●A HOLIDAYMAKER has returned with the following tale of woe.

At the outset of her break, she arrived at a certain railway station to find the ticket office closed.

The person on duty that day was ill and his replacement couldn’t find the keys. This quite understandably annoyed the people who had already paid on the internet and were now obliged to pay again to avoid breaking the law. If you can get the machine to work, that is.

Once on the train, these hapless souls were then unable to buy a much-needed cup of coffee because health and safety rules dictated that such beverages could only be transported down the carriages if within the confines of a paper bag.

Yes, you’ve guessed – the bags had run out.

It was only after boarding the Eurostar for Brussels that our intrepid traveller breathed a sign of relief and bid bungling Blighty adieu.

●LIFE is a journey. Like many a well-worn cliché this is manifestly true and that is why it is indeed possible to learn something new every day.

Part of this summer’s education took the form of a visit to Worcester’s beer and cider festival held on Pitchcroft. I was struck by the civilised feel of the proceedings as ordinary people of immaculate taste wandered about sampling the many brews on offer. It’s difficult to imagine anything more removed from binge-drinking Britain.

I had the honour of being on a panel of judges deliberating on the quality of various beers. During this process, I not only enjoyed some convivial company but also broadened my vocabulary in terms of describing the merits or otherwise of the drinks being presented.

Hmm, this one hints of burnt caramel with overtones of blackberry and vanilla… yes, you do learn something new every day.

●EXCHANGING e-mails with Worcester historian Dilip Sarkar, we touched on things piscatorial and he asked me if I’d seen the giant carp near the river bridge this year.

When I replied I’d seen neither scale nor tail of the pump house monsters, he ventured the theory that last summer’s floods might well have moved them downstream.

If this is the case, then we all need to watch out for any enormous dorsal fins cutting the surface of Sabrina’s limpid pools.

●NATURE note. My house is about a quarter-of-a-mile from the river, yet I was amazed to see a club-tailed dragonfly investigating our small pond.

This species is found only on the Thames and Severn and is a boldlypatterned yellowish insect that once identified is never forgotten.