The flight wasn't as bad as it might have been although it started badly with a 2 hour delay – the captain said the plane was overweight, which was not comforting news to a worrier like myself, and as they wouldn’t let the crew jettison any cargo, it was decided to take some fuel off. Er, actually I thought it might be needed seeing as how we were flying halfway across the world.
Well, we were obliged to stay on the stationary plane throughout this palaver so the monkey did laps of the cabin and tried to engage people into conversation. At one point I overheard the captain on his mobile saying they hadn't got a bowser yet to unload fuel so I retired to my seat for Big Man's turn to chase her around the joint. All this with a toddler approaching two years of age in a frantic state. They got the bowser finally and we heard noises that sounded productive but it was then announced they couldn't remove the fuel after all so we were going to park near the runway til they'd burned off 700 kg. Hmm, not a very ecologically friendly beginning. Perhaps we were partly to blame with 140 kg of luggage and post-Christmas waistlines! As it was at check-in we had been forced to surrender one trunk to freight for following on, owing to the fact that we had exceeded our already extended allowance. The plane was also busier than I had been led to expect as a lot of people were coming back after the holiday period.
The plane was a Boeing 767 with a large moon and stars painted on it, which pleased the monkster. It had a 2 – 3 – 2 seat configuration so pretty typical. No frills is an understatement, although there was nothing actually deficient about it. Things that niggled were the only child on the plane being fed last - not helpful when said child is already fidgeting, no hot towels, one very moody stewardess and not a lot of beverages or snacks (definitely no alcohol). And no chocolate. Enough said I think.
Eventually we became airborne and the monkey relaxed into sleep. Phew. That bought us one hour out of sixteen. When she woke we had num nums which bought us another forty minutes. That’s certainly how it felt at the time. She had fortunately been allocated her own seat between us with a booster which was most welcome although as she was under 2 years of age she wasn’t permitted to sit in it for take-off (had to sit with extension belt on my lap) and definitely wouldn’t want to sleep in it. Happily we were located directly behind the bulkhead so we had ample legroom and some floor space. The next spell of time was spent undertaking cabin laps, colouring and stickers and watching Fifi episodes on the ipod.
We had a panini for supper and stopped at Ascension Island after sunset. The airport terminal was a small, humid compound somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with a few wildlife posters scattered on the walls. I was enlightened to read about Ascension being one of several UK territories in the region, including St Helena with its famous plover. The break was most welcome, giving the chance to stretch legs/eat snacks/chain smoke cigars/run amok, depending on your preference. For a small donation to charity, the official put a stamp in our passports but apart from sampling the warmth (25 degrees Celsuis) and moderate humidity, the darkness precluded us actually seeing any of the place so I’m not sure we earned those stamps. On the plus side there was a baby change room with Winnie the Pooh motifs on the walls, which tickled the monkey no end. Looking back perhaps she was starting to take entertainment where she could find it, which hopefully bodes well given the circumstances.
We had a panini for supper and stopped at Ascension Island after sunset. The airport terminal was a small, humid compound somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with a few wildlife posters scattered on the walls. I was enlightened to read about Ascension being one of several UK territories in the region, including St Helena with its famous plover. The break was most welcome, giving the chance to stretch legs/eat snacks/chain smoke cigars/run amok, depending on your preference. For a small donation to charity, the official put a stamp in our passports but apart from sampling the warmth (25 degrees Celsuis) and moderate humidity, the darkness precluded us actually seeing any of the place so I’m not sure we earned those stamps. On the plus side there was a baby change room with Winnie the Pooh motifs on the walls, which tickled the monkey no end. Looking back perhaps she was starting to take entertainment where she could find it, which hopefully bodes well given the circumstances.
Once back on board we had another panini supper and mainly slept the rest of the flight, dodging in and out of time zones and ultimately taking 30 minutes less than scheduled in order to confuse me no end about the current time and our expected arrival time. Overall we were one hour later than expected. Our landing was bumpy but not too bad.
As we climbed down from the aircraft the first impressions were of darkness, cool driving wind and rain and a moist peaty smell.
