IT might have been a miserable South Africa World Cup for England but their fans played a blinder. While the players were performing badly on the pitch, the supporters were helping build a nursery in a poor Cape Town township, handing over boots and footballs to kids who have nothing and playing matches against the locals. I was there too, having travelled with Thomson Sport and volunteering holiday company i-to-i. See how we got on.
I WAS on my first visit to Tokyo and after touring the city, including the exceptionally strange district of Akihabara, which is a cartoon fans' paradise, it was time for dinner. Sushi it had to be but that's not great if you hate raw fish! Skipped dessert and headed for a Karaoke bar (the Japanese are mad about) where I warbled the night away BEFORE running into one of the biggest bands in the world.
IT took me many years to Czech out Prague but it is one of the most romantic European cities. Which is a good job because that's where Wayne Rooney went with Coleen to desperately try to patch up his marriage. Fortunately for the hot-headed footballer, it worked. I put that more down to Prague than you Wayne. Read what this magical city has to offer.
ONCE you name a ship Queen Elizabeth, there really is only one person who can smash the bottle at the naming ceremony. HM The Queen did the honours and went on board for all of 55 minutes. Never mind, she was probably in a hurry! I was there to watch her and decided that the Queen owes it to her family to let them experience Cunard's jewel in the crown and take them for a holiday at sea!
As Travel Editor of the News of the World, I sent many celebrities off on trips. EastEnders' actress Jessie Wallace, who plays Kat in the soap, went to find the Big Cats on a South African safari. She took daughter Tallulah and Jessie says: "We had a wicked time, loved it." You'd better watch out Alfie, she may have found a new way to get her claws out!
