One of 4 pics I took. I am sad.

It’s travel-related and I don’t want this blog to stagnate, so just to let you all know I do still get around a bit! Helen very kindly invited me down to London for the weekend and I managed to get a return for under £80 by air. Around the same price as the train with a much shorter travel time.

The flight down was with BMI who have a wonderful paperless system. Check in online and they SMS you a 2D barcode which is then scanned as your boarding pass. Only in my case it didn’t scan so I had to run downstairs again and pick up a paper one. Ah well. Nice idea in principle.

All on time and then just along the Picadilly Line to meet Helen, and grab a few drinks. As ever, I was pooched so it wasn’t a late night.

Saturday was spent in the city before we headed back to Helen’s in the evening where we had some friends round. More beers and then I was antisocial and crept off to bed early. I honestly think this teaching lark is taking a lot out of me!

Om nom nom

On Sunday morning I was up moderately early (I woke at 7:30 both mornings, but realised it wasn’t a school day so could lie in!) and did some coursework while Helen caught up on sleep. Andy met us for lunch in the afternoon where we each enjoyed a traditional Sunday roast (with slightly underdone vegetables) before I legged it back to Heathrow for my return flight.

Despite checking in online I still had to get a boarding pass as British Airways don’t offer the paperless option. The machines refused to give me one as check-in had closed, despite the fact that I was checked in and just needed my boarding card! With 4 minutes to spare, I bounded through security (without shoes on – in case I was carrying a nuclear device in my knackered trainers, I guess) and then waited for my slightly delayed flight.

Free newspapers were grabbed as a drink and snacks downed. Not bad for a fiver – the actual cost of the flight before taxes were added!

And then back to one of my temporary abodes where I fretted over Monday’s lesson plans. A short break, but an enjoyable one. Thank you so much Helen for your hospitality and to Andy for lunch!

The Quick weekend in London by Iain Purdie, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.