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Local Life - Wigan - May 2021

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16<br />

in Hamburg to a German language song, is that enough?<br />

“Still though, not as embarrassing as the time my wife and<br />

I were on a guided tour in Edinburgh with a large family<br />

group. The host of the tour said, ‘Now this next bit is for<br />

the little children...’ before pointing to a small boy stood<br />

directly in front of me and saying, ‘would you like to come<br />

forward?’<br />

“Thinking he meant me, I excitedly stepped out and the<br />

whole group sniggered. My wife quickly shot the words<br />

‘Simon! He said CHILDREN’ at me!”<br />

When it comes to travel inspiration, Simon draws in the<br />

wealth of knowledge from Michael Palin, Bill Bryson, Paul<br />

Theroux and Mark Twain. Simon adds, “I prefer to read the<br />

adventures of others and in particular the 19th Century<br />

tales of Isabella Lucy Bird. She was quite the adventuress<br />

and a complex character. I mostly enjoy reading travel<br />

writing from the distant past, as the author takes you to a<br />

place that you can never experience first-hand; the fusion<br />

of travel and history is largely what my blog is all about.”<br />

Simon also tells me that alongside his blog, his camera is<br />

actually something he can’t do without, “I need to be able<br />

to capture every moment. When it comes to what I need<br />

when travelling, I look at this in a less literal sense, I can’t<br />

travel without adequate research and planning being<br />

done beforehand. Don’t waste hours getting lost trying<br />

to find places or queuing for tickets. Get it all organised<br />

before you go!”<br />

Simon continues, “I always strive to tell people that<br />

travelling isn’t all about how far you’ve been or how many<br />

miles you’ve clocked up, it’s all about leaving your front<br />

door and taking those all-important first steps.<br />

“Day to day life is travelling. Going to the next town<br />

is travelling. A day out with your children in the park is<br />

travelling! Don’t see travel as something that requires<br />

large amounts of money to realise. Start small and aim<br />

big if you wish to.”<br />

This sentiment has been real-life for the past 12 months,<br />

with the national lockdown restricting not only foreign<br />

but also regional travel; people have had to rediscover<br />

their local area. Simon tells me, “The pandemic has<br />

crippled the travel industry, but I believe that peoples<br />

love of visiting new places hasn’t diminished.<br />

“Once confidence in safety is restored, I can envisage<br />

normality returning pretty quickly by 2023. I think the<br />

next couple of years will see a slow build up as companies<br />

struggle to recoup their losses, particularly the aviation<br />

industry. We’ll see both cheap fares and price hikes.<br />

Travellers will need to be alert to these changes and<br />

spend wisely.”<br />

To keep up to date with Simon and his travels please go<br />

to Facebook and search @sitravels2018<br />

Karl Marx Allee - Berlin<br />

Rabbit Rocks - Ince

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