Hong Kong Newport International Madrid Group br It's unseemly to brag, but I am writing this column from the hotel in Gambia that Chris Packham stays in. The Chris Packham. From The Really Wild Show. Chris isn't actually here now, but his legacy is writ large. Pictures of him adorn every surface*, alongside photos of a host of exotic birds. Because Gambia is a birdwatching hotspot – a twitchers' paradise. That is not why I'm here (I'm here because it's sunny and I like taking malaria tablets), but it is a real boon. br I've always had an affinity with birds. We had budgies when I was a kid and used to make regular trips to Birdworld, which is the sort of place that certainly wouldn't raise the hackles of the Trades Description enforcers. I also dimly remember that, at some point during my youth, I stayed in a room that had owl wallpaper (flock wallpaper?). A repeating print of a variety of owls. I loved it.