You should have been there

Simon unveils his five pillars of advice on how to avoid some of the nastier travel surprises that are emerging in the wake of the pandemic.  We're grateful to f_ilippo @Freesound for the casino recording  

Reflections on the subject, a bit of advice on how to do it and a look back at what some eccentric travellers carried with them on their journeys. You can see the painting "Waiting for a train" @ https://www.nzmuseums.co.nz/collections/3243/objects/35106/waiting-for-the-train-willesden-junction

Mick and Simon try to make sense of the bewildering advice about where we can and can't  go on our holidays. They also ponder the new pop-up enclaves created by Coronavirus, adding to the historical oddities like Llívia, a small piece of Spain entirely surrounded by France. 

Simon and Mick discuss a tentative new dawn for camping, and swap tales of their own intense experiences under canvas.  Music: Solstice by Scott Buckley 

Is slow travel something we should all strive for, or is it just an exercise in marketing?  Simon and Mick investigate, helped by Gina Waggott, Anna Hughes, Alec Webb, Nicky Gardner, Graham Hoyland and James Hill. 

Mick and Simon discuss travel risks and how to manage them. Diseases, snakes and hippos all feature, along with selfies, local police and rip tides. For information about these, go to bit.ly/RipSafe. Thanks to Charlotte for her wise words. 

What makes a trip or a holiday into an expedition? Does it need a key objective, sponsorship or just some specialised kit?    Simon and Mick talk machetes and mountain meals, as well as catching up on the latest Covid19  travel news   

The search for the perfect, fleeting holiday experience takes in the Kentish North Downs, Kalingrad Oblast and Carnforth railway station. With the briefest of stops at Dublin airport and Newport Pagnell Motorway Services.   The recording of the steam train leaving Moor Street station was made by Keith Burnett 

What's the current guidance and what will await us, when and if we do get away?  Simon unveils his five "tests " for prospective travellers while Mick continues his worldwide search for Gerald Bernstein.                                                                                                                                           We'd like to thank Daisy and Poppy for their help.                                                                                                                                                                          You can read the article from the New England Journal of Medicine  at :   https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa031349

Enjoy the best bits from our first 20 podcasts.  Among the categories: best travel moment, best lock down story and best breakfast.