Around the Planet

Coldplay, the world’s biggest-selling musical act for 2008, have confirmed that they will do a gig in the UAE for the first time as part of their current world tour. They’ve certainly chosen an impressive venue, none other than the Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi. This will be the final stop on the world tour for their critically acclaimed fourth album, ‘Viva Le Vida’ which has earned the band three Grammys.

Emirates Palace is an experience in itself, being a magnificent structure on the shores of the Gulf with its own 1.3 kilometre stretch of private beach. Emirates Palace is more than just a hotel - it is fast becoming the cultural hub of the UAE, and over the past year has hosted performances from names such as Bon Jovi, Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Christina Aguilera and Elton John.

Speaking on behalf of Live Nation (Middle East), co-promoters of Coldplay live in Abu Dhabi, Elissa Murtaza, Managing Director commented, ‘Coldplay’s debut performance in the Middle East is set to attract one of the biggest attendances in the UAE. Regional fans of the band have waited a long time for this show and they won’t be disappointed. With limited tickets available this is definitely the concert of the year and is not to be missed!’.

Those wanting to catch Coldplay at this one-off gig had better be quick - the concert is predicted to sell out of its 15,000 tickets in record time.

Tickets go on sale 15th February 2009 and are available on www.timeouttickets.com, www.ticketingboxoffice.com and www.boxofficeme.com. A limited amount of offline tickets will be available from Virgin Megastores in UAE.

If you feel that your given name makes you unwelcome with holiday firm Activities Abroad (if you’re not up to speed with this, see my previous post Green adventure holiday company claims its holidays are “chav-free”), then Travel Republic are welcoming you with a cool 10% discount on your holiday, which in these times of economic doom and gloom will help ease the pressure on the coffers.

In response to Alistair McLean’s proud boast that people with names such as Britney, Kylie, Bianca, Tiffany, Dazza, Chardonnay, Chantelle, Candice, Courtney and Shannon do not go on an Activities Abroad holiday, you may well not want to book with that company if your name is one of the above.

Online travel giant Travel Republic has slammed Activities Abroad for its snobby stance on names, with managing director Paul Furner saying: “For a business to come out publicly, with such blatantly biased and offensive comments, and to describe their holidays as ‘chav free’, is simply outrageous.

“We actively encourage bookings from everyone, irrespective of their name and its perceived social standing.

“In fact we’re delighted to have 1600 Shannons, 1100 Courtneys, 600 Chantelles, 500 Kylies, 400 Tiffanys, 300 Candices and 200 Britneys on our database, and to have two Candices, a Chantelle and a Dazza among our staff.”

In an attempt to offer some comfort to those affected by the blatant insult from Alistair McLean, Travel Republic is offering a 10% discount on hotel bookings made by customers with one of the ten names identified by Activities Abroad. You’ll have to be quick because the offer ends at midnight on Wednesday February 11th. To take advantage of the discount, you need to enter the Promotional Code DAZZA when booking.

Well done, Travel Republic – a company I would be happy to take a holiday with.

Shakespeare once asked, “What’s in a name?” Well, quite a lot if we are to believe one company, as it seems that a fine row has been kicked off in the travel world by holiday company Activities Abroad claiming that the trips it offers are “chav-free”.

For anybody not familiar with the word, “chav” denotes a certain stereotype of young person in the UK, somebody clad in branded sportswear and baseball cap (often Burberry), with bling jewellery, and into hip-hop. It is often implied that this person is a bit aggressive, and I have actually heard the term “chav” used to describe anybody of an aggressive persuasion, tracksuited or not, young or old, and regardless of taste in music. But back to the main point.

It seems that it all started when someone at Activities Abroad read an article in that eloquent rag The Daily Mail about teachers stereotyping children (on the Times Educational Supplement website no less), according to their names, with the dear teachers dreading certain names such as Dwayne, Shane, Paige and Britney, which they believe indicate troublesome children.

This was all in the wake of research which suggested that pupils’ names are linked to their exam success, with children that have supposedly “middle-class” names such as Katherine and Duncan being up to eight times more likely to pass GCSE’s (exams taken at age 16), than children with names such as Wayne and Dwayne.

This prompted the guys at Activities Abroad to run the set of names purportedly associated with “chavs” through its database, and I imagine that they mopped the sweat off their delicate little brows when they found that no Britneys, Dazzas, Biancas, Chardonnays or Candices had ever been on any of their trips, but plenty of Johns, Sarahs, James’s, Charlottes and Lucys had.

