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There is one attendee at EVERY talk who stands up at the end to ask an extremely long question, the sole function of which is to prove that he thinks he knows more than the speaker. What he – it's always a he – doesn't know is that everyone in the room thinks he's a twat. https://twitter.com/marksimner/status/1361403371622694914
Mind you, have had worse. I once took a five-day tour to the site of the Great Escape and Colditz, and a punter brought his own satnav and regularly insisted on 'correcting' the route agreed between me and the coach driver. Never mind that I had done the trip three times before.
He also brought a long-winded reminiscence written by a late relative who had the most tenuous connection with the Great Escape camp. He kept asking that I should read it out. I kept saying I might, hoping he'd get the hint. He didn't. When I politely refused, he wasn't happy.
Another punter wasn't much better. I knew it from the start, when I politely told him after we arrived in Berlin that his watch was still on UK time. He looked at his watch, looked up at me, glowered, and said, "I'll have my watch on whatever time I choose."
This trip was beset with such characters. Because tramping around woods and castle staircases calls for reasonable mobility, the company insisted that clients should be able to walk unaided. At LHR, one punter turned up in a wheelchair. When questioned, he said it would be OK...
What was the problem? Nothing much, apparently. He had very recently has his foot amputated, but all would be well. Really? Under T&Cs he could have been hoofed off the trip, but he and his wife said they would manage. All right...
...Spool forward to late that afternoon, at the Great Escape museum. The exhibits are all upstairs, and our one-footed guest said he would stay downstairs. Well, it was his loss, and his immobility didn't affect the rest of the group...
Ten minutes later, I heard what I thought was the word 'Help!' being shouted. When you hear it being shouted, you can never quite believe it to be sincere, but in this instance it was. I went downstairs, and realised the word was being shouted from the Gents...
...And sure enough, there on the floor, was our one-footed guest, who had been unable to finish what he was doing owing to recently-acquired disability. After summoning his wife and with much kerfuffle, we got him onto a chair. This was day 1, and there were only 5 days to go...
...The tour manager insisted that he would have to go home, as his presence would hamper the group's progress. Of course, everybody insisted that they would look after him, but the leader's decision was correct and fair...
...So the following morning the man and his wife had to get a cab (paid for out of their own pockets) to take them 130 miles back to Berlin to fly home. Of course I felt sorry for the chap, but it is selfish, when travelling in a group, not to reveal a problem before you arrive.
Two things struck me:
1. People can be very kind, and want to help, even if it's going to have a negative impact on their experience. I suspect, had the guest been allowed to stay, people would have regretted such kindness.
2. A lot of people really don't do much walking. If any.
1. People can be very kind, and want to help, even if it's going to have a negative impact on their experience. I suspect, had the guest been allowed to stay, people would have regretted such kindness.
2. A lot of people really don't do much walking. If any.
And while some of that lack of mobility is caused by unavoidable conditions, some of it is caused by people simply never being mobile.
