A 4:00 AM alarm was a rude awakening on Sunday morning but the blow was softened by the fact that we were due to drive down to Gatwick to meet our friends, Keith and Marlene Stillman flying in from Virginia. I checked the Gatwick arrivals site and found their flight was expected 40 minutes earlier than timetabled (7:00 AM) at 6:20 AM ; no problem, still had plenty of time. The journey was blissfully uneventful – so little traffic I could even use the cruise control – and we were parking at Gatwick about 6:00 AM.
The AA flight actually landed at 6:30 and we amused ourselves with a Costa espresso until 7:00 before sauntering off to the international arrivals exit. By 7:30 we were thinking life must be busy in the immigration hall. By 7:45 we were beginning to question having the correct day. However, a rather weary, hot and fed-up Keith and Marlene did eventually emerge at 7:50 and we finally loaded the car and ferried them to our house to begin their long-anticipated visit.
We were back home by 9:30 and the remainder of the day was largely reserved for recovery both for the home and away teams. We did, however, manage to shop for some food, and some idiot managed to BBQ a duck in the dark. It’s wonderful how a snooze, a drink and some food can make people begin to feel human again.
Leave a Reply