Inspection of Collection, M & S Dress poem Plus PACKING LIST, by Angela Lansbury

I've clothes in every shade and hue

Red, orange, pink, purple, green, blue

In every style and kind of dress

From, Primark, Temu, M & S


I love to count, and keep in order

Yes, you've guessed it, I'm a hoarder.

-ends-

Permanent Packing List

When I was a busy travel writer, taking at least one trip a month, often two or three times a month, I would keep a suitcase permanently packed with clothes in black, white and red. 

My all purpose wheelie bag contained all the things I had regretted not taking on previous trips.

CLOTHES & COSMETICS

1 A swimsuit and swimhat. Later I bought a swimsuit with an attached hood.

2 I always had one tank top in case it turned sunny, or I had a stopover somewhere warm.

3 A brimmed hat or baseball cap.

4 A thermal vest, scarf and gloves for chilly nights, air conditioning, breezy boat trips, or trips to another continent with reverse seasons.

5 A couple of scarves, one with gold to convert a plain black or white tee-shirt into an evening outfit, for dining out, unexpected invitation to a birthday party or wedding. A big scarf like a sarong for changing on the beach, sun protection, entering churches and temples. 

6 The spare clothes in my shoulder bag, in case my luggage took a side trip, were a set of underwear.

7 Plus spare sandals. 

8 Flat towelling slippers saved from a hotel.

9 For summer I had a towelling facecloth, sun lotion, mosquito repellent and sting relief. 

10 A gift - in case you end up staying with somebody, getting invited to dinner at a home, or are invited to dinner and cannot reciprocate. Take sizes of family at home in case you want to buy gifts for the family. 

10 TOILETRIES BAG

My year round toiletries in a waterproof bag were 

1 a travel toothbrush and toothpaste, 

2 comb and folding brush, 

3 razor, and shaving cream 

4 Swiss army knife or tweezers-cum-nailfile set, 

5 Corkscrew cum bottle opener, 

6 Mini knife-fork-spoon.

7 Instead of a mini perfume, I later carried a lavender roll-on and /or lemon/citronella which acted as insect repellent. 

8 Emergency tooth filling kit and spare glasses for driving/reading

9 Plus a folding bag to bring back souvenirs. 

10 Travel Diary/notebook and pen with my address stickers on them. 

Copied Documents

1 I emailed myself a note of where to find my passport 

2 and leftover currency.

3 I and the people at home had a copy of my passport showing the number in case of loss, 

4 and a copy of my annual travel insurance. 

5 Clipboard to keep vital documents handy. Temperature at destination. Currency converter, eg pounds to dollars, dollars to euros. Disguised version of my computer password. 

6 Two pieces of notepaper headed My destination address, one for my handbag, the other for family at home. 

7 Travel Tickets. Even if I had them on my phone, in case my phone battery died, the airport had no internet reception, or my phone was stolen.

8 Two printed pictures of my travel luggage, listing colour, size and brand, to show to airport staff trying to locate items removed from the carousel, or to report loss for delivery delayed, or compensation.  

Big card with the words and a tickbox

1 PASSPORT 

2 TICKET PHONE SPECTACLES/SUNGLASSES/READING GLASSES HAT KEYS DRIVING LICENSE NUMBER CAR INSURANCE/AA number, number of neighbour at home. Turned off gas. Closed curtains. Emptied bins. Left on lights, radio,  Turn off gas. PILLS. Plasters.

Turn on

Check nothing is left in microwave, oven, hob, fridge, tabletop, dishwasher, washing machine, tumble dryer.

Number of hospital overseas. Vaccination/COVID records.

On arrival, check emergency exit from building and bedroom and restaurant. 

Also fire extinguisher. If restaurant has no fire exit and no fire extinguisher, complain and leave. Inform family or colleagues of the fire exit and fire extinguisher locations. 

Gifts and birthday cards. 

Print out of essential words in foreign language from Wikitravel phrasebook.

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