Ellee Seymour

Are you planning to travel by air this year? If so, do take extra care when booking your flight – and packing your bag!

I’m totally confused by new surcharges being added by operators Ryanair which is currently advertising 1 million flights at a fiver for one way.

According to The Times today, Europe’s top airline has introduced additional baggage charges in a bid to price luggage out of travel.

This is not music to the ears of someone like me who packs a pair a stylish shoes and handbag to match each outfit. I don’t travel light. I always include at least three small bags jam packed with toiletries. I cannot survive with just a toothbrush. According to the new rates, the charge for my moisturiser and shampoo will cost much more than my fare!

On top of its £10 each-way fees for checking in bags, Ryanair passengers will be charged an extra £30 fee for taking on board a carrier bag of duty-free goods or a small handbag, as well as their 10kg (22lb) of hand luggage. There are additional charges for passengers who check in at the airport rather than online. It seems Ryanair is planning to scrap check in desks altogether. That’s another bad move in my view, it means there will be no personal face representing this giant airline.

Michael O’Leary reckons that 10kg of luggage is easily sufficient for a two-week holiday. If you can survive in a bikini and be sure of generous hotel toiletries (have you noticed how they have been cut back?), then you might be able to manage it. The last thing you want to do is rush out to the pharmacy/supermarket at your destination to stock up on what you couldn’t afford to take with you. I suspect passengers, myself included. will opt for more consumer friendly airlines instead.

To test the new system, I checked out the price of a Ryanair flight from Stansted Aiport to Madrid travelling on a Monday to Friday next month and it came to £94.54 for the flight alone, excluding their insurance and priority booking which was already ticked. The additional charge for two bags and airport check-in was £66.50. The whole process was very confusing.

I know the days of cheap air travel has gone, but I do wish there was more transparency about flight prices.

Share on Facebook

I am deeply saddened to learn of the sudden death of six year old Ivan Cameron and send my sincere sympathies to his devoted parents, Conservative leader David and his wife Samantha.

The young boy, who had cerebral palsy and epilepsy, became ill overnight and was taken to St Mary’s hospital, Paddington where he died early this morning.

Who could fail to be moved by Cameron’s compassion, his open adoration and care for his disabled son. I was so impressed to learn that Cameron used to spend many small hours lying next to Ivan’s bed on the floor of a London hospital before getting up and going into work.

It is a terrible tragedy that both our two political leaders have lost young children; Gordon’s Brown daughter Jennifer Jane suffered a brain haemorrhage and died aged only 10 days.

I can’t imagine a more terrible loss for a parent than that of a child.

Share on Facebook

I think Gail Trimble is tremendous, not just for her brains, but for her modesty, warmth and humour too. And she is good looking.

I can see no reason why in this day and age, her intelligence should become a sexist issue, and that men might find it off putting. The Latin literature Oxford student and captain was quite magnificent in University Challenge’s final last night.

It is too depressing for words to learn that she is being bullied on the web for knowing that the common name of the tree Betula pendula is silver birch, and for saying “Oh, well done” when a teammate knows the answer to a tricky question.

What aspirations do petty minded people like this have?

UPDATE: If you are a big fan of hers, you might want to join the Gail Trimble Appreciation Club on Facebook. Hat tip Nick Daws on Twitter.

Share on Facebook

James has been given an after school detention for playing snowballs at school. Admittedly, he had been asked not to, and 10 minutes later was found still doing so.

I was informed about this in a letter which James brought home from school just before half-term break 10 days ago. Because we live outside the school catchment area and pay for a private bus company, I wrote to the school explaining I could not collect James from school on the day he had been assigned his detention due to work commitments.

A very frosty deputy head phoned me yesterday and said that James had deliberately defied him, and imagine if 1300 kids had been playing snowballs at the same time. You can’t win an argument against someone like that.

We agreed on two lunchtime detentions instead starting today, but James has a rehearsal for a school production of The Mikado then, and after school rehearsals as well. He also spent his Sunday afternoon at the school practising for this show.

The teacher was not interested when I explained that James might have other commitments, he was determined that his punishment should come first. He also told me that if James was given another after school det, I could fork out for a taxi to bring him home from school if I could not collect him. That was after I explained that my work took me all over the place and hey, we are in a recession, I pointed out, we can’t just drop our clients and work at the drop of a hat.

I am quite happy to support James’ after school commitments and collect him when necessary, but I wrote to the school last night and explained that I felt the punishment was not appropriate in this case. An after school detention is meant to be for really bad behaviour and it seemed over the top.

