What is it about people with travel pillows (asks Ed Stocker)? They walk around airports brandishing them like war trophies or wrapping them around their necks like bloated appendages. The pillows get scuffed, thrown into security bins and, often, end up on the floor before being gathered up and employed as a useless way of attempting to rest on a flight. All this despite having acquired who-knows-what in the way of bacteria on their messy transit.

Don’t get me wrong. For those of us travelling in the less comfortable parts of a plane, the idea of not falling asleep with my mouth open and waking up with a cricked neck from the unnatural way in which I’ve passed out is appealing. But somehow, no one seems to have invented a travel pillow that is comfortable or looks any good (I look forward to the flurry of emails telling me that I’m wrong; you can contact me at ejs@monocle.com). You just look silly with a miniature buoyancy aid around your neck.

Maybe the secret is to pack a small pillow in your carry-on or to scrunch up a jumper. Failing that, you could give up completely and realise that you’re not going to get any sleep when you’re in cattle class anyway. I find myself judging the people who wear travel pillows, the likes of whom I don’t want to spend any time with. Is it snobby? Probably.

While we’re on the topic, wielders of travel pillows are not the only tribe that I eschew at the airport. We’ll have to save my thoughts on those who shrink-wrap their suitcase in kilometres of plastic for another day. Have a restful flight, everyone. — L

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