alafloat

view from the appartment.


Dubai airport

G DAY FOLKS

Thursday 12 arrived yesterday 9.30pm

We have arrived in the antipodes’ visiting our Australian relies, how we got here is a different matter its best if I explain in stages otherwise you will be as confused as we were.

Manchester to London Heathrow starting our journey with a 04.00 taxi drive didn’t get the trip off to such a good start our flight to London was to take off at 06.30 so book in was 2 hours prior which would have been 04.00 we arrived only to have to wait another hour for them to open the book-in desk having done that we still had 45mins to kill so we thought coffee and breakfast ,well at 1.59 for two bits of toast I decided against such extravagance. Anyhow back to the flight we get on board the aircraft only to sit on the tarmac another hour because they were waited for some freight to be loaded and missed the airspace consequently that meant arriving in London 1 hour later which entailed us doing a the 100m dash across Heathrow from terminal one to terminal three it would have been easy if we spoke Urdu, Spanish, Arabic or Swahili as no signs were in bloody English and none of the staff spoke bloody English. We arrived at the Book-in desk with seconds to spare. Great I thought made it. Then it started we were told we would not be seated together as the aircraft was full and the only two seats that were left were not together. At this point I kicked off big style reminder the Lady that I had pre booked my seats and that it was not our fault we were delayed and that to give my seat away was illegal and the fact that I was getting rather pi—ed off with the cowboy outfit and I hadn’t left the UK yet. Though by the time we reached the aircraft they had miraculously found two seats together. The flight from London to Dubai went without incident except that my tv didn’t work but I thought I had done enough shouting and needed a rest.

In Dubai we were allowed to depart foe 20min but it takes 20min to walk off the plane into the airport and back to the departure gate and of course time for Noreen to have the compulsory FAG on getting back on board the pilot informed us that he was having an argument with the authorities about the number of passengers we had and the number they said we had this disagreement lasted an hour an hour we sat on the bloody again. The flight to Brunei was again uneven full

Brunei to Brisbane of course being kept on the tarmac in Dubai we were late arriving in Brunei which meant another dash across an airport this time everyone spoke English because all those who don’t speak English are working at Heathrow just as we reached the boarding gate we were called for to report to the flight booking desk, Ah Mr Hodgkinson London called and asked us to ensure that you and Mrs Hodgkinson are seated together that’s ok said I the seats on the boarding card are fine, no she said we have new seats for you. Great I thought shouting works, on getting on the aircraft I find a 7ft 18stone guy sat in my newly allocated seat now the steward was only 5ft and 10stone so who would you have a go at now this time I really kicked off on a full plane I even offered to sit with the pilot as that was the only so far that I hadn’t been offered. After ten minutes peace was restored and we were told that they had again miraculously found two seats together which on looking at our boarding card were the same two seats we were originally allocated. We arrived in Brisbane without any further incidents. Now if you can follow that then you are better than me because I am still trying too However we are here and its great the weather today is cool at 27 which in our terms is about 82 but of course this is late spring the summer is next month.

Speak soon

just about to have my first G&T of the hols