WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Is there an inexpensive way of travelling to Canada, such as a cheaper day to travel in any given week? Our son emigrated to Ottawa last October, and my group consists of four adults and a baby who want to visit for two weeks in September. We need return flights from a London airport: preferably direct, but if the cost is substantially different we would reconsider an indirect flight. We plan on moving towards the end of our stay from Ottawa to Montreal. departures tend to be less in demand – but they don’t always hold true, so in your case I would do a more general search and see which date is cheapest.

Start by checking a flight comparison website such as Skyscanner.net, Momondo.com or Google.com/flights and search over a whole month, so that you get an overview of the cheapest dates to fly. You can also change your options to see the cost of direct flights, and compare them with those that include a stopover. I did a spot check and on the date I looked at, changing planes in Toronto for example, would cost about £420 return, against £620.

Then phone or visit a specialist agent such as DailaFlight (dialaflight.com) or Trailfinders (trailfinders.com). They may have access to special offers and will be able to talk through options such as an “open-jaw” ticket, which would let you to fly into Ottawa and return from Montreal. They may have deals on accommodation. Assuming they can match or beat any fare you find online, I’d advise you to book with them so they can help if problems arise.

technically a selfie – a friend had to take the photo. But the effect was the same – a visual record of their visit, proof that they had actually been there.

This strikes me as exactly the same kind of validation craved by selfieposters on social media 30 years later. Here I am, in this cool place, looking cool on my own or with my cool friends and this photo proves it – this is the obvious subtext of many posts. That’s the point of many modern selfies. But the exotic background, the high-status clothes, nonchalant poses and famous friends ultimately go back to what the Old Masters were doing 400 or 500 years ago.