1000 Subscriber Special | I Am Just Blown Away By Your Amazing Support 

Hi Suzanne, I'm glad you enjoyed it, it was a great period of my life. Thank you, Phil

Thank you for your comment and your support, glad to have you as part of the community, all the best to you too, Phil

Thanks, as always I appreciate your comment and support.

Thank you Richard, it's appreciated and great to see you name appear each week

Not sure my belly can take 1000 pokes 😂, but thanks for your comment and your support.

Thank you for your kind comments, it is appreciated. My regular trips to Aus are because my daughter did the working holiday too but fell in love with a wonderful Aussie chap and didn't come home. Thank you, Phil

Thankyou so much for your comment, I am genuinely overwhelmed by the support I've received.

Thank you so much, really appreciate it. Number 1 favourite channel is Matts Planet. I also like Paul Lucas, Josh Cahill and Kym Illman. Slightly off the wall ones are the Magic Geekdom, probably lost and Wild Viking Travel. I used to be a big fan of NonStop Dan but I've started to go off him a bit.

Thank you so much for your kind words, great to meet another Titanic Brewery fan. In Stafford we're fortunate to have the Sun Inn on the way into town and then the original Bod concept on Bodmin Avenue 😊

Thank you for your kind comments and support, it's much appreciated.

Thank you for your support. Favourite plane, that's tough because I've got a bit of a confession and that's that I'm not much of an AV Geek, more of a travel geek. So I think the minor variations in aircraft design pale into insignificance compared to the interior hard product and the cabin crew that look after you (I can hear the whir of unsubscribes as I type and immediately think I should just say A380). I have been on the A380 and like the idea of a grand double decker plane which is probably the dumbest reason ever to pick a favourite plane. I'll be on an A380 a week before Christmas and I'll be in economy but on the upper deck. I think what really sets long haul business seats apart from other lower cabins is the lie flat bed and aisle access and I can't see that happening in premium economy so I think business will always be a step up in that regard. I don't have any problems sleeping sitting upright in an economy seat if I have an empty seat next to me so having Gold Seat Blocking, giving me an empty seat next to me most of the time on Oneworld Airlines a huge benefit. I am planning some premium economy flights with a few airlines next year, so I may well change my mind. Thanks for your questions and support, Phil

Thank you so much, I really appreciate every like, subscribe and comment

Thank you for your comment and your question. I'm flying Qantas from Bali to Melbourne. It's a poor overnight flight but I'm hoping for a chance to bid for an upgrade but I'm not holding out much hope. I will be able to check 2 cases if I need to (the last time I visited I had one suitcase full mostly of pot noodle and Battenberg cakes). Even with checking one case this was a competitive option once I took my status into account. I may well be flying from Helsinki next year. I'm thinking of flying the Helsinki Malaga route for tier points, so that is an excellent tip, thank you. Phil

Hi @RR22s, I actually mention you in my next video (being released on Sunday 12th) but I don't name check you directly. I loved chatting to you so much I almost forgot to turn on my camera. Thank you for your support, it means a lot, and I hope we cross paths again soon, Phil

Thank you for your comment and your feedback, I take your point on Rolf Harris, I'll be more careful in the future, although it is a difficult line to tread, I had a negative comment from my York Video because I mentioned Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling. Glad you spotted I visited Bon Scott's memorial in Freemantle, I listened to his music pretty much non stop in my teens. Thank you again and all the best, Phil

@@mygreygapyear I'm sure AC/DC are part responsible for my tinitus!

Thank you for your support, it's much appreciated. I currently hold the British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card and the Platinum Card. Credit cards aren't for everyone, if you can't pay off the balance in full and on time every month then the benefits you get will be lost in the ruinous interest rate. I like the 2 for 1 voucher the British Airways card gives me, I have the platinum card for the sign up bonus and the retention bonus.

Thanks for the comment, yeah Kiwi experience, it was another time, sharing a room with 5 other people, couldn't do that now though. I have a Platinum Card which earns membership rewards points at 1 point per pound. You can transfer these to other schemes and the plan is to transfer these to Qantas to get Emirates tickets in various cabins. I think it's about 89,000 points for a first ticket from Dubai to London. Amex Platinum have an offer of 100,000 points as a sign up bonus at the moment but you need to spend £10,000 in six months and then keep the card for 15 months. Read the terms and conditions to see if this is the right card for you, but if you'd like a referral link just email me on phil @ mygreygapyear . com (just remove the spaces) Thanks Phil

Thank you so much, that really is so wonderful to hear. Stick around because we're just getting started.

