Dr Beau Webber on why Manston Airport could be a successful and important airport for the South East of England

Earlier today, I posted an article on the travesty going on at Manston Airport  an a rather clever scientist affected by the closure posted some of the most articulate, thoughtful and persuasive arguments on why Manston should continue as an airport. Rather than languishing at the bottom of a list of comments, I thought they would be better served as their own post. Dr Webber has kindly agreed.
 

Dear Sammy, I thank you for such a coherent and well discussed summary of the plight of Manston Airport, Kent.

OK you asked for it. I have lots to say on why I and my micro-SME scientific research company and the "Save Manston Airport" group believe that Manston Airport could be a successful and important airport for the South East of England, if just, as you say, it were just managed and advertised as it should be.

Excellent uncongested road links at Manston

First :

There is now an official Thanet District Council petition to help keep Manston
Airport as an operating airport - please sign it for a chance to reduce Heathrow and Gatwick flights and the need for new runways :
http://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=67

Where shall I start? Loss of jobs and additional costs on local businesses:

It is not just the 140 direct job losses by Ann Gloag's employees, but the ancillary knock-on effect in local businesses total about 700, including a small aviation firm that has been booted out of its 50 year leased premises.

Take my micro-SME firm, as small as it comes - the additional £100 to £200 additional cost of each journey across the South of England to Gatwick or Heathrow becomes significant over the year, not to mention the effectively day lost from the coal-face of the business by the travel time. It was 10 minutes from my research laboratory to Manston Airport, plus 30 minutes check-in time (mostly spent with a hot drink) - including published check-in times, via the M25 from Canterbury to Gatwick and onto the plane is about 4 hours, and to be prudent, to Heathrow is about 6 hours. And of course nearly as much for the return journey. Often requiring an over-night stay in a hotel to ensure catching an early flight. 

The sixth longest civilian runway in the UK at Manston Airport

Manston History:

Manston was started for the first-world war.
In the second world-war, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was honorary air commodore for 615 Fighter Squadron, and paid them a visit at RAF Manston, Kent, UK, on 25 September 1941.

But on Thursday 15th May 2014 it was shut by the current owner. Airport operations ceased at 5pm. We hear that airport operating equipment is already being sold off, and there will be a further auction in days. Offers of the full asking price have, it is reported, been rejected by the current owner. We believe the intention is to dig up the runway, demolish the airport buildings, and build houses. A "Garden City" is being touted - where are the jobs for these people ? Thanet is already an area of "significant socio-economic deprivation".

Manston from the air a few years ago

OK, next, why should people fly from Manston - surely it has been shown to not be a popular airport?

My next thesis is high-lighted by a visit to the nearly city of Maidstone, by the leader of the "Save Manston Airport" group - the commonest response by the good people of Maidstone : "What Manston Airport ?".

This is no surprise to me - the only reason I knew that KLM had started flights to Schiphol Hub in Amsterdam, was I was driving past the airport perimeter daily, and there was a banner on the fence !
Well we have in a short space of time flown to the USA and elsewhere a number of times via Manston and Schiphol. When Ann Gloag announced her "closure consultation", visitors and directors of my company had 8 European and long-haul flights booked via Manston, not all of which were able to take place. And I have already had to do an additional European journey via Gatwick. The KLM passenger use of Manston was successful and growing - we suspect that this is why Ann Gloag asked KLM to leave as soon as she did.

So for whom does it make sense to use Manston Airport ?

Well surprisingly my web data mining has given us extensive evidence that the highly efficient nature of Manston Airport means that you can be as far away from Manston as any of the 13 Category-A mainline stations in London, or on the junction 9 roundabout on the M23, at the Gatwick Airport boundary, and you will still be quicker to fly from Manston Airport than either Heathrow or Gatwick Airports.

Kent Travel Times, Manston vs Heathrow by car

See this pdf document on the "Save Manston Airport" group's Facebook site :
Manston Airport Kent has major travel advantages – v2b.pdf

https://www.facebook.com/groups/616428761764523/645012062239526/
We have even conducted an on-road and "virtual flight" validation of these timings :
www.facebook.com/events/580892218698984/

Manston Airport has excellent HS1 high-speed rail links 8 minutes away by taxi from Ramsgate station to Ashford International and Central London (to be further upgraded this Autumn), and dual-carriageway roads from Manston Airport boundary fence across Kent and into Central London.

