The Business Travel Magazine Feb/Mar 2019

DEPARTURES
The final word
Remember your WC graces
Don’t let it be said that
The Final Word isn’t
prepared to get its
hands dirty in search of cheap
gags. So here's a little story
about toilets.
Or, to be more precise, the
lavs aboard Virgin Trains. You
see, it appears the reason the
facilities are often closed is that
people are simply flushing
inappropriate items.
Keen to remind us that you
should restrict the pan to ‘the
three Ps’ – a euphemism that is
difficult to shake from your
mind, since it actually stands for
pee, poo and paper – we learn
that all sorts of rubbish has been
disposed of into Virgin’s toilets.
Since we are scraping the
bottom of the barrel (or should
that be bowl?), you are no doubt
keen to learn that baby wipes
are the top culprit when it
comes to blocking up pipes,
accounting for 90% of incidents.
In total, says Virgin Trains,
blockages cause 18,000 lost
toilet hours every year, and
cost more than £182,000 to fix.
More concerning is the list of
items also found to have been
caught up in and around the
U-bends of it pendolinos. Pity
the unfortunate customers who
lost a bra, a wedding ring and
glasses, but how a Manchester
United scarf came to be on the
list is understandable given the
team’s form under Jose.
GONE, BUT NOT
FORGOTTEN...
The annual Travelodge ‘items
left behind’ list is always fun.
But this year it appears some
business travellers have faced
a difficult conversation with
bosses over what’s been lost
1 A set of company accounts
(Aberdeen Central)
2 A Louis Vuitton 'man bag'
containing designs for a
new product launch
(Glasgow Central)
3 A Coutts cheque book
and Silk account card
(London Farringdon)
4 Tax returns for the year
(Inverness City Centre)
5 Business plan for a pop-up
shop (Portsmouth)
Meet, and all veg
Vegans, it seems, are
everywhere. And now
they are coming to a
hotel near you too.
Never ones to let a PR
opportunity slip, the Hilton
London Bankside has taken
an eco-friendly plunge with a
dedicated vegan suite. Yes,
this is really a thing!
To be fair, the property has
done it right, consulting
experts from the Vegan
Society to create a room that
is completely ethical yet still
swanky. Highlights include
pillows without feathers, faux
leather made of pineapple
fibres, plus menus and
toiletries that have never
been near an animal.
It is some time since British Airways could be
considered a bellweather for all that was right
about the UK. But at least you can rely on its
customers for a pretty accurate picture of what we
like as a nation. Research into onboard viewing
habits reveals that Blue Planet II was its most-
watched TV show at 36,000ft last year (who
doesn't love Sir David?), followed by Peppa Pig
and a documentary about Prince Harry
and Meghan. Meanwhile,
Red Sparrow
- starring
ever popular
Jennifer
Lawrence
– was perhaps
predictably
the top movie
90 THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.COM