Upgrade, Replace, Discard

When it comes to buying things, most people (from what I observe) tend to accumulate stuff with no real thought for how it might enhance their lives. China figurines, plant pots, picture frames, books, furniture, clothes, mementos, DVDs, bits of string, tools, gadgets, shoes; look around your house and you’ll probably find you have an awful lot of stuff.

Many of these things are genuinely useful - we wouldn’t want to be without clothes, shoes or bits of string, for example - but many are meaningless rubbish that has little value (either financial or sentimental) and whose only purpose is to clutter our lives and reduce our freedoms. That might sound a bit over-the-top but useless, unused or unwanted items are not the benign entities we often assume; they actively detract from our quality of life.

Let me put it another way. Every single thing you possess must be bought, stored, heated (or cooled, depending on climate), insured, cleaned, maintained, repaired and transported between residences when you move. For things you use every week (or even every month) that might be a price worth paying but for the other stuff, the things you use once a year or less, you should ask yourself if they are really worth the effort. If you’re anything like me you may well decide that many of your possessions don’t actually enhance your quality of life and that owning them does not make you happier.

Once you accept that you don’t need all this stuff, two things happen. First, you stop accumulating new rubbish that fails the “will it improve my life?” test. Non-essential purchases are often motivated by short-term desire rather than a medium-term life improvement strategy. Second, it becomes easier to dispose of the things you no longer need because, suddenly, you find you are happy to let them go.
Buying and keeping only the things essential to your quality of life is fairly easy if you follow these simple rules:

1. Don’t buy something just because it might be useful even (especially!) if it is on special offer. 
2. Only buy things that make a clear improvement to your quality of life. 
3. Upgrade existing, much-used items with replacements of higher quality; never downgrade or take the cheap option. 
4. Discard the items you replace or upgrade; you don’t need to keep backup items because you’ll probably never use them again. 
5. Be ruthless; if you haven’t used something for a year donate it to a charity. 
6. Don’t use public storage just because you’ve run out of space at home; get rid of something. 
7. Reduce physical clutter by using digital services (music, film etc.) wherever possible. 

I still have a lot of stuff that I don’t want to lose but I’m cutting back and I feel better for it. You might disagree, or think me strange for bucking the acquisitive trends of modern life, but my philosophy works for me and it could work for you too; let me know what you think.

Vue Cinema, Westfield Shepherd's Bush

I like small cinemas, particularly the Picture House chain (our local is Clapham Picture House where we saw Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows on New Year’s Eve), whose establishments often have bars, cafes and other social areas no longer favoured by their larger multi-screen competitors. Big cinemas can be fun but they’re different, more clinical and somehow less friendly.

The Vue cinema at Westfield in Shepherd's Bush is not a small cinema. In fact, with sixteen standard and three luxury screens it's really quite large. Is it a cinema to which you might want to travel or one to avoid unless you're already in the shopping centre?

In my book, the key points by which the quality of a cinema should be judged are:

1. Picture - it needs to be clear, high definition, bright and of a good size with respect to the auditorium. 
2. Sound - the picture is normally fairly pointless without the audio, so we expect clarity, volume and balance. 
3. Seats - comfortable seats with adequate legroom and, ideally, somewhere to store a drink, are important, especially for long films. 
4. Auditorium - the auditorium should be clean, free from annoying distractions and kept at a comfortable temperature so that patrons neither freeze nor boil. 
5. Foyer - I like to see a welcoming foyer with friendly staff, pleasant seating and efficient service. 
6. Snacks - ice cream, popcorn, fizzy drinks and chocolate are staples but a selection of decent coffee and cakes never hurts. 
7. Other bits and pieces - some cinemas try harder than others and find ways to delight the customer and improve the overall experience, so this heading pulls together all the random things that make life a bit more bearable. 

For Vue at Westfield, my scores are:

1. Picture quality - 5/5. They have really good projectors and screens and their picture is the best I've ever seen. 
2. Sound quality - 4/5. Very good, but not quite up to the standard of the IMAX at Waterloo. 
3. Seats - 4/5. Pretty good with decent legroom and a cupholder. 
4. Auditorium - 3/5. Not bad but letting kids run around disturbing the film is a sign of poor control. 
5. Foyer - 2/5. A big, bland space for holding people and selling them things. It works, mostly, but it’s not pleasant. A missed opportunity. 
6. Snacks - 3/5. Not bad but unimaginative and fairly low-end with a large Pic’n’Mix being the highpoint. 
7. Other - 3/5. It’s in Westfield, so there are plenty of other things to do before and after the film, but if you don’t like shopping or if you want to chill in a nice pub with friends, you’re out of luck. 

That gives Vue at Westfield 24/35 which isn’t too bad for a chain cinema. The actual viewing experience is pretty good so I recommend, if you’re in the area and you want to see a film, that you give it a go. As a destination in its own right, Vue at Westfield probably isn’t worth the effort (unless you want to shop).