The night before this snowballing incident happened when the snow fell thick and fast, James’ friends came round and invited him to go out. He refused, saying he had some school course work to finish. He sat up till 10.30pm finishing his project. I explained this to his teacher, but it fell on deaf ears.

There was no deliberate intention to be defiant. James was just having fun. I doubt James will win, though he says he will apologise to the teacher today.

And I thought school days were meant to be the happiest days of your life….

Share on Facebook

I experienced my first difficulty today as a rambler. Thirty of us were enjoying the great weather and scenery around Wimpole and following our leader through a woodland path.

Suddenly, we were confronted by a man with a large dog who told us we were not on an official footpath and redirected us along the muddy route you can see in the pic.

A few seconds later I found a footpath sign in the ditch and another walker told me he had also spotted one lying on the ground nearby which a tractor could have knocked over; he was being sarcastic when he said that.

It was hellishly difficult to walk on that “path”, which was part of an official route and signposted. The weight of the mud on my boots felt like I was carrying blocks of concrete. It actually got worse towards the end of that stretch. And walkers did question why there wasn’t the recommended one or two metre wide path left for walkers at the edge of the field to make the path more accessible, instead of an unwelcoming quagmire.

I think our leader should have been more careful in checking out this route as it later appeared to me that we did venture on some private land when we passed his farmhouse. Someone brought a map out, but none of us were any the wiser.

Everybody was very confused. I certainly have every sympathy for farmers if hordes of strangers trudge through their private land. I wonder if she was aware of the fine detail of the Countryside and Rights to Roam Act.

But clearly if footpath signs are not clearly displayed, then confusion will arise. It does nobody any favours if they cannot be seen and mistakes like this will happen, if they are simply left in a ditch.

I felt sorry for older members of the group, including one lovely lady of 78 who wore a tweed skirt, woolly hat and hand knitted mittens, but she never uttered a word of complaint.

It hasn’t put me off joining fellow ramblers on a weekend away to the glorious Lincolnshire Wolds next month. We are staying in a fabulous barn conversion and it costs only £30 for the two nights. You don’t need to spend a fortune to have fun, and be healthy.

I remain optimistic about my walks and the relationship between ramblers and farmers. Ramblers are surely good for the rural economy and help support farmers too – and local pubs – during our visits to the countryside.

Have you experienced any similar difficulties on your countryside walks?

Share on Facebook

I wonder how different Jade Goody’s life would have been if she had known where “East Angular” was.

“I am intelligent, but I let myself down because I can’t speak properly or spell,” was one of her most touching statements from Big Brother back in 2002. That sentence really speaks volumes.

After recently learning she only had weeks to live due to cancer, Jade decided to make as much money as possible so her two little lads could have the education that she never had.

That struck a chord with me because I have had those same thoughts too, having missed out on a university education, which I have always regretted.

When I made my will and named guardians for my two sons, I specifically detailed how I wanted David and James to have  whatever money they needed for their education if the worst had ever happened to me. They could have every penny of my money, if necessary.

I have two beliefs about raising children: the first is to provide a secure, loving home, and the second is to give them the best education possible.

Poor Jade, it’s too late for her now. But what’s so tragic about this is that I imagine there are so many other Jade’s out there who also have regrets about missing out of an education which would give them confidence to stand on their own two feet in this harsh world we live in.

I think that is one of the most poignant lessons to learn to learn from this very tragic tale.

Jade and Jack, I hope you have a wonderful wedding tomorrow. It really is the best day of a girl’s life, next to having babies…

*This is what Jade said about “East Angular” to another contestant on BB. It still makes chuckle:

Jade asks Spencer if he punts boats on the River Thames.
Spencer: “No, I work in Cambridge.”
Jade: “I know I’m from Bermondsey and I know that’s London, but where is Cambridge?”
Spencer: “It’s in East Anglia.”
Jade: “Where’s East Angular [sic] though? I thought that was abroad.”

(Pics: Courtesy of Sky News and BBC)

Share on Facebook

At a time when more women should be encouraged to become parliamentary candidates, I fear they may be even more deterred by the severe economic downturn.

Contesting a parliamentary seat is an exhausting task and financially crippling. The immensely dedicated Robert Halfon describes in this article the soaring costs involved which candidates have to meet; he told how he had spent £30,000 in his fight for Harlow – and that was up until December 2005. That figure has probably topped £40,000 now and will continue to soar until the election is held. These kind of figures are not encouraging for women who are often first in line for redundancy.

I was thinking about this after reading a thought provoking report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission entitled Sex and Power 2008 which states that it would take around 200 years – another 40 elections – to achieve an equal number of women in Parliament. That is a very sad figure in this day and age of women’s equality.

