Category Archives: travel

Cunard’s 175th anniversary cruise: How the Yanks rebranded Rule Britannia

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QM 2 at Liverpool at start of historic transatlantic crossing

QM 2 at Liverpool at start of historic transatlantic crossing

Last weekend  Margaret and I returned from a transatlantic cruise  on the Queen Mary 2 celebrating the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Cunard line. Most of it retraced the original route from Liverpool to Boston via Halifax, Nova Scotia with the addition of extra stops at Hamburg, Southampton and New York.

The voyage was epic with events at every port to celebrate the founding father Samuel Cunard and everything that is quintessentially British from serving cream teas to numerous renderings of Rule Britannia.. There were fireworks in two cities, a 21 gun salute, a Canadian warship joining a flotilla, a Red Arrows fly past in Liverpool and massed bands in every port.

This included a concert at Liverpool’s magnificent Anglican cathedral to celebrate the anniversary with Britain’s national treasure’s mixed with proud descendants of the Cunard family telling the story of the shipping line.

Concert at Liverpool Cathedral

Concert at Liverpool Cathedral

We had Carol Thatcher talking of the Mum’s sleepless nights in case the Argies sunk the QE II on its way to the Falklands; John, now Lord Prescott being surprisingly emollient about his former employer even though they kept him on their second league of liners because of his union activities as a bar steward. We had the former BBC’s Michael Buerk on the newsworthy side of the line and Jennie Bond, the BBC’s former Royal Correspondent on the Royals who used the Cunard liners.

The event ended with the cathedral being turned into the Last Night of the Proms with a union jack flag waving audience singing Land of Hope and Glory and Rule Britannia. A bit OTT on the jingoistic side for us.

Fireworks in Liverpool

Fireworks in Liverpool

But here’s the rub. As the voyage progressed it became clear that we were not celebrating some brilliant British  entrepreneur that had created these iconic ships. Samuel Cunard was the son of a Quaker German immigrant who fled his native land to avoid persecution.. His father settled in the US only to move to  Canada as one of the Empire loyalists who were defeated in the 1776 War of Independence..

His son bought up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, quickly became an entrepreneur running ferry services and mining operations. He spotted that steamships could replace sail and bid for the first British Royal Mail service between Liverpool and Halifax. He won the contract.It was an amazing success, because his ships were not prone to sink, and by providing a service to Boston as well made merchants rich in the US overnight.as both goods and mail reached their destinations. The grateful merchants gave him the ” Boston Cup ” as a present  in return.

He wouldn’t have necessarily approved of the present luxury liners – his Quaker upbringing led him to build ships that were austere and practical not  comfortable and luxurious. That came later.. You certainly couldn’t eat for 22 hours out of 24 every day on his ships as you can on Queen Mary 2..

Sunset in Halifax

Sunset in Halifax

We are also celebrating a line now run by an American company, Carnival, based in Florida with a sales office in Southampton and a ship not flying  the British flag but registered ( I suspect for tax reasons) under a flag of convenience in Bermuda.

And we are also buying nostalgia. They may in the past have carried monarchs, film stars and multi millionaires but you are not going to bump into Tom Cruise or Keira Knightly jogging on Deck 7 on the Queen Mary 2  or even Lord Ashcroft or Roman Abramovich in the dining room. They now have their own private jet or yacht..

Food:175th anniversary chocolate feast and ice scupltures

Food:175th anniversary chocolate feast and ice sculptures

Yet in a very clever sense Carnival has rebranded Britain to create an unique atmosphere.Even the Americans I talked to on the boat ( they are the second largest contingent) described sailing with Cunard “part of the British experience.”. For marketing Carnival deserve top marks, they rock you to sleep on an ocean of desire with sweet nostalgic dreams. Bon voyage!

Fireworks in Boston

Fireworks in Boston

 

Journey's End

Journey’s End

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revealed: The Marie Celeste of the North Atlantic

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View of the abandoned boat passed by Queen Mary 2 on July 6 and left floundering in the North atlantic

View of the abandoned boat passed by Queen Mary 2 on July 6 and left floundering in the North Atlantic

My wife Margaret and I returned yesterday from a cruise across the Atlantic to New York on the Queen Mary 2 to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Cunard line. One of the most  haunting sights was not in the staged programme of celebrations  but this abandoned  boat 500m off the coast of Ireland.

