I'm travelling at the end of this month, the day after I am unashamedly sixty-four...
"Doing the garden, digging the weeds, who could ask for more?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm sixty four?" etc
Who'd have thought it back in 1967 when my thirteen-year-old self was singing those words.
Preparations are well underway.
The first thing I declared after fifty-four hours of flying last time was...
"I'm not doing that again without a set of noise-cancelling head phones."
I know you all told me to get some... money well-spent, would make all the difference etc but somehow you just can't believe it until you have sat through fifty-four hours of engine noise, and every other sort of noise, and realised after about thirty minutes that your £30 set aren't going to cut the mustard. Anyway after a lot of research I have taken out a mortgage with John Lewis (why buy anything anywhere else these days) on a set of Sony something-or-others which seemed to get even better reviews than Bose. It's a shame because I've always coveted anything Bose, but the trouble is when you go to the shop, and try them all out whilst standing underneath a machine that creates aeroplane engine noise, you can immediately tell the difference and are hooked into the best pair whether you like or or not.
This time around, and yes, I am just as excited about my first sighting of The Land of the Long White Cloud...
...it's Air New Zealand all the way and I hope I have planned my flight times more carefully (I will never leave Singapore at midnight again). I will be going backwards for a change, as in outward to Los Angeles with long enough there to find my next boarding gate, thence to Auckland and on to Christchurch. Homeward via Singapore, so a great big circumnavigation of the world, and three weeks with Offspringette in the middle. As well as the International Quilting Symposium it is also the Christchurch Walking Festival so I shall be doing some tramping too, as well as day to day around the city rather than the big tourist trail around the entire South Island.
You all gave me some wonderful advice and tips for my last long haul flight in January 2016 but I'm up for a new developments, discoveries and innovations, so all suggestions very welcome. After that first excursion I already have a list of must-haves and must-dos...
Small carry-on case with multi-directional wheels rather than a hold-all...
Capacious 'handbag'...
Inflatable foot rest...
Inflatable back cushion
Neck pillow...
I'll still be inflating all these things half-way across the Atlantic but it helps pass the time.
Anti-bacterial wipes...
Hand cream, lip salve....
Elasticated waist on whatever I am wearing...
Fluffy socks and slippers....
A pashmina/style wrap...
An aisle seat so that I can walk around when I want to rather than waking the comatose person next to me. Mind you I'm hoping that the comatose person might be me this time around...I don't think I slept a wink either way last time.
And who was it who suggested the Simple eye gel stick?? Wonderful invention, thank you.
Having given up on my audio books last time I'm hoping for success this time. I actually wish I hadn't already listened to all Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie series, and Gail Honeyman's Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine because I enjoyed them so much. Currently I'm listening to Lenny Henry narrating My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal and it is exceptional in every respect...story and 'performance' stunning.
More audio book suggestions very welcome....
What would sustain me in my own little world through twenty-six hours of flying?
And music...
I know this is a very personal thing according to taste but what would sooth, even send me to sleep...
Recent Comments