THE GUARDIAN - Summer Holiday Travel Writing Competition

Scribes at the ready...

...competition details here. Read more!

LEAVE THE HANGER! New travel job added

Read more!

Travellers' Tales - Jonathan Lorie Interview plus Three Classes Announced

Travellers' Tales run creative master classes and on-location weekends which are perfect for aspiring and improving travel writers alike. Three classes were announced this week, running in November 2008.

The editor of Wanderlust magazine takes a class on Travel Writing for Magazines, while Steve Watkins of BBC Books fame runs through the practicalities and technicalities of Travel Photography for Magazines. Both master classes run this November 17th - 19th in London.

Also, back by popular demand, there's a Marrakech Weekender complete with riad accommodation and sultry, spicy inspiration of the Moroccan kind. Steve Watkins is the expert photographer on hand and Jonathan Lorie is the experienced voice of travel magazines. This course will be held from November 21st to 24th.

Jonathan Lorie, when asked how much of a traveller writer's success depends upon their raw talent and how much comes from hard work, determination and practice, said,

"You don't need to be a genius to produce publishable articles for the travel press. You need to know how to go about writing a structuring an article, and what editors are looking for. Those are things that can be taught, and we see people on our courses - beginners even - make amazing leaps with the right input from experienced professionals like our tutors."

"Writing a travel book is a bigger undertaking and more demanding. You do need more of a feel for words and for storytelling. But again, we find there are plenty of people with ideas and talent who just need to know how to go about things - how to channel their natural creativity properly - that can take you a long way."

I also asked Jonathan if, having spent the last few years running the creative classes, he believes that there's a traveller writer in every traveller. To which he replied...

"Most travellers love to share their stories and experiences, and this lends itself naturally to travel writing. The enthusiasm is the basis for great stories! But writing for the page is different from telling a story out loud - it needs more structure and style - so travellers need to learn to be writers as well. That's where Travellers' Tales can help aspiring writers save a lot of time and frustration."

And in terms of success stories?

"We regularly hear success stories from our past students getting articles published around the world. We do give people the tools to do the job : then it comes down to how much time and energy they put into making a go of it."

To book a Travel Writing master class with Jonathan and his expert tutors, visit the Travellers' Tales website. .

There's also more at yesterday's post on Written Roads - the travel writers' resource. Read more!

Henry Rollins Spoken Word - an engaging, enraging traveller

Sandwagon skidded across mud to the Indoor Stage at the Summer Sundae weekend fringe festival, (De Montfort Hall, Leicester, UK), where a two thousand-strong audience was treated to a Rollins' spoken word performance of the highest order.

America's outspoken singer-songwriter, actor, writer and prolific traveller took us on a journey through US politics and then across the world to, amongst other places, Cambodia. Rollins shared details of the hideous history of torture, death and human debris he witnessed there, in the rooms of Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (previously Security Prison 21), and also at the edges of a Killing Field.

Littered with laughs yet rising and flowing from one despicable global catastrophe to the next, Rollins' brutally honest and powerful performance steeled me to travel for the sake of seeing, as he has, and for telling, as he does, to combat ignorance. It was a powerful reminder that the myriad opportunities that we have to travel shouldn't be wasted in fun, games and total self-indulgence.

He closed his set by asking the audience to make each others acquaintance, then to exchange email addresses and experiences - because lasting change can only be achieved through global citizenship, not via the next newly elected Prime Minister or President, as too many of us still believe.

Books based on Rollins' travel journals include:
Do I Come Here Often? (1998); Smile, You're Traveling(2000)

I recommend catching a performance and making up your own mind about Rollins' style and the substance of his performances.

Henry Rollins Spoken Word Tour 2008 dates:
Aug 10 - Glee Club - Birmingham, UK
Aug 11 - Glee Club - Cardiff, UK
Aug 12 - IndigO2 London, UK
Aug 13 - Komedia Brighton, UK
Aug 14 - Pukkelop - Hasselt, Belgium
Aug 15 - Biddinghuizen - Lowlands, The Netherlands
Aug 16 - Highfield Festival - Erfurt, Germany
Aug 18 - The Gilded Balloon 'Edinburgh Festival' (22.45-00.00)- Edinburgh, UK
Aug 19 - The Gilded Balloon 'Edinburgh Festival' (22.45-00.00)- Edinburgh, UK
Aug 20 - The Gilded Balloon 'Edinburgh Festival' (22.45-00.00)- Edinburgh, UK
Aug 21 - The Gilded Balloon 'Edinburgh Festival' (22.45-00.00)- Edinburgh, UK
Aug 22 - The Gilded Balloon 'Edinburgh Festival' (22.45-00.00)- Edinburgh, UK
Aug 23 - Leeds Festival (13.30)- Leeds, UK
Aug 24 - The Gilded Balloon 'Edinburgh Festival' (22.45-00.00)- Edinburgh, UK
Aug 24 - Reading Festival (13.30) - Reading, UK
Aug 25 - The Gilded Balloon 'Edinburgh Festival' (22.45-00.00)- Edinburgh, UK
Aug 27 - Junction 2 - Cambridge, UK
Aug 28 - Academy - Oxford, UK
Aug 29 - The Assembly in Leamington Spa
Aug 30 - Academy - Liverpool, IL
Aug 31 - Stradbally Manor 'Electric Picnic' - Portlaoise, Ireland

Recountdown Tour 2008
Henry’s hitting the road with a brand new election time talking tour. See Rollins' official website for dates and details. Read more!

