Momentarily puzzled by what’s on my browser. Everything seems to be about data security breaches, or hackers or technical developments. Is the news being taken over by geeks?

Then I remembered that’s what all the RSS feeds are set to deliver.

Great story here about the perils of working on the road

-flat mobile phone batteries, not being able to pick up emails, (or laptop running out of power…see previous posts), stain on the tie - yep, had that recently when came out of meeting and noticed huge stain (I think caused by blueberry yoghurt).

Other things I would add; travelling the day before to get to an early morning meeting only to discover the hotel or B & B is miles away and it takes longer than if set off from home in the morning; or recently I was in the middle of the fens waiting for a bus when a lorry overturned and completely closed the road in both directions.

Being kept awake all night by badgers screaming was a novelty while staying in the west country. If only they’d told me in advance. I really did think some strange ritual was being enacted in the garden but was too shy to go and investigate. Maybe it was. Maybe they made the stuff about the badgers up.

Being stuck on a train for four hours because a signal box had been struck by lightening (hasn’t anyone in the past 150 years thought of putting lightening conductors on the roof?). A train arriving 2 hours late to Thetford station so I missed the only bus out of town.

Oh, and then there’s the hotels. The worst has got to be the one in Sheffield, thankfully I can’t remember it’s name but it is approached through some fairly intimidating urban underpasses - in comparison to the hotel itself though, they were relatively clean and had less rubbish in them. Then there was the Best Western in Chester. I’ve lived in better squats. That was the same evening I had the worst curry I’ve ever eaten.

Travelodge: there was the experience in Edinburgh when I was woken twice in the night by the phone ringing - thankfully they no longer put phones in them. Eventually I ripped iit out of the wall. It was almost a truculent pop star moment. The next night in the same place, someone parked a huge coach outside at 3am and left the engine running until they had woken everyone up and there was a near riot.

Never, ever stay in a town centre. No-one seems able to just go out and just have a few beers anymore. Alcoholic excess seems to have to be accompanied by the most ludicrious shouting and bellowing. Usually of the ‘your a fx*xg xxxx’ variety’ - often hurled at inanimate objects.

Then there’s the issues like wearing jeans, t-shirt on the train on the way somewhere with suit, tie, shoes in suitcase; only to arrive and realise that shoes or shirt or some other essential is missing.

Or forgetting the laptop power pack -now that is annoying.

I’m really seriously thinking about taking my tent with me when I have to stay away from home. At least if it’s a sleepless night it’s not costing much money. Maybe there’s a market to be had for itinerant IT people - special campsites with posts outside the tent to plug the laptop and the phone in (like they have in Canada to plug the car in to keep it warm in the winter). If there was wi-fi access across the campsite, somewhere to get a reasonable cup of tea and a sandwich I can’t see why such places wouldn’t be incredibly popular.