Thank you again Joel, it is massively appreciated.

Thank you, it really is appreciated.

Thank you for your kind comment, my brother left Stafford and said it was because he managed to find the train station and those that still lived there only did so because they couldn't find it 😊. From Stafford to LA, now that is an interesting migration. My family name is Brassington, which is a village in Derbyshire (about an hour away) that was founded in Saxon times. So we haven't got very far since 750 AD. Thanks again, Phil

LOL !! My grandpa did the age old migration via English Electric to California in the 60s. I've been there a few times, a pretty little place.

Thank you Richard, it's the Finnair availability to Seoul that I'm currently looking at. I am booking travel up to September next year then I'll have to look at my finances and decide if I need to go back to work. But I really want to be in Australia for a month or more for the 2025/26 Ashes series.

Thank you so much, this channel wouldn't be where it is without your support. I really do appreciate every like, subscribe and comment. It really does mean a lot to me. I don't know how much money the channel will make from advertising (I think it's something like £10 per 1000 as views, but I really don't know for sure). In any event it will hopefully allow me to extend the time I have to travel and delay the day I have to return to working for a living and for that I am very grateful to you. Thank you Phil

I have got the watch hours Matt, thank you. A comment from you means a lot you know because I think it was watching your channel that gave me the confidence to get a camera and see if I could add something to the conversation and for that reason I've been careful to avoid just aping your content (I hope I have succeeded in that). So thank you for your sub and for your comment, I really appreciate it. Thank you Phil

@@mygreygapyear You're very kind!

@@mygreygapyear Must be difficult when the content could be quite similar but you both come at it from a different angle and styles which means both engaging

My question for you are what are your three best flight memories vs three worst flight memories?

Thank you for your kind comments and support. It is so appreciated. Three Best Flight Memories: 1. Flying from Manchester to Adelaide on a charter flight with (I think) something like Britannia airways, via Abu Dhabi and Singapore. I paid £250 for a one way flight. Round trip was £500 and a Qantas flight was about £850. I had mix tapes and books to entertain me for each 10 hour leg. The IFE screens were about 20" and suspended above the seats about every 5 rows or so. I think Rob Roy was the new release feature (which gives you the year). As the aircraft accelerated for take off I pressed play and Queen, Gimme the Prize Blasted into my ears. 2. My First European Economy Flight with BA. It was my first flight after lockdown and I got about an hour or so in and looked out the window and as I gazed out of the window I got a bit emotional, I'd forgotten how amazing travel is. 3a. My First Time in Grown Up Business Class on Qantas, I bid for an upgrade and got it. 3b. Recently I flew BA first class, and it was awesome. The crew got how dizzy with excitement I was and really played up to that. It was a great flight. Three Worst Flights is harder to pick, any long haul economy flight is tough so I shouldn't put those in there but I'm going to: 1. Etihad from London Heathrow to Melbourne. Leg 1 was brilliant in an A380, lots of free seats, but it was a morning departure so I didn't sleep. Abu Dhabi Airport was not how I remembered it (no beautiful central dome) it felt like it was under construction. Second leg was in a plane that I remember being like a Ryanair plane (I think it was 3.3.3. rather than narrow body 3.3), but this was for about 14 hours. Thin seats, very narrow. Very small pitch. Hot. Claustrophobic. Full. My travel companion was vegan and her vegan option was not loaded and they charged us for the only vegan food we could buy, olives. I absolutely hated that second 14 hour leg, couldn't sleep, absolutely awful. 2. I'm going to put the return trip home a few weeks later in the list because it was during the pandemic. It was on Qatar because Etihad cancelled our return flight (without any refund, could be worse though, we were very close to being in the group of passengers stranded in Abu Dhabi Airport). The airport was deserted. The shops were closed. It was like a disaster movie, because we were in the middle of a disaster. Delayed in Doha for about 4 hours (6 hour wait in total) couldn't find anywhere comfortable to sit. Again most things shut. When we arrived back in the UK the valet service for the car (Holiday Extras booked through Premier Inn) needed some persuasion to return our car to us. 3. Since I need to pick a third and I don't just want to put in the torturous Australia trips in here (although Royal Brunei was very cheap but a very hard journey, the airport has no comfy seats, 1 restaurant (if you want to call it that, the choice was chicken or fish, I kid you not!) and you will be delayed. So I'm going to pick Travel City Direct charter flight from London to Sanford Orlando with the kids. we were delayed for 2 hours on the tarmac. They came round with chocolate bars and snacks and gave them to the kids and then woke up their mum so she could pay for them, dropped a cup of scolding tea on my daughters foot (she still remembers it), in-flight entertainment was non-existent, and well we generally got what we paid for, which is a very cheap flight and holiday. Our second (cheap) holiday to Florida was a better experience (we bought 2 personal DVD players for the older 2) but they went bankrupt a short time after we came back. Thanks for your question, it brought back some old memories, Phil

@@mygreygapyear very interesting read Phil, wow those three bad ones sound total horrid! Glad I was able to come up with something interesting! 😄😃

The video and your question has taken me down memory lane, thank you.

