YakTrax & iPad

As a TM, you always get a little bit nervous before a Tour sets out. Anybody who tells you otherwise is either lying or doesn’t care much about the job. There’s always a worry that you’ve missed something crucial or will do something stupid. There’s nothing quite like standing in front of 40 people and looking like a fool. Fingers crossed.

It’s Tuesday today and on Thursday evening I’ll be setting for for an overnight hotel at Heathrow before an early start on Friday to take The Northern Lights and Lapland for Great Rail Journeys & Vacations By Rail. As far as I can tell, I now have everything ready for departure. My itinerary, Vouchers, Ferry Tickets, Hotel Menus finally arrived after I prodded the GRJ office a few times. They in turn, prodded our agent in Norway to come up with he goods. I’ve printed off my client introduction letters, allocated the numbered suitcase tags and started the seat allocations for the train. I’m good to go.

I’m hopeful that I’ll get one more season out of my iPad. It’s getting a little old, tired and rough around the edges (rather like me). If I have a successful season this year, I’ll replace it with a new model when I know what Apple has released in the Summer.

Finally, there’s my YakTrax. These clever things slide onto the bottom of your boots to stop you sliding around and I have strongly recommended them to all my clients. Norway, on the Atlantic Coast tends to experience Rain/Freeze/Snow/Rain/Freeze weather and this can make pavements treacherous. The review mention that the rubber can sometimes break, so I have a spare pair ready. Not a good look for the elegant Tour Manager about town to face plant in front of the watching world – Speaking of which, I never tire of watching this…

When I get back from this Tour I only have 48 hours off before I set off for Italy on another Tour, Hidden Treasures of Tuscany. It doesn’t happen often that Tours are so close together, but this is a brand new Tour for the company and they want me to be the Tour Specialist for it, so I felt that I ought to turn up. What this means is that I also have to start doing some advance prep for Italy at the same time as Norway, to try and get ahead of things. Phew!