About this site

I’m James, and I'm the uneasy handler of a Peruvian finger puppet. I enjoy rail travel, and I'm old enough to know better.

There. I’ve said it.

I don’t own an anorak but I do have a waterproof convertible three-season jacket with detachable padded lining, so there’s still time for things to get worse. I already own a lunch box and a Thermos, which should probably be enough to tell me that one day I’ll inevitably end up owning a clipboard and a packable poncho. (I already own one of those).

My first introduction to enjoyable train travel came in the early noughties when I moved to France and discovered how nice travelling by train could be. My use of them was pleasurable enough over the few years during which I commuted back and forth to Paris from the provinces – dreamily gazing into the Renfe Trenhotel as it sat alluringly on an opposite platform in Limoges Bénédictins every Thursday as I changed from the last Paris train to a local TER service – but it was always something of a routine experience.

Occasionally, to give me a change of scenery for the occasional long weekend, a Eurostar would whisk me from Paris to London or a Thalys to Amsterdam or Köln for a weekend, and I used to dream of taking the City Night Line to Berlin for fun but somehow never got round to doing it. Fast forward to 2019 after a few years of drudgery and my first ever Interrail journey – why did it take so long? – confirmed everyone’s suspicions that I am something of a late bloomer in the “oooh, train” category of travel.

This blog started during that trip as a WordPress-hosted freebie that saved me from having to find, write, and send postcards to my mother while Companion and I were dragging roller-bags around Europe, leaving us time to shop for supplies (wine) for on-board picnics as we travelled further east.

Since then, I've maintained it for my own amusement more than anything, mainly as a way of remembering my own trips as I have a dreadful memory for such things. Some other people seem to enjoy it and occasionally come along for the ride, which is a treat, and if you are one of those people, the more the merrier.

Puppets have long been used in performance and are believed to have originated in ancient Greece in the 5th century BC. In almost all human societies, they provide entertainment and help improve communication and knowledge of foreign cultures. Peruvian finger puppets have a rich history rooted in traditional craftsmanship and are typically hand-knitted or handwoven by skilled artisans, often women, in the highlands of Peru.

This puppet stowed away in my luggage from a street market in Lima after a work trip in 2010. After a few years languishing in pencil cases or coming to work with me, Companion and I decided it/he/they (we have no way of knowing) should travel with us on the original Interrail Extravaganza as we thought it amusing and way more photogenic than a selfie.

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