Getting to UK

I was up at 7:15am Tuesday 4 June, all eager to complete the few things on my TO DO list before flying out at 3pm.  I was sure I would have plenty of time to just chill out and get my head into the “I’m off on an adventure” mode.

I  had everything done at least a week ago as I have people coming to live in my house while I am away.  Therefore I needed to pack up my personal stuff as I don’t want strangers rummaging through my undies drawer.

I ate as much food as I can before departure, just leaving behind the spices and other staples. I think some of the packets of herbs and spices date back to Garry’s days  as my lack of  culinary repertoire does not usually require such additives. I just keep them to fill my pantry and to give the impression that I can cook.

I wonder if the flavours get better with age like wine. Well,  not all wines,  as I have found out when my daughter, Cara, tells me to open a bottle from her wine rack that has a good 5cm of dust on it.  She doesn’t drink but people give her wine, or leave it for her after one of the many gatherings at her house. Believe me some of those white wines were the same colour as the urine of a very deydrated and hungover man. They probably tasted the same too!!  I am happy with a $9 bottle of wine from the bottom shelf at the supermarket but I don’t stoop that low.

Anyway, I digress. Back to preparing my house to leave. Clearing out the food means that I have had some weird combinations for my meals recently. One night I thought I had defrosted a casserole to have with my  veges but it was just gravy, so a vegetarian meal that night. My freezer gave up  a few bags of pumkin soup and numerous bags of stewed fruit from my garden. The oats, rice and muesli were all finished and my last meal was 2 Minute Noodles and a can of salmon that was past its best by date.

Tabitha ended up with a container of a dubious looking meat dish, half a packet of fish fingers and some vege soup. Fridge and freezer empty. Tick.

I had tried to drop off a bag of work clothes at a couple of Op shops but they weren’t taking any more donations.  Apparently more people want to be rid of clothes than want to buy them.  So they live to see another day  even if it is in a bag   stowed up in the ceiling. Like the family silver, they may not come down again.

There wasn’t much to do so but I ended up rushing to finish by 1pm so I have time to watch my last episode of Coronation Street for a while.

My grand daughter Holly took me to the airport and we shared a conversation about failed pregnancies over a cuppa while waitng to fly. Holly is a nurse in the maternity ward. As usual I was last on to the plane.  Then I was off on a short 1 hour 15 minute flight to Auckland.

Nice flight, snow on mountains and a nice chat with my seat mate.

Then a 4 hour wait in Auckland enjoying airport life.

In particular I like the self flushing toilets. I want one of those at home.  However I always struggle at the hand basin. Everyone else seems to be able to gracefully wave their hands  under the soap dispenser and get soap, then another slight wave to get water followed by a magical slight of hand to get hot air.  Not me. I wave and flap, waggle and flutter and nothing happens.  Then out comes hot air that won’t stop followed by water and no soap. For f###s sake, I give up!! I didn’t touch the toilet as it was self flushing so bugger the soap and I will just dry my hands on my pants.

What I do like is the smell of aviation fuel as I walk across to the International terminal. Petrol, Vivid markers and paint are other things I enjoy inhsling.  I follow the green line and  a family who also began their journey in Palmerston North and are heading to   London, as I am. They were keeping very  calm, at this stage, with a runaway toddler and  an inquisative  3 year old to manage. I told them they were doing well and wished them luck.  Apparently the doctors don’t prescribe drugs for travelling kids these days.

Waiting to get on the next plane I met up with Brigit who I knew from my Take A Kid Tramping days in New Plymouth.  She, and her son, had come on quite a few of my tramps around Taranaki over the years. We had a catch up before being some of the last to get on the plane again.

I don’t like the wooden utensils we get with the meals; they feel so awful on my teeth and ruin what would be a perfectly adequate meal. I contemplate packing  my Spork in my carry on luggage on my return journey in September. I have seen that firearms and  weapons are prohibited articles but I have not seen any mention of plastic sporks. For those who do not do damn long walks, a spork is the only utensil I take on my walk as it is a mixture of a spoon, a fork and a knife.

I also take a small cooking pot that doubles as my plate, bowl and wash basin for a sponge bath and for washing my knickers in.  Everything i  carry should have 3 uses.

