More often than not I’ll wake up on a ship, but the first thing I do every morning is drink tea. It’s a basic human right.
As a travel writer I’ve seen great chunks of the world; from Australia to Vietnam, America to the west coast of Africa – quite often on a river or ocean cruise ship.
It’s a never-ending source of excitement: I’ve got teeny tiny toiletries permanently stored in airport security plastic bags, ready to pack at a moment’s notice with the leftover euros or other foreign currency and a choice of (two) cocktail dresses that never see the light of day outside a ship’s restaurant on gala night. And there’s always a plug adaptor close at hand...
My box room office is stuffed full of maps and tourist leaflets of places I may never see again but I can’t get rid of – you never know when you might need them. And I’ve got a list as long as my arm of all the countries I’ve still got to see.
Going away is great fun but the day of reckoning starts when you get home. So after that first cup of tea, breakfast and a second cup I’ll power up the laptop and get to work before going anywhere near a shower or getting dressed. Surely most people who work from home never dress before midday?
Of course sometimes there are meetings in glamorous London buildings, lunches for launches and evening drinks that are a cross between speed-date networking and a party.
But other times, today for instance, my health app tells me I’ve done 31 steps and 0.01 miles. My bottom is actually numb, as is my brain, as I try to decipher my shorthand, sort through press releases and focus on the feature that has to be in the next day.
My only exercise is going downstairs to make more tea, when I’ll linger over yesterday’s newspaper – perhaps even catch up with today’s news on TV – until my inner stop watch tells me it’s time to go back to work.
But once a feature is finally finished it’s time to kick back, if only for half an hour. When the sun’s out I inspect the garden or read a book while soaking up the rays. Sometimes I’ll even escape for a walk to the common and back – two hours max – before returning to my desk.
Because work always calls me back like a Siren of the seas as I start to get interested in the next job, perhaps a feature or a chapter of a travel book.
And before I know it I’m lost in cyberspace re-checking that place where I found the little shop that sold that silver jewellery or the church where you could feel history all around you or that beach where turtles had laid their eggs the night before.
I never really stop travelling, even if it’s only in my mind. Although tomorrow I’ll be down in Dover to see another ship…
Deborah Stone has recently celebrated the release of the beautiful book, The World's Great River Journeys: 50 scenic voyages along the waterways of 6 continents. Co-written with husband, Nick Dalton, it is available from all good book shops and online retailers. Further information can be found on the publisher's website: www.johnbeaufoy.com
Deborah Stone is never happier than when she’s messing about by a river, preferably on a river cruise ship visiting new towns and cities every day. Budapest and Vienna are among her favourite destinations – and those are just on the River Danube.
An award-winning cruise writer, Deborah has sailed the oceans, too, reporting for national newspapers including The Daily Telegraph, Daily Express and Sunday Express as well as magazines such as Cruise International.