Mine was great, thanks for asking. Despite taking a slightly different route to our London office, a route which would normally have seen me use the underground for a few stops, I had a really good day yesterday (Tuesday).
My normal route would entail an 0400 start from close to Edinburgh to catch the 0615 easyJet to Luton. From there, I would take the free shuttle bus to Luton Airport Parkway, where I would catch a Thameslink train to London Kings Cross. At Kings Cross, I would then walk the remainder of the journey to Southampton Row, just south of Russell Square. The return trip would see me perform the reverse for the 2055 return flight to Edinburgh – it’s a long day, made worse by overcrowding on the Thameslink. But, since train companies don’t understand overcrowding and safety, it’s not worth further discussion. Normally it’s a fairly cheap route too, which is an attraction.
Today, I decided to take the second flight of the day to Gatwick. And I chose British Airways. So, there was a little bit more cost involved – but, since I couldn’t get a cheap easyJet flight I figured the same trip by BA was worth it. It meant that I didn’t get out of bed at 0400 (I could check-in online, for free) and I got a breakfast included, which, coupled with the later start, makes a huge difference. Even with a 50-minute walk involved, I still arrived at the office more refreshed than I normally would.
I enjoyed a lovely walk from Victoria to Southampton Row, taking in some sights on the way:
Buckingham Palace
Admiralty Arch
Nelson’s Column
Big Ben
St.James Park
[Note to boss: I spent only 5 minutes “off track” taking these]
I did pass Downing Street, but was so disappointed with it, I didn’t grab a photograph. Was I disappointed with Downing Street itself or this government, I leave that to you, dear reader, to decide.
Clearing the security at Gatwick airport was painless. I am pleased to see that they’ve move the “shoe scanning” process to post-security – speeds things up a lot – good move, well done BAA, or whomever. Some klotz chose to leave his/her Blackberry in one of those small black trays they make you use; they’ll miss their e-mail addiction real soon and will return to collect it, you can be sure of that. “Hey, I haven’t received an e-mail beep/ping in 5 minutes, where’ my crackberry?”
And here I am, at Gatwick airport, it’s 2015, I have a pint, I’m blogging (using Windows Live Writer, was else would I use?), waiting for my gate to be announced on the overhead screen. I’m sat down, not milling about like the clowns in my earlier post. I’ll get fed on the flight home, which is also good, although I might give in to temptation and have a “chippie”, we’ll see.
Uh oh, that’s the pint finished, what now? Save this post and head for the gate I guess? No, it’s not announced yet. Please wait. No not you, me, I’m waiting. I’m relaxing. Enjoying the music, wondering when my gate will be announced. Lordy, that Geordie in front of me in getting on my wick. He reminds me so much of my three years in Newcastle, it’s uncanny, man.
Gate 55. Hurrah. More later.
<time passes />
So, we’re airborne, the flight is very empty, but despite that I’m sat with two traveling elderly companions. We are free to move to other seats (after take off), however I can’t be bothered – using this Dell D810 in an aircraft is an exercise, so I probably won’t write much. Humbug, no tomato juice. Black tea for me. Nice salmon and chicken sandwich affair for food; chippie still very much on the cards, Note to self: get a smaller laptop for travel, large screen format isn’t really conducive to writing.
All in all, a good day, a lot was accomplished, including a couple of blog posts that I wouldn’t normally have written. With more Tube strikes planned for next week, expect to read about my travels to Mix07 (also via Gatwick, but using easyJet)
Technorati Tags: London, British Airways, Gatwick, security, Blackberry, Buckingham Palace, Admiralty Arch, Nelson’s Column, Big Ben, Dell, D810, large format laptop, MIX07