Press Trip Tales

Travelwriters.com asked a question “What was your most embarassing moment on a press trip? Here is an answer from “Lush.”

“Once upon on a time in a Novotel in Australia, I met the local tourism board PR before I checked into my hotel.

“I’ve left you a special welcome package in your room,” he said. “Why don’t we meet up when you’re settled and we can go through it together.” We arranged to meet in an hour. I went up to my room and found the package – on the bed. Much to my horror, it was a Naughty Weekend Kit containing chocolate body paint, nipple cream and assorted flavoured condoms.

I cancelled our meeting and stayed in my room. “And I won’t be touching your package,” I told him sternly.

Later that night I noticed the OTHER welcome pack – the media kit with brochures and a CD of images – on the desk. Turns out the sexy kit was a gift from the hotel and he knew nothing about it. Oops!

Keith Kellett has written for GoNOMAD and he added this:

“I was on a press trip to Churchill Canada to go beluga watching. One of the party was a Times journalist who spoke like one of the royal family – all “I say!” and “jolly good show!”. For those of you who watch British TV, he sounded like Brian Sewell.

We were in a bar one evening, surrounded by men and women in jeans, sweaty tee shirts and those funny high-brimmed baseball caps that train drivers in the Old West used to wear. They had, to a man or woman, turned up at the bar in quad bikes.

There was a queue for drinks, so our Times man joined it. When they got to the head of the queue every man or woman rasped “Gimme a beer!”

This went on for some time until the Times journalist got to the head of the queue and said in a loud voice “I’ll have a chilled dry white wine, my man. A Chardonnay would be absolutely perfect,” or words to that effect.

All eyes in the bar turned towards him, and then an old guy got up and approached him. “You’re wearin a tie son,” he said. “Why you wearin a tie? You one of them hommy sex shells?”