On Janine's mind

Having just returned from a glorious honeymoon in Phuket with grossly overweight luggage after near-obsessive shopping sprees, my guilt was somewhat assuaged by an article I read about a powerful Indian politician. The woman from India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, once sent a jet to pick up her favourite brand of sandals. “When she needed new sandals, a jet flew empty to Mumbai to retrieve her favourite brand,” reported a US diplomatic cable dated October 23 2008.

At least we had the good grace to pay for the excess…

Honeymooning around 9/11 is bound to throw up a whole slew of newspaper articles written in memory of those who lost their lives. How outraged I was then to read about a vintner on Long Island who had the gall to market a range of “9/11 memorial wine” in the run-up to the 10th anniversary in one of the darkest days in American history.

I’ve heard of ambush marketing - but releasing a so-called commemorative wine “dedicated to honouring the memory of those lost on September 11 2001” certainly takes the cake.