 45km from Salzburg, it is barely a few hundred properties strewn about the foot of an expansive valley, and dwarfed by snow-covered mountains. I arrive in bright sunshine to be met by a series of paragliders sweeping down into a meadow of snow ..."

Issue 4/2017 Business Spotlight magazine, with interviews focusing on the current state of Mexico. The article features expert interviews with academics Penélope Pacheco-López and Mark Aspinwall, plus Johannes Hauser, managing director of the German–Mexican Chamber of Commerce in Mexico City

In the Firing Line

Profound shock is the only way I can describe it,” says Mark Aspinwall, professor of international relations at CIDE (Spanish), the prestigious Center for Research and Teaching of Economics in Mexico City. “Given [Donald Trump’s] hostility towards Mexico, there was deep, deep worry and concern about what his election meant for the country.” A Trump tweet from 2015 reflects the tone: “Our border is being breached daily by criminals. We must build a wall & deduct costs from Mexican foreign aid!”

Mexico shares a 1,900-mile border with the US, and the relationship between the two countries has rarely been so inter- twined and strained ...

Interview with leading Munich-based industrial designer Konstantin Grcic published in Platinum magazine in the early 2010s.

Building on the past

German designer Konstantin Grcic's so-called 'minimalist' designs are derived from modern industrial design techniques. But thanks to his training in England, Grcic's whole working ethos builds on a much more traditional philosophy ...

Land art, article for Platinum magazine

Land Art

With their often huge dimensions, land art installations and outdoor sculptures are increasingly popular amongst public bodies and private collectors. In revealing the importance of the environment in their work, five leading artists betray a level of modesty that belies the scale of their creations

The surge in the number and popularity of small breweries worldwide in the past decade has been as impressive as the brews they create. In a time of super-sized multinational drinks companies, entrepreneurs on every continent set out with little idea more than creating great beer. Perhaps it's a touch ambitious to claim a definitive list of the best beers – but we certainly provide a taste of some of the best you'll find around the world.

Business destination South Korea

South Korea promises plenty of opportunities for foreign partners. But first one must come to understand local traditions and – most importantly – the unique South Korean business culture ...

Issue 3/2017 for Business Spotlight magazine on Scotland, featuring an interview with David Scrimgeour, head of the British-German Business Network

At a Crossroads

Scotland content for our future to be dictated by an increasingly right-wing Westminster government?” asked Nicola Sturgeon, the country’s first minister, in January 2017. “Or is it,” she went on, “better that we take our future into our own hands?” Sturgeon is a canny political operator, but the truth for her Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) is that, in such unpredictable times as these, nobody can say with much certainty what the people of Scotland want. The result of Britain’s EU referendum

in June 2016 was close, with 52 per cent of the population voting to leave and 48 per cent voting to remain. Not so in Scot- land, where 62 per cent of the population backed “remain”. With a “hard Brexit” (strict controls on immigration, and leaving the single market and customs union) on the cards, Sturgeon is setting out the alternatives for Scotland’s future in stark terms. For many supporters, this chimes perfectly with a familiar SNP slogan: “Independence in Europe”.

Scots, of course, rejected “Scoxit”, independence from the UK, in a 2014 referendum ...

Avant-Gardeners, for Platinum magazine

Avant-Gardeners

The core ideas of landscape garden design are being increasingly challenged by a new and radical concept – with stunning results

When Claude Cormier was commissioned to design an indoor garden in Montreal in 2002, he constructed fifty-two bright-magenta concrete tree trunks. It was entitled Lipstick Forest. “Yes, we could have used real plants,” he said, “but it would have been so false.” Cornier is one of fewer than 100 landscape designers in the world practising a controversial and radical new gardening concept: landscape conceptualism ...

Negotiating with Janus

Top Ten Tricks for Beating Dirty Negotiating” shouts the headline, offering what seems to be the perfect pre-negoti- ating boost to anyone hoping to get a piece of vital business tied up quickly and easily. Other headlines promise “15 Tactics for Successful Business negotiations” or “Top Five Tips to Counteract Hardball Tactics.” In fact, the Internet is so jam-packed with seemingly strong, useful advice, that it seems world-beat- ing negotiating is little more than a click away. The truth, however, is somewhat more complicated.

Bob Dignen, director at York Associates, author of multiple books, and expert in international communica- tion, is wary of universal truths that promise success when we are negotiat- ing. “The nature of human interaction is highly situational, and the way we communicate with one individual is not necessarily likely to work with another,” says Dignen ...

I've been working on and off with Associated Press since 201x, and I have covered news stories such as the right-wing attack by xxx on young people at the xxx, the refugee crisis from 2015 to the train crash at xxx in 2016.

Aliquam hendrerit risus in metus luctus, id posuere turpis dapibus. Nunc magna elit, vehicula at odio et, sodales semper ante. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Integer tempor urna ut nisl eleifend mattis. Aliquam quis egestas eros. Ut ac leo id ipsum vulputate fermentum eget eu nibh. Fusce efficitur cursus iaculis. Aenean tristique egestas ex, at dignissim sapien pellentesque eget. Nullam placerat, urna et consequat tempor, velit leo porttitor urna, vitae vulputate arcu massa eu erat.

