Tonight Matthew I'm going to be Chris Tarrant, a Stormtrooper, a Pirate and CW Stoneking

 CAMBRIDGE FESTIVAL

 AN UNHAPPY PIRATE PATRICK

 NO IT'S NOT ANYA ON THE RIGHT

 DRUNK ME A CAMBRIDGE

 A DRUNK ME IN EDGEBASTON

 EYE EYE

 ON TOP ON THE STREAM

 SIBLING BRIBERY

HAPPY EU

When I grow up I want to be a fireman

Looking at my blog for the first time in ages and I have realised that I haven't been on here since the summer. The real reason for this is because of the photo above. I seem to have spent a most of this year sat on airplanes. Whilst some would say the jet set lifestyle is one to envy, I don't agree and think that the only real reason anyone should every fly is when they go on holiday. We certainly shouldn't be flying as much as we do because it's generally unnecessary, bad for the environment, dangerous, uncomfortable (unless you are in business or 1st class) and quite unhealthy. If I had to list all my flights for this and how productive or useful all the travelling actually was, I think that this year has been quite unproductive and stressful.

The best thing about flying is the view out of the window when you can see the earth below. Although let's be honest after 5 minutes above the clouds, it all - Seen one cloud, seen them all.

The best aspect of travelling anywhere in the world is getting there and experiencing the things you see and the people you meet. This has to be the case.

If Michael Palin had travelled around the world in 80 days and seen nothing or no-one of interest I am sure the BBC wouldn't of given him another 20 years worth of travel programmes to star in. I am lucky I have seen a lot of interesting things, and spoken to people who were interesting and funny. But in reality when I am travelling the globe most of my time is spent travelling (airports, planes, taxis and hotels) and not actually being there and seeing things. 



Ok, ok, I have been fortunate to see some very interesting hotel rooms, eat some very nice food and drink some very expensive wines. Some would say I have had a little too much of the last two. I have also been fortunate enough to meet some very boring people, talk endless mundane small talk over and over again, and pretend to be interested in people who aren't interested in me either. When I arrive at any hotel in the world the three most important things are:

• Does it have free Wifi
• Does it have a good shower & vanity kit
• Does it have tea and coffee facilities with lots of supplies

I don't care if it has a gym. I've never been in a hotel gym in my life. That probably says more about me than anyone else. I don't mind if it doesn't have tv,  bath, herbal teabags, swimming pool, room service, atm, babysitting, business centre, gift shop, ice machine, chapel or safe. All I want to do is sleep (I have assumed that every hotel room has a bed), email, shower and drink a cuppa.

Due to the fact that they don't tend to build power stations in lovely locations, it is very rare that I actually travel anywhere that is distinctly beautiful. Genoa above was one of the exceptions. It is a fantastic city with great architecture, culture, food and friendly people. they even have a wall just of plates. How fantastic is that! 



In reality the real reason that I am not enjoying travelling at the moment is that travelling is only fun when you can share the experience. I tend to travel alone, which is good for some people and probably good for me also. I get tired and grumpy when I travel, and even when I have travelled with other people for work, we mainly spend most of our time in separate hotel rooms on the email. Maybe it's not the travelling I hate, maybe it's the email. No I definitely hate the email.

But the most important thing about travelling alone is that issue of not being able to share the experiences. When you go on holiday you do it because you enjoy spending time with the people you are with and also because you have chosen the destination for the holiday.

Most of all when I am away I miss being at home.