The Commission is monitoring the annual index of women in positions of authority and influence in Britain and believes  that the emerging trend is one of reversal or stalled progress, with a few exceptions in the arts and voluntary sectors.

It mentions how only 19.3% of our MPs are presently women, and says a snail could crawl the entire length of the Great Wall of China in 212 years, just slightly longer than the 200 years it will take for women to be equally represented in Parliament. I love data, and these figures certainly focus the mind on what seems insurmountable!

This is an area which Labour’s deputy leader Harriet Harman should be taking a lead on as Minister for Women and Equality. I find it shocking that the United Kingdom lags so far behind other countries in being represented by women politicians. In fact, the UK currently ranks 70th and is outperformed by Rwanda, Afghanistan and Iraq in terms of women’s representation.

Are British women simply not interested in taking a pivotal role in political life, or are they deterred by the selection process, financial costs and gruelling campaigning which it entails? Will it always be “jobs for the boys” in Westminster village?

Share on Facebook

It seems a nonsense to me that every item of clothing I am wearing states its country of origin on a stitched in label. I’m afraid to say they come from less than glamorous locations -my favourite fuchsia pink cardi from M & S was made in Vietnam, while my black Wallis skirt was stitched up in Romania. My crisp white shirt had an exotic start in Malaysia while my stunning black leather belt was shipped all the way here from India.

Yet none of the food in my fridge is labelled with its country of origin, which surely the consumer deserves to know. So I very much welcome Conservative’s “Honest Food” campaign urging the government to make food labelling totally transparent regarding country of origin.

Under current rules, meat imported from abroad and processed into products like bacon, sausages and pies in Britain can be labelled as ‘British’. It’s a total farce.

It is hugely important we are informed because at the moment, meat from animals reared abroad is often done so in conditions that are illegal in the UK. Yet it can be brought to the UK for processing and then be packaged as British. Keep up the good work on this Jamie!

This is an issue my MEP Robert Sturdy is actively promoting in the European Parliament and feels very strongly about. Incidentally, I don’t see why Westminster and Euro MPs don’t join together during high profile campaigns like this when they are working together to achieve a shared objective, especially with a Euro election looming up. It would help explain the work they do and the impact it has on people’s daily lives.

Food for thought perhaps…

Share on Facebook

I pulled out my husband’s winning raffle ticket last night and didn’t know what to do.

“He bought it fair and square, it’s his prize,” said  fund-raising  officer Tracy who was standing next to me.

“He’s always lucky, he always wins raffle prizes. The week before he won a bottle of whisky at a Conservative Association dinner,” I laughingly replied.

The prize was £50 of flowers. But these are no ordinary flowers. These are Tolly’s Flowers. They are simply stunning. Tolly is a very generous supporter of Headway Cambridgeshire which held a fabulous 20th anniversary gala evening last night. I sat next to Tolly at a previous Headway dinner and remember him telling me about a very high profile client who regularly orders 200 blue roses for his dining table. He is incredibly creative and passionate about his work.

As chair of trustees, I was asked last night to pull out the winning tickets – and out came Stephen’s. I have decided to order our stunning floral arrangement in the summer and hold a party for fellow trustees and their partners at my house so everyone can enjoy them.

It was also a lucky night for former Dragon’s Den Doug Richard as I then picked out his winning ticket – his prize was half a case of champagne.

My mother joined us and there were so many wonderful people there having a great evening on the dance floor and trying their luck at the casino, and even on the Wii console.

We left at 1am and felt very sorry for the 70-year-old taxi driver we met outside who was waiting to collect his passengers on a freezing cold, icy night. He told us he would be working till 3.30am – thanks to Gordon Brown and the rubbish pension he now has.

He is sadly not alone.

Share on Facebook

Fellow scribe and twitterer Linda Jones has had a brilliant brainwave – to gather a collection of new comedy for Comic Relief via Twitter which  will then be published to raise cash.

She has been thrilled with the positive response since her announcement earlier this week. Even the BBC has picked up on it.

What an inspirational idea. I can see Linda going on TV on Red Nose Day, Friday, 13 March and reading from this unique collection.

And anyone can be one of her TwitterTitters, the name given to those who contribute. She is looking for short stories, scripts, poems and prose with a word limit of 1,400 words and the book will be published by Lulu.com. The deadline is Friday, February 20.

If comedy writing is your thing, then what are you waiting for. Just check out the TwitterTitters site for info.

I think this is a fantastic and creative idea. You could say Linda has a good nose for sniffing out something different and fun….

Share on Facebook