The fastest trains in the UK can help you get to Manston

So why is this not more generally appreciated?

No one has been told! Where is the advertising on the tube and train-lines to the other London Airports ? How many travel agencies in the South East even know of Manston Airport ? - Again and again people have to tell their travel agencies about Manston.

But also, the Davies Commission refused to consider Manston Airport in its report on future air traffic for London airports :
The Airports Commission have stated, when I sent them these population/travel time figures :
"The Commission noted that some people living in North Kent valued the role that the Airport played in supporting regional connectivity, but noted a number of significant challenges, such as relatively poor surface transport links and a large distance from significant population, which rendered any significantly expanded role for the airport implausible."
And later :
"… has identified three options it will take forward for further development, as well as more work to allow it to understand the viability of a Thames Estuary option. The Commission is focussed on analysing these three short-listed options and the feasibility of a Thames Estuary option and does not intend to revisit previous decisions."
airports.enquiries@airports.gsi.gov.uk

Why is Manston Airport not included in this discussion of London Airports ?
More urgently :
Why close Manston Airport at a time of expansion plans for Heathrow and Gatwick ?

Kent County Council recommends that there should be better utilisation of regional airport capacity in the South East; Manston has the potential to accommodate up to 5 to 6 million passengers per annum.

Manston Airport also has an enviable record for cargo handling, with no stacking on airport approach, and full loads of perishable cargo unloaded and on the road, and the aircraft back in the air, within 80 minutes of landing. Establishing small package freight to adjacent airport hubs for global express packages is an important goal of the air-operations company that has offered the full asking price of £7million, for Manston.

Over 15,000 people have signed a petition in support of Manston Airport which has been a remarkably fast, efficient, friendly and convenient airport to use, and to work at.

OK, that is was the appeal to logic, now for something different :

To Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted Airports :
“Give us your tired (who have walked too far from check-in to gate to plane to baggage pickup) ,
your poor (who have paid as much to park - or to catch the train across England - as for their flight),
Your huddled masses of stacked planes yearning for a free slot in which to land,
The wretched refuse of your teeming sky and overloaded runways.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed and diverted planes, to us at Manston Airport:
We lift our lamp beside the White Cliffs of the Dover Straights.”

Dr. Beau Webber - May, 2014, with apologies to Emma Lazarus.

Manston Dreaming
The people were sent home
The planes flew away
All fell silent

In an office far away, predators scheme and plot
Shiver and drool in anticipation of the kill

And at midnight, an unfamiliar sound drifts across the airfield on the cool night air.....

A spirit sleeping
and dreaming of our return
by Jennifer Maidman
http://youtu.be/OImU9GJLXd8
Annie Whitehead of Penguin Cafe Orchestra on Trombone.

And again, please sign the official Thanet District Council petition to help keep Manston Airport as an operating airport :
http://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=67

Article by Dr. Beau Webber
Lab-Tools Ltd., Canterbury & Ramsgate
www.Lab-Tools.com

Dear Sammy, I thank you for such a coherent and well discussed summary of the plight of Manston Airport, Kent.

OK you asked for it. I have lots to say on why I and my micro-SME scientific research company and the "Save Manston Airport" group believe that Manston Airport could be a successful and important airport for the South East of England, if just, as you say, it were just managed and advertised as it should be.

First :
There is now an official Thanet District Council petition to help keep Manston
Airport as an operating airport - please sign it for a chance to reduce Heathrow and Gatwick flights and the need for new runways :
http://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=67

Where shall I start ? Loss of jobs and additional costs on local businesses:

It is not just the 140 direct job losses by Ann Gloag's employees, but the ancillary knock-on effect in local businesses total about 700, including a small aviation firm that has been booted out of its 50 year leased premises.

Take my micro-SME firm, as small as it comes - the additional £100 to £200 additional cost of each journey across the South of England to Gatwick or Heathrow becomes significant over the year, not to mention the effectively day lost from the coal-face of the business by the travel time. It was 10 minutes from my research laboratory to Manston Airport, plus 30 minutes check-in time (mostly spent with a hot drink) - including published check-in times, via the M25 from Canterbury to Gatwick and onto the plane is about 4 hours, and to be prudent, to Heathrow is about 6 hours. And of course nearly as much for the return journey. Often requiring an over-night stay in a hotel to ensure catching an early flight.

