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Will you be covered by your travel insurance?
We are in worrying times and faced with the ultimate decision would you choose health over money. Is it worth the risk?
Insurance is a necessary evil and an added expense designed to safeguard travellers. It could be a saviour if you are caught in a difficult situation once you are on your holiday. But will it cover you if you want to cancel your holiday and stay at home?Insurance rules for epidemics and pandemics
Unfortunately, everything comes down to the stuff we hardly ever read – the small print. Previous outbreaks of world-threatening viruses like SARS, Ebola and Zika, have influenced insurers to be cautious and include only the necessary coverage for such events. And epidemics and pandemics have become excluded from most insurance coverage. Leaving holidaymaker covered for what will happen to them, but not what might happen to them. The World Health Organization has declared the latest virus outbreak as an international health emergency. However, although the insurance companies agree, they aren’t surprised by the newest virus to reach epidemic proportions, and to them, it is an expected risk they have already factored into their policiesDespite the lockdown happening in Italy at the moment, Europe is not on code red yet. There has been no official warning from the FCO not to travel in Europe. Special care should be taken in areas of South Korea (Daegu & Cheongdo) and China is still a no go zone. An FCO warning is the deciding factor for the airlines, travel agents, holiday and insurance companies, to motivate them to cancel flights or holiday packages and issue refunds.
Should I take my family on holiday?
The general insurance small print on the matter of epidemics or pandemics states that most claims will be assessed based on individual cases. But this doesn’t give much assurance to an average family about to embark on an international flight. And it doesn’t provide enough information for anyone debating whether to put health & safety first and stay at home instead. At the moment The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the government are asking travellers to reconsider their need to travel rather than giving a direct warning. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean much to the insurance companies and asking the public to contemplate whether it is wise to travel will not entitle them to a refund for their holiday. Deciding to travel without heeding the advice of the FCO may forfeit your right to claim back any of your medical expenses or costs of repatriation. However, if your destination was not on the ‘no go’ list when you travelled but has subsequently been upgraded, you will fall into an insurance grey area, and any settlement will be based on discretion when you make a claim. In some areas, the risk may be low, but that doesn’t mean that in the worst-case scenario, it won’t escalate or in the best-case, diminish to nothing. Cancelling a holiday you have promised your kids for months. Or have saved your pennies to make happen, is a tough choice. But there may be other factors to consider when making a final decision. Do you need to go? Is your health good? Is anyone you will be travelling with vulnerable (young, elderly, or has a suppressed immune system? The decision will be a real tug of war between your head and your heart.Best and worst-case scenarios
If you’ve planned your trip a long way in advance. Hopefully, you booked your insurance before the latest epidemic scare started too. If so, it is likely you will be refunded if the FCO advises against travel to your destination, and your journey is cancelled, rescheduled or shortened by the providers. Unfortunately, if the FCO haven’t declared your destination a ‘no go’ zone, it is unlikely that you will be able to recoup any of your initial your costs unless you can change or defer your holiday. Hotels are usually more forgiving in these cases. And some airlines are more forgiving when changing flights than others. However, the budget airlines tend to be strict unless you have taken precautions in advance and booked a trip with extra adaptability. If you decide to take the risk and travel to a destination not banned by the FCO, you should be medically covered if something happens, as long as your insurance policy was booked in advance. However, the level of cover differs between companies and policies. And make sure you take appropriate precautions to reduce the risk of infection. Otherwise, it is unlikely you will receive any compensation at all.Five Great Wellbeing Podcasts | Wellness
I love podcasts. It took me a while to start listening to them but when I did I felt my world opened up. There is so much variety and if you work from home, like me, they are a companion to keep you company. Here are five that I love for health and wellbeing. Please let me know which podcasts you are listening to.
How To Fail With Elizabeth Day.
I love Elizabeth Day and her How To Fail podcast is brilliant. I have listened to almost all of them. Each episode a different celebrity comes on and talks about their failures. I cannot recommend it enough.
How Did We Get Here with Claudia Winkelman and Professor Tanya Byron.
