Shard

Up in London at something called the London Yacht, Jet and Prestige Car Show inside the old Billingsgate fish market. Outside the sun was trying to burst out of the clouds just above The Shard.

I walked the streets from Waterloo to Southwark Bridge for years. The way things have changed even in the last 10 years since I left the FT is astonishing. Apartment blocks have gone up everywhere. The south bank is buzzing with life. You can see why people want to be part of cities.

I was chatting to someone about a magazine where product placement could be bought at a price in any of its articles. It had utterly destroyed every facet of journalism I learned as a young man. The printed word was still there, but not as I know it. The words only reflected what someone wanted to be told. That's how it is now, mostly. It's about sales and selling - selling products, experiences, people. The magazine was a lovely looking product, all style and very little substance.