Category Archives: Homepage

Turbulent times in the airline industry

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Passengers won’t be the only ones checking on the location of emergency exits if the current stream of bad news in the airline industry continues. Shareholders could start to look for them too – because the outlook is distinctly bumpy.

Plans by Ryanair to take over smaller Irish rival Aer Lingus have been grounded by Europe’s competition authorities. It may appeal the judgment but rival Flybe, which stood to gain some of Aer Lingus’ slots at Gatwick, will still press ahead with job losses, cutting around 10% of its UK workforce as it fights to get back into the black. Continue reading →

Sports books – what are we paying for?

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Having recently reviewed the autobiography of three-time Olympic slalom champion Tony Estanguet, I spent a few days trawling the sports biography section of my local book shop. I was struck by the number of books by people whose literary skills I have good reason to question. So what do we think we’re getting when we buy a sportsperson’s autobiography?

I’ve seen the speculation that people who bought Lance Armstrong’s books may try to sue him on the basis that they were mostly a pack of lies. The BBC is reporting that some US readers are trying to launch a class action lawsuit against the disgraced cyclist. Continue reading →

Une Histoire D’Equilibre

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French three-time Olympic gold medalist Tony Estanguet has published his autobiography. The book, “A story of balance” (or, more accurately, “Une Histoire D’Equilibre”) is an account of his life in canoeing, how he got to the top and how he survived there.

From the early days watching his father Henri and older brother Patrice winning, respectively, world championship titles and an Olympic bronze medal Estanguet tracks his own progress towards success at two Olympic Games (gold in Sydney and Athens), discusses how he felt about disappointment in Beijing (9th place) and how he bounced back to win gold in London. Continue reading →

Doping: a journalistic failure?

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So why did the media apparently fail to uncover the doping scandal in cycling? Sunday Times journalist David Walsh, who followed Lance Armstrong closely for years and was the subject of a libel case as a result, thinks it was for two reasons:

Firstly, coverage was heavily influenced by the cyclist’s battle with cancer. Secondly, journalists weren’t sufficiently detached – they’d become “fans with typewriters”. Continue reading →

Canoeing in Switzerland

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Canoeing in Switzerland

Switzerland may be landlocked but it boasts some of the most varied canoeing in Europe – mountain-fed rapids, big lakes, wide flat rivers and relatively quick access to a host of canoeing venues in France, Germany, Italy and beyond.

I came to Geneva in 2009 and joined the local club, which is based on the Rhone. I was initially disappointed not to be canoeing on Lake Geneva, or Lac Leman as it’s known to the locals, which is the largest fresh water lake in Europe. But that disappointment was tempered by the knowledge that the high level of boat traffic and the frequent and strong regional wind, La Bise, combine to leave the water unpaddleable for all but the most hardy (and stable) canoeist. Continue reading →