Ah, the life of the professional nomad. That’s someone with a job, who has to travel a lot, not someone whose job IS travelling, you understand.

After a week of relative domesticity, I’m off again, this time in the ofther direction - to Israel, in fact, for a few intensive days of meetings. I’ll take photos (not of meetings, probably), but despite the hotel I’m staying at being some beachfront spa-type place, I won’t be taking my cozzie, I think.

There are several things you do on holiday, which you DON’T do on a business trip, no matter how warm it is (31°C, apparently) and how good the facilities are (Mediterranean Sea? Freshwater pool? Seawater pool? Decisions, decisions…) - and for me, that list includes wearing only skimpy lycra (actually, any all-lycra outfit is a recipe for disaster), getting trashed on cocktails with stupid names and multiple adornments (umbrellas, swizzle sticks shaped like naked ladies, etc), and singing Whitney Houston at karaoke. Actually, come to think of it, I’ve never done the latter two on holiday either. Perhaps they’re just “rule of life” stuff.

This is probably completely unrelated to middle eastern weather, but it’s been pretty warm over here, too the last few days. I’m ready for autumn now, as it happens - bring on the heavy skies and rainclouds! Come on, wind! Come on, nip in the air! Show yourself! I want to be wearing jumpers and jackets. I want to see the leaves turn crisp, and fall. I want to toy with the idea of wearing a scarf in the morning. I want to smell winter.

So, this week, East, and next week, West - I’m back off to the US again. In the middle, possibly a major European city (other than London). It’s far from glamourous, you must appreciate, though my colleague and regular business-travel-companion, C, and I are fast becoming demons at travel Scrabble…

In my (brief) absence, keep an eye on my Flickr stream (also viewable over there on the right) where I’ve just uploaded some pictures of the Thames Festival this weekend, and will endeavour to get some travel shots up soon, too.