Boring Preamble
The Crew:
Paul (31 today), loves his gadgets, aka Young Man (!)
Louise (38), planner extraordinaire, aka Old Girl
Sunday, April 21st (Young mans birthday)
As it was Young Mans birthday, we were going to his parents for his birthday tea, obviously the fact they live in Crawley, a mere 10 minute or sos drive from Gatwick has nothing to do with it! Anyway, we had thankfully done most of the packing the night before, so we just had to chuck a few essentials in the case and get going. We took one hard case with a sports bag stowed inside for future purchases, and Young Man took his North Face rucksack stuffed with all his gadgets digital camera, this huge SLR camera with a massive lens, mini disc player, special headphones and other things that I cannot even begin to contemplate. I just took my Louis Vuitton rucksack (I will make no apologies for all the label name dropping!!) with a few essentials lipstick, mirror and comb. Before I met Paul, I used to wonder what people could possibly fill so much hand luggage with, well now I know!
As Young Man is a member of British Airways Executive Club, we were able to check in online 24 hours before the flight and choose our seats, so at precisely 1055, we logged on and checked Young Man in and chose his seat. There were a couple of good ones right at the front so we would have plenty of legroom. Unfortunately, my details didnt come up and I couldnt check in and we were worried that we wouldnt be able to sit together. Paul phoned the BA helpline and as I was not a member of the Exec Club that is why I didnt appear, even though we were travelling together, which seems a bit odd. However, the BA guy just told me to register online for the Exec Club and I would immediately be given a membership number that would allow me to check in too. Once we had both checked in online we were ready to hit the road.
We had booked Mia, our Oriental Havana cat (yes, I even have a designer pet!!) into a cattery in Crawley, so we bundled her into her carrying cage and loaded up the car. Apart from a short 2 minute trip to the vet, Mia hasnt been in a car for any distance since we got her at the end of October, and we have now discovered that she doesnt like car journeys! An Oriental is of the same breed type as a Siamese, and if you have an idea how vocal they are, then you can maybe imagine the incessant wailing that we had to put up with for the 1 hour and 15 minute trip that we had to endure. We hadnt had anything to eat and as it was only just gone 1pm, we knew that we wouldnt be able to last until Pauls parents had cooked dinner for about 6 pm, so we stopped in the services at the M3 and Paul went to Macdonalds to get what would be the first of very many burgers. I drew the short straw and was left in the car with the wailing banshee, I mean Mia, because we couldnt leave her in the car alone.
Burgers eaten dont really like Macdonalds but we were desperate, we carried on to Crawley. Pauls nan hasnt seen Mia yet, so we had to take her around to her house first, and once we got out of her cage (the cat, not Pauls Nan), she was the loveliest thing imaginable again, and was enjoying all the attention that Pauls nan was giving her. Shortly afterwards, we took her to the cattery, saw her settled in and went over to Pauls parents.
Pauls dad used to be a chef so we are always in for a treat when we go there. Pauls sister and nan came over too, and we had a lovely meal of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, veg and two different puddings to choose from. It would have been terribly rude of me not to try them both and I wouldnt like to offend his parents, so I begrudgingly did my duty and forced them down (the puddings, that is, not his parents!) I forgot to say, that I rarely drink and I had rather a large glass of wine with my meal, so I giggled a bit too, which Paul found highly amusing!
After dinner, Paul opened his cards and his parents, sister and nan had clubbed together and gave him US dollars for his birthday. He wanted to do the aerobatic flight in the WWII aeroplane at Warbird Adventures at Kissimmee Airport, so between them and me, we paid for him to do that for his birthday present, and I had booked it for Saturday 27th.
We were staying at his parents house that night, so retired for the night at about 10pm or so. Tomorrow is my birthday, so for a short time, Paul is 31 and I am still only 38 ooooh young man!!!
End of Boring Preamble!
The Crew:
Paul (31 today), loves his gadgets, aka Young Man (!)
Louise (38), planner extraordinaire, aka Old Girl
Sunday, April 21st (Young mans birthday)
As it was Young Mans birthday, we were going to his parents for his birthday tea, obviously the fact they live in Crawley, a mere 10 minute or sos drive from Gatwick has nothing to do with it! Anyway, we had thankfully done most of the packing the night before, so we just had to chuck a few essentials in the case and get going. We took one hard case with a sports bag stowed inside for future purchases, and Young Man took his North Face rucksack stuffed with all his gadgets digital camera, this huge SLR camera with a massive lens, mini disc player, special headphones and other things that I cannot even begin to contemplate. I just took my Louis Vuitton rucksack (I will make no apologies for all the label name dropping!!) with a few essentials lipstick, mirror and comb. Before I met Paul, I used to wonder what people could possibly fill so much hand luggage with, well now I know!
As Young Man is a member of British Airways Executive Club, we were able to check in online 24 hours before the flight and choose our seats, so at precisely 1055, we logged on and checked Young Man in and chose his seat. There were a couple of good ones right at the front so we would have plenty of legroom. Unfortunately, my details didnt come up and I couldnt check in and we were worried that we wouldnt be able to sit together. Paul phoned the BA helpline and as I was not a member of the Exec Club that is why I didnt appear, even though we were travelling together, which seems a bit odd. However, the BA guy just told me to register online for the Exec Club and I would immediately be given a membership number that would allow me to check in too. Once we had both checked in online we were ready to hit the road.
We had booked Mia, our Oriental Havana cat (yes, I even have a designer pet!!) into a cattery in Crawley, so we bundled her into her carrying cage and loaded up the car. Apart from a short 2 minute trip to the vet, Mia hasnt been in a car for any distance since we got her at the end of October, and we have now discovered that she doesnt like car journeys! An Oriental is of the same breed type as a Siamese, and if you have an idea how vocal they are, then you can maybe imagine the incessant wailing that we had to put up with for the 1 hour and 15 minute trip that we had to endure. We hadnt had anything to eat and as it was only just gone 1pm, we knew that we wouldnt be able to last until Pauls parents had cooked dinner for about 6 pm, so we stopped in the services at the M3 and Paul went to Macdonalds to get what would be the first of very many burgers. I drew the short straw and was left in the car with the wailing banshee, I mean Mia, because we couldnt leave her in the car alone.
Burgers eaten dont really like Macdonalds but we were desperate, we carried on to Crawley. Pauls nan hasnt seen Mia yet, so we had to take her around to her house first, and once we got out of her cage (the cat, not Pauls Nan), she was the loveliest thing imaginable again, and was enjoying all the attention that Pauls nan was giving her. Shortly afterwards, we took her to the cattery, saw her settled in and went over to Pauls parents.
Pauls dad used to be a chef so we are always in for a treat when we go there. Pauls sister and nan came over too, and we had a lovely meal of roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, veg and two different puddings to choose from. It would have been terribly rude of me not to try them both and I wouldnt like to offend his parents, so I begrudgingly did my duty and forced them down (the puddings, that is, not his parents!) I forgot to say, that I rarely drink and I had rather a large glass of wine with my meal, so I giggled a bit too, which Paul found highly amusing!
After dinner, Paul opened his cards and his parents, sister and nan had clubbed together and gave him US dollars for his birthday. He wanted to do the aerobatic flight in the WWII aeroplane at Warbird Adventures at Kissimmee Airport, so between them and me, we paid for him to do that for his birthday present, and I had booked it for Saturday 27th.
We were staying at his parents house that night, so retired for the night at about 10pm or so. Tomorrow is my birthday, so for a short time, Paul is 31 and I am still only 38 ooooh young man!!!
End of Boring Preamble!