The sight of the boat – almost in the path  of the transatlantic liner – brought the Queen Mary 2 to a halt. There was no response from it when the ship blew its foghorn. The captain employed infra-red cameras on the vessel for signs of life. But there was no one alive on board. No attempt was made to board the boat and after an unscheduled 20 minute halt the QM 2 went on its way leaving the boat to continue drifting in the Atlantic.

The captain reported he had informed HM Coastguard in Falmouth about the sighting of the boat and evidently it is being left to the coastguard in Cornwall – which must be over 800 miles away – to decide whether to do anything about it.

What was extraordinary about this incident is that this appears to be the second time this boat has been sighted in the Atlantic and no one is doing anything to investigate it.

One could not but wonder if this is new maritime policy to leave small boats to drift aimlessly  across the atlantic like a message in a bottle. And one could not help speculate about the story behind this particular Marie Celeste.

Was it as someone speculate a boat cut adrift from its moorings in Ireland or the United states that had just drifted out to sea? Was it abandoned in a storm and its crew drowned? Were there still dead bodies on the boat that showed no sign of life? Or was it  a bad fishing trip, a failed transatlantic crossing that ended in tragedy, a failed and,misguided attempt to seek asylum in Ireland?

Or as some wary passengers worried a plot by Al Qaeda or Islamic State to put an abandoned boat loaded with something nasty in the Atlantic shipping lanes?

We shall probably never know. The mystery like an old sailor’s tale remains to be solved.

Another view of the abandoned boat.

Another view of the abandoned boat.

Not Welcome in Budapest: The disabled get a raw deal from Hungary

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Entrance to Budapest's ultra modern airport

Entrance to Budapest’s ultra modern airport

One of the worst incidents in the Second World War in Budapest was when Hungarian Fascists stormed the Jewish hospital in 1944 and butchered to death all its sick and disabled patients, and doctors and nurses. It is chronicled  in the excellent Jewish Museum in the City.

While I would not say modern Hungarians are as brutal towards disabled people now, their attitude was still described as ” being in the Middle Ages” by the manager of the Jewish Museum.It shows in a  lack of regard to help even if facilities are provided.

The most outrageous example is the country’s national airport outside Budapest. As you can see it is a modern airport. All airports I have used since my wife had a stroke and lost her mobility provide a decent and efficient service.

But Budapest Airport was different. Like all international airports it has a help line at its entrance but in this case it was worse than useless. When I contacted the people for a wheelchair they said they would assist but only when the person had checked in at the British Airways desk. when I pointed out that this was not normal practice, they said it was standard practice at the airport.

I complained to the Viking River Cruises rep ( we were coming to an end to a very well organised Viking cruise down the Danube from Nuremburg) she was little better. She said it was also the airport’s policy and she could do nothing about it. She then said she had to meet another coach party and left. When I pointed out that this made it very difficult for the disabled to use the airport and wouldn’t want to visit Hungary she suggested they came by train.

We then had to queue up for 30 minutes to get to the check out and if ti had not been for the help of two other kind people on the Viking trip, Polly and Russell Dymock, I would have had to leave my wife stranded. As it was I was able to go away and purloin a chair from  a cafe so at least Margaret could sit down in the queue.

When we got to the check out they did summon assistance but we still had to walk across the airport to some designed seats for  disabled people – which were being used by able bodied people at the time. the airport has hardly any seats. If my wife had not been recovering her mobility – so she can walk short distances I don’t know what we would have done.

Budapest airport concourse - npote the lack of seats and how far you walk to check in.

Budapest airport concourse – note the lack of seats and how far you walk to check in.

We also had a bad experience during our visit to the Great Jewish Synagogue in Budapest which does have a disabled toilet. But unfortunately the two women attendants were occupying it as their own rest room and had blocked the entrance with a mop. When I remonstrated about this they just laughed and obviously thought disabled people were joke figures. We complained to the manager of the synagogue and found that this had happened before. She admitted that in general Hungary was living in the Middle Ages in its attitude towards disabled people – and promised the two would be disciplined about it.

