{"id":746496,"date":"2026-08-22T20:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T20:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/746496\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T20:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T20:20:11","slug":"tim-dowling-my-working-holiday-just-isnt-working-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/746496\/","title":{"rendered":"Tim Dowling: my working holiday just isn\u2019t working | Family"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the summer of 1995, I went on a family holiday to Portugal. On the first day I got a call from a UK magazine, asking if I would be interested in interviewing Meg Ryan, in three days\u2019 time. I looked out to the pool, where my wife and my mother-in-law were pushing my infant son across the water in an inflatable ring.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure,\u201d I said. I broke the news, packed my things, flew to London and,\u00a0the next day, to LA.<\/p>\n

While no one who knows me would suggest I am overburdened by ambition, I still cling to the freelancer\u2019s habit of never quite admitting to being on holiday: I bring work with me, I still accept assignments while I\u2019m away, and I\u2019m always a little cagey regarding my whereabouts.<\/p>\n

On Friday an email arrives, asking if\u00a0I\u2019m available to go on the radio next week. I know I should admit that I\u2019m on holiday in the country, in a remote cottage with no phone reception and ropey internet, poorly tethered to civilisation by a mile of copper wire. And so, on balance, no thanks, maybe next time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can do it,\u201d I type back.<\/p>\n

Over the weekend guests arrive, friends on their way somewhere else. The weather is unrelentingly glorious, the views are amazing and I\u2019m worrying about how I\u2019m going to manage a live radio interview three days hence.<\/p>\n

double quotation markMidweek more friends arrive\u2026 but negotiating the use of the single shower proves easier than rationing the limited bandwidth<\/p>\n

\u201cHow long are you here for?\u201d our friend asks.<\/p>\n

\u201cNearly two weeks,\u201d my wife says.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow lucky!\u201d our friend says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing about him,\u201d my wife says, pointing at me, \u201cis he can work anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, I\u2019m sort of working now,\u201d I say, indicating the laptop in front of me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve been online all morning,\u201d my wife says. \u201cWhen are we going out?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the thing about slow internet,\u201d I say. \u201cEverything takes longer.\u201d In truth, I am trying to download a crossword puzzle.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday morning everyone goes to the beach while I stay with the dog. At the appointed hour I click the link the radio programme sent me. A\u00a0technician comes on the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi,\u201d I say. \u201cCan you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sound weird,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo I?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNever mind, at least the line\u2019s clear,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019re on at 20 past, so just keep the link open until then.\u201d<\/p>\n

I think: the whole time?<\/p>\n

My wife and our friends return two hours later.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sea is unbelievable,\u201d she says. \u201cHow was your radio thing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFine,\u201d I say. \u201cThe link held, and Janet Street-Porter did most of the talking anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s lucky,\u201d she says. \u201cWhat\u2019s for lunch?\u201d<\/p>\n

More friends arrive, and there is some overlap, but negotiating the use of the single shower proves easier than rationing the limited bandwidth. Even when people aren\u2019t using their phones, their phones are using the internet.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo weeks! How amazing!\u201d says a\u00a0new arrival.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing about him is, he can work anywhere,\u201d my wife says.<\/p>\n

skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n

Sign up to Inside Saturday<\/p>\n

The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment, I can\u2019t even send a\u00a0text,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n

The weekend comes. Our first visitors depart. New friends arrive for Sunday lunch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWere you on the radio last week?\u201d says one. \u201cWith Janet Street-Porter?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d I say. \u201cDid I sound weird?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo more than usual,\u201d the friend says.<\/p>\n

double quotation markAt six we take a car to the beach, dog included. The tide is out, the sea\u00a0is warm and the phone signal is amazing<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m suggesting an evening swim,\u201d my wife says, turning to me. \u201cAre you coming this time?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSure,\u201d I say, thinking: I can probably send texts from the beach.<\/p>\n

At six we take a car to the beach, dog included. The tide is out, the sea\u00a0is warm and the phone signal is amazing. Within the hour we\u2019re driving back down the long track to the cottage. I\u2019ve got sand in my hair, salt on my skin, and a wet dog on my lap. My email inbox is up to date.<\/p>\n

My wife hits the brakes suddenly. Ahead a tree is lying across the track.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen did that happen?\u201d I say.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we were out,\u201d my wife says. \u201cWe could have been under it.\u201d<\/p>\n

We all climb over the tree and walk down to the cottage. When my wife tries to call someone about the problem, a further problem presents itself; a trip back to the car confirms it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tree took the phone line down with it,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo internet,\u201d my wife says.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrapped like rats,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be like that,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow am I going to work?\u201d I say. \u201cI\u2019ll have to walk half a mile just to get a signal!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou used to do that all the time,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

First thing Monday morning, trudging uphill through a flock of sheep with my laptop held open, I\u00a0think: she\u2019s right; I used to do this\u00a0a\u00a0lot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the summer of 1995, I went on a family holiday to Portugal. On the first day I…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450072,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,57,58,50,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-746496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-gb","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-news","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=746496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=746496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=746496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=746496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}