In celebration of this fact they sent out an email to the 24,000 people on their database claiming their holidays to be “chav-free”, signing off with the words, “Nuff said, innit?”.

But Activities Abroad hadn’t reckoned on the power of the blogosphere, and the stinking prejudice really hit the fan when one of the recipients of the email posted it on her blog. Margaret of A Different Voice had previously had a fantastic holiday with Activities Abroad inside the Arctic Circle in some of the beautiful wilderness of northern Finland, but felt sure that she would not be holidaying with Activities Abroad again, and has had her name removed from their database.

Alistair McLean, founder of Activites Abroad who authorised the email, has added his comments to Margaret’s post, saying “… I simply feel it is time the middle classes stood up for themselves.

“We work hard to make a decent home and life for our families and we pay our taxes to contribute to our society and economy. Unfortunately, everybody else in our society seems to take from us whether it is incompetent bankers or the shell suited urchins who haunt our street corners.

“Last year Activities Abroad paid: corporation tax, income tax, PAYE, national insurance contributions, VAT and contributed to Aids projects in South Africa and other charitable organisations. We make a positive contribution to our economy and watch it all be frittered away by people who simply can’t be bothered (”bovvered”).

“So regardless of whether it is class warfare or not I make no apology for proclaiming myself to be middle class and a genuine contributor to our society.”

I’m not sure how  stigmatising people with certain names has anything to do with standing up for anybody – bullying people more like.

Does Alistair really believe that it is only people such as himself who work hard and want a decent life for their families? What about nurses, teachers, firefighters, factory workers, office workers and other people? Are incompetent bankers the type of people he had in mind when he ran the set of names through his database? I’ll keep my eyes open for shell suited bankers hanging around on street corners in future.

Further on in the comments of A Different Voice is the following comment from a lady named Candice:

“Speaking as a Candice myself, I would like to say the following:

“I own my own business, have a Post Graduate Degree an Undergraduate Degree, 4 A-Levels, an Advanced Diploma in Life Skills, a Diploma in Performance Coaching, GCSE’s, speak French and Italian and drive a Merc. Happy slap that you idiot.

“How dare you define and typecast people by their name. I work with the NSPCC and produce communication tools on preventing bullying behaviour and child protection. We aim to help kids grow up in a safe environment regardless of their background. It is hard enough for kids this day and age without applying more prejudice because of their name.

“Your response was also shocking customer service saying that you would not apologise for your views even though you have offended and upset people. 11 it may stand at the moment, but perhaps the others just deleted your message in disgust.

“Shame on you!”

The poor beleaguered Mr McLean has now even been interviewed on Radio 5 Live, saying, “All this publicity has stemmed from one blog written by one person,” – more power to the blogosphere, eh?

The Northumberland-based Activities Abroad, which claims to promote responsible and green tourism, offers trips such as dog sledding, searching for the northern lights in Lapland, and white water rafting in Slovenia. Just the sort of holiday I would go for in fact, but they have truly shot themselves in the foot with this ill-advised little episode.

So what does the word chav really mean? Is it people who dress up in sportswear and baseball caps? The only person I know who fits the sportswear stereotype is one of the most kind and helpful people I know – very public spirited, helps his neighbours – all things I would have thought Alistair McLean might value, (or claim to value). Does it mean working class? Well, if working class means anyone who has to go out and work for a living, then most working class people, (eg: careworkers, call centre workers, shop assistants, health workers, IT geeks, and just about everyone), actually don’t really fit the sportswear-and-gold-jewellry stereotype. I once heard somebody use the term to describe an aggressive bully - her boss in fact. Obviously the term “chav” means different things to different people.

The term chav has so often been used in a derisory and undeserved way in recent years that some writers have happily claimed the name for themselves - for example columnist Julie Burchill has described herself as a chav and feels that anybody who uses the term is really saying far more about themselves than about other people. I would say this is definitely so in the case of Mr McLean.

Political journalist Pat Stack has also claimed the title, though I am inclined to think that most people would not regard the rather patrician Mr Stack as such. But never mind, Pat, it’s the thought that counts.

For anybody who enjoys reading a juicy online debate I highly recommend the comments over at A Different Voice for this post, which cover a lot of angles bringing in everything from newspapers to natural selection, from lists of achievements to torrents of abuse that have had to be partially deleted. To his credit Alistair McLean handles the debate himself, but there is a bit of a mystery: why does he feel he knows so much about “street corner kids” and their aspirations? McLean does give the impression that he somehow feels himself to be under fire from all sides, which is an attitude frequently found with small business people, who do not possess the power and influence of the big corporations, and often feel that they are being hammered tax-wise.