Claudia Winkleman is amazing beyond words and so is her co-host. If you have an interest in psychology like I do then this is definitely worth a listen.
Feel Better Live More With Doctor Rangan Chatterjee.
This is a great podcast on various health issues. A new topic is covered each episode. I love it.
Food For Thought With Rhiannon Lambert.
Great advice on nutrition. Fun to listen to too.
Ella is a classic. I have always admired here. She does this podcast with her husband. I have learnt a lot.
What would you add?
F*cked at Forty by Tova Leigh Review by Mary Cooper
F*cked at 40: Life Beyond Suburbia, Monogamy and Stretch Marks
In her latest book, F*cked at Forty, Tova Leigh takes us on a rollercoaster ride through the ups and downs, and the highs and lows of her life as a single person, a married, divorced and married again woman, the trauma of childbirth to, finally, a place that makes sense to her.
She discovered that she was more than just an extension of society and her family.
This made me reassess what I was striving for in my life, not just what society and family expected of me.
However, extracting the me from society and family proved to be more difficult than you would imagine.
When I was married and the children were small, if anyone asked how I was, I would always reply in relation to how the children and my husband were; if they were happy, I was happy.
Or was I?
Tova Leigh has been where I’ve been, felt what I’ve felt but, unlike me, she has stuck her head above the parapet and shouted it to the world. She changed things, and with an honesty that takes your breath away, has made her life, and the lives of those close to her, richer and happier.
The secret is, there is no secret. Be honest with yourself and, even if it’s painful, be honest with those close to you. Think carefully about the life you want, then get out and have that life. Adapt. Change. Never stop moving forward.
I realise, now, that life doesn’t stop after marriage, children or, even, divorce. There is so much more to explore, and I, for one, am considering a trip to Nepal where, according to F*ucked at Forty, the freedom is terrifying.
Available in HB, £14.99. Ebook and audio.
SISTER SCRIBES GUEST: JESSIE CAHALIN ON LIVING THE DREAM
I first became aware of Jessie when this amazing blog appeared, featuring books in handbags, but it was some time before we met, introduced by the lovely Angela Petch at an RNA conference. There is a certain symmetry between us; she is a Yorkshire author living in Cardiff, and I am a Cardiff author living in Cornwall. That, and the fact she is a wonderfully giving and collaborative person, makes me consider her a Sister Scribe.
When I reached my mid forties, I realised my career ambition had overshadowed my creativity. Stuck on a treadmill of administration, I signed off educational action points for teachers but had not achieved any of my own goals. Days started at 6am and ended at midnight. Fuelled with coffee, I survived on very little sleep, but my life-long dream to write a novel haunted me. A health scare prompted me to grab time for myself and take control of my destiny.
Characters hassled me for years and it was time to set them free in my novel, ‘You Can’t Go It Alone’. I tapped away on my laptop keyboard for six months; it was fun to finally meet the characters. At times, their behaviour shocked me, but they showed me there is more to life than action planning and policy making. Sophie, a character in the novel, showed me the importance of the simple things in life. She also made me smile again.
Writing improved my wellbeing, and I wanted to learn more about the craft. I sought the advice of a professional editor and engaged in cutting, cutting and shaping. Novel completed, I closed my laptop, ticked off one point on my bucket list, and hopped back on to my life. I mused that I would re-read my words again one day.
Unbeknown to me, my husband read the manuscript of ‘You Can’t go It Alone’. He published the novel, without my knowledge, as he knew I would dilly dally. He threw me into the world of indie publishing. It shocked me, but I decided to grab the opportunity and make connections with the writing and reading community via a blog and social media. Initially, the aim of my blog was to share book reviews of all the books that had resonated with me over the years. I named the blog Books in my Handbag as all my books are on the kindle, in my handbag.
Playing on the theme of handbags, I tweeted photos of my novel in my handbag. Overwhelmed with the positive comments about the photo, I realised it would be fun to ask authors to send their photos. I developed the Handbag Gallery to showcase the authors’ books and provide a unique boost to the marketing of hundreds of authors. I now have almost fourteen thousand followers on Twitter, and the photos of book in handbags are always a hit.