Written Road - a real resource for aspiring travel writers

Pie in the sky or obtainable over time?

Aspiring travel writers the world over may well be asking themselves the same question over and over again as rejection emails hit their inbox, or worst still, they hear only silence.

Have faith! SandWagon definitely falls in the 'obtainable over time' camp. Commissions and pay cheques may come painfully slowly as you straight, but there's no harm in building up industry contacts, confidence and writing experience over a few years. And this is the viewpoint I'll wax on about in my new weekly guest writing slot for Written Road - the inside scoop on the travel publishing world.

I'll be joining the blog's editors and two co-writers on a mission to bolster the confidence of other would-be article and guidebook writers. I've also charged myself with offering a insight into the UK travel publishing scene.

There's no denying that travel writing is a competitive field but it's also one in which networks such as Written Road can benefit the majority. Never underestimate the power of recommendations, shared contacts and experiences.

Visit Written Road every Friday for The Pipes' Post Read more!

The Independent on Sunday/ Bradt Travel-Writing Competition 2008 - Winner

And the Winner is...

...Kate Megeary for 'The Perfection of Improvisation'

Read Kate's winning writing at the Bradt site Read more!

Start saving up - Virgin Galactic Rolls Out Mothership 'Eve'

(click to enlarge image)
If there's one trip that I'd sacrifice all others to make, it's a trip into space: to the moon and back or perhaps a mere a circumnavigation of our planet Earth. And listening to Richard Branson as he stood beside his Mothership at Mojave Air and Spaceport in California, I'm convinced that it's worth shelving all future city break and beach plans to bank the cash for a £100,000 ticket.

Yesterday, 'Eve' - named after the tycoon's mother - was received, in all her twin-fuselaged glory, by invited VIPS and the media. Speaking to the BBC, Branson looked forward with characteristic, unfaltering belief to ten or twenty years ahead when day-trips to the dark side of the Moon and back will be available from a lunar-luxe hotel.

A statement from Virgin Galactic describes Eve's rollout as representing, 'another major milestone in Virgin Galactic’s quest to launch the world’s first private, environmentally benign, space access system for people, payload and science'. WhiteKnightTwo (Eve's official name) is both visually remarkable and represents ground-breaking aerospace technology. At 140 ft, the wing spar is the longest single carbon composite aviation component ever manufactured.

We all know that when Branson really puts his mind to something, he succeeds in the end. So start saving. I can't think of a better way to mark my 50th birthday than taking the ultimate journey into space.

More, in brief:

WK2, designed Burt Rutan, is a carrier aircraft that will ferry SpaceShipTwo and thousands of private astronauts, science packages and payload on the first stage of the Virgin Galactic sub-orbital space experience

WK2 has a maximum altitude of over 50,000 ft

It is expected to take its first flight in the fall of 2008

Powered by four Pratt and Whitney PW308A engine - powerful, economic and efficient - WK2 is a mold breaker in carbon efficiency

WK2 will be able to support up to four daily space flights

SpaceShipTwo, clearly visible but heavily shrouded during Eve's roll out is well on its way to completion and awaits its own roll out in 2009

The full Virgin Galactic website will be live to browse on 29th July 2008 Read more!

Keeping the holiday feeling - Life's a Beach (Virgin Books)

Today has been the hottest day of the year so far in Britain. But rather than head off with the crowds to the North Norfolk coast or inland and upwards into the breezier altitudes of the Peak District, I've been rooted indoors, working at my laptop. If I wasn't still wearing my white bikini top in an attempt to keep the Turkish beach holiday feeling, beneath a white vest, plus flip flops, I'd be seriously worried that the Sandwagon had deserted me.

Today has been the least 'wind in my hair, bare feet on warm sand' it could have been....but I tried to bring some holiday feeling to it. I've been doing the same for years. Until the chance comes along for me to live life as one long, blissful series of sun soaked adventures, I'll content myself with reliving the best bits at home.

Sandwagon's top tips for year-round holiday highs:

Bikinis and beachwear usurp lounge wear - you don't have to live by the sea to enjoy the laid-back beach lifestyle. When at home, ditch pjs for kaftans and bikinis. Instant mood enhancement.