Manston History :
Manston was started for the first-world war.
In the second world-war, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was honorary air commodore for 615 Fighter Squadron, and paid them a visit at RAF Manston, Kent, UK, on 25 September 1941.

But on Thursday 15th May 2014 it was shut by the current owner. Airport operations ceased at 5pm. We hear that airport operating equipment is already being sold off, and there will be a further auction in days. Offers of the full asking price have, it is reported, been rejected by the current owner. We believe the intention is to dig up the runway, demolish the airport buildings, and build houses. A "Garden City" is being touted - where are the jobs for these people ? Thanet is already an area of "significant socio-economic deprivation".

OK, next, why should people fly from Manston - surely it has been shewn to not be a popular airport ?
My next thesis is high-lighted by a visit to the nearly city of Maidtone, by the leader of the "Save Manston Airport" group - the commonest response by the good people of Maidstone : "What Manston Airport ?".

This is no surprise to me - the only reason I knew that KLM had started flights to Schiphol Hub in Amsterdam, was I was driving past the airport perimeter daily, and there was a banner on the fence !
Well we have in a short space of time flown to the USA and elsewhere a number of times via Manston and Schiphol. When Ann Gloag announced her "closure consultation", visitors and directors of my company had 8 European and long-haul flights booked via Manston, not all of which were able to take place. And I have already had to do an additional European journey via Gatwick. The KLM passenger use of Manston was successful and growing - we suspect that this is why Ann Gloag asked KLM to leave as soon as she did. - See more at: http://sammysgenericblog.blogspot.jp/2014/05/manston-death-of-airport.html#sthash.P2TKJEpb.dpuf

Dear Sammy, I thank you for such a coherent and well discussed summary of the plight of Manston Airport, Kent.

OK you asked for it. I have lots to say on why I and my micro-SME scientific research company and the "Save Manston Airport" group believe that Manston Airport could be a successful and important airport for the South East of England, if just, as you say, it were just managed and advertised as it should be.

First :
There is now an official Thanet District Council petition to help keep Manston
Airport as an operating airport - please sign it for a chance to reduce Heathrow and Gatwick flights and the need for new runways :
http://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=67

Where shall I start ? Loss of jobs and additional costs on local businesses:

It is not just the 140 direct job losses by Ann Gloag's employees, but the ancillary knock-on effect in local businesses total about 700, including a small aviation firm that has been booted out of its 50 year leased premises.

Take my micro-SME firm, as small as it comes - the additional £100 to £200 additional cost of each journey across the South of England to Gatwick or Heathrow becomes significant over the year, not to mention the effectively day lost from the coal-face of the business by the travel time. It was 10 minutes from my research laboratory to Manston Airport, plus 30 minutes check-in time (mostly spent with a hot drink) - including published check-in times, via the M25 from Canterbury to Gatwick and onto the plane is about 4 hours, and to be prudent, to Heathrow is about 6 hours. And of course nearly as much for the return journey. Often requiring an over-night stay in a hotel to ensure catching an early flight.

Manston History :
Manston was started for the first-world war.
In the second world-war, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was honorary air commodore for 615 Fighter Squadron, and paid them a visit at RAF Manston, Kent, UK, on 25 September 1941.

But on Thursday 15th May 2014 it was shut by the current owner. Airport operations ceased at 5pm. We hear that airport operating equipment is already being sold off, and there will be a further auction in days. Offers of the full asking price have, it is reported, been rejected by the current owner. We believe the intention is to dig up the runway, demolish the airport buildings, and build houses. A "Garden City" is being touted - where are the jobs for these people ? Thanet is already an area of "significant socio-economic deprivation".

OK, next, why should people fly from Manston - surely it has been shewn to not be a popular airport ?
My next thesis is high-lighted by a visit to the nearly city of Maidtone, by the leader of the "Save Manston Airport" group - the commonest response by the good people of Maidstone : "What Manston Airport ?".

