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3 weeks ago | 
travelbeginsat40.com | Tim Bird
There are few nations in the world for which song holds a greater cultural status than Estonia. The bloodless, so-called Singing Revolution in the late 1980s was a defiant national soundtrack that accompanied the end of Soviet occupation and the re-establishment of independence in 1991. Throughout that period of oppression, hundreds of amateur choirs all over the country would rehearse for the Estonian Song and Dance Celebration in the capital Tallinn – held in July 2025 for the 28th time.
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1 month ago | 
morningadvertiser.co.uk | Tim Bird |Rebecca Weller |Finn Scott-Delany
I have often compared the challenges we have faced (and continue to face) in hospitality to a ‘Grand National’. Except fences keep being added that seem to get taller and more hazardous while the ‘finishing post’ is moved away, with further furlongs added to our continuing ride to success or in many cases to simple survival. Of course, ‘success is a journey, it is not a destination’ so we have to keep ‘riding the horse’ and jumping the fences.
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1 month ago | 
independent.co.uk | Tim Bird
As Finland is once again branded the cheeriest country, Tim Bird – who swapped Britain for the Nordic nation in the 1980s – shares the reality of life in ‘Happy Land’ It’s that time of the year again in Finland. Mid-March is release date for the annual UN World Happiness Report and we’re top of the charts – for the eighth consecutive time. What Manchester City or Real Madrid are to football, Finland is to happiness. Forgive us if we’re getting a bit blasé about this honour.
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1 month ago | 
msn.com | Tim Bird
Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
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Jan 10, 2025 | 
morningadvertiser.co.uk | Tim Bird |Gary Lloyd |Shwetali Sapte |Rebecca Weller
Sadly, the festive season is over for another year and up north in ‘Cheshire Cat land’, we have spent most of this week clearing snow from our car parks and the country lanes leading to our pubs. We used 40 bags of rock salt in the process for just two of our pubs situated opposite each other in one lane.
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Oct 24, 2024 | 
morningadvertiser.co.uk | Tim Bird
I was very honoured to speak at Brewery Hall in London at the Cask Marque Seminar recently and share the stage with some real ale enthusiasts. What an amazing place Brewery Hall is. It made me very proud to be associated with the pub industry since the age of 16. I am not telling you how many years that is, of course. Our company has recently joined Cask Marque as a corporate member to help support its mission of ale consistency and pint perfection.
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Oct 10, 2024 | 
electricliterature.com | Roz Chast |Brian Fies |Raymond Briggs |Tim Bird
After my mum died, I decided I had to do something with her paintings. She’d painted as a hobby throughout her life, and they’d accumulated in drawers all over the house. I felt that if I didn’t do something with them, who else would? I imagined they’d eventually become my kids’ problem and they’d get quietly disposed of when they no longer had room to store them. The thing about the paintings that I particularly loved was the stories they reminded me of. The way they were a backdrop to my childhood.
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Aug 16, 2024 | 
morningadvertiser.co.uk | Tim Bird
And I have enjoyed a vast array of eating and drinking experiences, and moments of sheer hospitality delight. As an ‘industry veteran’, as I was recently described, I guess I am now allowed to speak my mind about the ‘value’ of great occasions whether they be in a pub, a restaurant or indeed a rather salubrious hotel in North Yorkshire. A lot of people do not understand the term ‘good value’ or indeed ‘value for money’.
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Jun 16, 2024 | 
morningadvertiser.co.uk | Tim Bird
The things that stand out are, of course, the upcoming election on 4 July ‘Independence Day’ (how ironic). It has been interesting reading all our industry ‘bodies’ little ‘manifestos’ for the hospitality industry then there was CAMRA’s rant about the price of a pint, plus the growth in low & no drinks, probably because of the price of a pint… we also have the European Football Championships, AKA the Euros, starting this week and then there’s the weather.
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May 24, 2024 | 
thebusinesstravelmag.com | Tim Bird
THE FLIGHT: I flew Business class on a Finnair Airbus A330-300 aircraft in April 2024 on flight AY121 from Helsinki, Finland (HEL) to Delhi, India (DEL). THE CHECK-IN: My check-in was with the Finnair app 36 hours in advance of departure, in response to a text message reminder. The process was smooth and intuitive. The app has benefitted from recent updates, and the digital boarding pass transferred easily to my iPhone’s Apple Wallet.