The Handbag Gallery connected me to lots of authors, and they have supported me with the writing process and promotion. With pearls of wisdom from indie and traditionally published authors and hard work, I achieved bestseller rankings across UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I was third in contemporary women’s fiction in Canada. The day my book was placed beside Margaret Atwood, I felt as if the stars had aligned.
Last year, I moved beyond virtual connections with authors reached out to the Romance Novelists’ Association. It is wonderful to meet with authors in the local RNA chapter and became a member of the New Writers’ Scheme. I don’t know what the future holds for ‘Loving You’ because I am exploring benefits of the traditional and indie publishing routes. I have started my third novel and have been offered opportunities to write articles in magazines My experience shows you do have to speculate to accumulate. I am celebrating three years of my blog and living the dream in writerly heaven. Moreover, I have taken control of my health and wellbeing.
Wishing everyone the strength to follow their dreams.
Visit Jessie’s website at http://www.JessieCahalin.com or follow her on Twitter @BooksInHandbag
In the Full Light of the Sun by Clare Clark headlines a round up of my February reading: by Natalie Jayne Peeke
What a novel: In the Full Light of the Sun by Clare Clark alternately fascinates, and moves,
Three Berliners are caught up in a devastating scandal of 1930s Berlin: Emmeline is a wayward young art student, Julius a middle aged art expert and Rachmann. Well, who is Rachmann? Is he really an art dealer?
A novel based on a true story about Van Gogh’s paintings and the rise of Nazis Germany in the ’30s, one which concentrates on these three characters caught up in the discovery of many unknown paintings by Vincent Van Gogh. But perhaps an equally important ‘character’ is Berlin: so edgy, so louche, so conflicted by the end of the war, so at odds with tradition, so despairing, chaotic, and what’s more, a city that is in the throes of giving house room to the monstrous Nazis regime. In this melee of damaged post war psyches where anything increasingly goes, this novel encompasses not just art, but greed, and always the uncertainty which impregnated post-war Berlinl ife. Masterly. Read it I beseech you.
Available in audio, e-book and paperback. Pub: Virago
Keep the home fires burning – By S Block
1940 Great Paxford, Cheshire, when a Spitfire crashes in the village the lives of an extraordinary community of women will change forever. Francis Barden’s greatest challenge is only just beginning. Pat Simms received a respite when her abusive husband went to war but now, he’s home, Pat doesn’t know who to turn to. And for newlyweds to Teresa and Nick, the plane crash on their wedding day may just be the start of their troubles. Meanwhile the life of the Campbell family will never be the same following a devastating tragedy.
Picking up from where the TV series cruelly ended I was finally able to see what became of the remarkable women of great Paxford, did Pat ever see her lover again? Was the baby OK? What did Francis do with Noah?
I became so invested in the characters and their lives the hurdles that they had to overcome whilst the world is at war. I couldn’t put it down I was gripped from beginning to end, Block describes with accurate detail the trials that people on the home front would face. A stunning story of love friendship and bravery during a horrible time of uncertainty for the people of Great Britain.
Phone off well rounded diverse and complex characters whose lives would never be the same again, leaving you sitting on the edge of your seat, praying for another tremendous instalment divulging into the lives of Great Paxford’s WI.
Perfect for fans of Annie Clark and Milly Adams and those that enjoy TV shows such as Foyle’s war and call the midwife.
The Letter – By Kathryn Hughes
Tina Craig longs to escape her violent husband she works all the hours God sends to save up enough money to leave him also volunteering in a charity shop to avoid her unhappy home. whilst going through the pockets of a second-hand suit she comes across an old letter the envelope firmly sealed and unfranked. Tina opens the letter and reads it, a decision that will change the course of her life forever.
