This is Illyria, Lady…

Albania. The name alone conjures a sense of distance and mystery. Secretive Communist past. Curious obsession with Norman Wisdom. Patronising football commentators cooking a snook as England eke out a 1-0 qualification win in Tirana. Even Shakespeare was troubled by the place — when he needed an isolated setting for Twelfth Night he shipwrecked his characters in Illyria — which is modern-day Albania. But word on the street is that the country is waking up. There is even talk of an approach to join the EU (though would they want to…). So when I headed to the bank today to wire a small sum of money to an Albanian tour company, I was surprised at the response. ‘Ah,’ said the manager. ‘Albania. That’s an automatic thirty pound commission.’ He scrolled further down. ‘And another twelve pounds fifty on top of that.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Agent bank charges.’ ‘Is that normal?’ ‘This is Albania, Sir…’ Anyway, the money is wired, the hotel room in Saranda (‘Hotel Brilant’) is reserved, and my wife and I cannot wait. The joys of researching books with a Mediterranean setting. Spike Book 4 — here we come…