Nine holiday packing tips for the carry-on bag generation

Unless there is a very good reason to put luggage in the hold (such as when my son insisted on taking his cricket bat to Spain one summer and I had to put it in an enormous suitcase to get it there), I always fly hand luggage (carry-on bag) only.

With family who live on the European continent, I have to fly if I visit them and have become ever more efficient when it comes to packing a case.

So here are my nine tips for trouble-free packing:

1. Wear your heaviest or bulkiest items of clothing. For example, denim jeans are heavy, so if you want to take them on holiday and are looking to save luggage weight, wear them;
2. Ditch your usual handbag and use one which is small and flat which can be squeezed under your jacket or into the suitcase;
3. Likewise, ditch the soap-bag and make-up bag. I know they look lovely in your hotel bathroom, but do you really need them? If you are taking toiletries and cosmetics they will have to go in a plastic bag to get through security anyway, so why take more bags in your case? In my ruthless bid to keep the weight down, my soap-bag, and make-up bag have to go – zip-lock plastic food bags do the job just as well;
4. Roll your clothes. It is counter-intuitive, but your clothes will have fewer creases in them if you do. And you can fit far more in a suitcase that way, believe me;
5. Use packing cubes. These have revolutionised my holiday packing and I’m like a convert, enthusiastically singing their praises to all who might listen. They hold a lot of clothes (rolled, of course) neatly in place. I’m a fan of eBags (http://amzn.to/2sxTI1X). They are not the cheapest, but so far mine have lasted for five years and still look brand new;
6. Pack a sarong, large soft pashmina or scarf, depending on the climate and keep it in the case front pocket if there is one, (or near the suitcase zip opening), to make it easy to find. In-flight air-conditioning can be too cold and a pashmina or sarong keeps the chill away;
7. You only ever wear three pairs of shoes: something pretty which will go with all your going-out clothes and something comfortable for sightseeing or driving the hire-car. If it’s a beach holiday, throw in the flip-flops too. Anything else will just take up space and add to the weight in your suitcase. Wear the heaviest or bulkiest of them when you travel;
8. Pack an extension lead, plug adapter, charger and cable. My son goes nowhere abroad without his four-plug socket extension lead. It means you only need one socket adapter to be able to use all your electricals with their usual plugs attached. A brilliant idea! A pre-charged portable battery pack is also useful in case your flight is delayed and there isn’t a plug socket in sight.
9. Never assume that the hotel hairdryer is going to work. This is the one item I always carry, unless I am going to stay with family or friends. There are plenty of lightweight travel dryers on the market: I have a earlier version of this lightweight model from Boots The Chemist. It folds in half, making it very compact https://www.boots.com/tresemme-travel-hair-dryer-10199250

OK, so are you ready? Then start packing…

Are you being heard? The perils of working on the train

Sometimes, I’m a bit nosey. Especially when I am on the train with an hour or two to kill. If I’m on my way to a meeting, I can read my notes, and do some work along the way, but always, in my line of work, ensuring that I keep those notes and work to myself.

Not everyone is the same though: I am always amazed by the number of professionals who are quite happy to discuss their clients’ cases or other confidential information on the phone in a crowded train carriage. I am also amazed at how careless some people are with the papers they spread around the train table as they work during the journey. 

As I said, I’m a bit nosey and if there are papers on the table in front of me, I’m going to read them. I’m also good at reading upside down, so that won’t stop me either. (It’s a handy skill which I’ve used many times in the past). I’ve read business plans, marketing briefs for well known brands, listened in on the details of a very interesting contract dispute (and privately disagreed with the advice being given) and sat through a thorough bollocking being administered on the phone to some hapless junior back in a distant office. 

So, I wasn’t that surprised to find that sometimes people get caught out. The British Medical Journal reports that a consultant forensic psychiatrist who discussed a patient’s medical report with a colleague on a crowded train could be disciplined. The Court of Appeal quashed a High Court injunction which had prevented the Mental Health NHS Trust from convening a disciplinary panel to hear allegations of breach of confidence against the psychiatrist.

The main allegation was that the psychiatrist had the patient’s report on her lap and discussed it with a colleague when the two doctors were passengers on a train in November 2010. Opposite them happened to be sitting the head of secure services policy at the Department of Health. She did not speak to the psychiatrist at the time but later wrote a letter to the patient's hospital, outlining details of the incident, indicating that the patient’s name was clearly visible.

The psychiatrist admitted reading the patient’s notes on the train but said that she had not realised that his name could be seen. She also admitted dictating two reports on the train but she said that she had ensured no other passengers were close by.

Lord Justice Pill, delivering the leading judgment in the Court of Appeal said that a patient’s right to confidentiality “is fundamental in the health service and must be respected by doctors and other staff.”

And that goes for lawyers and other professionals too. When on the train, do not forget where you are: keep your files out of sight and confidential conversations for another time. 

Don’t spill it, zip it.