Forget New Year – September’s the time to make that fresh start!

EVER felt that September is the true start of the New Year – and not January? The time when, after the long summer break, kids return to school and adults to work. So much so that, when I still lived and worked in the UK, I used to think of the day after the August Bank Holiday weekend as ‘back to school for adults.’

September always felt like a new start because of the change in routine (at least if you were in school or had kids in school). A time of fresh starts, self-evaluation and, for travel operators, the inevitable post-holiday complaints. Like some of the following that do nothing to dispel the cliché that we Brits are a nation of whingers!

One woman on a Celebrity Cruise ship demanded a full refund because she didn’t see any celebrities on board and said the company was guilty of ‘false advertising’ due to the lack of stars. For another on a Mediterranean cruise, the sea was too loud and the cabins should be ‘better sound-proofed against the noise of the sea.’

Complaints from British tourists about Spain are particularly telling. For some, there are ‘too many Spanish people.’ ‘The receptionist speaks Spanish; the food’s Spanish.’ ‘The street signs weren’t in English. How can anyone get around?’ ‘There are too many foreigners.’ ‘We bought ‘Ray-Ban’ sunglasses for €5 from a looky looky man, but they were fake.’

Others complained their holidays were spoiled because ‘the beach was too sandy’ and ‘no-one told us there’d be fish in the sea; the children were startled.’ ‘It should be explained in brochures that the local store doesn’t sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts and local shopkeepers shouldn’t be lazy and close in the afternoons because I often needed to buy things during ‘siesta’ time.’ ‘Topless sunbathing should be banned!’ for one angry wife whose ‘holiday was ruined – my husband spent all day ogling  women.’

Good grief! What’s up with these guys? I’d be more than happy to wait for shops to open late for some regional pastries to eat on that sandy beach. Because it would mean I WAS having a holiday! (Handsome hunks, an extra bonus!)

Nora Johnson’s thrillers ‘Landscape of Lies,’ ‘Retribution,’ ‘Soul Stealer,’ ‘The De Clerambault Code’ (www.nora-johnson.com) available from Amazon in paperback/eBook (€0.89;£0.79) and iBookstore. Profits to Cudeca.