Paul Smith

It doesn't seem that long since we hitch-hiked from London and hopped on the ferry from Dover to Calais. We had backpacks, passports, and no real idea where we were going except to the Continent and wherever the next drive took us. Even if it was uncharted, life - and travel - seemed so uncomplicated.

We're about to go there again soon, with passports, but this time loaded down with Arrangements: the right flight for the body clock; the best connections; advice on crime and how to protect yourself against it as best you can;  three - or four star hotels; delayed hotel checkouts, transfers and all and all. Most of it is necessary and helpful. But getting health  insurance proved a challenge. 

The convergence of technology, and general dumbing down out there mean that youthful health insurance consultants can, and happily do, refer you to their websites. Easy, they say, in their metronomic responses - just answer yes or no. You protest, pointing out that   some health conditions are not painted in black and white. Easy, they repeat, even with pre-existing medical conditions not specified in their lists of the same. So we begin this cybertrek, ticking their boxes until we get to a crucial  point - and are then told to work in Javascript…. eh?

In our day when English channel ferries surged across those historic, choppy waters,  Java was still an exotic place, not a computer language. Things were more straightforward - but then weren't we all?