Billy Stirling knows he has been a fool but hopes he can put things right. on the 4th of September 1939 he sits down to write the letter he hopes will change his future. it does in more ways than he can ever imagine.
the letter tells the story of two women born decades apart whose paths are destined to cross and how one woman’s devastation leads to the others Salvation.
if you came across a letter dated over 30 years ago and it remained unposted and unread would you have the courage to read it and do everything possible to find out the story behind it? a beautiful story of love friendship and heartache. a page turner that would leave you believing that everything happens for a reason, even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time. written in 2 different time lines exploring the lives of Tina and 30 years earlier the lives of billy and Chrissy a beautiful and complex storyline that I could not stop thinking about, I laughed, I cried and I was left feeling all warm and fuzzy. perfect for fans of The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan.
Everything but the truth By Gillian Mcallister
Do you ever check your partner’s phone? Should you?
Are you prepared for the consequences?
Everything but the Truth is Gillian Mcallister’s stunning breakthrough thriller about deceit, betrayal and one woman’s compulsive need to uncover the truth
It all started with the email. Rachel didn’t even mean to look. She loves Jack and she’s pregnant with their child. She trusts him.
But now she’s seen it, she can’t undo that moment. Or the chain of events it has set in motion. Why has Jack been lying about his past? Just what exactly is he hiding? And doesn’t Rachel have a right to know the truth at any cost?
A truly unputdownable book. I was gripped from the first till last chapter. Gillian Mcallister is a fantastic story teller and I was kept in the know, i needed to know. Everything but the truth serves as a poignant reminder that everyone has their own secret, especially from people they love. You can’t help but put yourself in Rachel’s shoes, what would you do when you discover that the man you love has been keeping a colossal secret but yet, so have you.
I am now and forever will be a Gillian Mcallister fan.
Teatime Bookshop – a book subscription service: Natalie Jayne Peeke, West Country Correspondent finds out more
What is the Teatime bookshop? In one word…genius. They offer a book subscription service where you can choose the theme you want, how long you want it for and whether you would like tea or coffee included as well a luxury biscuit option. The books are preloved but in a fantastic condition so the subscription boxes would make a lovely gift for yourself or a friend.
The genres you can choose from are:
Children aged 1-3 (Finger puppets are available instead of tea/coffee and biscuits)
Children aged 4-7 & 8-11 (tea/coffee is substituted for luxury hot chocolate)
Crime & Thriller
RomCom
Vintage
Top 20
You can choose if you would like to purchase a subscription for 1,3,6 or 12 months, you can even select the number of books you would like to receive, the options are 1,2 or 4 books. Prices start from £7.99 making them a fantastic value for money.
For my box I asked for Coffee, biscuits and selected the crime & thriller genre. Also included was a penguin postcard and a teatime bookshop postcard. I will be treating myself to more boxes and will recommend to any book lover or budding young reader.
Book of The Week: The Variety Girls By Tracy Baines
Our Book of The Week is this stunning novel from Tracy Baines. You can read our review here. Get your copy now.
This heart warming saga is set on the brink of the 2nd World War, and circumstances have dictated that Jessie Delaney, her mum, Grace, and young brother Eddie, up sticks and move in with Jessie’s aunt and uncle. To call these relatives the sober-sides, the ‘sucked a lemon’ brigade is to understate the case. Life is toxic, and miserable, but our Jessie is aspirational, she determines to escape onto the stage in her father’s footsteps.
Can she pull it off, especially as it means leaving her mum and brother, and what about Harry the boyfriend?
If she does leave, how can she rescue her mother and brother? Will she be the successful singer she craves to be? Will she still see Harry? Where will she live? Will she make friends?
So many questions, and to find the answers, and enter this razzmatazz world, you will have to read this well-researched song and dance of a novel in great gulps as I did, all the while so wanting Jessie to pull it off, just as the author most certainly has: an evocative, busy, entertaining read, which has well balanced touches of humour, vying with angst, and of course, more than a dollop of tension. Bravo, bravo.
But be warned, you’ll end up buying sparkly knickers, and dancing to the big band sound around the kitchen – oh yes you will.
The Variety Girls by Tracy Baines. pb, ebook and audio. Available from Amazon.co.uk WH Smith, and ASDA