Getting home and wrapping up
We were greeted by the news at check-in that our Qantas flight to Dubai was delayed by some 5 hours. This meant we had at least 30 hours before us until we reached the comfort of our home. Sitting in the soulless executive lounge of Qantas we reviewed the last month. The cricketing fraternity felt let down by a sterile defence of the Ashes and were questioning whether Sri Lanka in October/November would be worth it given England have not won outside England (or lost domestically) since 2012.
Nancy felt the the lack of organiser was crucial.
Such a person checking the flights and being aware of the delay earlier could have allowed us to see Sydney not an executive lounge. One poor lady in our group of nervous disposition got to the airport even earlier so she was looking at 40 hours-plus before reaching home.
Daffers and Algy were complimentary of the food and wine.
We might start a Rust debate here on travel to distant foreign parts. I’m getting bit old now for long haul, queues at airports, travelling in a compressed tube, adjusting the body clock, potential illness, not to mention the expense, but these are short term grievances and there is the buzz of seeing a new country, reconnecting with family and friends, avoiding Xmas and breaking up the English winter for warmer climes, not 47 degrees though!
The fireworks on New Years Eve at Sydney Harbour, reconnecting with my family at the Icebergs restaurant overlooking Bondi beach, the weekend at Hawke’s Bay, the wine trip to the Hunter Valley and the atmosphere of the MCG were more durable memories than the short term stress.
Having travelled through 11 time zones and missed out on Tuesday because of the international date line, I arrived back at 1.30 pm yesterday not as exhausted as I thought I would.
It’s always pleasant to find someone to chat to on long flights and I was sitting next to the father of George Garton, the speedster playing for the young English cricket team the Lions.
Duggie explained that he has raw pace, is but twenty but his pathway is blocked by the likes of Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson, Mark Wood, Jake Ball, Craig Overton, Tim Curran, Steve Finn and his Sussex team mate Jefra Archer who will be eligible in 2 years time.
He was saying his son was abused three times when it was noticed by bystanders that he was running in shorts with the Union Jack. This chauvinistic bile was one of the worst aspects of the Aussies.