(Guardian/Observer)

There is something about taking a train journey across the European Alps that can melt the heart of even the most hardened traveller. My 7.30am start from a snow-packed Munich, where I live, is followed by a five-hour whiz through landmark stops: Rosenheim at the foot of the Bavarian Alps, Innsbruck in Austria, the Brenner Pass to Italy, before a change at Fortezza, in the heart of the Unesco World Heritage-listed Dolomites, followed by a further train trip to Brunico.

My ultimate destination is Lagacio Mountain Residence, in the small mountain town of San Cassiano, Alta Badia, in the province of Bolzano-Bozen. A one-hour car journey from Brunico takes me through a mesmerising sequence of hairpin bends, inclines and tunnels. I reach San Cassiano as snow begins to swirl down ...

Destination article for the Guardian newspaper: Munich top 10

Between 2011 and 2016, as a writer for Centurion and Departures/Platinum online magazines I wrote hundreds of auction previews, featuring the biggest auction houses in the world, alongside even more smaller, local houses. In addition, I interviewed many auctioneers, art experts and auction house owners for online features.

For much of the same period, I wrote numerous articles about must-see art exhibitions and new galleries, plus wrote a series of featured about exciting architecture, which frequently included interviews with various architects.

Indian art, including interviews with the V&A's Amin Jaffer, hotelier Anapam Poddar, historian Yashodhara Dalmia, co-owner of auction house Saffronart Minai Vazirani and great Indian artist Subodh Gupta.

Indian Summer
From the acclaimed V&A maharaja exhibition to contemporary Indian artist Sobodh Gupta, we provide an insight into the rising popularity of Indian art

Article for Centurion magazine, with interview with German Alpine-based designer Nils Holger Moorman, featuring his famous Bookinist

Typi non habent claritatem insitam; est usus legentis in iis qui facit eorum claritatem. Investigationes demonstraverunt lectores legere me lius quod ii legunt saepius. Claritas est etiam processus dynamicus, qui sequitur mutationem consuetudium lectorum.

Mirum est notare quam littera gothica, quam nunc putamus parum claram, anteposuerit litterarum formas humanitatis per seacula quarta decima et quinta decima. Eodem modo typi, qui nunc nobis videntur parum clari, fiant sollemnes in futurum.

This is a selection of some of my 'lifestyle' articles for Amex Essentials online:

Destination Literature: 25 Novels Set in Famous Places

Camping Unusual

15 Art Hotels Around the World

Not Just For Profit: Cool Companies That Give Back

Business Spotlight: Israel

Writing about Israel is rarely straight forward – for the simple fact that so many people have an opinion on it. Nevertheless, it can be hugely rewarding. For my article in Business Spotlight magazine in September 2018 (Spotlight Issue 6/2018), I talked to Berlin-based artist Amir Fattal, who discussed his family origins in Iraq, why some creative people feel the need to leave Israel and his passion for 3D publishing (bigrep). British economist Paul Rivlin (senior research fellow at Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies) provided wise words on the Israeli economy while Osnat Lautman Mansoor (who is part German, part Brazilian) did likewise about Israel and cross-cultural communications (her latest book, Israeli Business Culture Building Effective Business Relationships with Israelis, has just been published)

Conflicted Country

Tel Aviv has a great energy,” says Amir Fattal. “It’s such a young, vibrant city,” he adds. “It’s open 24/7 and there are always people out on the street. It feels so lively when you’re there. And there is the amazing weather all of the time, and the beach is within walking distance — it’s such a great life.” Then, however, comes the qualification: “If it weren’t for the political situation, the place would be heaven.”

From admiring references to Israel as the model of a high-tech start-up nation to accusations that it is well on the way to becoming an apartheid state, Israel can divide people like few other countries. Just about everyone has an opinion on this nation, now celebrating the 70th year of its existence. The truth is that — throughout its short history — finding balanced views has been notoriously difficult.

Munich: Insider Travel Guide

(CNN) — In recent decades, Munich has exuberantly celebrated Oktoberfest and other traditions, while transforming itself into one of the most affluent and modern cities on the planet. The best of Munich (aka München) is a city of high culture, with superb museums and theaters. And while there are many mainstream stores and up-market retailers, independent shops, cafés, bars and restaurants thrive.

Yes, Munich is known for the world's largest beer festival, Oktoberfest, but year-round there are fairs, beer cellars and abundant green spaces to enjoy. And the Alps are just more than an hour away. The best of Munich's local secrets start here:

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Star Chefs on the Slopes

Annual 'Chefs Cup' Fosters Fine Dining in the Dolomites

Alta Badia is fast becoming as famous for its world-class Alpine haute cuisine as it is for the dramatic Dolomites that characterise the region.

Two football articles for the Guardian.

Guardian interview with Bayern Munich's Philpp Lahm

Guardian Small Talk with Philipp Lahm

Article for Centurion magazine back in around 2010 about hotels to visit with fabulous art

The Art of Travel

It used to be simple: book a hotel for its great service, suites and restaurants, and occasionally there would be the odd eye-catching piece of artwork displayed. Not any more. The relationship between art and hotel, says Paul Wheatley, is changing ...

Le Meridien Chambers, Minneapolis

Art Series Hotels, Melbourne,

The Victorian-era Ellerman Hous  , Cape Town

Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong

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