pack but that has unfortunate consequences; such as arriving in Chile in a heavy leather jacket, jeans and sweatshirt to be greeted with +30c temperatures or the Netherlands with a single pair of jeans that I proceeded to tear in an unfortunate place. So I'm not going to make the same mistake twice and I'm determined to be prepared.

My experience on the flight to the USA last year for the Washington DC Joomla!Day (yes another one, I'm either addicted or lucky or both) and the conversations that started as a result with my fellow travellers got me thinking.

With so many Joomla users attending JAB and having meant so few of them in person would I even recognise a fellow JAB attendee if I bumped into them at the airport. Recognising someone for the first time from a 150px avatar that may or may not even be of them (ask Fotis about that one) can be quite a challenge.

So why don't we make it a little easier

I could suggest that everyone travels in a Joomla t-shirt but maybe you don't have a wardrobe full of them like me and want to save it for the event itself. Or perhaps we will be unlucky and it won't be t-shirt weather, so what then?

We need some way of easily identifying each other that ideally is easy to spot across a crowded plane, train, ferry or motorway service station.

It needs to be unique. You definitely don't want to go up to a perfect stranger and start talking to them about Joomla just because they have a white carnation on their jacket. Whilst I know people who do that, Peter Russell for one, it could lead to you being accosted, arrested or worse and that's no way to start your trip.

It needs to be unisex, easy to carry, easy to obtain, preferably free of cost and if it offers the opportunity for the more flamboyant of us to express our individuality and unique personalities then even better.

Ladies and Gentlemen the J and Beyond Knight's Helmet

It's free, easy to prepare in advance, fits into any size of hand luggage on the plane, fully customisable and it won't set off any metal detectors at the security checks. (Trust me you don't want to do that. I've had the full internal examination and I've never been the same since)

Follow these simple instructions and you will have a perfect replica Knights helmet that King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table would have been proud of. (Well maybe not King Arthur but I'm sure that Monty Python would approve.)

In just 5 minutes your Knights helmet will be ready to wear and I guarantee that you and your fellow JAB attendees will recognise each other on your journey.