This might surprise people considering how often I’ve done it. I don’t actually like long distance flying. It’s not a fear thing or cabin fever. It’s not other passengers who’ve hit the booze too hard (as almost happened on my trip out) or screeming babies (as happened on my flight back). It’s the fact I just can’t sleep on planes, which can make me grumpy, and this flight was just typical. I did try to sleep, even spent an hour trying to relax to soft music (Brian Eno’s Music for Airports 1), but all that happened was I got a sore shoulder and felt even more tired. Still aside from the lack of sleep and the crying/screaming kid (who quietened down after about half an hour then only became a nightmare over short periods towards the end) it was a pretty uneventful trip. Still could have been worse. Was sitting next to a girl who works for DFID. She’d come from Vietnam (though with a 2 day stop over in HK on the way back, not the way there) and was heading back to her present base, Sierra Leone via Heathrow.. Continue reading
Back in the UK
23 Wednesday Apr 2014