Holiday Reads – making the journey more exciting than the destination

It's June, it's raining, and that can only mean one thing ... British Summertime is almost upon us. For those outside of our little island, we hope you're equally looking forward to your summer vacation.

As a publishing house, it will be a surprise to nobody that the Velocisti love nothing more than to get stuck into a good book. So, let's think about what makes a 'good' holiday book. Over a casual conversation in the office, there was no clear author or even genre of preference. People want different things from a holiday read.

If you're looking for something to keep you occupied on journey where you're not behind the wheel (of course, we're not suggesting you read at the wheel... that'd be silly), perhaps you might want something to learn from such as DRIVEN, or you maybe a captivating story A Cat to Kill For. Comparatively, if you're a travelling snoozer -guilty!- you're looking for something at a slower pace, reflecting on the 'good old days' (why not take a look at Dairy Cows and Duck Races).

After some discussion, the Velocisti shared their latest holiday reads:

"I like to read a book set in my destination, such as A Room with a View when I visited Italy, or Captain Corelli's Mandolin when in Greece"

"The Coffin Path, a ghost story, something exciting to get lost in"

"I keep going back to a series of short stories by Richard Brautigan, starting with Revenge of the Lawn, every time I take a trip away."

For those of us who have taken a step into eBook territory, there are plenty of bargains to be had for a holiday read, and you can take as many books as you wish away with you – no worrying about baggage restrictions!

Of course, there's the confounded little boxes we keep in our pockets which are all well and good, until the network signal runs out, at which points they're rendered nothing more than an expensive paperweight. Remember the comedian who shouted into his mobile phone on the train? We acknowledge the frustration that is 'airplane mode' and that airport WiFi is patchy on a good day and extremely expensive on a bad one, and if there's no WiFi at your destination – quelle horreur!

In all seriousness, we often underestimate the effect that a good book has on the mind. Old books that smell and feel familiar, and new books that have never been opened before; they're soothing to the soul. It's great to take a book away with you because there's no rushing, no notifications, emails, pop-ups or other 'noise' and mental clutter. Books are restful and restorative.

And of course, if you don't have the time, patience or money to 'get away' this summer, what better reason to pick up a book, put the kettle on and transport your mind to far off lands for a fraction of the cost...

Summer Tyre Safety Checks

In our little tourist trap corner of Dorset, we are very accustomed to heavier traffic on the roads at this time of year. Coupled with the current heatwave, checking your tyres before setting off is even more important. 

As the summer holidays commence and multiple road user groups take to setting off on planned travels, Continental is urging motorists to be prepared for trips abroad or as part of the staycation trend, stressing the importance of tyre safety for all motorists.

As a corporate partner of TyreSafe, the UK road safety charity, Continental is supporting its summer campaign to raise awareness of the need for driver diligence over the summer. In the UK, a third of all tyre related incidents happen during the summer. With 57% of Britons 'staycationing' in the UK this year, TyreSafe aims to minimise tyre caused accidents – helping the UK public enjoy the sunshine this summer. Department for Transport data shows in the month of July tyre-related incidents are at their highest.

A combination of factors, from unexpected bad weather and drivers unfamiliar with country roads, to long journeys with fully-laden cars, means that summer driving carries with it a number of additional risks.

Mark Griffiths, safety expert at Continental Tyres, said:

"As part of our Vision Zero initiative which aims for zero accidents, injuries or fatalities on our roads – we are keen to make motorists aware of the small steps they can take to make their journey safer this summer.
"With a spell of good weather, it is easy to get a little complaisant in a way motorists might not be in the winter when they are braced for rain, snow and ice.
"It is vital that, whatever the season, people remain alert to changes in conditions and ensure that their tyres are in top condition.
"With school's now broken up for the holidays, and more than half of Britons planning on taking their 2018 summer holiday in the UK, these simple checks can help reduce the risk of an unwanted disruption."

While temperature records have been broken this year, in the UK it rains an average 156.2 days of the year, meaning drivers risk being caught off-guard when braking in a critical situation. On summer tyres, braking distances on wet roads at 60mph increase by as much as 15m – making it vital that drivers remain vigilant, checking they have adequate tread depth and correct inflation.

Driving in Europe: do you know?

