Service Station Entertainment: Sculptures and soft toys

I stopped at a motorway service station on the M1. Here's my picture of the entrance. Which services was I at? First I checked in Wikipedia.  The list gave two successive Moto services, both of which had Costa and M & S. Then I remembered that I had made a purchase and kept my receipt. I was at Moto Hospitality Ltd, MI, Toddington, Beds LU5 6 QG.

I went into the Services and headed for the toilets. On my way out I stopped to browse in the shops. They were still selling the scarecrow I had bought the previous year and used in my humorous speech in a humorous speech competition for Toastmasters International. 

I was looking in W H Smith for a toy which made a noise. I could not find one. However, I saw an emoji in bright yellow with a smile and hearts. Brilliant. I could use that to illustrate a talk on computing, or the importance of smiling, or Emojis, or Valentine's Day, or Love, or Symbolism, or Emailing. I hummed and thought about the price. 

Then I saw a badger. Larger. Perfect for a talk about wild life, and badgers, or childhood and toys. Nearly £10. I could save money by buying the smaller stuffed toy. No. I had to have the badger. I bought both. 

In a shopping mall or your local high street, you might go away and come back later. No good changing my mind later when I am an hour down the motorway. Besides, I had never regretted nay previous motorway purchases.

I passed the shop selling phone covers. I didn't need one. But I stopped to look and the assistant stepped forward to ask if I wanted any help. Yes, I wanted to know if he sold a red mobile phone cover, like my black one.  Mine stood up like a triangle on the desk so you could watch a film on your phone, look at a photo, or see instantly where you had put your phone. But mine was black and I wanted red. 

The price he quoted was too high for me. It was either £16.99 or £14.99, depending which model. The one I wanted was £14.99, but still double what I wanted to pay. I asked if he had something similar cheaper. He reduced the price by £2 to £12.99.

He opened three different packets to show me. He did not know what was inside. I suppose there are many kinds of phones and several kinds of covers for each. He seemed quite surprised by the different features and was as interested as I was comparing the different brands.

I said I didn't want to buy as they didn't suit and thanked him for showing me.

I glanced around and caught sight of a spiral collapsible car bin. At about £5, or £5.99 or £6.99, it was tempting.

Sculptures

I was leaving the building, pretty happy with myself, when I stopped in the front area to look back at what seemed like a modern version of Stone henge. When I looked closer, walking around, I discovered what looked like a group of stones was a couple of sculptures resembling tree trunks carved into goblins.

An interesting stop on the journey, part of the pleasure enhancing the holiday. Sculptures. Soft toy souvenirs.

All photos by Angela Lansbury, copyright.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Protecting mobile phones with smart cases when travelling

I like my mobile phones well protected when travelling. It's so easy to bang a phone. It may be safe in your pocket, but your jacket swings as you bend down to pick something up, or knocks against a wall or the grab rail of a bus or train.

In Poundland I found this nifty phone cover. It is very well padded on the back and sides. (Not the front.)

With many phone covers sold in blister packs you have to check carefully that what the cover you are considering buying will fit. I like to have the phone with me and hold it against the cover, checking all the holes are in the right place, as well as checking what is written on the packaging.

If you have phones of various sizes in your big extended family or are considering upgrading, but keep old phones in other sizes, the covers are only £1 each, so it may be worthwhile buying two or three to fit your family's phones.

This is brown and cream. It looks purple because I lightened it to show the hole at the top.

I like a distinctive cover. It's easy to look back at a table and think that a black phone belongs to somebody else, then realise that you have left yours behind. If your phone cover is so identifiable that people comment on it, or just look at it, then if you leave your phone behind, a friend or acquaintance is likely to dash after you saying, "Hey - you left your phone. This is yours, isn't it!"

Here's one with a playing card theme. Less protective, but memorable.

I love red. It makes me happy. Here's a red cover.

You might keep a spare phone with the Sim card for another country, or keep one phone for phone calls, another just for photos.

To guard against a forgotten phone being hidden inside a bag, you may wish to keep a note of which old phone is in which case in which room.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker.