Hanging around

A busy day travelling back home. It started with a lift to the nursing home to visit Mum and tie up some loose ends, taxi to the station, IC train to Hamburg. This was late, about 10 mins. I'd left with plenty of time in hand though so not too worried. From Hamburg central station, get an S Bahn ticket for the S Bahn to the airport - at this point I was beginning to wonder if perhaps I had after all cut it a bit fine. Bearing in mind the hour change between here and Germany, plus the fact that we had changed our clocks here recently and so had they, but not at the same time, I'm finding it a bit of a thing guessing the right time. I digress. I got to the airport and then found that although I had planned to have plenty of time, had the plane been on time I would have just made it. As it was, it was late, about an hour. So I have propped my feet up on my hand baggage for a change of position, standing, sitting, wondering about all having been exhausted by this point.

And here is the view I had from my seat in the plane.

So then we got to Birmingham and there is a sudden rush to get off the plane. As I'm near to the front I'm in amongst the first 5 to get off and up the corridor towards immigration, then .... stop..... wait. We are not allowed any further for 5 minutes. Then rush forward again, into the maize of ribbons leading up to passport control. One of the wheels on my hand baggage got caught in one of the bases of a ribbon stand and jerked out of my hand and crashed loudly to the floor! I rolled my eyes up and as I did so may have uttered 'Bugger!' At this point I was facing those walking back towards me on the other side of the ribbon and my eyes met those of a very tall man who seemed familiar. Behind me a gentleman joked that I was behaving suspiciously and was likely to get hauled off for interrogation. Thankfully I wasn't. I picked up my small case and carried on, the ones in front of me had already disappeared into the distance. I remembered who that tall guy was - someone I went to school with many years ago. I don't suppose he recognised me and if he did just felt 'it's Friday, had a long week and just want to get home with no delays!'

It's a small world and I often wonder if there is anybody I know in the same space as me whenever I go somewhere different. It's a shame life gets in the way of acknowledging each other when it does actually happen - ie, we are all older, more forgetful, a bit slower in reacting and the moment is passed and we don't want to feel stupid in case we have got it wrong.