And so I am, called over here for a meeting that could have been conducted over the communicator, just as I thought. And the cost of me travelling over to the company runs into something close to four figures. And makes be tired and irritable. Go figure.
But, in a change to the norm, I did not fly out on the morning flight, but on the evening one instead, which meant working from home until three at which point Jools came home to take me to the station. Not much to report about the day, other than the cats seemed pleased I was at home, but complained all the time about the old food in their bowls.
The trip to Denmark promised to be interesting, and snow had been forecast from Monday night and all day Tuesday so, not quite sure what to expect when I got to Billund or even if the flight would be running. So, after checking the departures all day, I set off with Jools at three, got my ticket and waited for the Javelin to pull in, get in my seat and stare at the seagulls trying to open a bag of crisps on the platform. If they manage this task, then the human race is doomed.
We headed off into dark clouds and increasingly heavy rain, hail hammered down on the roof of the train, but we did not slow down. I got out at Stratford and made my way to the DLR as usual, and onto LCY. The train was a little more crowded than usual, but not much. Anyway, at the airport there were no queues at all, so got my boarding card, dropped my bad and was through security in less than ten minutes. I had a bite to eat in Rhubarb, not rhubarb, but a small bowl of chilli and a beer, before sitting down to wait for the call to board.
About a quarter of an hour late, we were called and we made our way to the end of the terminal, showed our tickets and were allowed on the plane. After waiting in line to take off, we headed off into the rain and the night, soon high above the clouds with fair England lost to sight below.
As Denmark loomed into view through the clouds, snow on the ground could not be seen as it was just too dark. But, we were flying through some as the landing lights picked out each flake as it zoomed towards the propeller. As we landed, we could see the snow being blown around, but not much was laying. Outside the plane, it was mighty cold, or at least felt it, and so I half-ran to the terminal and baggage reclaim.
The car hire people gave me a BMW 520i this week; a beast of a car, but OK to drive and one with plenty of horses to uses. As I drove along the road, I could see some snow, but thought little of it, until we came to a series of low rolling hills, and the summit of each was a drift, and the drift went across the road, and you were driving on black ice instead of road. So, I slow down when I see the drifts and in this was make it safe to the motorway and on to the hotel.
I check in at a quarter to midnight, no food on offer except the imbiss on the main street. In the mini bar I have a small tube of pringles and a diet Coke, then try to get some sleep as I was due in work in some seven hours. Such is the life of an international playboy and quality expert….
Wednesday.
And so the snow began to fall at some point during the night, and this morning there was a covering of white powder everywhere. It looked mighty purdy for sure. And now at two in the afternoon, the snow has fallen for the best part of eight hours by still is only really produced a covering. However, the forecast is for heavier falls during the evening, which will be nice.
I left work yesterday just after four, as my rock and roll lifestyle really had be drained. In fact arriving in Esbjerg at half eleven on Monday night and then being up at half six meant I did not get enough sleep. So, I stood myself down so I could go back to the hotel and mess around more on the computer(!)
In fact I put the Radcliffe and Maconie show on and lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. And why not. At 6 I went out to find a place to eat, and ended up trying the Dronning Louise only to find a couple of tables empty, so I take one and wait for my order to be taken. Now, I had seen what Heidi had last week, namely a very fine spicy chicken salad in a huge fried taco, and I thought that would do just fine. But when my order was taken my mouth said chilli burger and more beer, please.
So, that’s what I had. And while I waited for the meal to arrive I tried to read a magazine, but it was a little too dark, so I did some people watching. The burger came, and instead of fries it had nachos, which was fine by me. I had a second beer at the end, and just chilled out, it was very nice I have to say.
The beer had the desired effect, and once back in the hotel, I grabbed a shower and went to bed. And so ended another day in paradise.
Thursday
And up in the sky a burning ball of gas can be seen, and it is in a clear blue sky. And being officially the second day of spring one would hope that it would be a darn sight warmer than it is here in snowy Denmark. Last night we got another inch of the white stuff, which made the 5 minute commute into the office interesting, especially as the ice on the window meant I could not reach the keypad at the entrance to the port. So I had to pull over and scrape more ice off the window before it would open.
It sure looks purdy out there, but in a what hell Mother Nature! It’s the end of freaking March and we should have blossom on the trees and be able to walk around with just a few layers of clothes rather than dressed like Captain Scott as it seems we have to right now. Even the Danes are fed up with it, and the forecast is for at least another week of the same for all of Western Europe.
Oh well.
Last night after work, I walked to the Mongolian buffet place. I found it with no problem, but I checked beforehand that I could pay with the company credit card, and found that they only accepted Danish cards; so no food there. As it was mighty cold, and I was pretty hungry, and the Dronning Louise was full, I went back to the hotel for steak. It really has the atmosphere of a business hotel, with people sitting alone reading papers or looking at their laptops. I people watched until the food arrived, polished that off and headed up to my room to listen to Radio 4 and news of the Budget in the UK and the banking crisis in Cyprus.
That done, one last look outside at the snow falling, I went to bed at a sensible time as there was no football to watch. And so passed another day spent living the dream…….
And so Friday finally comes around, and in six hours I can pack the car and head to the airport on the first leg of the journey home. It is a cold, but clear morning with the sun shining low in the east; but, it has managed to snow again this morning, just to let us know, if the temperature of minus 5 hadn’t, that winter still has not left the building. I am just lloking forward to being home and seeing lots of green as up here it is just white and frost everywhere..
Yesterday, I got the first feeling that things are careering out of control, things going off in all directions and trying to keep a handle on it all is getting increasingly difficult. So, the task this morning is to resemble someone in control, even if under the surface all hell is breaking loose.
Last night, after work, the plan was to meet up with a couple of the guys and head to the Irish bar. But, they did not turn up on time so I headed there on my own only to find ‘the librarian’ was there playing darts on his own. Should he have access to sharp things? As expected, he headed over to chat to me, or rather talk at me for a while whilst I made the beer disappear. In the end I had to go to find somewhere to eat. Dronning Louise was full so I made my way to the Underground for a burger. And more beer.
And that was that, another day in Denmark done.
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