You'll really notice the difference. Have a great trip!

Thanks yeah will really elevate our BA travel experience as our overseas flights from our nearest airport - Glasgow - always involves waits for connecting flights in Heathrow

Thank you for your kind comment and support. Silver is a great sweet spot with BA, I was surprised how much I loved skipping the check in queue. If you're tall being able to book extra legroom seats for free in European Economy will be a good benefit. I hope you have a wonderful trip to Malta and have many great trips to come. All the very best, Phil

Thank you Nicky, your support is as always appreciated. I remember that moment in August when I realised that I had at least 1 subscriber that didn't know me directly and it was an absolutely awesome feeling. And every time I see the subscriber count go up I still feel the same way, so thank you. I'd love to do a meet up if subscribers wanted to. I live in Stafford, so that would be the most obvious place for a meet up if people can get there (main line station on West Coast Mainline and the M6 for drivers), the Sun Inn isn't far from the train station. The other obvious place would be London as this is usually another easy place for people to get to. I guess I'll do some kind of shout out in the New Year and see if people are interested. Thanks for the suggestion, Phil

Thank you for your excellent question. My work history is a bit boring. I started out working in kitchens and trained to be a chef, but the brutal truth is I should have gone to London to perfect my craft but I bottled it so my career got a bit stuck. So I retrained in computing, took an Honours Degree and found I was good at and enjoyed developing software and this paid more than chef-ing. I worked for Ricoh copiers, ZenZero and Bet365, among others in my development career (which is only on pause, I will have to return to the working world in a year or so). My wife and I invested in a company that wrote software for the NHS, and we spent 7 or 8 years building this into something we were both very proud of, but we were always junior partners and the business was sold to a third party. I can't talk about that business or the sale too much as there are non competes and NDAs in force. But this generated the lump sum I've alluded to. So this is the money I'm spending on travel which is incredibly foolhardy, but my family have not fared well in terms of being blessed with long life. My mother passed when she was 72 and she had lived with Cancer for about 10 years when she passed. Of her 11 brothers and sisters only 2 remain and none have gone on to live past 75. I think I take after my mum, so time is a factor. Now to the way I've spun my travel, I absolutely squeeze every penny out of every trip. London to Frankfurt for £17.50 + 5000 avios (about £50 of avios) and that was sitting in Club Europe but happened to end up in a first class seat. The two Club Europe Trips I made could be booked for around £800 each at the right time of year. I flew to Marrakesh for £200 + 5000 avios for the final lot of Tier Points and stayed in an all inclusive for about £70 per night (I think it was 3 nights so trip cost under £450 including business class seats). I've flown First Class to Barbados, but that was 85,000 avios and about £700 in cash (but I could have gone in a different cabin for less). The hotel in Barbados was the Rostrover on St Lawrence Gap and was under £100 per night. And I'm travelling alone, if you're a couple then that hotel is £50 per night each (and there were cheaper options but I wanted to be on the seafront with a sea view). To get around in Barbados I used the local busses (called ZRs, they are a hoot and cost about £1.50 per trip) and ate local food in Oistins (fish with rice and peas). In Sicily I ate out but I also bought bread and meat from a bakery with a bottle of local red. It cost a few Euros. I also live a simple life when I'm home, I drive an old Vauxhall Astra, I enjoy simple food, spahgetti with home made marinara sauce is a favourite, some parmesan and Chianti increase the cost, and I don't spend much money on clothes. I've just spent 2 days looking after my grandchildren and it was 2 of the best days I've had this year and it cost me some flour eggs and butter as we made cakes (I took them out for tea too). I'm sure you get the idea. So I don't think I spend huge sums on Luxury travel, but one thing I do have is time to travel, as I currently don't have any work commitments. But I do think your question highlights that I need to share more of my budget travel tips so that you can book the same trips as me and see how I get the most out of each and every pound in my travel budget. Do let me know if there is something you'd like to know in this regard, this is the main motivator in creating the channel, sharing what I've learned so you can do exactly what I've done if you'd like to. All the very best, Phil