We managed to use trams and buses in the city – believe it not, Mr Farage,because Hungary is in the EU , all pensioners from EU countries can travel free on them – and people gave up their seats for her when they saw she was in difficulty.

Frankly it is time Budapest was forced to change its attitude – and the airport to change its policy. Hungary relies on tourism to boost its economy – and big tour operators like Viking could put pressure on the authorities to do so. They should do so They have the clout and should use it. Disabled people deserve dignity and help wherever they are.

Hidden Brittany: The petit delights of Dol-de-Bretagne

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Mont St Michel: Viewed from the almost deserted Dol Marsh

Mont St Michel: Viewed from the almost deserted Dol Marsh

Just back from a two week break in Brittany with the grandkids where to my surprise very little has changed once you get off the motorways. Rural France has empty roads, open spaces and places to visit without meeting the crowds at the height of the tourist season. Indeed two places we visited which commanded just a sentence in the Michelin Green Guide we had to ourselves.

Our destination was a busy campsite just outside the medieval town of Dol-de-Bretagne – a place which is more likely to attract French tourists than the English – and most of the people do not speak English. It also stages a medieval tournament in August celebrating the rivalries in France once the English had been defeated!

Once away from the huge international tourist Des Ormes campsite with its five swimming pools, horse riding,golf and zip wire, you can find places that have hardly changed in centuries.

View from Mount Dol over Brittany and the coast

View from Mount Dol over Brittany and the coast

Most popular with us was Mont Dol -a 208 foot high granite mound. approached by a narrow road with a midway hairpin bend. Despite its diminutive size- it offers stupendous views stretching for miles across the Brittany-Normandy border, a tower, an old windmill, picnic area, children’s playground and a creperie.

Going to collect cockles and mussels French style

Going to collect cockles and mussels French style

In front of the mound lies a bit of France that resembles  coastal Norfolk and Suffolk – a large expanse of salt marshes and drained farmland with dykes. Here only a few miles from the overcrowded  mega tourist attraction of Mont St Michael are deserted bays, huge open skies, roads and tracks only frequented by cyclists and people searching for cockles and mussels.

Ruined castle at Hede

Ruined castle at Hede

Inland were the towns of Combourg – which has its own cheese – and Hede. The former has a lake and a chateau , the latter is on a hill with a ruined castle where we had the place to ourselves and the grandkids discovered a secret passage. The only public warning was not to nick the stones.

Friendly lemur at the zoo

Friendly lemur at the zoo

We also discovered a more popular zoo at a Bourbansais Chateau. – again set in gardens with everything from lions to lemurs. It also had its own pack of hunting dogs who put on a daily display – without killing anything!

Cheeky grandson Leon in the ruined cloisters at Le Tronchet

Cheeky grandson Leon in the ruined cloisters at Le Tronchet

But probably the quietest spot was a a half ruined former Benedictine abbey at Le Tronchet – a small village- which turned out to have a garden attached to it with picnic tables. Again apart from two French cyclists we had the place to ourselves.

It’s still great to know that you can find places in August where you can get away from the crowds if you want peace and quiet- even with four grandchildren.

 

Majorca’s half hidden gem: the idyllic honeymoon hotel of Joan Miro

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Hotel Illa D'Or, Puerto Pollensa Majorca. from the jetty.Picture by me

Hotel Illa D’Or, Puerto Pollensa Majorca. from the jetty.Picture by me

Almost a year after Margaret had her devastating stroke on the Isles of Scilly we took  courage in both hands and took our first holiday.

We returned to a particular tranquil spot in the Majorcan resort of Puerto Pollensa on the North West coast.And to a particular hotel , the Hotel Illa D’Or, on the outskirts of the town overlooking the bay.

Now the centre of Puerto Pollensa – though at my age thankfully no Magaluf- is bustling and busy with a yacht harbour. Where we were is much quieter but the brilliant thing is you can walk ( or cycle ) all the way from the centre to the hotel on a traffic free promenade with outstanding sea and mountain views.

