January travel tip. Don't .

At the airport a sporty little plane with jet engines . The perfect thing for getting over the Alps in the depths of winter . The food on board the sort ' the font ' loves and Angus hates . Pulses, pulses and more pulses. Who dreams up these menus ? The plane arrives on time and Angus goes to talk to a group of men, and one prim Swiss lady, in dark suits .

Coming back an altogether more adventurous journey. A little plane with propellers . The shake , rattle and roll express. It's delayed . After an hour a man at the departure gate gets out his guitar and starts to sing. Loudly . Angus can't decide if this is lunacy or self confidence . After a further hour Angus decides that it's more likely to be the former rather than the latter . Definitely not a professional.

When we board for the second time a rabbi settles in the seat next to your happy traveller. Angus thinks of breaking the ice with a joke about an Irishman , a Scotsman and a rabbi but contents himself with a jovial " You're a good man to have onboard today ! ". The rabbi looks at Angus in much the same way as one might look at a badly behaved child. We journey onwards in silence .

A bone shaking excursion around, rather than over, the mountains . Toulouse, when we get there, closed because of fog . After circling , re-routed to Marseille. An hour to arrange a bus then a seven hour journey along the motorway. My new next door neighbour a man who makes sofas. '' Do you know the margin I make on three seaters ? ". Angus has to admit he doesn't . Deposited at the terminal at two thirty in the morning . Home after twenty five hours of unexpected adventure .

When we are finally reunited Wilf soon gets rid of his Mr.Glum look and does a soft shoe shuffle. This afternoon dog and owner will mostly be napping .