This is no surprise to me - the only reason I knew that KLM had started flights to Schiphol Hub in Amsterdam, was I was driving past the airport perimeter daily, and there was a banner on the fence !
Well we have in a short space of time flown to the USA and elsewhere a number of times via Manston and Schiphol. When Ann Gloag announced her "closure consultation", visitors and directors of my company had 8 European and long-haul flights booked via Manston, not all of which were able to take place. And I have already had to do an additional European journey via Gatwick. The KLM passenger use of Manston was successful and growing - we suspect that this is why Ann Gloag asked KLM to leave as soon as she did. - See more at: http://sammysgenericblog.blogspot.jp/2014/05/manston-death-of-airport.html#sthash.P2TKJEpb.dpuf

Dear Sammy, I thank you for such a coherent and well discussed summary of the plight of Manston Airport, Kent.

OK you asked for it. I have lots to say on why I and my micro-SME scientific research company and the "Save Manston Airport" group believe that Manston Airport could be a successful and important airport for the South East of England, if just, as you say, it were just managed and advertised as it should be.

First :
There is now an official Thanet District Council petition to help keep Manston
Airport as an operating airport - please sign it for a chance to reduce Heathrow and Gatwick flights and the need for new runways :
http://democracy.thanet.gov.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?id=67

Where shall I start ? Loss of jobs and additional costs on local businesses:

It is not just the 140 direct job losses by Ann Gloag's employees, but the ancillary knock-on effect in local businesses total about 700, including a small aviation firm that has been booted out of its 50 year leased premises.

Take my micro-SME firm, as small as it comes - the additional £100 to £200 additional cost of each journey across the South of England to Gatwick or Heathrow becomes significant over the year, not to mention the effectively day lost from the coal-face of the business by the travel time. It was 10 minutes from my research laboratory to Manston Airport, plus 30 minutes check-in time (mostly spent with a hot drink) - including published check-in times, via the M25 from Canterbury to Gatwick and onto the plane is about 4 hours, and to be prudent, to Heathrow is about 6 hours. And of course nearly as much for the return journey. Often requiring an over-night stay in a hotel to ensure catching an early flight.

Manston History :
Manston was started for the first-world war.
In the second world-war, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was honorary air commodore for 615 Fighter Squadron, and paid them a visit at RAF Manston, Kent, UK, on 25 September 1941.

But on Thursday 15th May 2014 it was shut by the current owner. Airport operations ceased at 5pm. We hear that airport operating equipment is already being sold off, and there will be a further auction in days. Offers of the full asking price have, it is reported, been rejected by the current owner. We believe the intention is to dig up the runway, demolish the airport buildings, and build houses. A "Garden City" is being touted - where are the jobs for these people ? Thanet is already an area of "significant socio-economic deprivation".

OK, next, why should people fly from Manston - surely it has been shewn to not be a popular airport ?
My next thesis is high-lighted by a visit to the nearly city of Maidtone, by the leader of the "Save Manston Airport" group - the commonest response by the good people of Maidstone : "What Manston Airport ?".

This is no surprise to me - the only reason I knew that KLM had started flights to Schiphol Hub in Amsterdam, was I was driving past the airport perimeter daily, and there was a banner on the fence !
Well we have in a short space of time flown to the USA and elsewhere a number of times via Manston and Schiphol. When Ann Gloag announced her "closure consultation", visitors and directors of my company had 8 European and long-haul flights booked via Manston, not all of which were able to take place. And I have already had to do an additional European journey via Gatwick. The KLM passenger use of Manston was successful and growing - we suspect that this is why Ann Gloag asked KLM to leave as soon as she did. - See more at: http://sammysgenericblog.blogspot.jp/2014/05/manston-death-of-airport.html#sthash.P2TKJEpb.dpuf

The Closure of Manston Airport in Kent

Broadstairs resident Julee Russell kindly wrote this article and I agreed to publish it. Thanks Julee @juleedownunder (follow her on twitter)

On the sleepy coast of East Kent on the Isle of Thanet to be correct, there has been an airfield in use since 1915.

It started small with the RAF using it as a flight command centre and training their fighter pilots. and It was perfectly positioned for the defence of Britain during two world wars with its long and wide runway it was perfect for battle damaged planes to land safely.

An old view of Manston Airport

In fact it was also available to NASA as an emergency landing runway for the space shuttle.

The RAF moved on in the '90s but Manston wasn't beaten,

EUjet , Ryan air, and Flybe with a few others I forget their names, did their best to set up budget flights from there, sadly with lack of sufficient advertising and no direct train links , it didn't work out.

Manston still had a thriving Flight training school , small planes use the airport, emergency landings are frequent . The regular cargo flights, bringing in our exotic flowers and fruits and aid planes would leave from here too and there is also an aeroplane recycling centre!

