“Is it work or pleasure?” This is one of those standard how-is-your-day questions you get asked when checking in for a flight or at a hotel. Sometimes it will make you grin as you weigh things up in your mind – sure, this is a business trip, but you’re going to squeeze in some super-fun me-time here and there.
But other times it’s a family holiday and you’ll look at the kids, one of whom has just been car sick on a particularly curly bit of road and sigh heavily as you realise being “away” is just like being at home, but with fewer laundry facilities.
That work/pleasure combo works best when “pleasure” is the surprise side dish to a business main course rather than the other way round. I’m inordinately lucky that I sometimes get booked to go entertain a bunch of strangers somewhere and discover my accommodation is a sweet little cottage with a rose garden, a claw-foot bath and some homemade jam in the fridge, and you can pretend you’re really on vacation.
On the other hand, my top bowels-turn-to-water moments include being a guest at what I think is an off-the-clock social event until someone loudly suggests, “You’d probably love to get up and do a bit of your comedy thing, eh?” and the rest of the party agree this would be just the thing. (This has happened more than once.)
This story is from the February 22, 2021 edition of New Zealand Woman's Weekly.
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This story is from the February 22, 2021 edition of New Zealand Woman's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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