http://www.exeterfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk/
Exeter Castle and Northernhay Gardens
“I believe that the cyclised city is the civilised city”, declares ebullient Boris Johnson. Love him or hate him, London’s mayor is – not so quietly –revolutionising cycling in the capital.
Dundee is transforming its waterfront, to draw visitors in. Adrian looks at what there is for the short break tripper
From the website
“We are the independent passenger watchdog. Our mission is to get the best deal for passengers.
We are an independent public body set up by the Government to protect the interests of passengers.”
No the headline isn’t a typing error; this is the new slogan to entice us to travel to Slovenia. Will it work? Ask in a year’s time and we’ll find out. That’s a problem with finding quick pithy lines to help you remember. Australia came out with “where the bloody hell are you?” which certainly generated the publicity if not always the numbers.
Whatever slogan is chosen, about 2.2 million visitors have gone to Slovenia this year and, by year end, it looks as though overall tourism will have dropped by only about 1% making Slovenia a success story in many people’s eyes. The UK is the fifth largest provider of visitors but to the capital, Ljubljana, we are the third
As Christmas in the UK rapidly approaches, and kids are starting to write their letters to Father Christmas. December 6th is still the main day for gift giving and merrymaking in much of Europe.
As this happened to me three times in the last three months, I have had to deal with the the consequences. I have been lucky. I haven’t been stranded without money. I haven’t had major problems or the need to traipse around hotels and then book at exorbitant rates. I haven’t had to look after or keep happy young, easily bored children. I am not even moaning about the fact that I have had to make unecessary trips to airports or pay for hotels I couldn’t use. If you travel a lot, life can bowl the odd googly at you. But out of it, I do have one thing I want changed.
One airline texted me to say my flight was cancelled, adding at the bottom, “apologies.” They gave me at least seven hours warning which, given that the situation was out of their control, seemed reasonable. The problem is in the rebooking. To do that I either need to get on a website or ring a telephone line. My moan, no that is too strong a word, my interest is the endless time spent hanging on or tryng to get onto a website that is being bombarded by other travellers in the same position. I appreciate the airline’s problem in having to rebook people but can’t help wondering if their isn’t an easier way.
Would tourism be as successful or indeed as profitable as it is without volunteers? The industry relies on us to turn up week in, week out to act as guides, parking attendants, ticket sellers, watchful glances to keep an eye on visitors, information kiosk minders and goodness knows what else. Why do we do it?
The main reason is that we like it. No, we enjoy it. Which is just as well because, just like charity shops, many attractions and sites may not open without the volunteers.
Take this coming Saturday at Linlithgow Peel next to the famed palace in Scotland.
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