Know your Limits.....In a Travel Sense


I absolutely love a freebie. Ask anyone in my family and they might say I am sad  as I love collecting stamps on a coffee card so that one day I can have a free cup. I have at least a dozen in my purse almost one for each railway cafe in the South. I always feel great on occasions when I am dashing for a train and I have no change for a coffee. Suddenly, a message rings in my brain and I think “oh! wait a minute I have a full coffee card in my purse!”. I then proceed to the till and order my “free” large latte!.

I love it at Conferences when sometimes there is a little box of chocolates at the dinner table. I feel that I cannot eat the contents but instead tuck them into my bag and take them home and save them for a little moment when I'm alone and desperate for a chocolate fix!. Some evenings I think to myself “Oh! I could die for a chocolate!” and then remember the little box I brought back from a Conference some weeks before.

Luxury Hotels are even better! I arrive all dishevelled and throw my bags into my room, head for the bathroom and salivate at the sight of free toiletries consisting of shampoo and shower gels in such miniature bottles it is often impossible to pour out the contents. I never worry about that as I think it is ok because they are “free.”

I took this too far on a recent flight to the Middle East for a Seminar. I received a call from a colleague I was going with and he said “guess what? We have been upgraded to First class!.” Almost immediately my mind was drifting to the thought of the small wash bags and free items that the Airline might furnish us with as soon as we stepped on board. I really was not giving any thought to the Presentation I had to prepare for the delegates the day after we arrived.

Unfortunately, I was travelling with a serious drinker. I on the other hand find it more and more difficult to drink alcohol especially at 30,000 feet. Perhaps, it is an age thing although I am not that old I find I cannot stand the hangovers and the complete waste of time that they take to clear.

The day arrived for our Middle East trip and we checked in quite happily and boarded the aircraft. I must say what a lovely feeling it is as one walks onto the aircraft and the economy passengers swerve to the right and the first class passengers swerve to the left. I spent a few minutes fidgeting in my seat marvelling at the huge seats and rummaging in the seat pocket to see what I could find.

Quite soon after take off and almost as soon as the seatbelt signs were turned off a glamorous steward arrived with a tray of champagne flutes. He turned to us and said “Champagne?”  “Mmm” I thought to myself “Champagne!” I must say that I am not that keen on it these days but the problem for me was that it was free! I am not of course considering the fact that actually it wasn’t as we had paid vast sums for our airline ticket.

My colleague and I sipped away while happily talking about the pending Seminar and then lunch arrived. “Would you like some wine with your meal?” “Mmm” I thought “more freebies!” We both replied “Yes” to that request. I think some more wine came round and we happily accepted. After dessert we were asked if we would like a licquor. I actually wouldn’t normally bother but how could I resist the free drink?

I do seem to remember somewhere in the proceedings that I asked for some water. I think that I was sipping the water as well. As I sat in my luxury seat feeling more and more squiffy I began to regret the fact that I had absolutely no will power to say “I can’t drink anymore alcohol.”

We arrived at our destination and my colleague seemed worryingly completely sober. I, on the other hand had to be helped out of my seat and down the aircraft steps and ushered into a taxi to the Hotel venue.

A lesson well learnt and never to be repeated. I suppose all I can say is pace yourself, say No, hang onto your head, drink lots of water and make sure your Presentation is “water tight” and ready to recite whatever the state your head is in!