Heathrow | Diary of an Adventurous Retiree

Travelling alone has been an amazing experience. I am used to having a husband worrying about checking in luggage, boarding passes, time constraints and direction finding. He fusses and checks and makes sure I have everything and frets over me like a male version of a mother hen. It is I who always says – stop fussing – relax and have fun. But I’ve relied on him specially to find our way to unknown places because I have such a useless sense of direction and a devil may care attitude to where I am in space. So when I found myself having to find boarding gates etc all on my own I realised how lucky I’ve been having somebody else to do the concentrating for me. However, I am now quite proud of myself for coping on my own without getting lost! My baby brother tended to take on the role of fuss pot when he was with me and tore his hair out at my apparent lack of attention to my surroundings but when I was alone, I coped didn’t I! Thank you men in my life – I really do appreciate your concern and yes – it is easier having you guys showing me where North is. And now I shall return to depending on my fabulous husband for travel support because I missed him too much to do this alone again – well not for a long while anyway!

Nicholas fought the London traffic to get me to Heathrow before 7 p.m. on Friday night. Terminal Three was hugely busy and I hadn’t checked in online! But a pleasant young man helped us self check in and when that didn’t work disappeared for a few minutes with my passport before returning with my boarding pass – an aisle seat hooray! We were told that the plane was delayed due to a fuel spill on the tarmac and Nick and I were about have a meal together when I checked the board to see that I needed to go to the departure hall. A quick goodbye and I dashed off – Nick had already ordered but fortunately I hadn’t. Checking through security did not go well. My shoes caused me to bleep – they had a metallic strip or something – and I was thoroughly searched. Then my bags held too many small bottles of liquid and they combed through both my handbag and cabin bag with great thoroughness. I had to part with a bottle of perfume and a tube of liquid foundation! Be warned – put shampoos etc in the hold luggage. What I find strange is that I could buy more at the duty free shop which would be put into a sealed bag – why couldn’t they just put my own stuff in a sealed bag?

Once that was all sorted out, it was a very long walk to the boarding gate – I had absolutely no time to shop nor to claim back the tax on my purchases! Boarding was almost immediate and done systematically – first class, parents with children then section by section so there was no crush in the aisles. I was delighted to find that I had a vacant seat between me and two unaccompanied teenaged girls. One was returning from visiting her aunt and cousins in Toronto – she was exhausted from her long journey. The other was from Sydney, had been visiting a friend in London and was on her way to an exchange programme at Reddam House School. The flight was smooth and having that spare seat helped with leg room and I slept on an aeroplane for the first time in my life! Virgin Atlantic flights are great but the legroom is very limited. I don’t know how tall people manage!

I had two hours to transfer at Johannesburg and it took that long to get through customs, go to the loo, collect baggage, find domestic departures and get through security to my SAA flight! When I got to my seat I found it occupied by a young boy. It was clear that he was with his family so I guessed there was some mistake. I approached the air hostess and asked her to sort it out. He was in the wrong seat and his mom asked if I would mind swapping – of course I wouldn’t. I found myself seated with a German family – Mom, Dad and daughter. They live in Cape Town and were returning from visiting relatives back home. The little girl attends the German School and Mom is a teacher there so we had a lot in common and chatted happily during the second half of the trip. I slept for the first hour! Am I getting used to flying or what! It was an airbus and the legroom on SAA was way better than Virgin Atlantic.

I cannot describe how delighted I was to see my husband waiting for me at Arrivals. And to make it even better he announced, “Jay’s having a party tonight so we’re not going home!’ He whisked me off to city hotel for a romantic reunion undisturbed by a teenage birthday party! He is a Procard holder and had a Freebie due to him!

So here I am at Protea Hotel – Fire and Ice. We had a high quality meal with excellent service and freshly back from the UK and Europe I really appreciated how comparatively inexpensive it was! In addition the Procard gave us two mains for the price of one! When travelling overseas be prepared to pay double what we pay here in Cape Town to eat out. That is what I worked on and having had a meal here at home I find that I am spot on. The Fire and Ice is an interesting hotel with a sense of humour. Going to the loo left you with choices – The Outhouse or Stage Fright? + a few others whose titles I forget.