Concorde at Manston Airport

Recently British Airways did a bit of training there and its new A380 was seen over the Skies at Manston.


The Rolling Stones tour jet was painted by a business located at the Airport. We have the RAF museum and the Spitfire and Hurricane museum located on its land too.






Now to the present day, I discovered Manston when moving to Broadstairs 18 months ago,


KLM had just set up operations from Kent International airport and things again were looking up .

I booked my flight to China via Amsterdam, it was a pure delight 15 minutes from home I was checking in, a half hour later I was on the City hopper to Amsterdam, then on to my final destination in China, easy peasy.

I did the same trip 3 times, I also had a week in Amsterdam fabulous!

Manston linked Thanet Island to China and the world, a good thing for the economy, surely?

Manston is perfectly positioned to hop over to the continent...but on the 15th May 2014 the airport was shut down.

The short story is that the Airport was sold along with its debts to Scottish Business woman /founder of the Stagecoach bus lines for the sum of £1.00

This woman's name is Anne Gloag.

There have been rumours flying around that Thanet District Council have had secret talks with Golag about turning the area into a huge housing estate , other stories tell of bribes and backhanders as on almost the same day that Manston was closed, Lydd Airport further along the coast on the Romney Marshes was given the go ahead for expansion , Lydd of course is perfectly situated between a military firing range, numerous RSPB natural sites and a bloody great nuclear power station! But then Lydd is owned a Saudi arms dealer and I'm sure his money did the talking.

Look Closely and you might see London-Ashford Airport at Lydd. Right next to Dungeness Nuclear Power Station. Recipe for disaster?

It used to be so easy to to travel anywhere in the world from my corner of Kent, Now the links have been cut to the outside world we are truly back to Planet Thanet.

Join our campaign, we are not going quietly!

#savemanston

Manston: Death of an Airport

As a travel writer, blogger and business owner in China, few things inspire my rancour more than official corruption, backhanders and the rich making unthinkable profits by stripping community assets. The practice is endemic here in China and now seems to be infecting my family's home, Thanet Island in Kent.

Manston airport, near Ramsgate in Kent is steeped in history, playing a part in two world wars and acting as an emergency spaceport for Nasa's shuttle programme. However continual poor management of the airport left it struggling financially.

Manston's large runway meant it could accommodate the Airbus A380 and was available to NASA as an emergency landing strip for the Space Shuttle. Photo courtesy of Tim Stubbings / Manston Airport

Despite being in the south east of England, a lack of advertising and a suspect name (Manston, Kent's International Airport, as opposed to something more conventional like London Manston) caused Manston to slip into obscurity.

However, it clearly had potential. Manston was an important hub for cargo transport as well as boasting daily flights with KLM to Amsterdam, linking Thanet, via Amsterdam to the world. It also sits phenomenally close to HS1, the fastest railway in the UK, which offers an express route from east Kent into central London. Some sort of link up with other forms of transport could have made the airport a convenient alternative for millions of Londoners and helped solve the crisis of air traffic overcrowding over the south east of Britain.

Manston Airport, Branded Badly

Then came Ann Gloag, a cut-throat Scottish business tycoon who made her millions through Stagecoach. Many welcomed her intervention when she bought the Airport for £1 promising to turn it around, delivering a profit within two years.

It never happened. Shady meetings with with Thanet District councillors and assurances over housebuilding proved too tempting for Gloag. She announced the airport was to be shut to make way for a "Garden City". Netting Gloag up to £150 million. 

Upon news of the shut down, American firm River Oak offered £7 million to buy the Airport and keep it running, Gloag rejected the offer which would have left her in profit and keep open a vital asset for the people of Thanet. This rejection show she clearly had no intention of running the airport, just using the suggestion of turning it around as the pretence for a great £1 land grab.

Ann Gloag, wants to turn Manston into a housing estate as a legacy for her children and grandchildren, in doing so denying the same thing to hundreds of businesses affected.

The shut down has destroyed links between Thanet and the wider world and will hurt the local economy. Housing estates are two a penny, airports with the support of the local community in the south east of England are pretty hard to come by.

Please help stop this land grab and asset strip and force Thanet District Council to order a compulsory purchase of the airport.

Click here and sign the petition to Save Manston Airport.

