For two weeks, that is........... I fly tomorrow, and have just been calling Cyprus Airways to find out if I am allowed to take my handbag and my computer in the cabin with me. Fortunately yes, although they advised me not to take any liquids in my hand luggage, as they would probably be confiscated.

I can't believe the latest lot of terrorists - every time I think about the couple who have a baby, I just feel sick with fear that they were planning to take the baby with them as well. In the UK, they have started to give extra screening to passengers who fit the terrorist profile, which I think is great. People are moaning about how it is racist against young Muslims, but then, so far all the terrorists have been young Muslims, so it makes sense. If the terrorists were middleaged Lutherans, I'd be only too happy to have extra screening, in fact, I would expect it, but it's really idiotic that all of us have to be frisked and can't take our moisturiser or lipstick on the plane. It means the authorities are actually pretending that all of us are equally likely to be terrorists, which is just plain stupid.

And I can't stand it either when they interview people on the news, and they say "Oh we don't mind, it's for our safety!" It is ridiculous that people get brainwashed so easily into accepting this sort of thing. If ordinary people were allowed to take their lipsticks, knitting needles and so on into the plane with them, they would be no more or less safe than now. Actually, if knitting needles are so dangerous, why are the authorities not issuing them to passengers, so that, in the event of terrorist activity, the passengers may all use their knitting needles against the terrorists?

However I won't attempt to take my embroidery scissors with me - I have found (the first time by accident) that, if they are wrapped in fabric inside a mesh bag in my backpack, they do not show up on the x-rays at CDG or Larnaca, but I guess they may have upped the strength of these now. One thing that does show up on the machine you have to walk through at CDG is the underwires in bras, I did suggest to the security people there last time that this is really overkill, but they pretended not to understand me. Although they are not as officious as people at British airports, I was always astounded by the security at Belfast and Cardiff. Every week at Belfast the same security officer used to run her hands over me and she always used to give my Chanel necklace a vicious tug. But I think she was really rather strange. Then there was the one at Cardiff who went through every piece of paper in my bags, in case there was anthrax on them. I had a stack of "incorrect" electricity bills to investigate, and this was apparently highly suspicious.

I look back on the days when travel was a pleasure, they seem so long ago. I can't imagine now getting on a plane unless I had to for work, what with all the hassle........... and just to add to all the joy, work has now introduced an incredibly cumbersome system of approvals for travel. Of course, introducing it while everyone is on holiday as well is just a stroke of genius, we're all now in trouble for not getting prior approval for our first-day-back-at-work travel!

Better stop moaning, I guess.......... I should have taken some pictures of Queen of the Needle to post today, but silly me, I didn't, so I think it will be Sunday before I can do this. Progress is enormous!