Staycations

I read that the latest holiday trend in these straitened times is not to go away at all but to stay at home, so much so that the 'staycation' is now on Collins English Dictionary's shortlist of new words to be included in their next edition. I do think there may be some confusion here regarding 'at home' - is that in your local neighbourhood, county or country - could it mean not leaving your street or not leaving these shores? Travel Weekly last week published a survey suggesting that 38% of a sample of 2,000 Brits were planning not to go away this year but to spend their annual hols 'at home'. Last week VisitEngland were claiming their research shows that 63% of Brits expect to take an English break or holiday this year with one in five who took an overseas holiday last year considering switching to the UK to save money. I must say that I'm all in favour of staying close to home and discovering what's on our doorsteps. Living as I do in West London, I'm luckily spoilt for choice for local days out such as: Kew Gardens,Osterley, Richmond Park, Ham House, Syon Park; quirky museums like the Musical Museum at Brentford and Kew Steam Museum; let alone miles of walks along the Grand Union Canal, literally just down the road. I did find myself vaguely considering a National Trust working holiday the other day - did I prefer dry stone walling or forestry?! Thank heavens an exhausting day's work in my own garden this weekend has convinced me that I can even fix one of those 'at home' for myself as well.