Magic carpet

Every other year we take a special holiday and this time it was to India. The star attraction was a 1,000 mile journey through Rajasthan travelling by rail at night in the "Palace on Wheels" and sightseeing by coach during the day. The sleeper carriages and restaurant cars had been renovated to recreate a velvety…

Rites of passage

We were on our way back to France. I had successfully negotiated the metal-detector, was no longer barefoot and was just rethreading my trouser belt when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw my suitcase being set to one side. I confirmed that it was mine and was asked to go to a…

Hello piglet, I’m on a train

Verbal molestation: the light and dark sides of broadcast conversation There can be little more invasive than unwanted noise. Aeroplanes, trains, even music (pressed to the loudspeaker at a rock concert, the overloud iPod) can bombard and make life unpleasant, and even painful. Well, that is classic noise pollution for which there are laws; but what about…