upside down journey

the journey home was an interesting one. one for which i had certain pre-conceptions based on prior experiences with the airline (and long journeys back to scotland.)

i presumed i would have reasonable amounts of legroom, great food, customer service that would leave a little to be desired but that i'd be in a chemically induced coma most of the way so it wouldn't matter.

the legroom was good, food left a little to be desired and the sleeping tablets just made me groggy. the customer service, however, left me a little lost for words.

so i arrived at jfk, bee-lining for the self checkout machines where i was met by an older gentleman (we'll call him pierre.) he threw me off kilter as soon as he greeted me. no hello, just - wow, what a beautiful smile!

(nb. i always smile at people in airports - one; because i love airports, and two; because i apparently smile a lot anyway without realising it.)

needless to say, i was a little shocked. he wasn't being sleazy, but i didn't know what to say to that. instead of voicing the incredulity from my head, i decided to be gracious and say thanks. i was a little flattered.

so i'll fast forward through being fast tracked through check in (compliments of the broken check-in machine and pierre) and the lady at check in being ridiculously helpful, past the banter with the uncharacteristically cheerful security guards, to the gate waiting area.

enter pierre. he was doing a pre-boarding check of hand luggage and recognised me. ah, smiley! my handluggage was pushing the limits (which i knew) and it normally wouldn't have been an issue, but it was a very full flight so strictness ensued. pierre instructed me to go see him after the boarding passes were checked. so i did.

lo and behold, it was too big and would have to go in the hold for the duration. (pierre is very apologetic, i made it clear i understood, it'sa risk of flyin one must accept.) as someone who had planned for any eventuality, i was totally prepared. laptop, hardrives, photography equipment, all were specifically packed so that if by some freak coincidence (like today) something should go wrong,they could be easily carried separately, without holding up the entire flight, and wouldn't have to go in the hold. these things happen and i couldn't risk the damage.

as i'm extracting the padded shell with photography equipment in it, pierre stops me. you're a photographer? i say yes to which he replies 'no, no, no, this will not do, i understand, that cannot go in the hold' (which it wasn't going to,but i wasn't about to explain my master plan b) 'i have so much respect for your profession, just take it all on.'

i was stunned. what do you say? that never happens! and he stuck a sticker on it so that the boarding people on the next flight wouldn't question me. how cool is that!?

best customer service ever!

so i get to paris. i'm the walking dead. find a place selling proper put-hairs-on-your-chest european coffee (so good) find a quiet wee comfy seated area in the airport and (along with about five other people dotted around the quiet airport with the same idea) have a wee nap. (so good)

i get onto the bus to take us to our plane (a group of middle aged male oilworkers and me) when the guy standing next to me states that aberdeen airport has been closed and there are severe weather warnings over the city. bum.

it was such a british moment, something i hadn't seen in months. at this announcement a dialogue began (partly from me, in shock asking all then when where how questions - images of being stuck on a bus from glasgow with these guys adding another half a day to the journey) amongst the people on the bus. it continued all the way onto the plane, mostly with this one guy, spurring us on (in a very british tongue in cheek way) with 'remember, no negative thoughts on this plane! think positive!'

apparently, we were the only ones aware of the fact that the airport had closed as we took off with not a mention from the pilot of landing elsewhere. i slept most of the way, but the view was stunning. the air was so cloud free that all you could see was a sea of white covering the country. hills and fields,then mountains, black green lines illustrated onto the clean canvas.

then all of a sudden, aberdeen and clouds. we were one of the first planes to land there after the place had been shut to let ploughs and gritters clear the runways that were thick with snow.

on booking the journey i had tried to avoid heathrow (i always get delayed there) and alas it turned out to my advantage. most flights from london were being cancelled.

i arrived, met my dad and went (the journey taking four times as long as usual because of the snow induced traffic mayhem) back to my folks house for the week.

i miss new york but it was nice to be back.