Tuesday 15 March 2011

"Go again, Sir?"

As the immortal words above, allegedly from a battered sergeant of The Light Brigade just after the charge, spring to mind, I've booked another week at our friends appartment on the Cosa del Nostra a couple of weeks hence.

This time I won't check in online, won't book a parking place at the airport, won't book a rental car, won't take out the airline's recommended insurance, won't take any luggage, won't take any Euro's, won't shower, shit or shave, won't use the lavvy on the plane (I'll bring an empty clear plastic bottle - I think they'll allow that on board but as a back-up I'll be wearing incontinence pants), won't buy an `entertainment accessory` (cheapo naff earphones in a sealed plastic bag that, for £5, allow you to hear a tinny, scratchy drumming in your head as opposed to the engines and screaming kids) won't pre-book the pre-cooked pre-food in-flight meal, won't pre-book our seats (someone else can pay for the privilege of sitting next to this miserable git) and won't listen to the news about the forthcoming Spanish air traffic control and other public sector strikes planned for Easter and beyond into the summer, just in case they realise I'm going earlier in order to miss them and decide to bring their action forward for the sole purpose of catching me in their net of misery. My back up plan is that we'll dust off the hitherto ne'er do well and rarely used credit card and go to Naples, Florida in May. But knowing our current run of `luck` I expect that just after we unpack our hawaiian shirts, we'll be told that "Hurricane Bastard" is making it's way across the Gulf.
Plan C is that we get out the Harley and fucking ride there.

10 comments:

Conan the Librarian™ said...

Plan C has it's merits.

Hogdayafternoon said...

Conan: 2 guaranteed window seats, you can keep a close eye on the captain and can stop at Costa Coffee - and once you get to La Belle France the roads are half empty, the people more friendly and even the service areas serve good grub....what am I doing here?

Old BE said...

If it's any consolation I have a flight to Japan booked...

Hogdayafternoon said...

Ah

TonyF said...

The Harley has more pluses than the airline.


BTW, if you have to fly, always get a seat at the rear of the plane. This is because aeroplanes rarely reverse into mountains...

anon said...

"Once more into the breach, ... ...." ;->

Of course "fucking ride there" sounds really great too. Either way, good luck and safe travels to the Hogdays!

Bon voyage!

Stressed Out Cop said...

Mate - Been there and got the Florida Tee Shirt

Hurricane Wilma meant no Naples holiday for me and transferred to Port Charlotte instead. Boring !!

My one day overnight trip to South Beach (pre-booked) found us in the only district with power - Miami was a mess.

Everybody there coped somewhat better than if something similar happened here.

Hogdayafternoon said...

TonyF: Thanks for the advice re seats :) I usually plump for where the wings are!

Powdergirl: Somehow when I'm on the old Harley, everything seems to have the `F` word attached to it ;)

SOC: Deja Vu, We were in Naples when Wilma approached. We were told about it in the Coffee Shop in Old Naples on our first morning, Couildn't bloody believe it as we'd just dodged one the previous week that had flattened Fort Myers and put the National Guard across the entrance to Sanibel. We took no chance and cut our stay by 3 days and left our condo to a well deserving family evacuating from Miami. Buggeration.

JuliaM said...

Yes, plan C would seem to be sensible.

Hogdayafternoon said...

JuliaM: Thanks for the link. Don't know how I missed him. There are a few familiar names on his blogroll too.