Be warned that you are likely to be put on hold for a long time before an operator answers; website bookings cannot be made from Britain.Closure of the week: shutting the West Coast main lineIf you have been puzzled by reports on Radio 4’s Today programme this week about the planned closure of “25 miles of track in the north west”, you may wish to know that the line affected is in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. Book by next Tuesday, avoid the early May bank holiday (2-6 May) and complete travel by 19 May.To Sardinia, Meridiana (020-7839 2222) has a special of £121 from Gatwick to Olbia, for travel in April on its twice-weekly flights. You must change planes in Rome or Milan – but be warned that Milan’s Malpensa airport is the worst in Europe. Alitalia (0870 544 8259, ) is selling Parma and Rimini for £129 return, and Catania and Palermo for £139, from either Gatwick or Heathrow. Ensure cooked food is piping hot.”Bargain of the week: ItalyIn a bid to show the no-frills airlines are not always the answer, traditional Italian airlines are offering good late-spring deals from London to destinations that the low-cost carriers don’t serve.

Avoid food from street vendors, unpasteurised dairy products, food left out for long periods and ice (unless known to be made with safe water). In the Comoros, a relatively modest 82 cases have been reported, but the disease is believed to be spreading.Taking care with food and water hygiene offers the best protection, advises MASTA: “Water should be boiled or purified. In the first three months of this year, 13,000 new cases were reported nationwide.In Malawi, 22,000 cases have been reported – one in 500 of the population. All these cheap fares require a minimum two nights’ stay or a Saturday night stopover.Warning of the week: cholera Travel in the time of this unpleasant and sometimes fatal disease could be a risk in South Africa, Malawi and the Pacific island group, the Comoros; that is the latest warning from the travel health service, MASTA (09068 224 100, premium rate, or ).”A cholera outbreak that has caused 235 deaths since August 2000 in the northeastern KwaZulu-Natal Province and the lower south coast area is still ongoing,” says MASTA.

From London City, the lowest fare I have found is £58.60 return; from Newcastle, it is 10p less You can fly from Bristol for £68.10 return. But this month and next, fares on British European (08705 676 676, ) to the Isle of Man have been cut significantly. THE COLUMN THAT GIVES THE GLOBAL PICTURE

Destination of the week: legging it across to the Isle of Man
Traditionally, the island between England and Northern Ireland has been expensive to reach. One catch: there is no accommodation, but members qualify for slightly discounted rates at the Savoy and the Adelphi.. It combines the history, leather armchairs and impeccable service of the gentleman’s club with a modern twist It counts Will Self among its numbers. Membership is on offer to corporate travellers at various rates which include membership to the other clubs in the chain, but because prices and membership restrictions vary from company to company, they are not available to the general public.Adam St (020-7379 8000) is a new club that was opened just off the Strand last October on the site of the old actors’ club, the Green Room. Part of a US-owned chain of private members’ clubs; the other London location is near St Paul’s.

Membership prices are the same as the Groucho at £365 a year.Club Quarters on Gracechurch Street (020-7666 1620) near Leadenhall Market. A night in one of the 13 rooms costs from £34 for a single and just five pounds more for a double at £39. Members such as Rowan Atkinson and PD James enjoy the dining room, billiard room and garden facilities as well as the cheapest club bedrooms in London. Membership, should Salman Rushdie or another illustrious member propose you, costs £365 a year on top of the £250 joining fee.The Chelsea Arts Club in Chelsea (020-7376 3311) caters for a similarly creative crowd It was established in 1891 by Whistler. Prices start at £45 for the one tiny single room to £145 for one of the two large double rooms The waiting list has dropped from six years to two. Taking its inspiration and its name from Groucho Marx’s statement that he would never join a club that would have him as a member, it offers 19 small but perfectly located rooms in addition to the bar, brasserie and restaurant. For all the leather armchairs and dining rooms, the East India is rather stuffy and still refuses to admit women as members.The Groucho Club is an Eighties phenomenon: a four-storey townhouse in Soho was turned into a private members’ club as an antidote to all this swagger and old school tie.