Landing in Los Angelas USA. We flew over some huge soageeti junction motorways with numerous levels of flyovers. Power poles surpised me as I live in a city where the wiring is all underground. The power poles look messy to me. 

I had chosen not to bring my comfy travelling neck pillow with me as there would not be enough room in my pack to bring it along on our walks.   But I gave in and bought one  at Auckland airport planning to ditch it when I get to the other side. It was a cruel buy. It was the consistency cold plasticine, or maybe my scones.  I tried, unsuccesfully to swap it with other passengers who had nice, soft squishy ones. The guy in the seat next to me on the final leg seemed to take offence to my offer and moved seats. That worked well for me as again I had room to spread out.

Time moved backwards  from 8am Wednesday to 1pm Tuesday. So I have been transported  back to sitting in my lounge watch Coronation Street.

Again everyone jumps out of their seats as soon as the plane stops.  I just sit and wait until it is my turn to actually start walking down the usle towards the door.  We all go out in turn and all have to wait at caeousel 6 to pick up our luggage so what is the rush!  Same thing happens when boarding a plane. As soon as the announcement to biard us made people are racing to line up. Then they stand there for another 30 minutes or so waiting to get on board. The plane will not leave without us all and personally I prefer to walze on down the isle after everyone else has finished fighting over which is seat E or F,  put their bags away and sat down. I had a sparee seat next to me on both long flights which was great for spreading out my stuff.  First was a 12 hour flight to LA and next was a 10.5 hour one to London.

Photo and fingerprints taken and I am in the US of A for the first and possibly last time. I collected my bag and walked about 50 metres befire it was taken off me for transport to Terminal 7. With no quarantine issues or declaration  forms to fill out, I can see why visitors to New Zealand find our arrival procedures to be onerous.

I walked the 10 minute over to Terminal 7  as I needed to move after the long flight.  At first I repeatedly found myself banging into others on the path before I relisedthat the Keep Left Rule is not valid in USA. So I had to switch my brain to the otherside of the path.  That didn’t come easily and I know for sure that I should never try to drive in one of these countries.

I had time to have a wee look around, clean mtmy teeth, have a couple of chats with random strangers and then catch a couple of pirated episodes of Coronation Street before being one of the last ones to board flight UA923 to Heathrow, London.

U had slept for about 4 hours on and off on the last flight so planned to get a few more hours in on this one. It woukd be 11 am UK time when I arrive but midnight NZ time to my mind and body.

I gave to navigate through of Heathrow airport, one of the busiest in the world, to the Central Bus Station. I get some cash out buy a sim card and now I have a UK number  07508 192 588. I rang the shop that i had ordered next day delivery for gas cannisters to find that they wont be delivered for another 3 days. We need these to cook and cant bring them on the plane. So Google heloed me find a stote on the same bys route as my lodgings, about 20 stops futher on. So i enjpyed a ride through lots of narrow winding streets lined with two storey houses. Yes, I am in England.Bought the gas then back There I catch a bus to Hamondsworth to my home for the night. Booked on Booking.com a few weeks ago it was a quaint cottage with a few rooms so I was hopinv to meet some interesting travellers. It was only 15 minutes bus from Heathrow so easy to get back to for my bus to Wales the next morning. 60 pounds a night. A good score.

I arrived at 4pm to find a dubious looking guy sitting by the front door smoking. Looking me up and down he said “You won’t be staying here as this has been converted to emergency housing.”

The caretaker confirmed this and took me into his liitle room to try and fimd alternative accommodation. I had been travelling for over 45 hours by then and past getting upset. He complimented me on my calmness as phone call after phone call was either not answered or proved fruitless.  I asked if I coukd put my tent up in the bavkysrd but he showed me the medication he dished out to his tenants and said it would be very unwise.

The Hyatt, came to the rescue but at 280 pound ($560) my weeks budget had been used up already. But what the heck it was only 15 minutes walk and I needed to get a shower and a good nights sleep as I had probably only slept 5 hours total on the flights.

I had an expensove beer and snack chatting with an interesting old lady who had lived and taught all over the world. Then I slept well.