Wednesday 10th July 2019

I usually fly home in the mornings.

This is because evening flights arrive in London during rush hour, so overcrowded trains, standing all the way, and all this at the end of a working day which means at least 14 hours work and travel, and getting back home at after nine.

It, frankly, tires me out.

But in the summer the twice daily flights are at first reduced to one and then cancelled through the six weeks of peak summer holiday season.

So it is, I am booked on the evening flight back home after my ten days away.

I awake at quarter to six, feeling still tired, but what the heck, I'm going home.

So, I get up, shower, get dressed and pack. The pack the things I had forgotten. Go down to check out, and am presented with about a dozen pages of bills and receipts, which amount to over 10,000 DKK. I pay with the company credit card, the bundle of receipts too bulky to go in my wallet, so I pack them in my work bag before going to breakfast.

Then to drive to work, grab the desk by the window meaning that I got a cooling breeze once it was opened, as now I am leaving the country, summer is returning to Denmark.

Meetings, mails and the usual. And being a Wednesday is is cake day, then there are Danish Pastries (of course) the size of dinner plates for each of us, meaning lunch will not be required.

At half two, I am done for the day, so say goodbye to my friends and colleagues, I have conversations as I try to leave, but as always some leave that time to tell you a very long and rambling story.

I edge closer to the door. They get the message.

And I am off.

It is just a 45 minute drive to Billund, heading north up the almost straight route 30. The flower-rich verge had been cut all the way up the road, much to my disappointment. Why do people feel the need to do this, when its not a safety issue?

Anyway, I reach the airport, park the car and drop the keys off, check my bag in and get through security.

I call Philip who is in the business lounge, as he can sign me in, and I fancy a glass of wine before I fly. He meets me at the desk and shows his silver membership card and I am let in too.

Yay.

I have a couple of glasses of Fanta, then a glass of wine.

And some doritos.

And another glass of wine.

And some more doritos.

And another wine.

The day was panning out just as I planned.

I had another glass of wine to celebrate.

I was not going to drive when I got back home. I decided.

Time to walk to the gate for the flight, so I drifted out of the lounge, down to immigration and to the gate, arriving just as boarding began.

I walk to the plane, take my usual seat, 8A, and soon fall asleep once we had taken up. And now that summer has arrived in northern Europe, the flight was smooth, so I snoozed on, missing dinner.

I wake up with the plane in a holding pattern above Thanet. I recognise the road to Ramsgate which I used to travel to the office every day, many years ago now. Then we turn west and drop down as we fly along the north Kent coast then along the Thames to the airport.

I had thought maybe Jools was going to meet me off the flight, but she was still home, waiting for news when to collect me from Ashford, if I could not get a direct train to Dover.

Evening arrivals mean not being the only arrivals, so we have to queue for quarter of an hour to set through immigration, then collect my case and walk to the DLR.

I had missed a train to Ashford, so the next one would go to Dover. I called Jools to meet me at Priory station, she said she would collect dinner on the way.

As it is holiday season, trains are not so full at this time of the day. I stood on the DLR, but on the train to Dover, I got a seat, so closed my eyes as the train entered the tunnel under east London.

It was getting dark when I got off the train at twenty to nine, the end of another fine summer day Jools tells me.

She had bought a pizza and some cheese sticks from Tesco, which we feat on sitting out on the patio once home.

It is good to be back, but the cats are indifferent to the point of ignoring me.

Welcome home.