Summer is officially here – although the weather is taking it's time to decide – and for many of us, our summer holidays are just around the corner. Have you got a Euro-trip planned? Do you know the road laws on the Continent? If the answer is no, you're not alone ...

Many Brits are left baffled when driving around the continent, as four in five struggle to correctly identify foreign road signs whilst driving abroad, according to a new study conducted by easyjet and Europcar. Other common aspects holidaymakers find challenging are: driving on the right-hand side of the road (59), identifying foreign traffic signs (44%), understanding foreign rules and regulations (51%), and knowing the difference between kilometres and miles per hour also stresses a quarter of Brits out. 

The majority (89%) of those surveyed admit to having little to no understanding of foreign regulations and road signs, and 87% conduct no research into a foreign country's Highway Code before taking to the roads. 

A lack of knowledge discourages Brits to take to the road, as 72% of Brits admit to feeling apprehensive when driving abroad and over half of Brits (58%) admit to have driven on the wrong side of the road. In addition, eight in ten admitted that they would be unlikely to pass a driving test in another country. 

This new research also revealed some of the quirky road laws. Of those surveyed, Brits weren't aware of the following European driving rules and regulations: 

• Filling your tank while your radio is still on in Spain could lead to a €91 fine
• Legally, you cannot wash you car on a Sunday in Switzerland
• In Romania, you'll be fined if you're driving a dirty car
• In Germany, you can legally drive nude as your car is considered a private space
• Drivers in Denmark must check for sleeping children underneath their cars before they set off

It's estimated that 35% of Brits are planning on driving abroad this summer, and it's quite shocking to find that most of us aren't as clued up as we should be. Luckily, we may have just the answer. Julian Parish's The Essential Guide to Driving in Europe has recently been revised and updated, just in time for the summer season! Better still, its compact size means that it can easily fit into your glovebox, so there's no excuse not to get a copy!

Whether you're planning a long touring holiday in your own car, or hiring a car locally on a business trip or holiday, this guide will give you all the information you require. Whatever your destination in Europe, you'll find everything you need to prepare for your trip and to cope with the unfamiliar. There are sections on dealing with everything from winter driving, to towing a caravan, from travelling with pets, to taking a classic car overseas. And – should the worst happen – there's also a clear guidance on what to do in the case of a breakdown or accident. 

With chapters covering Western Europe (including France), Southern Europe, Northern Europe, and Central & Eastern Europe – 50 individual countries – all the information is based on extensive local research, and includes comprehensive details on speed limits, drink/driving rules, motorway tolls, mountain passes, and other local regulations. Extensive illustrations help you recognise and understand unfamiliar signs, whilst more that 25 port maps guide you safely to and from terminals in the UK and on the Continent.

So, before you head out on your European travels, make sure that you pick up a copy of The Essential Guide to Driving in Europe!

Veloce's International Intern

Whilst Veloce is firmly rooted to the Jurassic Coast – and very nice it is too – our books are sold worldwide. Of course, we couldn't do this by ourselves, and we have some fantastic global partners helping us spread our books far and wide. 

Recently, we were lucky enough to have an intern from our German publishing partners, HEEL Verlag, in Bonn-Oberkassel. We've been working with Heel since the early 1990s, and, as a part of his apprenticeship in digital and print media with HEEL, Henrik Johaentges came to work as an intern at Veloce for three weeks. Take it away, Henrik:

"My name is Henrik Johaentges, 22 years old, and I come from Bonn/Germany. For the last three weeks I was an intern at Veloce Publishing in Poundbury. Towards the end of my apprenticeship as a media agent for digital and print media at Heel Verlag in Germany, I had the chance to complete my internship abroad. 

"The contact to Veloce came about after long business relations and a good co-operation between the two publishing houses. Both, Veloce and Heel, have a strong focus on automotive books and they sometimes publish each other's books in their respective languages. Hence, I worked here in Poundbury from 7th to 25th August 2017.

"I hit the road towards England by car, four days prior to the start of my internship for vacationing. When I arrived in Poundbury, after short stopovers in Folkestone, Southampton and Bournemouth, I first decided to explore the village. Even though everything was well cared for and new, it was at the same time still held in an old, British style - what I really liked. The village was built according to the principles of Prince Charles as an urban role model for sustainable development. Pretty unique and impressive.

