The O F's Guide to Luggage

Luggage. What to take? It's summertime in merry old England but that can be a decidedly mixed bag with regards to the weather. Layering is the answer to what to wear in any season. My layering plan is: tee shirt, shirt, jumper and lightweight waterproof jacket—take off or put on as required. Throw in a second set of the above (excluding jacket), an extra pair of jeans and a week's worth of underwear and I'm done. 

Well, almost. Because I'm going to be swanning around at Oxford doing a summer school for a week, I need to take a not-so-casual outfit or two (jeans not allowed in the dining hall). That means I'll also need to take a pair of dressy shoes and maybe some jewellery… A good thing Singapore Airlines have increased their baggage allowance to 30kg!

The clothes are the easy bit, it's the electronic devices that drive one to distraction. Let's see, there's the Kindle, the iPad, the notebook computer, wifi hotspot, 2 cameras, the sat nav and the mobile phone. Add the chargers and the USB connectors and you start to look like you're a travelling salesman for JB Hifi.

Then there's the various cards: credit card, travel card, senior's card, National Trust card, insurance card, driver's licence, Medicare card…

Add to that all the sundry items that must be carried, which for me includes my folding bike and associated paraphernalia, and it adds up to a substantial inventory.

So, how to keep track of it all? I'm sure you have your own patented method of luggage control but here, for interest's sake, is mine:

Number 1: Write list of bags to be packed, then colour-coded on computer for easy ID

My list:

Bike bag — pink (checked luggage)

Sports bag — black (checked luggage)

Computer bag — green (carry-on)

Small shoulder bag — red (carry-on)

Bum bag — turquoise (wearing)

Number 2: Write down each item in each bag using their colour code.

Number 3: Print out colour-coded list and keep with most secure items (eg: credit cards).

If the worst happens and my bags are lost or stolen, I'll know exactly what was in them.

I can hear loud guffawing from younger readers, but we O Fs like the belt and bracers approach to life. So, while others are rummaging through their bags wondering just where they put that pair of nail scissors/clothesline/packet of asprin, I'll be laying my hand right on the required item. And when it comes to repacking, I'll know just where it fits. And I'll have a handy guide for my next Big Adventure. 

In fact, this list is recycled from my last B A, the blog of which can be viewed here.

The Grey Invasion

Get ready citizens of Europe, we're on the move. The northern summer is under way and the grey invasion is, once again, coming to a town near you. Old Farts are descending in planes, trains and boats, to clutter up your streets, erode your river banks, and spend their money—which is the only compensation.

This particular O F is planning to confine her activities to England and spend as little as possible, making her a less than acceptable tourist.

My initial modus operandi re economising was to house sit my way around England for eight weeks, thus eliminating the cost of accommodation. Being a new kid on the block when it comes to this particular method of lodging, I made a few blunders and ended up securing a mere 2 ½ week stint. But, like Anne of Green Gables, although I'm prone to making blunders, I don't usually make the same one twice, so I've learned my lesson for next time.

My blunder in this instance was booking my flights before getting the house sits. In haste to take advantage of 'early bird' airfares, I locked in my dates last November. Mistake number one. I would have been better advised to postponed booking a flight until I had a house sit. Emails arrive regularly with house sits starting just before I get there or extending to just after I've left. I realise now that the cost of a more expensive flight booked later would be well and truly offset by securing free accommodation.

When I dreamed up this house sit plan, I went straight to the internet, as one does for anything from a recipe to a romance (not that I'm looking for one of those!). I found a site that looked perfect: House Sitters UK. I paid up, AU$26.79 for a one year subscription, up loaded a lot of guff about what a legend I am (all true of course), included some photos that were as flattering as photos of a 67 year old can be, and waited for the offers to roll in. Yes, well …

I checked the web site regularly and discovered there wasn't a great deal of activity. Maybe this is the wrong site. Another Google search and I found the House Carers site. Hit the pay button: AU$50 for this one. A hasty decision as this site, while having an international reach, is Australian based and that's where most of the activity is happening.

Back to the Google drawing board and I found Trusted House Sitters, an American based business: AU$79. Oh well, it will be worth it for free accommodation. Every day they send an email with house sits available world wide, plenty of them in the UK. Ah, now this is more like it! There's a lot of activity on this site. Well, yes, but there's also a lot of people wanting to house sit—hundreds, more than likely. I applied for quite a few with Trusted House Sitters but no luck, sometimes no reply at all.

The House Sitters UK people that I joined first revamped their web site (very good) and started to send emails about new positions. An opportunity for a 2 ½ stint in Cheshire popped up so I quickly sent off an email and — bingo! They liked the sound of me (apparently) and I got the gig.

The charming 200-year-old house is on the edge of a village near the Peak District National Park. The family, who will be holidaying overseas, have a labrador, a cat and three chooks. Given that I've had four children, six grandchildren, dogs, cats, birds, guinea pigs, chooks and pet lambs, caring for these pets should be a total doddle by comparison.

Emails continued to arrive, some with suitable dates but unsuitable pets e.g. elderly diabetic cats requiring daily injections (no thanks), loveable 'lively' dogs (read 'out of control') or families who for some reason find it necessary to have four large dogs, several cats and a guinea pig or two. I may be looking for free accommodation but I'm not that desperate!

Time ticked on. March came and went and still no other suitable position presented itself. I had to make alternative plans, what if I got near my July departure date with no accommodation booked? By the end of April I'd booked and paid for cottages and B&Bs for the intervening weeks. The emails keep rolling in, often with suitable dates and acceptable pets, so mistake number two was panicking too early and rushing to book alternative accommodation.

My advice to prospective house sitters: be flexible about location, be flexible about dates, and don't rush to book your flights. I'm three weeks away from departure and the airfare has only increased by AU$100 on the amount I paid last November!