Here's an idea for anyone who wants to travel alone, but hates to travel alone when it comes to meal time. These odd thoughts came cavorting through my mind after seeing this story on a Today Show segment. Imagine the scene:

There you are all by yourself while others are paired up or in groups. You are sitting waiting for dinner, maybe reading but feeling a bit dissatisfied. Perhaps you feel like a target to unwanted advances. You wish you had a detractor. Something that lets you know that you are not alone--or at least, if you are alone, you have a way to feel differently. Or perhaps you are a bit shy and wish you had a conversation starter, something that would break the ice when talking with strangers. And if a creepy guy is lurking about, something that would send a signal "hands off."

A fake baby might be the answer.

According to the segment, the fake babies look and feel real. That downy soft hair. The weight of them. The way they appear in a baby carrier.

The presence of kids in the fast-paced world of airline travel can evoke as much controversy as McCain versus Obama. The harried business traveler not only has to worry about getting slowed up or annoyed by the incessant whining (real or imagined) of youthful travelers, they also have to be concerned about accidentally thumping a child on the head with a briefcase as they try to hurry to their gate.

In a nod to traveling tots, London Heathrow has created a VIP lounge specifically for families. It's not the first, but definitely sounds the coolest. That's right mom and dad, no need to put up with the icy glances of laptop jockeys in the regular first-class and business-class lounges. In fact, the kids' lounge in Heathrow's Terminal 5 doesn't even require a business class ticket. Known as KidZone, it has an ample buffet, computers and whimsical decorations. Entrance costs $27 per trip and is also included in the membership perks of clubs like Priority Pass. Virgin Atlantic has a similar lounge at Heathrow, while some state-side airports like JFK and LAX boast child-friendly facilities as well. American Airlines will continue the trend by opening no less than 9 KidZone-like lounges at major airports in the US. Food you can eat with your hands, no worries about making noise, and I bet they have Legos too. Sounds better than the regular VIP to me. I wonder if they let you in even if you are not traveling with kids.

When my six-year old son and I pulled into Manhattan on the Amtrak train, and again on a Trailways bus last month, we went underground. I'm not sure where Amtrak goes, but Trailways goes through the Holland Tunnel under the Hudson River in order to deposit passengers into Port Authority terminal.

As we passed through the tunnel, --the Holland Tunnel, he wondered why the river didn't come caving in on us. Because the tunnel is well lit, you can see the inside of the tunnel perfectly. On the train, it's dark outside the train's window for the most part. Looking out the window means looking at your own reflection.

My son's question was one of those moments when I realized I really didn't have a clue. Kind of know, but don't really know, but willing to trust engineering and the principles of physics. As I explained the safety of such a tunnel, I looked at all that expanse of tile and wondered a bit. Actually, I thought of how awful it would be to be stuck in it for any length of time with exhaust fumes spewing if there was a car wreck. That's when you say to yourself, "Stay in our own lanes, people, and don't go too fast. Pay attention."

In the tunnel going under the English Channel yesterday, a wreck didn't cause the travel snafu, but a fire on a train going between England and France. According to this article, the train was carrying trucks and only 32 people--mostly drivers of those trucks.

For passengers hoping to go through the tunnel on the train, they had to find alternative ways to get to France or stay where they were. Just like weather is something that airlines say they have no control over and won't fork over assistance, so are fires in train tunnels. Eurostar said that because they have no control over fires they won't help with plane tickets or hotel rooms. You can, however, get a refund or exchange tickets for another time. (I found this out on the Eurostar Web site.)

Because the fire is still going, trains are not heading through that tunnel today. I bet the ferries are packed with people lucky to snag a ticket. For the rest of the stuck people, lots of luck. (The photo by OliverN5 is of Eurostar trains at the Gard du Nord in Paris, France.)

Passengers on both sides of the Atlantic are barred from bringing liquids through airport security checkpoints. That might be changing soon. British airports hope to have scanning devices that can sense explosive liquids in place soon. Security services are already in the final stages of testing the machines. Once the testers give the go ahead, airports can put the scanners to work.

Four airports, including London Heathrow, have already purchased scanners. However, it is likely that the ban on liquids will not be lifted until all the country's international airports are similarly equipped and their security personnel trained to operate the scanners. In other words, don't get overexcited and try to carry that $200 bottle of cognac onto your flight out of the U.K. tomorrow.

Airlines have been complaining about the restrictions for some time now. They say that the rules make England's airports less attractive. However, the ban was first put in place after a terrorist plot to blow up airplanes using liquid explosives was uncovered. Being sure you're not going to get blown up is pretty damn attractive...or maybe that's just me. If the liquid scanners work in England, US airports will probably follow their lead in short order.

Two fungus-in-aircraft stories are worth note and worry: An Indian Airlines flight served a passenger snacks with ketchup that had fungus on it. The passenger noted the contaminated packet and made a complaint, the airline dutifully apologized.

Fungus can be hazardous to health and can cause allergies, asthma, and even cardiac arrest. There would probably have been a grand issue should the fungus-ketchup have been consumed by a child or an elderly person. The airline said that they will investigate the situation and the suppliers from which they receive products.