8 tips to help you become a super travel blogger from scratch (For Bing)

This is an email I sent to my friend Bing. He is starting a blog about his adventures in Brazil and it's much better than this blog. He's a much better writer than me but doesn’t have many readers. (Check out Bristol to Brazil) Since my blog gets hits in the tens of thousands, (and I'm a very lazy blogger who hardly even follows his own advice) I thought I'd help him out. It's all good stuff so I thought I'd publish it here. Tell me what you think? Perhaps I missed something out or I'm wrong about something. Leave a comment.

My friend James George Constantine Crofts (Aka Bing) in Matipo, Brazil. His writing is much better than mine. These tips are for him but might help you too...

Dear Bing,

I sincerely apologise for missing our appointment, I called you at 8pm your time but clearly you were busy and at 9pm I was being sick as I drank too much beer. As an apology, I am going to give you a step by step guide on how to improve your blog.

Step 1:

Think of a name for your blog.

This doesn’t have to be anything clever, just something to differentiate you from the crowd of bloggers. My blog is Sammy's Generic Travel Blog, if you google that, you'll find me and it describes my blog perfectly, it's about travel and it's rather generic considering the amount of travel blogs out there. Make sure your blogs name identifies what your blog is about so people aren’t disappointed when they visit. Bristol to Brazil is okay for describing what your blog is about, however, if I google it I'm overwhelmed by flight comparison websites. You might want to consider changing it. Jimvlog is unique, but it tells me nothing about what you're going to be talking about.

Step 2:

Get Registering.

Register a website, I would get a .com for ease although it's not really that important, as long as it's memorable for family, friends and fans. Most people will find your website via incoming links and search engines anyway. Make sure the server you register with supports wordpress, you'll need it later! Don't get stuck on tumbr or blogspot like I did, it really limits you and people won't take you quite as seriously which is fair as I don't take myself very seriously.

Step 3:

Twitter

Twitter will be instrumental for driving traffic to your site. Get yourself a twitter handle linked to what you do or your blogs name. I'm travelpoop as I write about travel and the quality of my writing can be compared to poop. Maybe you can be less derogatory about yourself as it's not really helpful for anyone. Spend time thinking about your twitter description. Your description will be what attracts people to follow you.  My description is:

"Round the World Traveller, Travel Writer and Blogger. Editor at the World in Motion Magazine. Vagabonding from China to the UK Overland. Writing my 1st Book!"

It makes me seem like a real douche bag but it gets followers and explains what the blog is about. 

Then you need to start following people similar to you, once you follow them, they might follow you back. Unfollow the ones who don't follow you and build a base gradually, if you keep it up you can get thousands of followers this way. I've stopped at 2000 because I'm too busy with work and it can be quite time consuming. Also tweeting interesting stuff helps attract followers.

Join a community and participate. #TTOT is the travel community, search for it and ask when is #TTOT, someone will tell you. Then you can have fun discussing travel stuff and make lots of new friends, networking is important when running a blog for link building purposes, I don't do this much as, again, I'm so busy with work.

Step 4:

Make your website

Install wordpress onto your site, this will be easy if you choose a good host. Choose a template and customise it. You'll need to get you hands dirty with a bit of code, I wont go into this here because I'm no expert and it will take all day, but there's a lot of info out there. This can be quite difficult but not impossible for a novice. Set aside a day or two for it and you'll be fine, the template will do nearly all the work for you anyway.

Step 5:

Content

Fill your website with wonderful, funny, original, interesting, captivating content. This is where I fail, but you're a much better writer than me! Use interesting pictures, tag your pictures, tag all your posts, don't be afraid to be very specific. A tag like "teaching english in Matipo Brazil" is better than "Brazil" Teach" "English". I made that mistake. This way, people who find your blog will really want to be there and could come back.

Build your following on Youtube, your videos are great, lots of people will be interested in them.

Your content should be original, so you need to get rid of the same content on another platform like tumblr as it will hurt your search rankings.

Step 6:

Getting links.

Your blog needs incoming links. Link all your social media accounts to your blog. These are usually no follow links so they wont help your search rank but they will make your blog easier to find for friends and followers. To get some incoming links, these links are crawled by search engines and are considered in the rankings, the more natural ones the better. If you just pay for 10,000, google will suss you out and put you to the bottom as punishment. To get links, add your blog to blog ranking websites, good directories, nominate yourself for blogging prizes and comment on other blogs as you can usually leave a link next to your name.

