I’m currently in Hamburg and using the additional time here to explore parts of the city I didn’t know and to visit attractions. This is a great city and there’s plenty to keep me occupied, but living a day-to-day existence feels strange. I’m using the time here as effectively as I can but I want to get home as I have deadlines to meet and photos to send to editors. The notes I need are on the desk in my office along with the hard-drives which store the photographs, so working from here on those stories is not an option. That may mean I lose the opportunities to send those in on time and consequently lose much needed income.

The fact I’m away from home disturbs me less than the realisation that I’m not at all sure when I’ll get back to the familiar comfort of my own bed. When flights restart how long will it take for me to get booked onto a plane? My expenses are mounting and there’s no way that the original commission is going to prove profitable now that I’ve had four additional nights in hotels, plus meals to pay for along with several long international phone calls.

Worryingly, if Eyjafjallajökull continues to erupt, situations such as mine could become alarmingly common. Like sailors in times gone by, travel writers and Europe’s economy as whole may become dependent on the direction wind. Is the disruption only just beginning?