As I was saying...

So as I was saying....

I met a lovely chap on the plane. He was very sweet but my husband says it is not appropriate for me to talk about lovely chaps I meet on the plane so that is the end of the story.

Re BA - FANTASTIC service, am going to write a letter to BA to tell them how fab they were. I will post it below this post

Re my biggest knob moment - this is it:

I was on a 6:45am flight from London to Vienna on Friday morning. My friend Nicky said that we needed to be at the airport two hours before the flight which meant I had a 3:30am wake up call (eek) and a 4:30 am taxi pick up to take me the airport.  I was thinking about getting there later but with the strike and all, I thought it best to get there early. 

Everything went swimmingly. I woke up, washed my bits, gathered my things and was at the airport at 5am like a good little sausage.  There I stood in the queue, grateful that my flight wasn't one of the cancelled BA flights.  Flights in and out of Heathrow were at a premium.

As I got to the front of the queue, I realized that something was missing.  Something kinda important.  Something that I had forgotten in the bloody safe back at the hotel - MY EFFING PASSPORT!!! Fuuuuuck!! 

Luckily, being so quick-witted and all, I came up with a cunning plan. I called the lovely people at the very lovely hotel and asked them to go up to my room and key in the secret code for the safe, get my passport, flag down a taxi and ask the taxi driver to bring my passport to me at Heathrow. 

I had about 40 minutes to spare, the taxi driver arrived 30 minutes after my call with my passport safely in his hand. 

WHAT AN ABSOLUTE KNOB!!  (Me, not the taxi driver. The taxi driver we love)

Can you believe I forgot my passport in the hotel.  After all of that careful preparation about getting to the airport early.  It was a bloody expensive error. You do not even want to know what it cost me, but whatever.  I made the flight.

And that my friends, is the very unexciting update I promised last week. 

I've had a horrible week.  One of the relationships I had with someone has come to an end, and I am very sad about it.  My relationship with person will continue in a different form, but I am extremely sad about what has happened.  I can't stop thinking about it. 

But, I know that with all endings come new beginnings and I am sure the new beginning will be even better than before.  Onwards and forwards, for all of us.

PS my baby is going to be a year old next month. A YEAR.  Where does the time go.

Comments

[char]

Yay for trustworthy taxi drivers!!! If that were South Africa, right now there'd be another Tertia Loebenberg Albertyn drifting around the planet with your passport in hand getting up to all sorts of nastiness in your name. :o)

[Julia]

Sjoe...you are a very clever, resourceful KNOB. Sorry you had a sucky week. Friendships changing and evolving and ending are most painful.x

[Liz]

You acted so calm and ended with good results. I would have gone crazy if I forgot my passport. On another note, a friend of mine arrived at the airport with an expired passport. :)

[Van Kapeghian]

wow, it's a year already! congrats!

[amanda]

ooh - in defense of SA - I left my diamond engagement ring and a saphire eternity band in a hotel room in JHB on a shelf! I realised at JHB airport. Called the hotel and they had it in an envelope and in a car to me within 20 minutes! Very very relieved. My hubby was only too happy to pay the travel fee!

[Val]

At least you knew where your passpor was. My goddaughter lost her passport in Costa Rica over spring break. She realized she lost it after the rest of the family had departed on their earlier flight. She ended up spending 5 extra days to get home. First she had to get a new passport and get on the the plane to leave Costa Rica an then got stuck in a US airport while there was a storm storm in Denver, Colorado where she lives. Luckily, she was traveling with the grandparents who were able to make arrangements for her stay at the resort which included food for the extra days. She's a 21 year old college student so you know she did not have much money.

[Marciafrancois]

Goodness you are clever!

I pretend I'm paying in RAND and then I don't bat an eye paying 50 pounds for a taxi in London :)

And I say I don't have a problem with denial.

But seriously, very clever - I have been there, nearly missed my flight home too (by about 5 minutes) because I DID miss a flight from Dublin to Heathrow. It was like the Amazing Race, only more unfit people and a lot more nail-biting LOL

[Scout]

Oh, this post and the previous one have me saying no, no, no!

I have read you blog for an age, used to live in S.A and guess where I live now? VIENNA. I would have loved the chance to stalk, er, meet you briefly in person, wah.

Anyway, the passport story is great. Good thinking!

[It is what it is]

Absolutely brilliant idea to get your passport to you! Bravo for quick wits.

As for the change in relationship. I have had four what I would describe as very close friendships end in the last decade. None were particularly pretty endings and none continued on in any form. And, even if I get the reasons why they ended, and even though I think about reaching out to re-kindle them all.the.time, I have let them go, but miss them so.

Here's hoping your new beginnings begin sooner rather than later.

[andy]

We once left our passports, plane tickets and house keys in a hotel safe at Disneyland Paris and had driven for about 3 hours (so about halfway across France!) on our way to Amsterdam when we realised. We had no choice but to turn back and get them. There was much swearing in that car I can tell you LOL.

[Deborah]

Hi Tertia, I have friend whose baby also turns a year soon - I need some ideas for birthday gifts? I am completely clueless with toys for 1 year olds... Anything you can suggest?

[Nicola]

When in Italy in 2003, we flew from Bologna to London on a very early morning flight (6 or 7am). The taxi collected us at crack of dawn, we were all packed and ready to go: passport, check; all clothes and toiletries, check; stuff out of the safe, check (very good on us etc - especially my very responsible and anal husband.) We got to the airport in plenty of time, and went to check in. Just before we got to the front of the queue, I realised that I had left my handbag in the taxi with EVERYTHING (passports, money, cellphone etc etc). Biggest, most useless arsehole ever! Completely freaking out, I tried to call the taxi company but the offices were still closed (at 5am or so). So, we could do nothing but wait. Then about half an hour later, an announcement on the main intercom requested that I go to airport security immediately. The taxi driver had found my bag in the back seat and driven back to the airport to hand-deliver it to the airport security! Ongelooflik!!! Well, I guess it was a modern-day miracle or something, but my husband nearly kicked my ass, I'll tell you that much!

[maggie]

Just read, while staying in a hotel funnily enough, that you should put a shoe in the hotel safe along with your valuables to ensure you don't forget to retrieve your stuff.