Eight in ten Brits have rows on holiday, visitor attractions blame weather apps for lost revenue, and experts say we’re dressing dangerously for flights. Our columnist weighs in on more talking points.
Brits love an argument
According to new research, eight in ten Brits manage to have a row on holiday. Gen Z (born 1997 to 2012) are apparently the most argumentative travellers with 96% of them losing their cool about the Wi Fi, proving that if the internet goes down, so does civilisation.
Meanwhile, over 65s get wound up by rude staff, which at least shows they still have standards. The InsureandGo poll asked a sample of 2,000 holidaymakers to reflect on the regular causes of holiday arguments, based on their trips abroad over the last year.
Londoners top the league table for holiday arguments, which doesn’t shock me. Try pushing onto the Tube every morning - it prepares you well for conflict. And flirting is apparently the big trigger for 35-44 year olds. Is that because the other half catches them in the act or they’re poor at it?
But here’s the thing: when I organise a group trip, there are no arguments. None. My planning is flawless, my decisions are final, and if anyone even thinks of disagreeing… well, let’s just say I always win an argument.
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Gloomy weather symbols
Some of Britain’s visitor attractions are up in arms, and I can understand why. The likes of the Eden Project and Blenheim Palace have written a letter to the Met Office arguing that “misleading” rain clouds on a weather app can result in people cancelling their days out faster than you can say “pack a mac”.
For once, it’s not about the often terrible accuracy of the forecasting but the way it’s presented, with initial gloomy icons causing plans to be changed, even if the hourly forecast gives more detail (who looks at the detail of anything these days anyway?) Chester Zoo estimates that a dodgy rain symbol can cost them £137,000 a day so I don’t blame them for being annoyed. As its COO Dominic Strange put it, “even on the driest days, where perhaps there might be a forecast of a very brief shower, even then it’s displaying this rain cloud”.
My group? We just get on with it anyway, life’s too short to be worried about getting a little wet.
Depressing flight dressing
Apparently, we’ve all been getting dressed for flights wrong. While normal humans choose clothes based on trivial considerations like comfort, one expert says we should be planning our outfits around how best to not melt if the plane catches fire. Because that’s the relaxing thought every traveller needs while boarding: will my trousers fuse to my shins today?
According to this wisdom, synthetic fabrics are the devil because they “liquefy” in heat. Yes, leggings may as well be hot glue guns strapped to your legs. Noor de Swart, founder and CEO of Super Label Store is the one sharing this rather rather odd advice in the hope the brand gets some column inches (damn, I was sucked in). She says we should stick to natural fibres such as “cotton, wool, linen, even silk are all far safer options”.
Firstly, my silk trousers are staying in the loft and my main consideration on flights is to wear dark colours so it’s not as obvious when I spill something down my front, which is sadly inevitable.
(The views expressed in this column are not necessarily the views of the publisher.)
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