Never watched his shows, but liked this bit of his guardian column about his albania trip
As part of a travel show I filmed for BBC Two last year, I visited Albania, where I met an ex-con who offered me a tattoo. I wasn’t completely up to speed on the social etiquette of this situation, but I decided that if you are in a bunker with an ex-con and he suggests inking you, it is probably safer to accept and deal with the repercussions later. I loved Albania, so it didn’t feel that big a deal to get its flag tattooed on my wrist. The producers of the show were slightly more worried, asking if my wife would be upset; but the truth is she is so unbothered by such things that I could get a swastika tattooed on my face and she would probably say, “It’s better than the Autobot one.”
A few months after my Albania trip, I found myself in a restaurant with my family and the waiter told me that the manager would like a word. Moments later, a surly looking man emerged from the back of the restaurant. “I saw your Albania show,” he said. “Is the tattoo real?” I told him it was and he asked to see it. He looked upon the two-headed eagle and nodded. “I am Albanian. You never have to pay for anything here, ever again.”
While it was great to have a meal for free, I certainly can’t return. Either they will all assume I’m back because I’m a cheap bastard; or the manager won’t be in, I’ll try to pay with my wrist and they’ll think that I’m a cheap bastard.