I finally made it to Melbourne this weekend, just a little later than planned …
Friday started with a trip to the hairdresser for pre-flight coif and colour. Given the fact that this was the first time I’d coloured my hair, I was a little disappointed that the supposed ‘chocolate’ colour turned out the same colour as my hair. Even I can’t notice the difference.
Tweet #2: Here's a photo. Bet you can tell I've just been to the hairdresser. pic.twitter.com/hBRmPGWbgJ
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Quick dash home to grab the bags and kiss the kids, then off to airport. Here’s the story as it unfolded on Twitter:
Tweet #3: So excited to be at airport on my way to Melbourne to see my daughter! Yay! Yippee!
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Tweet #4: We're boarding! Yay! And there's a cute little 3yo next to me.
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Tweet #4: Oh dear! Technical hitch. Oxygen not working. What a pathetic reason to delay the flight. Who needs oxygen?
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Tweet #5: Oh lucky! Problem is minor and will be fixed in 10 minutes. #noworries #luckyibroughtabook
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Tweet #6: Uh oh! Problem is bigger than the minor technical hitch they thought it was. We'll be here for half an hour …
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Tweet #7: It's the freakin' captain again. They're still working on it … But we're allowed to turn our electrical devices on. #ohjoy
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Tweet #8: Plane is broken and not going anywhere. We must disembark. #thanksfortellingussooner
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
Determined to remain upbeat, I found a silver lining:
Tweet #9: Back in the terminus #silverlining #atleastitsfriday pic.twitter.com/FjBL4OzBcy
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
I also took some holiday snaps:
Of Sky News
And the NewsLink shop
And the Australian Way store
And made friends with fellow non-passengers:
Jodie, Ben, Me, Steve
My upbeat mood was getting harder to maintain:
#12: Flight rescheduled A-BLOODY-GAIN.
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 30, 2014
So, I went in search of another silver lining:
And found it
Day became night and I began to feel like Tom Hanks in the movie ‘The Terminal’:
All the other planes were taking off
And the cleaners were moving in
So I settled in for the night
Then, after 6 1/2 hours, the flight was cancelled:
And that was that.
We were told to return the following morning. I fleetingly pondered joining the 200 other passengers queuing at the airline service desk and ranting and raving at the staff, but I couldn’t be bothered. So I went home and phoned the airline. They sounded relieved that I was being pleasant (courtesy of the silver linings), and happily rebooked me on their partner airline for the next day. They also changed my return flight so I could still spend two days with my daughter.
On Saturday, I got up and did it all over again:
Tweet #13: Back at airport waiting for flight for second day in a row, even sitting in same chair #DejaVu pic.twitter.com/dWI5KrrNMl
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 31, 2014
It felt like ‘Groundhog Day’. Even as we boarded, I was too frightened to get my hopes up:
I was actually making secret plans to hijack the plane if it didn’t take off …
Tweet #14: boarded! pic.twitter.com/gedupGyHTt
— Louise Allan (@louisejallan) May 31, 2014
This time, I made it. My gorgeous daughter and I were finally reunited, only about 20 hours later than planned:
Reunited at last!
We’ve had a lovely weekend together. As she’s about to start exams, I stocked her fridge and freezer:
More cooking than I’ve done in a long while …
Better stocked than my freezer at home
We even had a visit to radiology, but nothing serious. My job is done and I can fly home again. Let’s hope tonight’s flight takes off as scheduled. However, if tonight’s news features a story about a red-haired middle-aged lady who’s been locked up for assaulting airline staff, you’ll know who it is and why …