 The luxury hotel itself is still owned by the same family since  it opened 85 years ago in 1929 and one of its first guests was the Catalan surrealist artist Joan Miro who spent his honeymoon here. I am not surprised. The hotel itself is now much bigger than in 1929 but it has not lost its personal touch while providing all the facilities you might need from swimming pools to tennis courts and a superb terrace overlooking the sea. The food supervised by an Argentinian chef is  superb and creative without being flashy or indigestible  and the choice at the breakfast buffet is stunning – from Serrano ham to a cooked grill and fresh fruit to pastries and even chocolate gateaux.

But this time what we really appreciated was the courtesy and facilities the hotel provided for the disabled. We had an adapted room with a walk in shower and its own terrace accessible by a ramp. it was near the lift and the entrance to the restaurant and the front terrace were level – easily negotiable by a stroller or a wheelchair – and we soon dispensed with the use of a wheelchair. The hotel could not have provided better facilities.

Margaret resting along the promenade

Margaret resting alomng the promenade

Margaret was able to use a stroller and walk in part unaided along the front – gradually increasing the distance until we achieved our objective of getting to the centre and having lunch!  The ground shaded in part by pine trees can be a bit uneven but as the physios would say it was good rehab.

It was also our first experience of using an assisted flight – and I have to say the outsourced company at Birmingham Airport and the staff at Palma Airport were superb is getting us to and from the plane.

The one blackspot: the flight on Monarch Airlines

The one blackspot: the flight on Monarch Airlines

The one black spot was Monarch Airlines who did seem to confirm their lowly ratings in Which? magazine by ignoring all our requests via Sovereign Holidays for an aisle seat and to be near the toilets.This led to a dispute with another elderly passenger when Margaret took an aisle seat – as he had booked and paid for it. Only after protests  to a rather badly disabled aware air crew and the fact the flight had some spare empty seats at the rear  was it solved amicably.

But if you want a week away in four star luxury, sun and some the taste of some rather superior Catalan Rioja stocked by the hotel I would recommend it, disabled or not.

 

 

 

Walking Up The Richest Mountain Temple In The World

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This is an extraordinary vibrant description of a Buddhist pilgrimage up a mountain off the beaten track on the Thai Cambodia border and a remarkable piece of travel journalism. I would warn you the videos are pretty noisy but the scenes it portrayed give an insight into another world far removed from the West. So far removed he is the only Westerner there. I have reblogged it as a unique description of an entirely different way of life and values and for painting an alternative view of touristy Thailand. The blogger, a Swede, is a one off as well!

All Hail the Anti Corruption App

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Offered a dodgy deal in Dubai ?  Given an expensive Rolex as a present?   Pressurised to give a backhander to get your visa stamped? Taken out to a very expensive meal?

All these dilemmas might well face business people working to secure a contract abroad – or even now possibly in a few cases in the UK.

 Bribery  and corruption according to the  Institute of Business Ethics  is the top ethical concern now  for 80 per cent of major FTSE companies who might well be worried their staff could be tempted by an offer they can’t refuse.

Interestingly company action seems to have been boosted by the implementation of the Bribery Act in 2012 which makes it an offence for a commercial company to allow their employees to bribe other people on their behalf.
Companies are expected to have procedures in place and The Institute of Business Ethics neat solution is a free App which can be  put on any business phone – offering instant advice on what to do when you are put in a difficult position.

The App offers sane advice on how to handle the situation – including a sensible warning to pay up if you are threatened with violence- and report the incident later. Life in a foreign country is too precious to risk for the sake of a few pounds.

Details of the app and the toolkit on the Institute of Business Ethics website. 

IBE’s Director, Philippa Foster Back CBE OBE, says “Any one, at any level, in any organisation, can be offered a bribe. The SayNo Toolkit supports staff by giving them clear and easily accessible guidance about what can or cannot be accepted. Not only will the App provide an adequate procedure to combat bribery, it could also help to minimise the risks of corruption taking place.”

 

Two criticisms can be made.about the effectiveness of the new app. What happens if the firm itself – through either its legal or human resources department – turns a blind eye to what is happening.
The toolkit does not suggest going elsewhere or reporting it say to Public Concern at Work a charity which also can handle such issues and can help businesses manage such problems. The second is that it is not clear whether an individual employee could order one of these free apps if his or her firm does not go along with the scheme – which means people miss out on a valuable guide.
However the Institute of Business Ethics, a non profit making company, should be congratulated for a clever idea that might just help cut down bribery and corruption before it starts.