Regardless of how we feel about Mr McLean and his views, his foolishness with the email provides a great lesson in how not to run a travel business, or any business where you are offering a service to customers, and that is not to use your customer base as an audience for the airing of your own personal gripes. If what you have on offer appeals to a wide range of people, your customers and potential customers may well have different views. If you offend people, they will quite happily take their custom to your competitors.

A lot of the debate has focussed on whether certain behaviour is acceptable or not, and I am among the first to condemn mindless aggressive behaviour when I come across it. In this case it is clear that the only person who has indulged in a bit of brainless aggro is Mr McLean himself. Let’s hope we don’t run into him on any street corners.

Nuff said, innit?

Happy New Year, Everyone!

New Year must be one of the world’s biggest parties, starting at the international dateline, and working its way around the world with a blaze of pyrotechnics and popping champagne corks.

As Sydney is one of the first major cities to welcome the New Year, I thought an image of the fireworks over that fair city would be appropriate.

Hope that you all enjoyed a good party, wherever you were to see the New Year in.

Wishing you all the very best for 2009!

When you are in Munich at Christmas the place to be is the Marienplatz, which is the heart of the old centre, and overlooked by the terrible grand neo-gothic Town Hall. Here you will find hundreds of stalls, which have been selling there wares here since the 17th century. There is a Christmas tree which is some thirty metres high, and festooned with lights. The market is predominantly arts and crafts, with plenty of novel Christmas decorations for sale as well. In true German Christmas market style, there is an abundance of wine and beer, and there are also hot potato cakes that go down a real treat with the German sausage that is for sale. There are also plenty of sweets to buy, as well as various goodies, such as marshmallow and bits of fruit, that are dipped in chocolate. Fresh fruit pieces dipped in very dark chocolate make a particularly wonderful treat.

Behind this main market is what is known as the Crib Market, and here you can buy traditional nativity figures from Bavaria and Austria for putting together your own decorative crib at home (if you’re into such things, that is), with Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, shepherds, kings and animals.

Every evening Alpine choirs sing and brass bands play on the Town Hall balcony. There is a crèche for children run in the town hall, including an area where children can paint, make Christmas cookies and dress up as angels, and other seasonal characters.

The market runs right up until Christmas Eve, so you have plenty of time to catch it.

The Christmas market in Nuremberg is one of the most famous Christmas markets in Europe. The setting of the market is beautiful, with almost two hundred stalls crammed into the traditionally cobbled square on the slope beneath the Frauenkirche. Of course there is the ubiquitous Christmas market mulled wine, which goes brilliantly with the gorgeous, tasty Nürnburger Bratwurst, a type of thin and spicy sausage, that you can buy here. Other delights are the honey-gingerbread which is produced in the region.

This market itself has a long history, dating back to 1628, and has long been known as a regional centre for the trading of handmade wood figurines. The market certainly has some interesting traditions that go back into the mists of time. For example, every two years a young man or woman is appointed as a “Christ child”, who opens the market at an official ceremony, and then goes around the town spreading Christmas cheer in all manner of ways, dressed in an elaborate gold and white costume, with a large golden crown on their head.

The market looks especially spectacular in the evening, when it is lit with hundreds of tiny lights. The evening is made especially pleasant by the bands, ranging from brass bands to jazz bands, that arrive to entertain the market goers. With a glass of hot spicy wine, a couple of Bratwurst, and some good music to listen to, the Nuremberg market is pretty heavenly.

The market opens on 28th November, and ends on Christmas Eve, allowing plenty of time for Christmas shopping.

If you fancy shopping in a cave that gives you the feeling of being in Santa’s Grotto then how about visiting Valkenburg in the Netherlands to do a bit of Christmas shopping? Amazing though it sounds, underneath the city centre is a fascinating network of ancient caves, the oldest part of which was originally cut by the Romans some 2000 years ago.

A candlelit market is held in the caves every Christmas, and the whole experience is made even more fun by a buffet, bars and terraces within the caves too, as well as top entertainment in the form of orchestras, brass bands, choirs and individual performers – it’s like a whole secret world underground.

