Five-Centres: Now Eurotrash

I've just been to Germany on a work-related conference.

Business travel is not something I've ever had to do much. In previous jobs it was confined to travelling the length and breadth of Britain in order to conduct interviews: Someone from Neighbours in panto in Llandudno with Rod Hull and Emu. Trips the Monarch Of The Glen set. Gravesend, Manchester, Runcorn, Bray, blah, blah, blah - impossibly glamourous, but not business travel in the jetting off to Geneva for the day sense.

The few 'abroad' things I've done are interviewing Britney Spears in Munich, a couple of trips to MTV Awards, trip to Lithuania to the set of the late, unlamented POW and, er, that's about it.

But this new type of business travel is proper, wear-a-suit and attend meetings type of business travel, and lately it's been on the increase. This time, it was a day in Hamburg, followed by two days at a lovely resort on the East German Baltic coast with a few hundred senior management people from across the globe. It was terribly international. I have to say, I found it all rather enjoyable.

We should all have been in our national costumes really, like a James Bond casino scene. The gala dinner was a buffet that featured foods from countries where the company operates. Despite not thinking lamb chops and okra or peppers stuffed with rice and minced meat were that British, I still I ate like a pig. I had a lovely suite too.

Terminal 5 was a dream, by the way. So calm. Great shops. And at last I got to do the Iris thing on the way back.

Next week I'm off to Manchester, but this will be tea on the train and a mad dash there and back. Not so exciting. Mrs F-C is constantly flitting off to far-flung locations, and while I used to be envious I know it's tiring. I only did a few days in Europe and I was knackered. But it's still quite a thrill.

I'm easily pleased.