A Writer's Dream

My study

 I have recently come to the conclusion that really the only solution for a serious writer is to spend one's life on a plane. It's marvellous. You are in a confined space, unable to move away from your notebook or computer. Should you wish, you can stretch your legs every so often, but there is nowhere else to go. There is no internet, so you cannot get distracted by checking your Amazon ranking / looking at your weblog stats (or is that just me) / the DREADED social network sites. You do not have to update your weblog with articles about why you are not writing your novel because you're writing articles about dreaming about places where you can write your novel. You cannot check your phone, and therefore can't play any silly games on it. You are not constantly reminded of things that need to be done (bills to be paid, flats to tidy, files to organise, tax returns to file, letters to write; oh, and why don't I alphabetise my magazine collection whilst I'm at it?). You can put earplugs in your ears and headphones over your earplugs so that people know you don't want to be disturbed (have you noticed that even if you're wearing headphones people will still try to talk to you, like when you're reading and people say, 'what are you reading?'). The only time you are disturbed is when a nice lady or gentleman brings you drinks and food, which is exactly as things ought to be, and you can pretend that you are in a restaurant on the riviera (we are writers, after all. We have imagination).

So my plan, therefore, is to get on connecting flights for the rest of my life. No luggage, no destination, no plan. Just a life in transit, in the air, above the clouds: a perfect life for a writer, soaring endlessly above the globe. There we can see things in perspective; there we can be the omniscient narrator; there we can contemplate the passions and troubles of the world at a safe distance. And best of all: there is no escape.

Travel Secrets by Tanya Rose

Well, January has been pretty, well, January-like, so far, with one regretful face looking back at the past year, and one hopeful face looking forwards. And hopefully an omen of things to come, a delicious slice of luxury arrived in the post today, hinting at wonderfully louche and / or exciting travels around the world: Travel Secrets by Tanya Rose, who brings a veritable dragon's hoard of golden travel tips out into the open. The book looks beautiful, a serious, solid hardback, interspersed with carefully chosen, enticing photographs; it's also an excellent reference book, giving travel tips for hotel and tour companies across the globe, with addresses and contact details. Whilst being lovely and tangible (which, in this world of e-readers and so forth, is increasingly become a rare and hence delightful thing), it is small enough to carry with you as you jet from Belgium to Brazil. There are guest spots from people as diverse as Tim Rice, Anya Hindmarch, Ed Victor and Tamara Mellon, revealing their favourite travel tips - you can find out about Tim Rice's cricketing experiences in St Petersburg, for example. It's an elegant, sophisticated book that is both functional and aesthetically stylish: a rare thing indeed these days. And now, with it on my desk, I look out of my window at the grey skies of Whitechapel, and in them I see New York, Nassau, Nairobi, and much, much more...