Be prepared- Mad woman’s guide to holidaying.

​I don’t know about you but the anticipation of going on holiday is intoxicating. The thought of leaving behind the stress and strains of everyday life; getting away from the news and politics and Brexit and who did what to whom is enticing. The thought of sunshine and warmth instead of the greyness that is the UK in February and March.

So yeah! We’re going on holiday to Sydney Australia; before joining a cruise, which will take us up the East coast and round to Darwin; the capital of the Northern Territories and stopping off at four different destinations along the way. Then travelling over to visit three Indonesian islands of Komodo, Bali and Semerang before disembarking at Singapore for a few days. The thought of this was yes very exciting and one that my lovely husband and I had looked forward to for a long time.

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But then as the holiday draws nearer the business of getting ready for it begins. Finding the cases in the loft and unpacking all last year’s holiday clothes. Looking through them and seeing how some of the t-shirts, which you wore last year are now misshapen and look a little dull or the fact that every time you go on holiday you seem to wear the same clothes on all your photographs, which doesn’t look good!
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So, if like me this happens, then it means a trip to the shops for new supplies. However, my lovely husband convinces me that the clothes are fine, and the t-shirts still look good so, as I am a dutiful wife (HA! HA!) I agree.

Disappointment and disbelief also drop in unannounced when you try on the shorts, which fit perfectly last year but now when you need them too, they don’t, or they do if you hold in your tummy. “Hey, if they zipper up - you’ll be fine!” says a voice in my head. Those few extra pounds will disappear; what with all the worry before you set foot on your travels, you’ll have stopped eating. And if like me, you have a lovely husband, who can still fit into all his holiday clothes, you grit your teeth and smile as you move on.

I don’t know about you, but I seem to take Boots the chemist with me on holiday – just in case. I mean, you never know -you might not be able to purchase Paracetamol in Australia and what about Germolene if you get a cut and don’t forget the mosquito stuff and the plasters and the toiletries. So once this has been established you visit the chemist and spend, spend, spend; with little regard to the cost and the weight that you will have to add to your already overloaded suitcase.

But if you are like me, you still haven’t finished, as you must iron everything and then set about packing. Now here I digress a little – but do you have problems with which shoes to take with you? Flats? Heels? How many pairs? Remember, it is going to be hot, so your feet might swell and what if they rub? Should you pack tights or those little hidden sock type thingies, which usually roll up inside the shoe but if you don’t take them!

So, after this discussion with my lovely husband and decisions are made rightly or usually wrongly, you are now ready to pack!!  Now if like me you worry over these things then packing becomes a bit of a nightmare. For instance, what if the airline loses your case or it is damaged. If this happens then you are glad that you packed like me.​

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​I colour co-ordinate the content of our cases, making sure that everything is divided up equally between the two of them so that both my lovely husband and I will have clothes, if one case goes missing. I put the beige and blue bottoms and matching tops in one case and the black and whites in another. It does take time I know, and I do become more and more like an angry Rottweiler, but I do like to be prepared!

By this time, I must admit that the thrill of going on holiday is wearing off but undeterred everything is finally in the cases. Then panic sets in! I’m sure that everyone who has ever flown must go through this stage. What about the weight? What was the limit? Have I gone over the top? Out comes the spring balance, which has a hook on one end and the measuring gauge on the other. We struggle as the hook never quite catches and the case totters to one side and expletives are uttered until eventually we are successful, and we get a weight reading. Phew! A sigh of relief as we seem to be under, which is fine, so I can breathe again!

However, I’m not finished yet as we must sort out money and travel cards because we are going to quite a few countries who use different currencies. Not only do we need to buy it, but we then must distribute it equally between us so that if one of our backpacks goes missing we still have enough to get by with; before we can claim some back.

By now I’m exhausted and declare that I am not going on holiday! But after a sleepless night, morning comes and with the arrival of the taxi ,we are finally ready to set off; after leaving detailed instructions to family and friends about looking after the post and the house whilst we are away. We set off to the airport! Yeah!

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