I spent my entire childhood living abroad because of my father's occupation, so we were on long-haul flights all the time.

Despotism isn't nearly as bad as it's cracked up to be.

I have never done a package tour in my life. It appeals in a way, but then I remind myself that you can't control the other people with you, which could turn out to be ghastly.

My dad was a diplomat and after living in America, where I was born, he was posted to Cairo.

Both Plockton and the Isle of Muck in north-west Scotland are incredibly beautiful. Sadly, Plockton has been discovered by tourists because it's where they shot Hamish Macbeth.

If I'm hunting down gifts, I like to buy locally.

Society prizes a girl for being thin more than anything else she might bring to the table.