FAQs

Image: lobster

Why 'Lobster' ?

Well, back in 2004, when I searched for a new e-mail address, the "world is my oyster" @aol.com address had already been taken. Thanks to my friend Jan, she suggested lobster as the obvious replacement, and it's stuck ever since !

Since I adopted the name for my website, I'm informed by my brother Nick, and my ex-colleague Henry Bryan, that the expression was used by Arthur Daley (played by George Cole) in the 1980s ITV series 'Minder'.
"Wot you gotta remember Tel is the world is your lobster, old son!"

If you do a search on Google, you will find that "the world is my lobster" is also a quote accredited to someone called Henry J Tillman. (He also penned the quote "Life is something that everyone should try at least once").

Image: world map

Where have you been to ?

Before I left the UK on my first world trip in 2004, I spent a few months in Europe - visiting friends in the Czech Republic, France and Belgium.

I was then fortunate to visit Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. I then travelled up to the USA, continuing up the Pacific coast, and into Canada. After a few weeks going from west to east in Canada, I returned to the United States. A final week in Bermuda finished up the main trip, although once back to England I managed a quick trip over to Belgium before finally returning to Scotland. A truly amazing 8 months of travel.

In 2008, I went around the world in 80 days. For variety, I went in the opposite direction than before. For that trip, I started in New England (USA), before joining up with three of my best mates on the west coast. I then flew down to New Zealand and then continued in Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia, before returning to the UK via Dubai and Bahrain.

In 2013, I made a return trip to Australia to celebrate the 100th birthday of my relative Roy Rousell. An incredible milestone. I included a brief stopover in Singapore on my way there, to catch up with two former colleagues. And towards the end of the trip, I popped over to Auckland for a few days while I'm "in the area".

At the end of November 2014, I returned to Australia and New Zealand for another holiday - and I'm due to get back to the UK in the middle of January 2015.

Full details can be found in the various Journal sections - just click on the appropriate one in the left hand column.

Image: Lobster

The above map, courtesy of www.travbuddy.com records all the countries of the world that I have visited.

As you can see, I've only just scraped the surface!