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The Captain has just calmly announced that we’re 35 minutes out from HKG and that there’s a typhoon in progress. “A couple of the planes ahead of us have landed, and a couple have diverted to other airports. The good news is that we have plenty of fuel so that we can wait for a time when we’ll...

Stop the presses. I’m renaming this chapter… Chapter 6: A Perfect Storm. At 11am another announcement came through: “Passengers travelling on Cathay Pacific flight CX216 to Hong Kong, please meet at reception”. It turns out that we were bring chucked out of the Lounge. The airline had only...

There has just been an announcement: “Would all passengers flying on CX216 to Hong Kong please see your representative in the Lounge”. I walked over to find a Cathay Pacific representative who was telling passengers that the flight “may be delayed” and we are to stay in the lounge for now. I...

Believe it or not, there isn't one. Mancunians would say -- and they'd probably be right -- that this is yet another example of people in the North of England being treated as second-class citizens by Londoners. I believe that BA uses this 1903 Lounge and the Escape Lounge, which is worse...

Chapter 6: My unfortunate Duty… Cathay Pacific CX216 MAN-HKG and CX163 HKG-MEL Business Class Booked with 115,000 Asia Miles plus A$830 I made up this Chapter heading as a punny description of the fact that (a) it’s unfortunate that I have to leave, (b) it’s unfortunate that I have to leave...

Well, no, it's not bad, and I'm sure we'll laugh about it one day too. The problem was that it wasn't merely a "tyre deflating lark" which simply required the tyres to be inflated. The tyres had been actually destroyed. One of the people I was with had to pay GBP 390 for 4 replacement tyres...

After that, Steve showed me some of the sights and sounds of Manchester as we ambled to my hotel. Though he did seem to need to stop for a drink quite often... Having said that, there's nothing quite like being shown around like a local. It was a real treat! Mr Thomas's Chop House, although we...

More scenes from Rylands Library... A 200-year-old printing press that is still in use today. The old Library building. Ironically, the Mr Cussons who was responsible for the Library "Cleaning" was the same Mr Cussons of Cussons Soap fame! We then stepped into the Reading Room...

Having entered the hallowed John Rylands Library, there were two items that I particularly wanted to see. First, this Gutenburg Bible from the 1450s, soon after the invention of the printing press. This is one of the most significant books to ever be published and I was overjoyed that I had...

Chapter 5: Silence in the Library I named this chapter after one of my favourite Doctor Who episodes from 2008. It is also objectively one of the three greatest Doctor Who stories ever (along with Blink [2007] and Genesis of the Daleks [1975]). I thought of this chapter title weeks ago, when I...

Today has been a bittersweet day for me. It’s the final day of the course and I’m so going to miss this place, this community, these people, this indescribable experience. So I’m trying to soak in as much as I can. This morning we had our final workshops with the presenters. I’m about to have my...

I believe that the reason she's buried here is because of her estranged husband, Ted Hughes. The house where I am staying, and writing this, was formerly owned by Ted Hughes.

You should never underestimate my ability for incompetence!

Last night small group of us set out after dinner… These are called dry stone walls. They don’t contain any cement, are held together with gravity, and are centuries old. They took a lot of skill to build! I was very excited to arrive at our destination: my first English Pub!! It was...

Having walked down the hill to get to Hebden Bridge, I had no inclination to walk back up the hill – especially considering my purchases. So I caught the bus back up the hill. I loved listening to the Yorkshire accents during my trip. Tonight we have free time after dinner, and if all goes...

I’m on a bit of a high as I write this. The day isn’t over, but it’s shaping up to be the best of my trip. This afternoon I had my second 1-on-1 meeting with a presenter. The author I met with is, by any definition, highly successful: she has written a string of bestsellers over a period of...

I wish I’d known that yesterday! It was kinda fun though… as well as a little terrifying.

I made it back (just) in time for my 1-on-1 meeting with one of the authors who is presenting here. All I'll say is that it was an amazing experience which gave me some brilliant pointers about how to make my writing so much better than it is -- in fact, if I can manage to do what was...

Eventually there was a gap in the wall. I’d survived! “Free at last!” I thought. I walked along the path just as it started to rain heavily. I just had time to put on my trusted Kathmandu Gore-Tex jacket, when the rain stopped. I emerged to see some signs of civilisation. I continued on...

It rained quite heavily overnight. As I looked out my window this morning, I reflected on the wonderful equation: (Same view) + (different weather) = (different view). The morning routine was the same as yesterday: breakfast, workshops, then lunch. I ate way more freshly-baked focaccia than...