In which we present a regular round-up of news from the world of Grown-up Travel
The only way is Cornwall – or is it Devon? EasyJet to launch new Southend-Newquay route
The Independent
The only way is Cornwall – or is it Devon? The latest flight from Southend revealed by easyJet departs from the second Essex airport, destination Newquay. The two resorts will be linked from 20 June next year.
But the airline claims the new link to North Cornwall will open up a fast connection to the English Riviera – the towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, more than 80 miles away in South Devon.
Hugh Aitken, easyJet’s UK Commercial Manager, said: “The new service makes the South West much more accessible, and certainly a lot faster to reach than the current road or rail alternatives.”
Alastair Welch, Southend airport’s Managing Director, said: “Destinations such as St Ives and the Eden project are now just 60 minutes flight time away, instead of a six-hour car or nine-hour train journey”.
It is the first flight to another destination in mainland Britain from the upgraded Southend airport since its £100m refurbishment. The lowest fare for a single passenger on the new link is £36.
Ryanair flew to Newquay from the other Essex airport, Stansted, for a time, but abandoned the link for more profitable routes.
The alternative Christmas shopping guide
The Guardian
Forget the anonymity of internet shopping or the scrum of the high street and combine gift buying with some festive fun at our choice of alternative markets and shopping events.
Shop while you party
On Wednesday 12 December you can buy presents and have a night out at Buffalo (7pm, buffalocardiff.co.uk), a cocktail bar and music venue in Cardiff. Upstairs there will be a Boutique Christmas Fair with stalls selling vintage bargains and handmade crafts, while downstairs the Cardiff Tea Club Christmas Party will be in full swing, with speciality teas and cake to sample (and some stronger tipples) and DJs playing reggae, funk & dub until the early hours.
On 21 December, Manchester’s 2022NQ, a creative “space” in the heart of the fashionable Northern Quarter will be hosting the Salford ‘Zine Fair, a gathering of some of the city’s top designers, printmakers and illustrators, alongside its Christmas Party with live music and DJ sets (5pm-1am, salfordzinefair.blogspot.co.uk). As if that wasn’t enough you can try your hand at screenprinting and bookbinding, watch artists at work and even take in a short film.
In London, New York-based pop-culture magazine BUST returns to the York Hall in Bethnal Green next Sunday (16 December) for its popular Christmas Craftacular (noon–6pm, bust.com/craftacular). More than 70 stalls will be selling a range of hip handmade wares, from illustrated ceramics to ethical taxidermy, and there will be DIY workshops, DJ sets, dancing and hula hooping demonstrations.
Snakes on a Plane: cobra forces plane into emergency landing
The Telegraph
Passengers on an Egypt Air flight to Kuwait became the unwilling participants in an all-too-real version of the action thriller Snakes on a Plane this week, after a cobra escaped from one man’s hand luggage.
The plane that had taken off from Cairo was forced to make an emergency landing in the Egyptian resort town of Al Ghardaqa on the Red Sea after the serpent bit the 48-year-old Jordanian that had smuggled it on board, the Jordan Times reported.
The passenger, who owns a reptile shop in Kuwait, hid the Egyptian cobra in a carry-on bag but it managed to escape down the passenger aisle, an Egypt Air official told the newspaper.
In the 2006 hit film Snakes on a Plane, actor Samuel L. Jackson grapples to save the aircraft after the cabin becomes overrun by hundreds of hyped-up venomous serpents.
“Imagine your greatest fears; the ones that paralyse you; the ones that render you helpless. Now imagine them all at once,” says the voice-over in the film’s trailer.
The words must be fitting for how passengers on the Kuwait bound flight felt as the dangerous snake sunk its teeth into its Jordanian owner and slithered among the seats.
“You know all those little security scenarios we ran? Well I am smack in the middle of one we didn’t think of,” says Mr Jackson in the film, surrounded by hissing vipers.
Ultimate holiday tips revealed
News.com.au
You may think you’re ready for your next holiday, but don’t even think about packing your hiking boots until you read these tips.
From shark attacks to escaping a flooded car, here’s how to get yourself out of the stickiest situations you never thought you’d find yourself in, according to Lonely Planet’s Book of Everything.
OUTDOOR SURVIVAL
How to avoid being sucked into quicksand …
It’s usually found near coasts and inland on riverbanks or near lakes, marshes and underground springs.
1. If you’re walking in an area known to have quicksands, carry a strong pole with you.
2. If you feel yourself sinking, put the pole on the ground in front of you.
3. With the pole perpendicular to your body, lie across the pole.
4. Don’t panic. The more you wiggle around, the faster you will sink. But you will never sink completely, because your body is not as dense as the surrounding sand. If you don’t have a pole, don’t worry, you’ll still float.
5. Spread your arms out to increase your surface area. Lie back and relax. With gentle movements, slowly work yourself to a safe area.
How to survive (and prevent) a shark attack
Keep your fears in proportion; you are more likely to be hurt by overexposure to the sun than you are to be bitten by a shark.
General rules:
• Don’t wear any flashy clothes or jewellery. Light glints off it and to a shark it looks like fish scales (ie food).
