Flights
Posted: Thu 20 October, 2005 Filed under: Sweary, Thoughts, Travel 1 Comment »After last night’s flight, I found myself wondering – yet again – what it is that makes people completely ignore the booking regulations, and carry on two (or, in a couple of cases, three or four) bags as hand-luggage? The booking confirmations etc. clearly say
“Baggage allowances: Hand baggage – 1 piece that should not exceed 115cm (sum of length, width and height), maximum weight 7kg, plus 1 laptop. Hold baggage – maximum 2 pieces, total weight of pieces must not exceed 20kg, excess baggage will be charged at £5/€7.5/$9 per kilo.”
It’s not rocket-science. But a good 80% of the travellers last night had got at least two bits of hand luggage, and so the entire plane was jammed rigid with the stuff, and the fucking twunts were walking up and down trying to find a space for their stuff. Not that they remembered where they’d finally managed to put it, so when we landed they were still trying to walk up and down, and remember where they’d put their super-essential can’t-go-in-the-fucking-hold piece of tat, forcing their way past the people who were standing waiting to get out.
And that’s another thing – what’s the bloody hurry? As soon as the door opens, everyone’s standing, waiting to get out, getting stressed, and they’re not going to get there any faster. In fact it always amuses me to see these twats who’ve been so “I’m so important, I’ve got to get off the plane, I’m an a hurry” then still waiting at the luggage collection when I get there – and yes, they’re getting even more stressed. Which turns to apoplexy when – as last night – I can stroll up ten minutes after they got there, just as the bags start rolling out, pick mine up within the first five bits (there’s an advantage to a bright yellow Cat® holdall instead of the anonymous black roll-along thing that seems to be de rigeur among the business execs) and wander through to departures while they’re still waiting for their stuff, and/or deciding which one of the ubiquitous roll-alongs is actually theirs. Comedy in the making.
Frustration Is…
Posted: Wed 19 October, 2005 Filed under: Geeky, Travel Leave a comment »being over here in Amsterdam, and knowing that that nice new PC is waiting at home, ready for the bits to be assembled into a working shit-hot PC that’ll do me for another three or four years.
Of course, it’ll be fine for when I get home tonight – but like any boy with a new toy, I want to put it together now.
And yes, there’s other reasons for looking forward to being home too. A sane waking-up time not least among them.
Choccie
Posted: Tue 18 October, 2005 Filed under: Customer Services, Travel 1 Comment »One thing I really shouldn’t do is head in to excellent chocolate shops on my own. While wandering around last night I found the Puccini Bomboni shop in Singel, Amsterdam. Adrian had mentioned about this a while ago on the currently-defunct-and-thus-no-link Uborka.nu so I made a mental note to go back.
I had some time spare today where nothing was going on, so I wandered back – and oh dear, oh dear. €35 later, and I’ve got a selection box of some truly evil-looking (calorie-wise) choccies, as well as some caramel nougat, and chocolate-covered orange slices. (Think grand-scale jaffa cakes) – and I’m being dead good, and not even opening any of it ’til I get home.
The shop is fantastic though – you can almost get high on the smell of the chocolate. The staff were lovely too, translating the Dutch labels (who’d have thought that rabarber meant rhubarb, eh? Ha. ) and generally just being really nice. I’m sure I’ll do more of a review of the chocs themselves when we’ve eaten a few, but I can say already that some of them look deeply tempting. Getting them home intact will be an achievement for sure.
Reaping
Posted: Tue 18 October, 2005 Filed under: News, Thoughts, Travel 4 Comments »Fantastic news in the Guardian today, that the government has announced a reshuffle that will mean Virgin fucking Trains losing their franchise for the cross-country from 2007.
And it’s about fucking time too – they’ve been running the service so badly over the last couple of years, they deserve to lose it.
Confusion
Posted: Tue 18 October, 2005 Filed under: Thoughts, Travel Leave a comment »Bloody Hell, is it really only Tuesday?
My brain’s been confused by flying out on the Sunday instead of the Monday – I’m a day out as well as being an hour out. Either way, it’s just not very good really. Grr.