I am not sure what made me smile as I speed through the countryside on a train that moves at a speed greater than 70kph. It may have been the familiar landscape with its thatched cottages, rolling hills and places that I know so well. Or it could have been that, if I chose to do so, I could buy and consume booze at 8.30am. 2 things you definitely can't do it Oz: speed through anywhere on a train or drink booze on them at anytime. It could even have been that ...

Sometimes when you visit a place you haven't been to for a while and say 'nothing has changed', that can be a bad thing. Like in Morocco or your old prison cell. Going back to the cottage and catching up with friends is different and it was great that there is still a Jodie and James snapped hole on the other side of the world. It was also nice that people put on a great act of being pleased to see us. In a couple of areas the cottage is looking a little tired...

Liverpool and Ludlow If you want a contrast between the affluent south and the rather less affluent north, get a train from Oxford to Liverpool, then take a cab to pick up a hire car in Knotty Ash. The upside is that you can get a pint of larger for £1.20 and a meal for £2.99 in Knotty Ash, less than half the price of Oxford. The downside is that it is the kind of place you can get a pint of larger for £1.20 and a meal for £2.99.......... We drove past Li...

London and a bit of Oxford. I am currently sitting on a train looking out at amazingly lush English countryside with overcast weather but no rain. I know that this is Englnad at it's best but it is a most beautiful country. Rolling hills golden cornfields, medieval houses, yellow rape, pretty colourful gardens, weeping willows over quiet streams......all gorgeous. OK, so at times I have to look beyond the cramped and badly kept estates, the graffiti, the per...

I used to say that when I could afford to fly business class I wouldn't as there are much better things to spend money on, but as I sit here, in the back of the plane for the first time in 12 months I know that is a load of old b******s. I can handle the lack of champagne, I can even handle not having lounge access, but the screaming babies, the firm cramped seats and the fact that the bloke in front has reclined his so it is in my face just feels wrong. F...