After spending much of our younger married holidays as half hearted campers, we became the proud, if somewhat anxious owners of an old Abbey Cambridge caravan. It seemed enormous for the car we had to tow with. The man about our house was a great petrol head and nothing would put him off a project once he got the bit between his teeth. The weight of ‘van to car ratio would never worry him and we bumped our way along quite a few country lanes over the years in strangely inappropriate combos before being asked to pull over in front of a discretely signalling policeman. The ‘van wasn’t actually very heavy for it’s design, but it turned out that the slow and lumbering drive was caused by something interfering with the offside axle. However, we did get the hang of caravanning with that pioneering spirit that only younger folk display when they’ve spent all the money on the ‘van and nothing’s left for poshing it up. We must have like it as this was the first of 5 caravans – each one being a vast improvement on the one preceding. The final one was f a b u l o u s. All mod cons i.e. a fridge with an ice box and an oven with a working thermostat and room for more than one small pie and bag of chips to warm up. Oh and instead of a shower cabinet and loo, we had a wonderfully spacious bathroom at the back across the entire van.

After I became a solo traveller, I spent many a holiday flying out to relatives in Texas or a very great chum in Cyprus. These trips were obviously by air and it was ok because I am a very good flyer and I was always collected from the airport and taken back there. Nothing to report on my travels, until I discovered cruising. Woo now we’re talking. I just love the civilised way they get thousands of folk through the embarkation process with many a smile and hardly a moan. The ships are so beautiful, the decor and public areas are stunning. The restaurants are fitted out to help you relax and feel so very special. Admittedly the single cabins can sometimes leave a little to be desired, but on the whole it is a1000 percent improvement on flying, anywhere. Being able to walk around the outside on the prom deck is always a great favourite activity. The food and entertainment are always fantastic and on the whole I cannot imagine not being able to travel feeling like a grand dame!