The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
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the Pope’s former apartments, Raphael himself peers out of the crowd in his painting of great artists and thinkers of the ancient and renaissance world, the School of Athens. And most famously of all, Velázquez painted himself with the Spanish royal family in Las Meninas (now in the Prado) – just as today’s selfie-makers pose with celebrities.
Unfortunately, the Vasari Corridor – which was only accessible occasionally or by special arrangement – is closed for restoration. The museum says it will reopen in two years and warns of scam websites claiming to offer nonexistent tours (the official website is uffizi.it). But while the vast majority of the Uffizi’s self-portraits are closed to public view, there are plenty more excellent examples in the world’s great museums.
There, of course, you will also find the most prolific new breed of selfie-makers – tourists armed with selfie sticks and smartphones. In fact, I wonder whether the fashion for photographic selfies doesn’t have its roots as much in travel and tourism as in art history. I was brought up in a culture where the aim was to take photographs of sights and buildings as free from people as possible. Stonehenge with crowds around it? No, thanks – let’s find an angle which makes it look like a monument in the wilderness.
But then I remember when I first travelled in south-east Asia in the Eighties being amazed by what seemed to be the cultural priorities of local tourists there – those from Hong Kong or Singapore, for example. For them, it seemed to be key to have a photograph of themselves in front of every site they were visiting. Of course, this wasn’t
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ALAN REED
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Dear Alan
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Emirates would not let me take my oxygen concentrator on a flight from Manchester to India Although I am a reasonably fit woman, I have developed a chronic hypersensitivity condition, which means I need a low dose of oxygen when flying.
After taking advice from the hospital, I bought a lightweight oxygen concentrator, the Inogen One G4, the size and weight of a bag of sugar.
On Feb 22 I was due to fly out to India and notified the airline that I would have the G4 concentrator with me. I had no response from Emirates until a few days before travel when I received a call and email confirmation to say all was fine.
However, I was not allowed to check in for the flight at Manchester, because only the older G3 version was on its approved list. I missed the flight and had to hire a G3, before flying out to India the next day.
While I am not out of pocket, I am aggrieved at the way I have been treated by Emirates. I feel a proper apology and some form of compensation would be appropriate.
BERNICE YATES
QAGILL CHARLTON
CONSUMER CHAMPION
I pointed out to Emirates that one of its staff had approved carriage of the Inogen One G4 concentrator. Its refusal to accept it on the day had caused Mrs Yates a great deal of stress and delay and this should be reflected in a goodwill gesture. Emirates says it has strict policies regarding the carriage of medical equipment and the G4 is not on its approved list.
It apologises to Mrs Yates for the conflicting information and the inconvenience caused, but no goodwill gesture will be forthcoming. This is not the response expected from an award-winning airline.
Mrs Yates’ experience does raise some important issues for passengers taking oxygen concentrators on board aircraft. The European Lung Foundation says that there is no consistency between airlines. Some will accept any concentrator approved by the US Federal Aviation Authority, others have a list which is often out of date. Quite a few airlines require a doctor to sign a fitness to fly certificate within 30 days of travel.
The ELF has a list of airline requirements for passengers carrying concentrators, but only for ones operating within Europe. For those flying long haul, it is necessary to browse the website or call the airline.
It is essential to obtain confirmation for the make being carried.
Here I am, in this cool place, looking cool, and this photo proves it – this is the obvious subtext
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