Cook and/or eat outside at every given opportunity - Picnic daily, ideally by the nearest river, in a rolling field or on a handy high spot. Downgrade BBQs from birthday events and summer parties, to pragmatic everyday cooking option. Just make sure that healthy grilled fish and vegtables form the majority of meals, keeping fatty burgers and booze binges for the once-in-awhiles.

Bare feet or flops whenever the urge takes - nothing feels like summer, holidays and freedom like letting fresh air wrap around your toes.

New from Virgin Books, and on the same subject, comes Life's a Beach. Alexandra Massey shows how a few small changes can help you feel happier, more relaxed and able to enjoy that holiday feeling all year round. If the advice works for you, that's £6.99 very well spent!

Buy Life's A Beach: Keep that holiday feeling all year round (Virgin Books)
By Alexandra Massey Price: £6.99
Published: 05-06-2008
ISBN: 9780753513934
Format: Paperback


Read more!

Quality Copenhagen - Monocle Magazine, Me &, next, thee

The German King of steins and sausages is dead, according to the urban boffins at Monocle Magazine. Long live the Danish King of architecture and design. This month's offering from the sporn of Wallpaper* sees Munich, demoted to the second best city behind wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen. And, as scientifically dry as the trailer to Monocles' Global Quality of Life Survey is, a more low maintenance, barefoot and free SandWagon simply has to agree ... with their 'urban theorists' and editorial staff sitting at clinically clean desks, surrounded by tasteful wooden office furniture, designer-bespectacled blah blah blah...

Monocle's dedicated researchers spent the last 12 months, surveying - quantitatively and qualitatively - the world's cities to see how they stacked up in terms quality of life. Everything was considered, from crime statistics and average hours of sunshine to the availability of booze.

Anyone who has spent more than a day in London - witnessing the snot in their tissue turn blacker with every Tube trip - would, unstandably, 'pah' at the very idea of urban quality of life. 'Pah', get rich in The City...move to Cornwall, take to Tuscany.... But stop first and try Copenhagen on for size: Danish city of houseboats and bicycles, car-free streets, huge salads and Baltic Sea breezes. Copenhagen is indeed a city that makes you feel glad to be alive for the simple reasons, and its happy citizens seem to embody the concept of Lifestyle and a life immersed in style. Read more!

Flightstats.com - watch the runway from the web

Where to start writing a review of Flightstat.com? Initially, I imagined this site's prime target user would be plane spotters, scanning the site rather than loitering on the viewing deck watching the comings and goings of planes all day long.

The traditional plane spotter would be impressed, I'm sure. The Flight Status search option alone aroused levels of excitement in me (non-spotter) not seen since I was introduced to Netvibes (see post). With the Flight Status search you can view flights by airline name and flight code; route or destination or arrival airport.

Flight Status search is also perfect for anxious mums waiting for teenage travellers to touch down on the other side of the globe, or be picked up by Dad at the Arrivals gate, tanned, skint and having found themselves. And super savvy loved ones - have strayed from their laptop - can set up a Flight Alert text or email, letting Flightstats.com send reassurance the second Daniel's plane - plus tail lights - have landed in Spain.

So out of interest, I searched the status of all Departures from London Heathrow between 18.00 - 21.00 today: five pages of scrolling later, I'd viewed airport gateway codes (with link to airport details), flight codes (in multiple if a code-sharing flight),carrier names and equipment (model of plane), terminals, scheduled against actual departure times (in real-time) and status (landed, en route, on time or running late)for flights departing to destinations worldwide - everywhere from Amsterdam to Zurich. Yes, a cyber plane-spotter was born!

There's more. The Flight Tracker application - using Googlemaps - lets you see the latest position of each flight along its course: which city, town, village or ocean the plane is flying over in real time. As the map refreshes, Positional Information shares details of the flight's exact Latitude; Longitude; Speed; Altitude; Bearing; miles (KM) from destination and from origin. Click here to see a random flight in action

Flights Status and Tracker are just two options in just one drop down menu (Flights)

There's even more. Check the following tabs for these travel resources...

TRAVEL PLANNING tab includes Flight Availability search engine (powered by Kayak), Frequent Flyer promotions drop downs
AIRLINES tab including Airline Scorecard and Airlines of the World drop downs
AIRPORTS tab including Airport Information, Delays by Airport, Airport Chatter, Security Wait Times (currently just US airports) and Airport Parking drop downs
COMMUNITY tab including Forums and Travel Directory drop downs

Visit Flightstats.com , explore and be amazed by the depth of information available.

About Flightstats.com (from the site)
Conducive Technology Corp. is a leading provider of worldwide flight performance information to the global travel and transportation industries. Our FlightStats platform delivers real-time and historical flight information that lowers travel-related costs and improves the travel experience. With unique products that can deliver value at each stage of a travel transaction, to both business and consumer audiences, FlightStats is poised to benefit as travel management evolves. Read more!