Sarah Fernie, our Sales Manager, was determined to work until the last moment before having her baby.  She certainly achieved this!!  We were in a meeting together and, I now know, she was actually going into labour!!  Her daughter arrived in the evening.

Now there is commitment and there is commitment.  She sent a message to say she wasn’t working today…. but that she would get her list of tasks completed next week!  I don’t think so!  So, we are now in the able hands of Erin, who is covering for the Sarah’s maternity, and Paul, who is our Sales Supervisor.  Congratulations, Sarah!  We look forward to welcoming you back in September.

Are you a royalist?  Will you be watching the wedding tomorrow or will you be…. perhaps planning your next holiday?  We will not be open tomorrow, 29 April, but will be open all weekend and on Bank Holiday Monday if you do wish to commence enquiring about your holiday plans.  

Do you have a top ten list of places you want to go to?  Did you ever see the film “the Bucket List”?  If you haven’t, it is worth watching.  It stars Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, and is a mix of fun and poignancy.  You may wonder why I am asking, but in the film they talk about destinations they want to visit.  So what is on your top ten?  I wonder if they are all destinations we offer?  I’d be delighted to help you achieve getting to the countries that are on your list.  I am going to share mine with you:

1) Costa Rica

2) Peru (to return to)

3) Argentina

4) Chile 

5) Namibia

6) South Africa

7) India (to return to)

8) China (to return to)

9) Vietnam (to return to)

10) Nepal (to return to)

Oh, it’s no good.  I can’t play this game.  I listed 50 and had to cut 40 out, so insatiable is my desire to travel and explore.  It is good to prioritise in some way, though, so you don’t actually regret not travelling to these countries when you can.

Another thing I have done is count up the countries I have been to.  I guess many of you who are reading this would beat me on this.  Especially, I know for sure, those that travel with Bales every year.      

I am always celebrating the diversity of holidays and destinations we offer.  There are many advantages to the itineraries we present and, not least, the knowledge, passion and detail that goes into ensuring we deliver the best holidays in the world.  I also think that we are lucky in that so many of you are interested in the countries, and have often done some extensive research.  You really have set your heart on travelling because you are so interested in seeing different aspects and cultures.  If you were simply going abroad for a better climate, then you might be deterred from travelling when we have such good weather here.  However, though weather is, of course, a factor on any holiday, that is not the only reason you wish to travel with Bales to the far flung countries across the world.

My Mother has just returned from Egypt and cruising on one of the wonderful dahabiyyas.  She goes to Egypt every year, and had huge withdrawal symptoms last year because poor health prevented her from going.  She came back with her usual excitement about how wonderful it was, how welcoming the Egyptian people are, how it is such a unique country…  We know all that, but it is great to see that her passion for travelling is still there.  She came back on a hot and sunny day, which is always great to return to, but she didn’t think ‘I wished I had stayed in the UK as the weather is so beautiful.’   No, indeed, she is just planning her next adventure.

I really do relish the responsibility of ensuring that, for each and every one of you, we do our utmost to ensure you have the holiday of a lifetime. This is good because, when I am in the gym, thinking about what else we can do diverts my mind from the arduous exercise I am doing, in my pathetic attempt to be fitter.

I look forward to catching up soon.  Have a wonderful weekend and remember we are here over the weekend if you decide to start planning your holiday with us.

About Mandy Nickerson

Other articles by Mandy Nickerson

Mandy endeavours to share her travel experiences (where she will 'tell it like it is') and also detail the latest exciting projects that she is involved in. Mandy welcomes your feedback - please feel free to submit your thoughts, queries, comments and theories below.