Result: NHS acts on a serious medical misdiagnosis on the Isles of Scilly

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Isles of Scilly; beautiful and tranquil but medically problematic

Isles of Scilly; beautiful and tranquil but medically problematic

Readers of this blog may just remember that over three years ago I suffered a serious injury – a triple shoulder fracture – when I tripped and fell awkwardly on a rocky path on Tresco on the Isles of Scilly.

An accident 28 miles off mainland Britain is always a tricky problem – but mine was compounded by the failure of both a duty doctor and nurse at St Mary’s Hospital – the GP led hospital on the islands – to realise this had happened. It was never X rayed and both staff thought I had bruised and sprained my shoulder.

 It was only when my wife made consult my own GP in Berkhamsted – a week after the  accident- that I was sent off to Watford General Hospital who discovered I had been walking around with three broken bones – and  the main bone between my shoulder and elbow had almost come out of its socket. Due to heroic efforts by one administrator at Watford they managed to find me a bed and I had a  five-hour operation to put me back together. This I might say after physiotherapy is  now 95 per cent back to normal. I have also been full of praise about the surgeon who did it,Andrew Irwin.
I put in two complaints to the NHS authorities in Isle of Scilly – one about the service – when I discovered the hospital had an X-ray machine but only a radiographer available for two hours a week. So bad luck if you had an accident outside Tuesday afternoon.

 I also complained about the doctor’s failure to diagnose the problem – and got an apology and found the doctor had been sent for retraining to deal with accidents on the mainland.

 Until today I had not heard anything positive about the paucity of X-ray services, only a rather defensive reaction saying that it was difficult to do anything. It certainly made me worried given the Isles of Scilly is a mecca for all sorts of sports from sailing, windsurfing,diving,rock climbing as well as great walking country.

Imagine my surprise to receive a communication through NHS Choices today to say the hospital has now replaced its ageing X-ray equipment with a new digital X ray – presumably allowing computer images to be sent to other major hospitals. It added: “Extending access to a radiographer is work in progress and is being looked into by the Kernow Clinical Commissioning Group and the Islands Health and Well Being Board. With regards to staff training, MIU training up-dates are provided twice a year by the MIU Lead. She will revisit limb examinations on her next visit. “

 Well it may have taken over three years but I am glad that some action is being taken. To my mind it shows that it is worth complaining if the NHS fails to deliver – authorities do appear to take note, even if it takes time.

Phone Hacking Trial: Brooks’s PA and the Notebooks – Martin Hickman

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Extraordinary revelation here. It appears that Rebekah Brook’s personal assistant was set to emigrate to Australia for a new job on a Murdoch paper in Perth straight after removing files and notebooks on the instructions of her boss. It is these very files that the prosecution allege are part of a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. If the detectives hadn’t arrested her she would have left the country.

INFORRM's avatarInforrm's Blog

Cheryl CarterDay 35, Part 1:  Rebekah Brooks’s PA, Cheryl Carter, was arrested by detectives days before she was about to board a plane to emigrate to Australia, the phone hacking trial heard today. Police suspected that the move to Australia was a reward for removing Mrs Brooks’s notebooks covering the period when hacking was rife at the News of the World, the jury was told.

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2013 in review: Hits rise from 82,000 to 150,000 in one year

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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 150,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 6 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

This year I decided for the first time to include other posts on this blog. The decision to include reports from @martin_hickman and documents from @peterjukes on the hacking trial – with both their permissions- was prompted by the mainstream media not following the trial in any depth.
I intend to continue this next year.
Next year will also see with @ExaroNews further investigations into the child sexual abuse that began when a contact of mine told me about Richmond. I will also continue following child sexual abuses in the church.
There will be political blogs and occasional personal and travel blogs. I also intend to follow the progress of my wife Margaret’s recovery from a devastating stroke last summer and comment on how good or bad the rehabilitation services are. I am very hopeful that she will continue to get better and recover her mobility. Happy New Year to you all.