on the way

Five minutes into my journey to London, I realised I had broken the first rule of travelling. My bag was ridiculously heavy and unwieldy - not helped by the fact that I was also transporting an empty rucksack for my son....
The good citizens of Ealing rushed to my assistance up tube steps, and an elderly man insisted on carrying one side of the bag for 200 yards along the High Street, but last night my daughter re-packed all my carefully chosen belongings. Subjecting every item to tough scrutiny, she sternly replaced my own towel with something that looked like a duster, removed half my clothes, lent me her own lighter versions and fitted everything into a backpack half the size.