Monday 14th October 2024

Monday morning. And I'm on the road.

Again.

Or to be more accurate, I'm on the train, then the plane, then on the road.

But where, Precious, is we going?

We shall see.

I slept poorly Sunday night, so much so that I lay awake for the last hour before the alarm went off at four.

Up then, get dressed, have coffee and, with a sigh, load up the car so Jools could drop me off so I could catch the first high speed train to London, as my flight was at 09:05, and I had be be there two hours before.

Needless to say it was still dark when we left, and quiet on the roads ito town, Jools dropped me off outside the station, I grabbed my case and went inside to buy my ticket, then take a seat on the platform to wait for the train.

I took my rucksack off and placed it beside the case.

The train arrived early, and I took my case onto the train, got a seat and relaxed. Checked mails. Relaxed more.

I then looked for by bag.

It wasn't beside me.

It wasn't in the rack above.

It wasn't beside the case.

It wasn't beside the seat I had left a few minutes earlier.

It had my passport and both laptops in it.

I grabbed the case and went into the ticket hall, I asked about my bag. Go to the station supervisor's office, she said.

I had two minutes before the train left, the only one that would get to me to the airport in time.

I found the door, knocked and went in. And there on a filing cabinet was the bag.

I grabbed it, explained my passport was in it, they smiled and said OK, so I walked back onto the train, taking the same seat I left.

I was hot and bothered, heart rate going ten to the dozen.

Bugger that.

And that was it. I snoozed all the way to to Stratford, the train filled up so there was only standing room.

Off at Stratford, and a quick walk to the DLR, I had just missed a train so had to wait nine whole minutes.

Train arrived, I got on, then twenty minutes rattle along through Stratford, West Ham and Canning Town to the airport.

Off the train, down the steps, into the departure hall, check the bag on the scales, up to security, a two minute wait, bags scanned and through.

So quick that I was sat down in the restaurant at half seven, with 90 minutes before the flight, time for the most leisurely of breakfasts.

Granola, yogurt, coffee, toast, jam and tea. A two course feat with took a good forty minutes, so that the gate had been announced, so I could amble down to gate 5, and join the waiting throng.

Our flight to Dublin was called, and there was the usual rush of people with carry on bags to be first on board to get overhead space. We had been warned that the flight was full, and some would have to check their bags in.

I was one of the last on board, found someone in my window seat, but I couldn't be bothered, and just sat by the aisle, I intended to doze o the short flight over anyways.

Once full, doors locked and we taxied about three plane lengths to the thresh-hold, waited for the all clear, onto the piano keys, engines roared and off we went, into the leaden and rain-filled skies, until we emerged several thousand feet higher into bright sunshine.

An hour later we landed in Dublin, and taxied pretty much all the way round terminal 2 to our gate, then waited to exit from the front.

Onto a bus, then round the final bit of terminal we had not been round, and into the building, up two sets of steps to immigration, where there were the e-gates for Irish, EU and UK citizens.

Through that, a short wait at baggage reclaim, my case arrives, so I take it and me to the car hire place where I was given a Toyota automatic hybrid thing.

Its OK.

But has no USB port to charge my phone in. In 2024, how is that even still a thing?

So, I programmed the destination into my phone, and it directed me out onto the roads outside, round two roundabouts and onto the motorway that would, in time, tame me south and west.

Traffic soon thinned, and I was treated to a fine drive in the autumnal sunshine through Kildare on my back to the Horse and Jockey.

I stopped, mainly to try to buy an 12v adaptor for the phone, I failed in that, but did buy a baguette and bottle of pop for lunch. I sat down to eat and people watch, where even here life was at a slightly slower pace, with people more likely to buy a plated meal than burger and fries in a box.

Which is nice.

I was running out of power on the phone, so had to press on to get to the hotel before the battery ran out, but in the end, Horse and Jockey appeared on the road signs, so I wasn't going to miss it.

I made it before the phone died, a little before two. I asked at reception if I could check in early due to lack of sleep, and thankfully they had a room.

I went up, put on a podcast and slept for two and a half hours, waking after half four, and feeling little better, though the snooze had done me good.

At half six, I went down to the bar for dinner, hoping to meet colleagues, but both were delayed. So I dined alone, feasting on fish and chips followed by a cheese board, downing three pints of Guinness on the way.. I was going to stop at two, but the bar maid said it was pouring so well, it'd be a shame not to have another.

Hard to argue with that logic, so a third was ordered and delivered.