Yesterday started well.\u00a0 My taxi to Gatwick turned up on time; the road, apart from the\u00a0 short\u00a0 section of roadworks at the junction of the M25 and M26, was clear and we got there in plenty of time.\u00a0 I checked in and made my way to the Aspire Lounge – so far so good!<\/p>\n
Since I lost my Gold Member status with Virgin, I always book into a lounge as I find it’s well worth the money.\u00a0 The Lounge itself is fine; I found a comfortable seat in a corner and had a pleasant breakfast, until Bunty and Geoffrey came to sit next to me.\u00a0 I hadn’t heard vowel sounds like theirs since the old black-and-white newsreels and recordings of the Queen when she was young.\u00a0 Geoffrey appeared unable to do anything other than read the paper and so Bunty got the breakfasts.\u00a0 Now, I know you can’t judge by appearances.\u00a0 I mean they could have been secret lovers for the last forty years who were going away for a clandestine, passionate\u00a0holiday, but my money would be on them having been married since about 1955.\u00a0 So why oh why did Bunty need to ask him whether he wanted full fat or skimmed milk?\u00a0 One or two sugars in his tea and on his cereal?\u00a0 A bacon roll or a croissant?\u00a0 The croissant with butter or marge?\u00a0 Did he want jam on it or just butter?\u00a0 Did he want strawberry or apricot jam?\u00a0 It was unbelievable really.\u00a0 And irritating!\u00a0 Because try as I might I couldn’t blot them out.<\/p>\n
Then, as the time for boarding my flight was approaching I looked at the info board only to see that it was showing “Further information at 12.”\u00a0<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n <\/em>Oh, well, things happen when you travel.\u00a0 So I carried on reading the paper and had another coffee and thanked my lucky stars that I was travelling alone and no longer had large groups of people with me..\u00a0 Yes, I know the wine and booze was free but I’m such a lightweight, if I’d started drinking at 10:10 I’d have been under the table by 11!<\/p>\n The board changed after a while to show we would now be taking off at 13:30.\u00a0 I asked the very helpful people in the lounge and they found out from BA that the aircraft had a hydraulics problem.\u00a0 Well, better to fix it now rather than later.\u00a0 And then I remembered that the last time I’d flown BA in May 2011, we’d taken off from St Kitts and touched down in Antigua only to find the plane developed a hydraulics problem and we didn’t leave until the following night, twenty-nine hours late.\u00a0 Hmm!\u00a0 I hoped there wasn’t a pattern emerging here.<\/p>\n Well, we finally boarded about 13;35 and took off at 14:30, four hours and ten minutes late.\u00a0 I was very pleased to see that I had an empty seat next to me, so that meant I could spread out a bit.\u00a0 Shame about the group of twenty going to Antigua for “Our Gaz and our Becca’s<\/strong> wedding<\/strong>“<\/strong><\/em> <\/strong>who\u00a0shouted down the plane to each other about the films on the entertainment and the price of duty free.\u00a0Shame, too, about the two kids in the row in front who found the need to read out very loudly and laboriously every joke in Horrid Henry’s Joke<\/strong> Book.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong> Still, not a problem for me, I could blot them all out with the earphones\u00a0while I watched The Life of Pi.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/em>And I’d just started watching it when the Captain announced that the front cargo door light had come on and so we were going to have to ditch fuel over the Atlantic and go back to Gatwick.\u00a0 Groans all round.<\/p>\n Once in Gatwick we were given a \u00a35 voucher to get some lunch – has anyone from BA actually tried eating at Gatwick for a fiver?\u00a0 But, I bought a spicy seafood noodle and a diet Coke in EAT and didn’t have to put too much to it.\u00a0 Then I went and sat near the BA Informaiton Desk as they couldn’t put the flight up on the departure board for reasons best know only to themselves.\u00a0 All around me people were looking as if the end of the world had been announced.<\/p>\n “It’s the not-knowing” one man kept on saying.\u00a0 What was he on about?\u00a0 It’s not like we’re waiting on the results of an AIDS test, it’s a flight delay for God’s sake!\u00a0 If you travel, things happen.\u00a0 Why cause a fuss and get upset?\u00a0 The Customer Services Agent manning the desk kept saying “More news in about twenty minutes,”<\/em> <\/strong>and that was all we could hope for.\u00a0 And then, lo and behold, twenty minutes later, they announced our flight departing from Gate Fifty-Four.<\/p>\n We took off at 18:40 for the second and last time, landing in Antigua at 23:00 local time, eight hours late.<\/p>\n And we landed into WARMTH!!\u00a0\u00a0 Today, we’ve had some rain – which the island badly needs, I’ve never seen it so dry – but it’s warm rain.\u00a0 And as I’m sitting writing this at 5pm, the sun is out.\u00a0 Everywhere around me is peace and quiet.\u00a0 Wonderful!<\/p>\n In my absence the wonderful Fella Who’s Far Away (except now he’s near by!) has sorted out my car and my neighbour S has today arranged for an electrician to come and sort out two problems, the\u00a0seamstress to come and measure up for new curtains and bedspreads and cushion recovering, and for the termite man to sort out any termites or bugs there might be lurking.\u00a0 And the builder’s popping by later to discuss plans and make a start on the things I want to do here so that I can start letting out Avocado Cottage<\/strong> for holiday lets. (Friends and Family Rates – more info when I get back!!)<\/p>\n So, tomorrow, I’m going to get on with some painting, which I find very therapeutic, and then the afternoon will be spent writing as I’ve fallen behind with Singles in India <\/strong>again.<\/p>\n But I find writing here easier – there’s less to distract me and the peace and quiet is conducive to creativity,<\/p>\n And I’m really excited about MY NEW PROJECT\u00a0 which is happening when I get back to UK<\/strong>– full details on my website from next week.<\/p>\n Have a lovely Easter!\u00a0 Enjoy the beautiful spring flowers, the hot cross buns and yummy Easter Eggs.\u00a0 And\u00a0I hope the weather’s kind to you all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yesterday started well.\u00a0 My taxi to Gatwick turned up on time; the road, apart from the\u00a0 short\u00a0 section of roadworks at the junction of the M25 and M26, was clear and we got there in plenty of time.\u00a0 I checked … Continue reading