There aren’t that many places in the world that have experienced conflict within my life time that are now deemed relatively safe to travel to, on the scale of which Sarajevo experienced. The scars of which can still be seen today.
A few years ago, I wrote Glastonbury: The Unofficial Survival Guide. This was something I shared with a couple of friends who were going to be coming with me for their first ever Glastonbury who asked for some information on what it was like and some tips on how to get by. It must have done its job as they both survived
An ex-colleague, and member of my beach swim club alerted me to the fact that the yoga studio that she attends around the corner from me was doing a day of free trial sessions. I had done yoga before and thought it was alright but preferred Pilates. Partly because it felt like a workout while resolving my flexibility issues, partly because a friend is an instructor and therefore have to prefer it and partly because previous yoga instructors I had been in contact with fit the stereotype of hemp wearing vegans who could feel the universe flowing through a haemorrhoid if the planets were in alignment. I thought I would give it a go anyway. A free class is a free class after all.
Like half of the population, I dipped a metaphorical and literal toe into the world of cold water swimming during lockdown. The reasoning for this was partly because a couple of friends and people I follow on the gram participate, partly because the health benefits are well documented, it was free and partly out of boredom and needed a new activity to involve myself in.
Today marks a year since the government announced its first national Lockdown. In some ways it feels like the longest year ever experienced by anyone ever, in other ways it really does not feel like it’s been that long at all. It is funny thinking back to that time when no one will have predicted that we would still be here a year later.
I travelled up to Luton the day before and stayed at the esayHotel, the easyJet hotel brand. The room can only be described as a prefabricated box with just enough room to swing a hamster but it was clean and comfortable. The evening was spent having a cheeky Nando’s and several drinks at the White House Weatherspoon’s getting to know the four ladies, Jayne, Debbie, Leanne and Fiona, who were to become my trekking mums over the next few days.
This time last year I was at Glastonbury (although it was a Wednesday). I have been lucky enough to experience the Glastonbury three times in a row from 2015-17. And while this may not grant me Glastonbury Veteran status I think it allows me to bestow on you tricks, tips and advice on what to expect and how to survive this festival of festivals. Even for regular festival goers “Glasto” can be a daunting prospect for your first time. So, if you battled through the pain of hammering the refresh button into a ticket position for the first time, these next few points may come in handy.
Last week I entered a competition with World Nomads to win an all-expenses paid road trip to either America or Europe. The choice is yours, so I went for America as I have never seen anything other than the inside of Miami and Huston Airport. The winner and a second person of their choosing will get return airfare, 4-week campervan rental, travel insurance, some travel gear and $6000 spending money. Thinking about this reminded me of a road trip plan long forgotten.
We were off to a good start when our arrival at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport lined up perfectly with a fire in the airport’s metro station. After a few drinks at the only bar that was still open in the arrival lounge at half eleven at night it became clear that the trains were not running and a fleet of Ubers were summoned. Most of which arrived. The organisers of the stag do kept many of the details close to their chest which included where we were staying for the duration. We were only given an address to give to the driver