That's all fine but I don't understand how the cabin crew member who served the fungus laden ketchup, didn't notice it. And, if the fungus is on the pouch of the ketchup, it's probably because it's old and/or expired, which has nothing to do with the supplier. This was an easily avoidable situation.

Another fungus situation was in Ryanair: A flight from Hungary to Ireland had to divert because fungus laden ice started to drip onto a passenger from an overhead locker, triggering an allergic reaction in the passenger who started coughing. It was discovered that the fungus had contaminated the aircraft's air conditioning system.

Thanks to jackhynes for the flickr photo.

Admittedly, Russell Brand, the British comedian and actor, probably best known in the U.S. for his role as Aldous Snow, a rock star in the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall, can go a bit over the top with his humor.

Because he will be hosting the MTV Video Music Awards tonight, he is on U.S. entertainment radar again. However, it's an earlier appearance on David Letterman in May that caught my attention.

This account of why he missed his first scheduled appearance on David Letterman pokes a bit of fun at U.S. immigration without being anti-American. According to him, Brand wasn't allowed back in the U.S. after a trip to Britain to promote the movie because of his past record. Although he doesn't specifically state his past problems, they have to do with drug issues for which he has had treatment.

Basically, Brand's hilarious style of story-telling captures an interesting cast of players and circumstances at U.S. immigration. I do think he's embellishing, but it's funny. For example, he describes a Gambian man wearing an American flag tie under going questioning and hones in on the stereotypes of people who look suspicious.

You might have thought that London was already expensive, but next year you can look forward to budgeting even more money when visiting the English capital. Mayor Boris Johnson plans to raise London Underground train and bus fares next year by an average of 6% above the inflation rate.

What exactly does that work out to? The cheapest London Underground fare which you can get by using an Oyster prepaid card will rise to £1.60, or $2.85, in January from the current price of £1.50. That doesn't seem like a huge change, but for people -- and even tourists -- who use public transportation on a frequent basis, it certainly feels like it.

The current London Underground cash fare for a ticket -- £4 -- is reported to be the highest in the world for a subway system; apparently the city really wants to keep its ranking.

The Boston.com segment "The Big Picture" has an overview of some fantastic photos of London "from above, at night". They are the work of aerial photographer Jason Hawkes and are the most beautiful aerial photos I have ever seen.

The photos were taken from a helicopter, using a digital camera mounted on a gyroscopic mount and the article has photos of most major London attractions, including the London Eye, Tower Bridge and Big Ben. If you love London (who doesn't?) then I highly suggest checking out these photos, as well as some of the other work of Jason Hawkes.

(Photo from jasonhawkes.com/Boston.com)

There's been a couple of big stories in the London newspapers this past week. One is the full fledged anticipation of the 2012 Olympics after the so-called "hand off" on Sunday, as Josh wrote about recently. Another is the fact that shamed pedophile (and former British pop heartthrob) Gary Glitter is back on British soil after being released from jail in Vietnam (he served three years on charges of sexually abusing children).

But another story, which hasn't been as hyped, could impact you as a traveler more.

BAA, Britain's largest airport operator, is expecting a ruling from the country's Competition Commission that will order a break-up of its airport holdings, on the grounds that one company owning so many of Britain's major airports is not good for the country.

The result? BAA is likely to have to sell two of its airports, maybe more.

BAA owns giant Heathrow, and also Gatwick, Stansted, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Southampton.

Most pundits are speculating that Gatwick or Stansted are on the block (and perhaps both), as are Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Obviously, holding onto Heathrow will keep BAA a powerful market player.

What does this mean for you?

Any time competition trumps monopoly the consumer could win, in terms of better and more varied service and better prices. There are rumors flying around that a group of airlines is thinking of pooling its money and buying a BAA airport. Ryanair is one airline denying that it's looking into buying an airport (in this case, Stansted, a major hub for the carrier). With airlines in control, they could save on costs and, in theory at least, pass that on by way of lower fares.

The BAA isn't buying the competition argument, however. It says that owning Heathrow really doesn't translate into a competition issue with other British hubs because Heathrow isn't vying against them for business. Heathrow is going up against other European and International hubs, like Paris, Amsterdam and Dubai.

People in Britain like to point out how relatively uncommon, if not to say unheard of, gun violence is in their country. What they tend to overlook is that you are far more likely to get a knife stuck in your ribs.

OK, that's a bit of an overstatement. But here in Europe's largest city they are cracking down on knives in a big way.

Last night, surfacing from the Angel Underground stop at around 8 p.m., I saw at the station's entrance police hastily setting up portable metal detectors -- two of them -- through which they would choose people at random to walk.

Others seeing this might have been confused at first. But only the night before, walking through Leicester Square in London's tourist-heavy West End, I came across the same kind of checkpoint: Two metal detectors right in the middle of one of the square's thoroughfares, maybe eight police officers, and a line of mostly younger-looking night revelers who had all been stopped and told to walk the line, so to speak.

It was a seriously odd sight in the middle of the heavy flow of foot traffic, these detectors, surrounded as they were by the humming clubs, theaters and pubs of the district. It seemed almost funny. I stopped and asked an officer what was going on.

"Metal detectors," he said.

"I can see that. But what are you looking for?"

"Knives."

London is about three months into a massive initiative to curb a significant surge in knife violence this year, which has already claimed the lives of nearly 25 Londoners, mostly teens.