Also ask other bloggers if you can guest post on their site and include a link to yours. It's good for both of you as your giving the great content and their readers will no doubt like your site too, especially if you've written a great guest post. Remember, the more links you make naturally like this, the better.

Step 7:

Turn twitter into an automaton.

You need to keep directing people to your content via twitter, you cant tweet constantly, it's impossible. Go to ifttt.com and set up and account. Set up some automatic tweets which happen at timed intervals automatically. Don't do this too much as it pisses people off but you need to keep links to your content out there. The more content you have the better as people don't like seeing the same tweet over and over again. Never post the same tweet more than once a day and keep tweets on average less than one an hour otherwise it just gets silly.

Doing this will significantly boost your readership.

Step 8:

Keep it up! Building a great blog takes time!

Diarrhoea on the go in China. An experts guide to squatting with the squits.

This was where it happened. Right here. I stood in the middle of a university road, running between the tennis courts and a little green study park. I was on my way to work, I had twenty minutes until my coach departed for the university's new campus, far to the east of Zhengzhou.

A group of students send a message of love to an embarrassed girl at Henan Agricultural University. Just around the corner from where this story took place.

A sudden pulse of spice overwhelmed my bowels. I knew what was happening, I'd felt similar pluses before. Burning, painful bulges in the guts like a a great reservoir being held back by a wobbly circular dam, a dam which could not hold out for long. Certainly not for an hours coach ride.

I ran into the nearest building. Surely every building would have a toilet. Nothing on the first floor. I ran up the stairs to find nothing but laboratories. I guess scientists never got the squits.

I ran back out but there where no other open doors in sight. I ran to the north gate of the university, near to where the coach would leave in just over fifteen minutes. I ran up the stairs of the Chinese Corn Research Centre, a sixteen story block that dominates the Henan Agricultural University. Locked! Everything locked. It wasn't even seven A.M. Yet, of course it would all be locked up. Opposite the research centre was a little noodle bar, maybe they had a toilet? It was worth a try.

The Corn Research Building dominating the North Gate of Henan Agricultural University

I sprinted across the square and burst into the noodle bar.

“Yo mei yo ce suo?” (Is there a toilet in here?) My voice was raised in desperation.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaeer?” Chinese for huh?

I repeated my question again and again to the staff dishing out noodles, much to their amusement. I couldn’t stand still. If I did, it would come out. I hopped from one leg to another clutching my gut.

“Mei yo”. They finally said. (No bogs here, now bog off!)

“What? Really? There has to be, it's a restaurant!”

“Really, Mei yo!” They repeated.

I asked a student where I might find one, she just laughed and pointed outside. Fat lot of help she was.

I ran back out, annoyed at having wasted a valuable minute and ran into a much larger canteen.

“Where's the toilet?” I shouted in Chinese to no particular person.

A student shrugged her shoulders and continued with her breakfast while a few others daren't even look at me (a real novelty for a foreigner in China). A nice old cleaning lady came to my assistance.

“Follow me.”

I followed as she led me out of the canteen, around the corner into another, red bricked building and pointed left down the corridor. I thanked her and ran as fast as I could. At the end of the corridor was an old men's room with four urinals on one side and a long narrow hole stretching the length of the room on the other. Four dividing walls ran above the hole creating five door less, three foot high cubicles.

An average thirty year old Chinese public toilet

There was no one else there, thank god. I put my bag down on the floor next to my open cubicle. My brain had seen the pit and recognised it as a toilet. My bowels were moving. I clenched to keep the reservoir dammed. The pain was intense and I struggled to find my toilet roll, an essential for anyone in China. Rummaging desperately for what seemed like an eternity yielded results, fresh white tissue. I squatted sideways over the long running hole and opened the floodgates. I was praying for my solitude to continue. The diarrhoea was hot and like water, but like the Amazon it was brown and didn't seem like it would ever stop.

“Ni shi na ge guo jia de?”

I turned my head to see a middle aged Chinese man, eyes and mouth wide open gawking at me mid flow.

He repeated his question “Which country do you come from?”

It was a question I was quite used to here in Henan. Usually I would have happily told him about my nationality but here, now? Couldn’t he see I was busy? Clearly, he could see everything, the great brown waterfall was streaming out of me as he stared.

