Why Modern Travel Fills Me with Horror

Beginning of article

TRAVELLING FILLS me with dread. When a trip is looming - and loom they do these days, because I'm often invited to speak on the benefits of doing nothing at festivals and conferences abroad - I fret. I even panic, sometimes for days before the journey. I stomp around the house grumpily. I worry about clothing. Why did I say yes? Why can't I just stay at home? Where's my passport?

When the day comes, I remember how much I loathe flying. I seethe at the humiliation of

airport security checks. I come over all Prince Charles and fume at Richard Rogers and his ugly, sterile architecture. It's the horrific white blandness of airports that gets me. The way they …