As readily defensible as oak and Coke, an all-new Moke might be 3rd-time-lucky!
IAIN ROBERTSON At around the same time as he developed the ubiquitous classic Mini, states Iain Robertson, the inventor of the Car of the Century also designed a rudimentary...
It’s all about the ‘schnozz’, as far as BMW’s new M3 and M4 are concerned
IAIN ROBERTSON Having focused earlier this year on the changing face of BMW, Iain Robertson believed that familiarity with the Munich firm’s much-altered grille outline and the slow but...
Love ’em, or loathe ’em, you can’t avoid ’em – Anatomy of the SUV
IAIN ROBERTSON Treated literally, the Sport Utility Vehicle is an horrendous misnomer, writes Iain Robertson, possessing some elements of all-wheel drive, on a hiked-up, family-orientated platform that ought to...
Karl’s Chronicles. The Fight & The Dance
The two threads of the Nile may have come together, intricately bound like maritime rope, twisting far across the sand-blown hell of the Sahara. Until with predatory grace, it...
It’s All Happening at Hatton and Gaydon
Whilst things are changing on a daily basis due to Covid-19, three Covid – safe events are planned for the coming weekends around Warwick. Ann Evans has...
Ranjit Recommends Cream, Cafes & Cycloramic Captures of Cornwall
Cornwall was indeed the epicentre of British Tourism in the summer of 2020. Indeed, with many countries within mainland Europe now being added to the list of quarantined countries...
Harry’s Ramblings. Hastings Car Parking and Other Pastimes, by Harry Pope
A lovely September day was the ideal time to spend in Hastings by the sea. We live in Eastbourne, which is only twenty miles away, but the car journey...
Isuzu D-Max XTR (Colour Edition) makes purpose work
IAIN ROBERTSON Introduced originally as a ‘concept’ by International Motors Group, the official importer of Isuzu pickup trucks to the UK market, Iain Robertson is only too delighted to...
Mumbai Memoir 135- Virtual Travels from Mumbai city!
Travelling is a great way to free the mind. It’s a way of transporting one’s self into a totally different environment and refreshing one’s soul in the process. But...
Survival forces Suzuki into strategic alliance with Toyota for Swace
IAIN ROBERTSON Things are tough at present across the entire motor industry but, writes Iain Robertson, the deal between Suzuki and Toyota was struck long before the pandemic did...
Biking from lighthouse to lighthouse on the French Northwest Coast – Meanderings through France n° 218
By Annick Dournes & Frédéric de Poligny The “Vélo Maritime” is a biking itinerary that will take you from Roscoff in Brittany to Dunkirk in Northern France....
Next-generation Audi A3 saloon benefits from substantial character injection
IAIN ROBERTSON With deliveries hoped to commence this summer, reports Iain Robertson, Audi’s latest compact 4-door has become more mature and markedly less of a niche-filler than its predecessor,...
Taxi Noir: A Drive Down Memory Lane
A business start-up in the cab trade is easy: on the day you’re licensed you arrange to rent a taxi, learn how to stop and start the meter, and...
HELP FOR THE WARWICKSHIRE WILDLIFE TRUST
The Warwickshire Wildlife Trust gets a helping hand from the National Lottery. Ann Evans has the details. Since the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown began, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust has...
Genesis – The car you almost certainly never promised yourself
IAIN ROBERTSON Despite teasing British motoring journalists for the past decade, reports Iain Robertson, Genesis, the luxury arm of Hyundai, has been shaping up in other new car markets,...
New Peugeot 3008 and how fruit often goes putrid from within
IAIN ROBERTSON Seldom has Iain Robertson felt so alienated by one single motorcar (perhaps a pair), as he has been by the latest crop of SUVs (3008/5008) from Peugeot,...
Recognition of great design does no harm to Mazda’s fine repute
IAIN ROBERTSON At a time when the motor industry is free thankfully of mainstream mundanity, Iain Robertson is utterly delighted that his tip-for-the-top from May 2019, the new...
“Citadines Islington”, the new desirable apart-hotel in London – World Meanderings (n°99)
By Annick Dournes & Frédéric de Poligny Feeling like taking a break and enjoy a few days in London? “Citadines Islington” is a newly open apart-hotel and...
New Merc S-Class confounds critics, rivals and customers but it should not be a surprise.
IAIN ROBERTSON Every time Daimler-Benz launches a new version of its most prestigious S-Class, it would be fair for Iain Robertson to state that its technological mandate is not...
MALTA DIARY: TripAdvisor awards high certificate to four Malta military sites – added to a number of previous recognition awards
ALBERT FENECH e/mail – Facebook: Last year a number of major sites in Malta and Gozo all received a Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor...
