Friday 16 January 2015

Twilight zone

Don't you just love airports?  The excitement of travel - you've built up to it, planned the holiday, thought about where you're going, got your foreign money (which always feels like the toy money you played with when you were a child);  you've told all your friends, you've daydreamed about it, you're packed and ready to go.  One more day and you'll be at the airport, ready to fly.

Virgin Atlantic has an evening check-in at Gatwick airport.  You can check in your luggage and collect your boarding pass to escape any hassle on the following morning.  We've always used that facility.   Until this time.  This time, with only hand laugh age, I thought I'd check us in online.  It's so simple.  Forms to complete.  It went swimmingly.  Finish and press 'enter' and wait....   .......

"We are sorry, but we cannot check you at this time.    Perhaps your visa is out of date."  

You know how it is when you can't find something?  You look in the same place over and over even though you know it's not there.  Well, I checked our visas.    Seven times.  They are in date.  Even after looking seven times, they are still in date.  

When I phoned Virgin, the very nice lady (interestingly from my home town of Swansea) could only say that we would have to check in at the airport in the morning and to be there before ten o'clock.   Well, let's get priorities right here.  It was impossible.  I had a hair appointment at nine!  So, we had to go to the airport for the twilight check-in.  I checked my computer again, only to find that I had been checked in but that John hadn't and was being security-checked!  Now, those who know me know that I am a worrier.   I ponder things.  I imagine things.  I work out how I'd behave in different scenarios.  Suffice to say that by the time we had parked the car at the airport I had convinced myself that John would be arrested and I'd be flying alone.  

Needless to say everything don't smoothly.  John was safe.  We got our boarding passes.  We went home. 

I texted the friends waiting in the US - "John's been arrested."  I hope I'm not tempting fate.  We are still on the plane!  



1 comment: