Friday Fix 28th Nov

Posted on in Announcements by Sarah Rodrigues

Hi everyone,

Here we are, heading into the last weekend of November. The big question is: have you festooned your house yet, or not?

In Florida, residents at an airforce base were asked to take their festive decorations down until after Thanksgiving (on which note – Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate) so I was asked to write a fluffy, silly piece on wars over when to decorate, and how much.

We sometimes like to point out the value of the BGTW press card in terms of getting you in to museums and suchlike, but guess what? It can get you into houses that look like Christmas has puked on them, too.

Yesterday, driving home, I saw a house so ineffably Christmassed-up that my teeth started jangling with the sugary Ghosts of Christmases Past. I screeched to the side of the road, knocked on the door, flashed the ol’ card and hey presto: was soon in the home of a man who’s been adding to his unashamedly excessive display for 19 years.

“Alexa, do Christmas,” he said in one room, which immediately sprang to gaudy life. It takes him and his wife three days – that’s three whole days, chaps – to put the whole shebang up.

Anyway, I’m going back there this afternoon with a proper photographer for the piece but in the meantime – what’s your decorative MO? I always love hearing from you.

Happy weekend, whatever you’re up to!

Sarah

The BGTW “Book Friday” Gift Guide

Support your fellow BGTW authors and help your loved ones plan their next trip or travel from their armchair with the perfect Christmas book gift! Today’s the day to make the most of all those Black Friday deals!

Browse the BGTW Travel Book Gift Guide

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19th January 2026: Better World Symposium – Complimentary Members Tickets Now Available

When? Monday 19th January 2026
– Symposium 10am – 6pm
– Networking and “New Year’s Party” 6pm – 9pm

Where? London Canal Museum, Kings Cross, London

Next week, non-member tickets go on sale for the BGTW Better World Symposium 2026. There is a limited number of spaces available, so we encourage all members planning to attend to register this weekend to guarantee their spot. It’s going to be an excellent event, with panels on inclusivity, money (how can the industry be sustainable if our incomes aren’t?), future solutions, 2026 travel trend reports, luxury travel ethics, unorthodox “sustainable stories”, and a closing keynote on solutions-led storytelling by Juliet Kinsman (members’ request). The first round of panellists is now published, with the final schedule being presented next week.

Register To Attend (Use Members Password: BW2026)*
  • We are currently only accepting registrations for the Daytime Symposium + Evening Networking. We will open registrations for the evening only at a later date.

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Around the World in 65 Years

Back to the subject of books: if you’ve not yet got your mitts on a copy of the 65th Anniversary anthology, don’t forget to order one via Charlotte. They are £12.99, with free postage in the UK for up to two copies. For any extras, or international shipping, Charlotte can advise on P&P via email.

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Sri Lanka & Algarve coverage

If you were on the Sri Lanka trip earlier this year, please make sure that your send in your coverage ASAP, as this is key to securing 2026 conventions.

Likewise to anyone who was on either one of the Algarve trips! Many thanks.

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TravYule and the Baubles

It was lovely to see so many Guildies at the TravYule event on Tuesday night – too many to mention here, but Jane Wilson looked a vision in white; Petra Shepherd was a hive of energy and helpfulness, as always; Mary Novakovich was givin’ it some in the carol singing and Steph Parker, nearing the end of her pregnancy, was radiant! Meanwhile, Carmen Roberts, presenting, made being on stage look effortless.

Big congrats to Si Willmore, who won Highly Commended in the Exceptional Team Player category, and to Amanda O Brien, who scored Highly Commended for Content Creator of the Year. Well done, guys!

The charity partner for the evening was Christmas for CAMHS, a project doing incredible work to nurture and encourage young people who have to spend the festive season in hospital due to mental health issues. Please check out their work and support them if you can.

Many thanks to Howard Salinger and the Travel Connection Group for putting on such a great night.

