AS instability continues in parts of the world of which many of us had never previously heard, I have been trying to educate myself and sort my Abkhazia from my elbow and my Caucasus from my couscous.

But atlases are distracting things. For a start, there's what must be the rudest and unfriendliest place on earth – Fakaofu Island, in the South Pacific.

There are times I'd like to live there.

I went online to check it out, got distracted and thought I'd discovered yet another new country.

It's called the Kingdom of Zarahemla, which sounds altogether more welcoming. There is a catch, however, revealed in their website, which says: "The Kingdom of Zarahemla is a kingdom in exile, in exile because we wish to live off Earth and are awaiting the advance of technology to assist us in reclaiming our future homeland: the asteroid Ceres and a segment of the planet Mars."

Back on planet Earth, there are some advertisements around the edge of their webpage – and one of them is for the Holiday Inn at Salisbury.

I suppose we could stay there while waiting for the spaceship.