Then another man came in and began joking with the first. Pointing at me and laughing. They began asking me more questions.

“Please don't look at me, please don't talk to me I am shitting.” I said with my rudimentary Madarin.

A Chinese public squat toilet with little privacy. A great place for a chat.

They looked so disappointed and finished peeing in silence. As my bowels were finally finished evacuating they bid me farewell and went on their way.

As I began to wipe I my phone began to ring. I missed the call but I knew what it was about. I had only a few minutes left. My coach was about to leave. I pulled my trousers back up, washed my hands and bolted. The phone in my pocket was buzzing but there was no time to answer. The bus wasn't going to wait for me, it never did. As I got back to the north gate I could see it start to leave. I sprinted past an ill mannered security guard, ignoring his efforts to block me and force me through the other gate and slammed into the departing bus. The driver opened the door for me and I got on.

“What happened to you?” Asked an indifferent Dutchman.

“Shit.”

11 Aussie Pubs in Melbourne you Must Visit

It’s always hard to rank anything, so here are ten of the stand-out pubs in Melbourne, in no particular order.

The Napier Hotel

The Napier Hotel is synonymous with the Fitzroy Football Club. Many a beer has been had celebrating a win or commiserating a loss. The food here is also legendary and there is a variety of craft beers from around Australia to satisfy curious taste-buds.

The Napier Hotel in Fitzroy, Melbourne

The Pinnacle Hotel

This is a former post office that became a pub in the late 90s. Highlights are a selection impressive one-off guest kegs and the monthly Brew Club nights. The meals are above average with seasonal specials. There is live music, usually rockabilly/blues

The slightly precarious Pinnacle Hotel

Rose Hotel

A great pub for socialising and trivia nights in a warm and friendly environment. There’s a good range of craft beers, and good value pub grub with regular daily specials. The mixed grill and roast of the day are worth a try. Keep a look out for when the restaurant upstairs.

Rose Hotel, Fitzroy

Great Northern Hotel

The beer list here is huge with a dozen ales and lagers on tap. A definite stop on any pub crawl. You can enjoy a chat in the front bar or relax in the bistro area for a top quality meal. Check out the specials on Monday’s and Tuesday’s. The beer garden that ranks amongst the best in Melbourne.

The Great Northern Hotel at twilight

Crown Jackpot Bar

Catch up with mates, experience a nice cocktail and dance your night with live music at the Crown Casino. Have a crack at Caribbean Stud jackpot and play your favourite pokies: King of the Nile, True Blue Pokies.

The Crown Jackpot Bar. A great place to squander your hard fought winnings.

The Retreat

This is a great local for more intimate occasions. There are cosy corners, a pleasant front bar, and the bistro/bandroom where you enjoy a meal and regular live entertainment. A great beer garden with outdoor bar and a good choice of beers on tap. One of Melbourne’s finest.

Need a retreat?

The Yarra Hotel

This rejuvenated pub is one of the best live music venues in Melbourne. The beer garden nicely appointed and the kitchen also offers some different pub meal options. Not the standard parma and mixed grill. Great for a lazy afternoon.

An under renovation Yarra Hotel

The Fox Hotel


The beer list is one of the highlights at this pub, with a choice of Victorian craft beers also on tap. A hearty menu with highly rated parma’s and burgers, plus monthly Sunday specials. Add a cosy rooftop beer garden, pool tables and live music a couple of times a week.

Inside the Fox Hotel

The Union Hotel

The Union is a top local pub to partake in quenching pints of craft beer indoors or outdoors. Management promotes quality local music on Sunday afternoons. The comfy front bar is ideal for watching the sports, and the menu features good food at very reasonable prices. One for the bucket list.

Inside the Union Hotel

Town Hall Hotel

Another revamped venue that has gained a name for classy meals at pub prices. The kitchen uses quality local produce so you're getting it fresh from the paddock to the plate. There is a quality selection of craft beers, and if it's happy hour you won't want to be anywhere else.

The art deco classic, Town Hall Hotel

The Tote Hotel

One of the outstanding venues for live music. Three separate rooms for simultaneous music events. A good range of beers to be enjoyed in a traditional front bar complete with pool tables and jukebox. Saved from closure a while back due to the passion of the locals.

The Tote Hotel

Anyone ready for a pub crawl?