A Day Out At Wisley Gardens
It was like walking into a scene of a period drama. Maybe one of our beloved Jane Austen’s movie sets: expansive lawns, landscaped gardens, the sun casting shadows. Ladies...
SHELLY BEACH SNIPPETS No. 125 August, 2020.
Patricia Newell-Dunkley – Photographs Reginald J. Dunkley Greetings from down under where the weather has turned arctic for the last month. Heavy snow has been falling and Tasmania has...
Have a MAD Weekend!
Photos courtesy of Rob Tysall and the MAD Museum. Ann Evans shares the great news that Stratford-upon-Avon’s award-winning MAD Museum is once again open to the public. The...
Subaru and the death-defying vital automotive safety factor
IAIN ROBERTSON It can be either totally swamping, or too easy to ignore, but, states Iain Robertson, the wide-ranging subject of in-car, passive and active safety addenda, whether considered...
While not exactly ‘same again’ for Lotus, Evija evinces a familiar supercar style
IAIN ROBERTSON Norfolk-based sportscar manufacturer, Lotus, is promising customers of its cut above electric hypercar an intriguing experiential programme, highlights Iain Robertson, of an order that is sure to...
The Sensual Appeal of I.C.E. and Automobilia
IAIN ROBERTSON From the Sound of Silence to the Art of Noise, the tactility of textiles to the aroma of weathered hide, even tangential taste, Iain Robertson cites sight...
Back to Mystra, the ghost city of the Byzantine Empire – World Meanderings (n°98)
By Annick Dournes & Frédéric de Poligny If we all know Constantinople as the first largest city of the Byzantine Empire, few of us know about the...
When we return to ‘normal’, go buy that 4×4 you always promised yourself!
IAIN ROBERTSON From years of near-maniacal 4×4 antipathy, Iain Robertson is relenting and highlighting that ‘life is simply too short’ to hold so much prejudice, because we all need...
Taxi Noir: Remembering Lebanon
The devastating explosion in Beirut last month was one event in a long line of traumas that the city has had to endure. The civil war seemed to bring...
Karl’s Chronicles Article 45 Titian: Love, Desire, Death.
Centring around Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid, Titian, under commission from Prince Philip of Spain, created a set of paintings based on classical myths, developed between 1551...
Kia plugs in to broaden Ceed line-up but misses a trick on pricing
IAIN ROBERTSON Judicious enough to stick to a solus model format for its all-new PHEV version of the Sportswagon model, states Iain Robertson, Kia plays a clever game in...
Sparky Suzuki Ignis wins appeal for likeability, practicality and affordability
IAIN ROBERTSON It is the ‘Holy Trinity’ of automotive desires, states Iain Robertson, at which Suzuki’s car division is surprisingly adept but, despite the impact of the pandemic, at...
Pilsen, the city where beer flows like water – World Meanderings (n°97)
By Annick Dournes & Frédéric de Poligny Beer has been brewed in Pilsen ever since the town was founded in 1295. It also is the city where the...
From an acronym obsessed motor industry, the important ‘WLTP’ is explained
IAIN ROBERTSON From ABS* to ZE*, it does seem as though the world’s motor industry has created its own Dictionary of Initials, highlights Iain Robertson, but finding out the...
Karl’s Chronicles; Ethiopia – 10 Defining Experiences
All manner of changes came into effect at the border. Not just a change in bureaucratic procedures or a shift from Arabic to Amharic, or even the usual follies...
Marwell Zoo unveils its new Wallaby Walkthrough.
Despite rain and global pandemic, Marwell Zoo soldiers on, as Ann Evans reports. Marwell Zoo near Winchester in Hampshire has unveiled a new and improved habitat for...
PSA has a problem that Vauxhall can resolve
IAIN ROBERTSON In all the automotive shenanigans that have taken place over the past decade, highlights Iain Robertson, one of the most concerning has been the unwarranted and sudden...
Get an eyeful of Evora, as Lotus scales the junior supercar ranking
IAIN ROBERTSON Whether appealing to enthusiast, or money-spinner, Lotus is a brand possessing a troubled history of more than seven decades, writes Iain Robertson, following Italian Ferrari’s business model...
Cute and competent Ignis obtains mid-life Suzuki upgrades inside and out
IAIN ROBERTSON Although it seems only like yesterday, the motoring ‘funster’ that is the Suzuki Ignis was introduced in 2016, highlights Iain Robertson, which suggests a model life expectancy...
Athens looks towards modern art – World Meanderings (n°96
By Annick Dournes & Frédéric de Poligny Athens is not all about Antiquity. The proof is in the recent opening of the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation,...