The Flight From Hell

I'm suffering from some serious jet lag - I hardly got any sleep last night.  It may also be due to the fact that I'm recovering from an extremely stressful flight yesterday.  Why the stress?  Not the normal stuff - worrying about how well I've packed my luggage (nothing got broke or damaged, so I must have done a good job), worrying about how much my luggage weighs (it wasn't over the limit), worrying about how late I would get into Seattle (the flight was delayed by over an hour, but I still managed to get home at a reasonable hour), worrying about what my drive home from the airport parking would be like (not bad, even in the dark and not having had much sleep on the flight) etc.  No my stress was entirely caused by the woman sitting next to me on the flight - who was an absolute nightmare (a total Karen), which resulted in this being one of the worst flight experiences I've ever had.  She shouldn't have been on the flight - she was ill.  So for 10+ hours, I had to endure constant chesty coughing next to me.  It was unbearable.  And perhaps the worst thing was that she didn't make any effort to turn away from me to cough - so I dread to think what kind of viruses I've been exposed to.  If I develop a bad cough, or even COVID, then I am going to be so angry.  I was sitting about as far away and as turned away from her in my seat as I could, but there is no way I could avoid it.  And then there was the bathroom situation.  She had the window seat, I had the aisle seat - so I had to get out of my seat every time she needed to go to the bathroom.  I knew this was going to be a problem early on when she insisted on going to the toilet not long after takeoff when the seat belt sign was still on and the plane was still climbing - and she got shouted at by the flight attendants.  Then throughout the flight (at least once an hour over a 10 hour flight), she had to go to the bathroom.  It was ridiculous - she should never have been in a window seat.  So for much of the flight, I feigned I was sleeping - when I could see out of the corner of the eye that she was waiting and wanting me to move.  And then the dinner - the choice was between chicken and beef.  I wanted beef.  But we were one of the last rows to get served food in our section.  And guess who got the last beef meal?  Yep.  Dang it.  I think the flight attendants must have hated her as much as me - she was constantly turning the light on to get their attention, just so that she could get a glass of water or similar.  I can't tell you the overwhelming relief I felt when the flight was over.  I'm not sure how much more coughing I could take before I lost it on her.  I did mutter something when she clocked me with her hand luggage when retrieving it from the overhead locker.  What else about yesterday stressed me out?  The check-in process at British Airways - I guess in an attempt to further reduce it's workforce, now you can entirely check in without any human interaction.  Well almost - I couldn't because I required extra identity checks.  So I ended up in a massive queue for one of the few non-self service check in desks.  And then arriving in Seattle, they have totally changed the process for international arrivals.  Now you pick up all your bags before you go through passport control.  It's very weird - and no one checked my US customs declaration form, which seems like quite a serious flaw.  After all this, I wasn't sure what to expect when finally getting home.  Fortunately all the snow and ice had long melted away.  I wasn't sure what kind of tree debris I would find on my driveway - any big limbs?  Fortunately not.  But I did come back to something worse.  One of the overhead cables going into my house had come loose and was hanging dangerously over the driveway.  I was just about able to drive around it (courtesy of driving on some very muddy grass)  to get my car up to the house - but less than thrilled that my landlord hadn't noticed this and done anything about it.  A closer inspection this morning - in the light - reveals that I think it is the internet/TV cable that has come down.  But, very fortunately, I haven't lost connectivity.  So, all in all, it was a very stressful day yesterday.  I expect I shall fall asleep on the sofa tonight a long time before the new year countdown!               

Too tired

After a long day of travel - I am back home and too tired to write anything.  It was also a very stressful day, which makes for a nice tease for tomorrow's entry. 

British Museum

A few photos of some of the looted treasures to be found in the British Museum:

 

TV Theme Tunes #10

The theme from a classic childhood cartoon - at least from my generation - this week.  So very European, which is why I think it felt very different and interesting to me as a youngster.  But as I look at it now, it clearly also has some Japanese origins in the animation - which on some sub-conscious level must have felt exotic and appealing to me as well.

Mrs Brown's Boys

My god, is there a TV show worse than Mrs Brown's Boys?  It's absolutely terrible.  Just horribly, painfully, unrelentingly unfunny and unwatchable.  But there it is, airing in a prime Christmas Day slot on BBC1.  Shocking.  If i paid a TV licence fee, I would be absolutely incensed that even a fraction of it goes to this abomination.  If I was Irish, I would be furious of my backward depiction in this atrocity.  As it is, I am dumbfounded and embarrassed that I have at least one relative who apparently finds it funny.  I don't know what the viewership is, but I'm guessing they aren't the only one.  The show is so bad that it isn't even good enough to get an American adaption - thank god for small mercies.  That's America with its many, many terrible sitcoms over the years.  That's how bad it is.  My advice - if you want good Irish comedy, watch repeats of Father Ted.      

Boxing Day

A common question I get asked in America - why is the day after Christmas Day called Boxing Day in the UK?  (It doesn't have a name in the US - and is not a public holiday.)  My only answer is - I have no idea.  I think I need to look it up so that I can come up with a better response than that.  I feel like it is something I should know, but I don't - a rather disappointing gap in my knowledge.  But then having got a brief taste of the plethora of quiz shows in the UK, my general knowledge is sadly lacking nowadays - I blame America.  

A Christmas Message from Donald J Trump

Trump getting into the seasonal spirit of peace and goodwill.  I suppose this is the American equivalent of the Queen's King's Christmas Speech.

"Merry Christmas to EVERYONE, including the Radical Left Marxists that are trying to destroy our Country, the Federal Bureau of Investigation that is illegally coercing & paying Social and LameStream Media to push for a mentally disabled Democrat over the Brilliant, Clairvoyant, and USA LOVING Donald J. Trump, and, of course, The Department of Injustice, which appointed a Special "Prosecutor" who, together with his wife and family, HATES "Trump" more than any other person on earth. LOVE TO ALL!"

As classy as ever.