maggieasingleton's Blog

London to KL

We had fun at T4. Easy security and check in. We had 26 kg luggage between us. Owen has 7!! It’s the potions and lotions chaps.

We have legroom seats by the door.(purchased in advance). Brilliant. Trays pop up from arm rests and TV screens swing out from under the seat. There is a Steward seated opposite us. He’s charming.

So I’m listening to Coldplay on my phone. I have a glass of red. Owen is watching something bloodthirsty. Waiting for lunch to be served. Left it too late to order veggie. Never mind. I’ll cope.

This is a huge plane. Full double decker. Flying over Bulgaria now.

I’m talking to the steward. He said they are all smiling on the outside but their hearts are broken. My heart goes out to them.

There is high turbulance. They can’t serve lunch whilst its so bumpy. All war zones now off limits. And breathe….

I love that I have music. I will read and watch a movie later . I love that I can feel the warmth of my son’s arm on mine. Lovely lad in the third leg room seat next to me . Young teacher at a ‘minor’ private school in Southampton. Off to NZ. Had poorly knees hence the leg room.

The nice steward kindly froze my iceblock to keep my eye drops cool.

Lunch was good. Better than BA! Watched Grand Budapest Hotel -v funny -and a bit of surreal Winters Tale. I dozed through that.

At 11.20 pm uk time we were served breakfast. More curry. Owen had mine. I had a croissant.

Arrived KL a little late so went straight to our next flights – Owen to Sydney, me to Perth. On we go. So tired!

I’m staying in the Yotel at Heathrow Terminal 4. It’s a cabin. Windowless – well technically there is a window to the corridor but that gives viewing access to the other visitors – like the London Aquarium – so one must pull down the blind. Once one has worked out how. I managed that pretty much straight away. The lights aren’t controlled with a switch. There is a control panel. When I entered the pod – with my swipe card of course – there was a bright pink glow from a concealed strip light between the wall and the ceiling. But not bright enough for Mrs Magoo here to see what was etched onto the control panel. I remained in pink darkness for some minutes, managing to find the, er, facilities but not the light. As for the bed….. it was only about 3 foot long and rather upright. I figured it would slide down somehow were I to find the right button but it was dark you see. I may have already explained that. I found my swipe card and went off to find thd nice young man who had checked me in. He explained the control panel. I must have looked blank as I tried to explain that I couldn’t see the control panel in the pink darkness. “Shall I come and show you”. “Yes (obviously)”

He did but he was very quick and went away. But I did have light although still only a dwarf bed. I experimented with the control panel. Lights came and went alarmingly so I left them all on. I went out again. He had another customer. I told him I was going to find some supper and that when I returned I needed him to further unravel the bed mystery. But not to tell me now as I was bound to forget by the time I came back. He was looking less patient. He said ” It’s the other two buttons by the bed. The silver ones. One for up one for down”. “Oh” I said. “I showed you” he said. “You did” I said. ” very quickly”.” It’s easy” he said. “I’m sure I’ll figure it out” I said brightly and ran off before he called for assistance. Returning with late sustinance, I had a harsh word with myself and prepared to do battle with my pod. But there were the 2 silver buttons as he had said. I pressed. The bed slid down flat and became 6 foot. I pressed again and up it slid to 3 foot and on a slope. Magic. So now I’m in it. I have a reading light and the bright pink but I’m fairly confident I can make them go away. So I will try to sleep with the breathy air conditioning chilling me and the sound of other podsters, like bees in the hive, mastering their own little technological challenges. It’s a fun world. Night night.

I don’t do waiting. For trains. For appointments. For it to be time to go. I don’t like it. “Are we nearly there yet” was as likely to be my whine and not the children in earlier times. So with a packed case , cats tucked up in the cattery, and a neatly organised travel file I am waiting. At Jane & Ray’s. For it to be 5.30 and time to go.

And it’s raining. Big fat rain. I imagined Jane & I would have a liesurely walk across the heath. But no. I must be patient. I can’t concentrate on my book. I don’t follow the golf. So here I am adding nonsense to my blog. 

This time tomorrow (in the words of the song) I shall be somewhere over Eastern Europe. I’m ill prepared for Perth. My usually thorough research has fallen short this time, of the standard I expect of myself.  I have liberated some pages from an old Lonely Planet guide book which I shall study on the flight. And make a plan for my few days of solitude before ” the young ones” arrive to join me. I shall report. 

The news of another lost airliner was unsettling but thousands fly every day so I am hopeful that my number isn’t yet up. I’m experiencing a Yotel pod tonight for the first time. I shall report! so my lovelies. See you on the other side.

Back in March 2013 Helen and I didn’t look like this.  We looked like this…

I think I prefer the “turban look”.

So off to Australia again, this time with Owen and to Perth instead of Sydney.  Well, for me at least since Owen is indeed flying to Sydney to see Keirron and Becks, and to hook up with Alice with whom he flies to Perth 4 days later to join me.

I haven’t seen Alice since March 2013, and Owen hasn’t seen his sister since August 2012.  Some reunion to come.

Helen won’t be there this time, as she is off to the Holy Isle for a week or two to her retreat.  I couldn’t have wished to meet a lovelier companion and we have had some fun since we returned to the UK last year.

So watch this space for updates on the trip. 5 sleeps to go till lift off!