Etihad Business Class

I don't, as a rule, fly Business Class. It's expensive and, as I normally fly only short-haul, offers poor value for money. For longer trips, and when someone else is paying, I'm convinced that Business Class is the way to go. For my trip to Manila, with a brief layover in Abu Dhabi, I flew with Etihad; read on to find out how it compared to my cattle-class.

• Check-in and security at Heathrow Terminal 4 were a complete doddle. I was in the departure lounge fifteen minutes after arriving at the airport having skipped the traditional queues. 
• The Business Class lounge was quiet and pleasant, a haven of peace in an otherwise crowded and noisy airport. Waitress service for drinks, a small restaurant, wifi, a spa, a bar and a buffet provide pretty much everything you might need for a short stay.
• The flight itself was very comfortable with plenty of leg and storage space - vastly better than Economy. Sleeping on a plane is never easy but at least when you're flat (rather than bolt upright in a chair) you've got a chance. A glass of Champagne and a decent meal were very welcome and contrasted strongly to the slop normally served in the cheap seats. 

So basically we have quite a lot of luxury for a not inconsiderable cost. Is it worth the money? Let's review things in order.

• Fast check-in and security transit reduce the amount of time you spend queuing to, essentially, zero. That's pleasant (who likes queuing?) and a great time-saver but for me the main benefit was a  reduction of stress - its definitely the calmest, least hurried transit into the departure lounge.
• The quiet atmosphere in the business lounge is, again, conducive to a stress-free journey. The value of the food and drink depends entirely on how much you consume but let's call it £50 (main course, dessert, glass of wine - £50 might be a bit generous). Wifi and power outlets are welcome but should really be standard throughout the airport; a fifteen minute spa treatment is a gimmick and has no value for me.
• The flight itself was very good indeed. I don't have a great deal of experience in business class but it was comfortable, peaceful, stress free with excellent service from the cabin crew. Both dinner (pasta with roasted peppers) and breakfast were really very good (having a menu on a flight is very civilised).

My feeling is that if you can afford it, or if someone else is paying, business class is a no-brainer on a long-haul flight (especially if you need to do something difficult or challenging as soon as you land). On short-haul flights  the extra legroom offers less value and the other benefits, like lounge access, can be bought at the airport. The biggest gain is an across-the-board reduction in stress and hassle, which, if you travel regularly, is probably the thing you most desire.

Impressions of Manila

Having spent a grand total of thirty eight hours in Manila my observations are, by necessity, superficial. I visited the airport, a hotel, the offices of a customer, a shopping mall and, mostly by taxis, the routes between these four places. What can I say about Manila that is worth saying, or, perhaps more importantly, hearing?

Manila reminds me a little of Singapore because the climate and some of the city's most obvious features (overhead walkways for crossing wide roads, palm trees and tall buildings) are broadly similar. It doesn't take long to realise that, unlike it's much wealthier neighbour across the sea, Manila's people are mostly quite poor and many of them live in what appear to be crude, cramped and unpleasant slums.

The poor quality of housing is apparent during the journey from the airport to Makati City, where the rich live and the larger hotels are located. Shacks, badly maintained apartment blocks and rough dwellings made from corrugated iron are easily spotted, often occupied by people wearing shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops or cheap sandals. It's difficult to be certain as you speed past in the hotel Mercedes but these people don't look wealthy.

And now that I've mentioned roads, what about the driving? Don't spare the horn and push through whatever gap you think you can see seem to be the rules for driving in Manila. Lane discipline is non-existent and gridlock is avoided only because huge numbers of traffic cops direct the flow and, miraculously, keep things moving (just). Small vans and minibuses crammed with passengers jostle with coaches, sidecar-equipped (multi-person carrying) motorcycles, private cars and battered taxis for space on the often wide but still crowded roads. Don't drive in Manila.

In Makati (but not in the poorer parts of Manila Metro) security theatre seems to be a major source of employment. Every office, shopping mall, hotel and private compound has armed guards (pistols, mostly, but also pump-action shotguns and automatic rifles) at the entrances who wave wands over visitors' bags and pretend to be looking for something. Arrive by car and guards with mirrors will "inspect" the underside of the vehicle, presumably looking for bombs. This is, without doubt, the most conspicuously armed city I've ever visited and it doesn't feel safe.

The few locals I met in the hotel, shops or offices spoke English and were polite and friendly. From that perspective, Manila is an easy place to visit. The airport is almost the opposite, seemingly designed to crush the spirit and discourage return visits. Don't plan to spend time in Manila airport, even if you have access to a business lounge.

There's probably more I could write but that will do for an introduction. Would I return for leisure? I don't think so, and certainly not without a list of things to do that would take me out of the city. Manila isn't really geared for tourists, it's just a residential metropolis; avoid if you can.