Published for the Kindle on Amazon.co.uk - Drinking Partners by Mal J Robinson

Friday, October 11, 2013

Day 128 - Luxembourg to Home - Nice Breakfast

It is not a case of where to start with this blog but where to finish exactly. 
OK, so the day started in the normal fashion, darn early.  We had to be on site and ready for action before 09:00 and as it was an important workshop meeting then we had to make sure a few other activities were completed before we had to start. Therefore it was get up time at 5.30 a.m. and the usual routine of bathroom, kettle, cup of tea and spend an hour or so checking emails and doing the things that had sprung to mind during the night.
The agreed plan was to meet my colleagues at reception at 7.45 a.m. before heading off.  This I did and we were soon in whisked down the road to Esch and ready to party, or rather workshop.  The day was unremarkable apart from the length of the workshop, six hours with a lunch break included.  Which was the strange bit for me, we worked from 9.00 a.m. prompt until just after 12.45 p.m. and  at that time we broke for lunch until 2.00 p.m.  We restarted and then finished at 3.00 p.m.  I am not one to moan (I am really as that is all I seem to do) but surely we could have worked that extra hour and finished a bit earlier and then could have had a bit longer to do some work before we left the site at 6.00 p.m.
As we drove back my colleagues made plans to go to the local Indian restaurant for the evening meal but as I was travelling home the next day early and a little tired I thought i would do my last bits and pieces in the room before getting an early night.  By Wednesday night I think the early Monday start and working quite late each evening seems to catch up on me and I do feel tired.
That failed.
I didn’t go out but worked until 10.00 p.m. and thought, “right I better head for bed” and must have dozed off as the phone rang and I jumped up thinking it was morning.  It was an ex colleague from the UK who decided to call for a chat, he is working away from home also and he was out and about in London at 10.45 p.m. and thought of me.  I was touched.  After we had chatted for a while I could just not sleep and spent until after midnight tossing and turning and thinking I was not going to wake at 3.30 a.m. in time for the trip to the airport.  I must have finally fallen asleep as I woke up at 1.00 a.m. and then 3.00 a.m. and then again when the alarm went off at 3.30 a.m.  It was at that point I could have happily turned over and gone back to sleep.  But no, I hauled myself out of the bed and got ready to depart the room.
I checked out of the hotel and my taxi driver was already waiting for me so we loaded the car with my suitcase and he hot footed it through the city of Luxembourg at 4.00 a.m.  Now I mean hot footed it as at one point a blue flashing light was behind us and I assumed we were going to be pulled over but no, it just sped past on to a more deserving emergency.  Despite a few detours due to night works on the roads we were still at the airport for 4.15 a.m.  I got through security and now I am sat in one of those airport lounge things. 
I don’t normally go in the lounges but as my Nottingham colleague told me this is free through my credit card I thought I would give it a go.  It is really nice. I have had coffee and a croissant but there is the usual lounge fare of alcoholic and soft drinks, cakes etc, but with the added bit of a full continental breakfast on offer.  I cannot believe I have been at this airport quite a few times and not known about the lounge.  I think I ought to check this out a bit more for other airports, either that or just ask my Nottingham colleague who seems well educated in these areas.
So with 45 minutes until the plane starts to board I will not bid you good night but good day and continue this after what I hope is a sleep on either of the two planes I have to go on to get back to Blighty.

Good day

No comments:

Post a Comment