The alarm wakes me at 6:00 AM. I haul my suitcases down two flights of stairs. By the end of today, I will be very tired of schlepping luggage around.
On Inverness Terrace, the road in front of my hotel, I hail a taxi. I ask him to take me to Trafalgar Square to pick up the rest of my luggage and then to Gatwick. He says, “You know it is expensive to go to Gatwick. I could take you to Victoria station.” I thank him but I have too much luggage to take the train. We proceed to the British Council where I am half expecting them to a) not be there; or b) never have heard of my luggage. But they very efficiently collect my two suitcases from storage.
I have my large green suitcase on wheels and the matching soft-sided one, my medium-sized maroon suitcase, the medium-sized gray suitcase that belongs to Mom and four carry-ons: my computer, a tote bag with fragile things, my everyday bag filled to the brim, and my poster tube. It is much more than one person could manage without the wonderful trolley system they have in UK airports.
I wheel my unwieldy trolley into Gatwick. The board does not have my 11:15 flight posted yet. A Virgin Atlantic representative directs me to Check-in Area A. There is a long, snaking line that goes far beyond the roped area that they have set up. But being good Brits, passengers continue the snaking pattern even without benefit of ropes to guide them.
An airlines representative checking people in line tells me, “You know this 11:15 flight has been changed to 2:00 PM? Your travel agent should have informed you.” She says I can still check-in, but I will have to wait for my gate to be posted. I am fine with being early to the airport and I am even happier that I am already here when the fire alarm goes off and airport officials stop any new passengers from entering the terminal. If I had been departing at 11:15, I would have been very nervous. I figure that by 2:00 they will have cleared up whatever set off the alarm.
I have coffee, read the paper, check my email, do some last-minute shopping, read, get some lunch… Finally, they post my flight to Boston departing from Gate 34.
On board, the steward takes my poster as it is too long to fit in the overhead bin. I think, “I’ll never see that again.” He assures me he will bring it back a few minutes before landing. True to his word, he does.
The Captain announces we are going against the wind—adding another hour to the already seven-hour-long flight.
I watch an in-flight movie with dinner: salmon with linguine, salad, bread, brownie, cheese and biscuits. Also, complimentary red or white wine. After dinner, they bring around after-dinner drinks—brandy or Bailey’s. I chose the Bailey’s. A while later, there is ice cream. Then around 4:00 PM (which is really 9:00 PM for me), tea is served—sandwiches and a muffin. I have just water.
We land a few minutes after 5:00 PM and I make my way through immigration, baggage claim, and customs. It takes two minutes to go through immigration and two minutes to go through customs. It takes an hour to get my luggage. They have trolleys at Logan too and I load up my luggage for what is still not yet the last time today.
I make my way to Concord Trailways where they have buses to Portland every hour and get the next bus. At the Day’s Inn in Portland, the hotel guy helps me with my luggage. I call Mom and Dad, who happily agree to come get me in the morning. I watch a few minutes of news and fall asleep. It is 3:30 AM GMT.
I am home.
Jody’s UK Memories 