Valkenburg is in the south of the Netherlands, and attracts tourists all year round – it can be visited as a daytrip from Maastricht. There is a steep hill in the centre of the town, with a ruined castle on top. In the town centre there are loads of small pubs, bars and restaurants, and plenty of good meals and drinks to be had.

If you are a lover of beer, then be sure to try a glass of Valkenburg Wit, which is a rather nice wheat beer, that has even made its way to the Cambridge Beer Festival.

Prague, the beautiful and romantic capital of the Czech Republic, hosts a number of cultural events at Christmas, including folk displays, concerts and theatre throughout December. There are a number of family friendly Christmas markets, the biggest of which is held on the busy Old Town Square. This idyllic Baroque cobbled square makes the perfect setting for a Christmas market, made even more seasonal by the generous layer of snow that usually falls in Prague at Christmas. One of the most fantastic sights of the square at Christmas is the Christmas tree, shipped from the Sumava mountains in the South of the Czech Republic, and draped in a blaze of lights, which are turned on every night at around five in the evening. Set against the dark gothic skyline, this is a truly spectacular sight, especially with a sprinkling of snow to add extra twinkle.

There are pretty rows of colourfully decorated wooden huts, where you can buy a variety of hand-made stocking fillers, including locally made wooden puppets, jewellery, toys, candles and even Bohemian crystal. The proceedings are serenaded by carol singers and bands playing seasonal tunes.

An additional feature of the market is a small zoo of ponies, goats, and sheep, that is much loved by the children – rumour has it that there is now even the odd llama. (I hope the animals are kept nice and warm!).
As well as the market in the Old Town Square, there is a market in the famous Wenceslas Square (once the scene of anti-capitalist protest), and there are smaller markets at Namesti Republiky and Havelske Trziste. Needless to say, many of the visitors to the markets imbibe mulled wine as they look at handicrafts and try the various delicacies, such as sausage and corn on the cob.

The Prague Christmas markets run throughout December, and are all within ten minutes walk of each other.

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia, lying on its northern coast, along the Gulf of Finland. The Christmas market in Tallinn is one of the more recently established European Christmas markets, and has been running every year since 1991. It is held at the picturesque cobbled square known as the Raekoja Plats, in the Old Town. The wonderfully decorated square is surrounded by some magnificent old buildings, the most prominent of which is the 15th-century Town Hall. Being pretty far north, Tallinn has a fair number of white Christmases, which give the market even more of a feel of being a Christmas card, especially when there is a light frosting of snow on the colourfully decorated and shimmeringly lit Christmas tree.

Lining the square are brightly decorated stalls selling a great range of Estonian arts and crafts, mulled wine and sausages. There are some very good hand-made, natural, gifts available here – such as carved wooden bowls, or decorations made from wood and twine. One of the best bargains on offer at this particular market is the wide range of knitted goods, including sweaters, socks and bobble-hats, with the predominant wool colours being a striking mixture of natural grey, white and beige wool.

If you start to find it a little cold, then you can escape into one of the several candle-lit restaurants around the square, which help to make Tallinn a very romantic getaway for couples.

Copenhagen’s annual Christmas market takes place in Europe’s oldest amusement park, the Tivoli Gardens, and the hundreds of Christmas trees make for a fabulous fairytale setting, with over half a million lights illuminating the stalls and park. The main lake of the park is transformed into an outdoor ice skating rink, where you can hire skates and take a spin around the lake while soaking in the festive ambience.

The market comprises around sixty colourfully-painted stalls, selling locally produced arts, crafts and decorations, such as Copenhagen porcelain and wooden dolls. As with most Christmas markets, there are plenty of tempting food stalls, and one of the popular snacks are the famous hot apple dumplings. One of the loveliest drinks to chase away the winter chills is the gorgeous Scandinavian glögg, which is mulled wine mixed with spirits, spices, cinnamon, and sometimes even almonds.

As well as the spectacular market, all the usual rides of the amusement park are still operating, and in addition there is also the wonderful 150-year old, double-decker carousel which operates especially for the Christmas season. Other attractions of the Christmas market include pony rides, and of course a Santa’s Grotto.

Something else that might be pleasing to the children is Nissekøbing, or Pixieville, which is a vast indoor Christmas town where you can see hundreds of little mechanical pixies going about their seasonal work.
The market lasts from November 14th till December 30th, and is only closed for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so there is even time to catch it after Christmas Day is over.

This Christmas market is extremely popular, and is visited by almost a million shoppers every year.