"The Veloce House is located in the Business Park in the south of Poundbury, just a 5-minute walk away from my Airbnb accommodation. Veloce is in this building since 2009, after moving there from smaller offices in Dorchester. Founded in 1991, the company has now a total of 16 employees. On the ground floor are the warehouse and the reception. The other offices are located on the first floor. The publishing house has three imprints in order to split up the publishing programme: Hubble & Hattie (animals), Battle Cry (military) and Belvedere (general). 

"On my first working day I was asked to arrive a little bit later at 9:30am, the usual working hours were from 9am to 5pm. At the beginning I was introduced to the Veloce team and welcomed by everyone with open arms. Then I was guided through the building to get an overview of the structures at Veloce.

"Afterwards, I was introduced to my main project during my time at Veloce. I had the chance to work on a new Mazda book [The book of the Mazda MX-5 Miata], which is expected to be published in March 2018. The first task was editing the new photos with Adobe Photoshop, as the image quality
had to be improved. In the following days I started to insert the pictures and the text into Adobe InDesign and put the different chapters together. This took me more than one week, but I believe the results were convincing. Then I made some small adjustments on order to make the document printable. The last task was to create the dust jacket for the book in InDesign as well. Overall, I really liked these tasks because I had never worked with Photoshop and InDesign before.

"Towards the end of the second week I was asked to scan old photos for a new Jaguar Book [Jaguar E-Type Racing Cars], which will be published in March 2018. After I finished scanning all the photos, I edited them with Photoshop, because most of them had not the best quality. This took me until my last day, but I learned a lot of new features in Photoshop and I also had several other smaller tasks for in between.

"During the third week I was given introduction on the work routine at Veloce. I got an in-depth look in the social media/marketing work of the publishing house. I learned about the different social media channels and what mainly counts using them. Furthermore, I got an idea of different kinds of eBooks and what to consider when creating them for different devices. On my last day I learned how Veloce acquires authors for new books to come and which systems they use to save time doing that. It was great getting to hear about these important topics for a publishing house. 

"On the weekends I spent most of the time exploring the surrounding area of Poundbury. The weekend before I started working I visited Weymouth, a nice town right on the coast with a beautiful harbour. I did a great hike along the coast of the Isle of Portland, which is the southernmost point of Dorset with a big lighthouse. Needless to say that I also stopped at Chesil Beach, an 18 mile long shingle beach which links Portland with the mainland near Weymouth. 

"On the second weekend I rented a bike and made a tour from Poundbury to Burton Bradstock and back, which was about 50 miles. The next day I set off to Durdle Door, which is a dramatic rock arch. The hiking there along the coast was the most amazing and spectacular thing I experienced during my free time here. On my way back to I also stopped at Maiden castle, a hill fort from the Iron Age, from where one has a great view over Poundbury.

"During my last weekend I visited Lyme Regis, The Pearl of Dorset. This special little town is mainly known for "The Cobb", a huge harbour wall, and for the fossils that can be found in the cliffs and on the beach. Finally, I walked to Dorchester on Sunday, which is the capital of Dorset and situated directly next to Poundbury. Unfortunately I could not spend a long time there due to the bad weather.

"I can definitely say that Dorset is a diverse county. Whether going on the beach, hiking along the coast, going on a bike tour or visiting beautiful towns. It's difficult to get bored here, at least if the weather is good.

"The time in England was an amazing experience for me, both from a professional and personal point of view. I was able to get an insight into the British culture and the lifestyle in the county of Dorset. At Veloce, I learned a lot about the work routine in a modern publishing house from a foreign country, as there are quite a few differences between the German and the English ways of publishing. I really appreciate that I was allowed to get responsible tasks from a new perspective. During my internship I could improve my English skills both in writing and verbally. In particular, I learned how to work with Photoshop and InDesign.

"Lastly, I would like to thank everyone from the Veloce Publishing staff for always being available for questions, making me feel comfortable, and giving me an enjoyable time. A special thanks to those from Veloce and Heel who gave me the opportunity for this internship by establishing a connection."

We would like to thank Henrik for choosing to come and intern at Veloce: working in a foreign workplace can be daunting, to say the least, but Henrik took on the challenge admirably. We'd like to extend the invitation to return at any time. 

As soon as you like. 

We're waiting ... !