The Monday Media Diet with Mark Ellwood

Mark Ellwood (ME) is one of my favorite travel writers and an astute commentator on luxury and consumer culture. You can find him at Bloomberg, Conde Nast Traveler, the FT, among others. I’m happy to have him with us this week. -Colin (CJN)

Tell us about yourself.

I was born and brought up in London, but the moment I moved to America for grad school I realized I was on the wrong side of the Atlantic. I’ve spent almost my entire adult life stateside and I don’t plan on changing that in the future, though I do live out of a suitcase for much of the year as I spend about a third of my time on the road. 

Describe your media diet. 

I retain a slavish love for print subscriptions, so my mailbox is always overstuffed when I get back from a trip. The Economist is the single best publication in the world – smart, witty and original (I’ll never forget it describing Downton Abbey, with typical incisive playfulness, as a “toffologue”). I devour The Week, and New York both. I wish Puck News would launch a vertical for every industry I cover, and am intrigued by; but for now, I devour Lauren Sherman and Matt Belloni’s emails the instant they arrive. Popbitch – twice weekly, thank you very much, as I pay to subscribe – is like that naughty friend we all want to sit next to in class, but for grownups. And I’ve slowly grown semi-obsessive about certain Substacks. I am obsessed with India Knight’s Home – she’s always been a favorite journalist of mine, as she has that wonderful knack of writing exactly as she speaks, so every piece is like having a conversation with her. As such, she’s gloriously well suited to the newsletter medium. And I have lost count of the number of recipes I’ve downloaded, and loved, from the Department of Salad; Emily Nunn has a similar voiciness to India Knight.

What’s the last great book you read?

Scoff by Penn Vogler. It’s a non-fiction romp through the history of Britain, using food as a device. I lost count of the number of clever observations or unexpected factoids I underlined. It was part-memoir, part-recipe book, part-history and 100% delicious.

What are you reading now?

I’m not a regular fiction reader – my tastes are too traditional (think: I like an actual story, with a beginning, middle and end) so it’s risky trying most contemporary fiction. But I’ve heard raves about Tom Crewe’s “The New Life”, and it’s set in a period of history that intrigues me (1890s London) so I’m taking a chance on it right now.

What’s your reading strategy when you pick up a print copy of your favorite publication?

I save print copies of magazines for travel. I load up my backpack with a backlog of them, and then sit in a hotel bathtub reading one, or browse one on a plane. I then leave them behind for someone else to enjoy. My backpack is about 20lbs lighter on the way home than on the outbound journey.

Who should everyone be reading that they’re not?

Glitz Paris. I subscribed to it a few months ago. It’s like Business of Fashion, but from a French perspective (though you can receive it in English). I’ve read countless tidbits on the luxury biz there that I’ve seen nowhere else, and they’ve sparked several story ideas of my own.

What is the best non-famous app you love on your phone? 

If you travel even a little more than a normal person, the $50-per-year for Flighty is priceless. It’s the best aviation app out there. Log all your upcoming flights in it, and you’ll receive a notification of a plane swap (is your seat still the one you want?) or schedule change, or delay - all long before the airline deigns to tell you. It’s not in the airlines’ interest, always, to flag issues promptly, but Flighty uses that same data without bias. I can’t remember when its notifications didn’t beat any headsup from the carrier itself. It saved me from sleeping on the floor of Naples airport last fall when BA delayed my plane by 18 hours overnight and the marathon there meant hotel rooms were scarce; Flighty’s advance notification meant I was able to nab one of them before the rest of the plane learned they’d need one.

Plane or train?

Planes are my happy place. 

What is one place everyone should visit? 

The Bazaruto Archipelago. The coast of Mozambique is an overlooked gem, with waters as blue as the Maldives and snorkel-ready reefs, but none of the crowds; the abandoned Santa Carolina hotel is one of the most evocative places I’ve ever been, a legacy of when these islands were the place to party during the colonial era. Just skip the ghastly Kisawa hotel, which has sprung up here like a boil – it’s on the wrong side of the island it sits on, so your lunch might blow away from the winds (mine did) – and stay at Azura or AndBeyond or Anantara, the other three luxe hotels nearby, instead.

Tell us the story of a rabbit hole you fell deep into. 

Ever since my childhood, I’ve been obsessed with Wanstead House – it’s a recurrent rabbit hole in my life. It was close to where I grew up in London and, before it was demolished for parts, was the grandest country house in the entire country. The estate was owned by the 19^th century’s answer to Barbara Hutton, a billionaire heiress, who married a wrongun; he gambled her entire fortune away, and racked up so many debts, they had to level the house for the value of the marble, the fireplaces and more not longer after they got married. Bits and pieces ended up stateside, and I’ve kept an eye out for them too. One day, I’ll upcycle all my notes on it into a proper book. (ME)

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Thanks for reading,

Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Mark (ME)

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