Ping! An email lands in Monkey’s inbox from the Eurovision Academy. Sadly it is not offering lessons in how to create a pop hit for a Europe-wide TV singing contest but instead offers the rather more severe: “5-day residential safety training course for journalists reporting on conflicts, natural disasters, humanitarian crises, terrorist attacks and civil unrest.” With Ebola and the various conflicts going on globally, hostile environment training is at a premium. So no surprise it costs €3,950 per person excluding travel. On the upside, the course is “held in a privately owned castle in Bavaria”. So, perfect training for if you ever find yourself kidnapped by a rich James Bond-style villain.