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An Update on Online & Hybrid Event Attendance

One of the topics raised at the 2025 AGM was how to make events more accessible to all members and less London-centric. We’ve been working behind the scenes on this, and wanted to share a little update on what has been done, and what is upcoming:

  • A key point to this discussion is that when it’s not a BGTW event, we have less control. A former member complained that we should be “demanding” PRs/DMOs run their events on Zoom, but the Board agreed that we can’t (and shouldn’t) “demand” a third party do anything; such behaviour would be entitled and negatively affect the Guild’s standing in the industry. However, we have advised and suggested where possible.
  • The ANTOR debate offered to make arrangements for hybrid attendance; however, the member who had requested this didn’t renew their membership. As such, the hosting partner decided not to proceed with the arrangement.
  • September’s Sri Lanka Embassy event was also hybrid, although only one member attended online.
  • Webinar access has now returned as a member’s benefit to attend Talking Travel Writing’s webinars for free. The first was in October, and we’ve now formalised an agreement to continue this bi-monthly in 2026.
  • As many of 2025’s events thus far have been social or hands-on training, these haven’t been suitable for a hybrid format (plus, the majority of AGM attendees made it clear they didn’t want social events streamed). However, for events with more than a social element but not suitable for live broadcast, we’ve sought other ways to enable members to know more from afar. For example, the podcast recording of the London Wetlands Visit, and the publication of podcasts from the Social Media Training event in April and the Better World Symposium sessions.
  • We’re working on being less London-centric, and this year have had events in Manchester and Oxford. We also have Christmas socials planned in the north and southwest. Additionally, we’re open to supporting regional events in Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and welcome local members to help us progress such ideas.
  • We’ve also expanded this to our convention programme, extolling the benefits to our Convention hosts of accepting members with regional publications, not just nationals and magazines (both Sri Lanka and the Algarve), and of using regional airports (Algarve) where possible.
  • January’s Better World Symposium will have an online attendance option
  • February’s AGM (as always) will have an online attendance option
  • We have reviewed event timings and, where possible, introduced daytime events, including Better World, the Wetlands Visit, and the Oxford event, to support off-peak travel pricing.
  • We have taken on every request from members (we never ignore any member’s request, and always reply thoughtfully and in detail to such discussions) and have implemented these changes wherever possible. There’s always more to do, and we welcome constructive suggestions and assistance to do so in 2026.

Christmas Cheer

Many thanks to members who have kindly volunteered to lead regional, pre-Christmas socials with Guildies in their corners of the UK!

Stuart Forster has offered to lead a Christmas market gathering in Newcastle city centre on Wednesday, 17 December 3.30-7.30 pm. He’s suggested a dusk stroll to capture photos of the festivities followed by a couple of drinks. Please contact Stuart at stuart.forster@gmail.com if you’d like to come along or have any questions.

Lucy Dodsworth has arranged with Visit Cheltenham to lead an event on Thursday, 11 December, as it’s a date that members from Bath and Bristol have already mentioned would work for them. Members would meet at 5pm to explore the Christmas market, and if people can’t make it that early, they can join along the way before it closes at 6pm. This would be followed by ice skating and then festive drinks at a nearby venue, all courtesy of Visit Cheltenham. Please email Lucy at lucydodsworth@yahoo.com if you’d like to come along or have any questions.

Chau-Jean Lin has offered to lead a visit to Christmas at the Guildhall, The City’s Original Christmas Market on Tuesday, December 9th in support of the British Red Cross. Each member needs to buy a ticket here, they’re £7 per person, or 5 tickets for £30 https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-involved/fundraising-and-events/guildhall-christmas-market

The Art Gallery at the Guildhall is open until 5pm and is free of charge; BGTW members are welcome to visit it beforehand. Everyone will then meet at the entrance of the Art Gallery at 5 pm. After the market, the group has a reservation for drinks at The Anthologist from 7.15 pm.
Please email Chau-Jean at lin.chaujean@gmail.com if you’d like to come along or have any questions.

If any other members are interested in helping organise and lead regional, pre-Christmas socials to celebrate the season with Guildies in your corners of the UK, please get in touch with Alicia. alicia.sheber@bgtw.org

Sarah Rodrigues
By: Sarah Rodrigues Freelance Travel Writer