09.23
Terminal Five, Heathrow.
The Minx fell asleep rapidly last night, my own light going out c. 22.10. Awake at 02.30 & rising at 04.10. The Minx rose shortly afterwards: the early hours are her usual office hours, after all.
At 05.25 both the Minx & WillyFred pleaded for me to stay I…
II...
III...
… but who would prefer to stay home with a wonderful little Wife, enjoying ménage a WillyFreds in a loved home, when a week in New Jersey in a small retreat house with Guitar Craft students is an option?
Light snow on the ground, the KevinMobile arrived punctually for a 05.30 departure I...
II...
Goodbye Minxie!...
The M25 was already very busy at 07.30…
Arriving Heathrow Terminal Five c. 07.45. Straightforward security procedures, albeit teeming with passengers. But Terminal Five has many scanners & staff to operate them; not a feature of all Heathrow terminals.
11.55 EST Time: the time in Newark.
BA185 above the Gulf Of St. Lawrence.
Breakfast at Giraffe in Terminal Five & to the gate. Secondary security procedures in place, as currently on all flights into the US, involving opening bags, pockets & body search.
Usually, I fly United. However, UA don’t go directly into NY, so journeying to Washington is c. 8’30”, 3 hours for connecting (additional security + delays necessitate a 3-hour turnaround to be sure of getting the Washington > New York flight), 1’45” to NYC = 13’15. Then a ride from JFK to NJ = 2 hours, but from Newark c. 45 minutes. Add a 2’15” ride in the KevinMobile & United provides a long day. I am a million-mile UA flying-person, following a million miles on PanAm before United took them over. But here it is: giving British Airways a shot in World Traveler Plus. BA makes conventional class distinctions in their four passenger zones: First Class for Upper Class, Business for Upper Middle Class, World Traveler Plus for Lower Middle Class, and the Working Class are crammed at the back in their small, uncomfortable seats.
As a grammar-school-educated son of working class parents, lower middle class is appropriate for this working player. And much better than United Premium Economy: wider seats, good armrests, in-seat tray tables & computer power. The back cabin is pretty full, this cabin is half-empty. I have two seats to myself, which makes all the difference. No large-boned person is filling half of my ticketed space, no boobyite tendencies to make the flesh creep.
De-icing before we took off…
… and then settling in…
19.12 Hotel Acceptable, Red Bank, New Jersey.
Approaching Newark I…
II...
III...
… arriving around 13.40. The immigration was pretty bad. There were around 500 people in front of me, but even then I was through in an hour. All in all, a much better journeying than I’m used to having.
Hellboy Tom was waiting & carried us off along the New Jersey Turnpike…
… which has left continuing scars in this Happy Gigster’s psyche from many night-journeys between 1971-74, and onto Red Bank…
A drive around town with Tom pointing out various locations of interest I…
II...
III...
IV...
… and arriving at Hotel Acceptable c. 16.00. Tom left & I went to the room he had arranged for me: it was terrible! Unhappiness! One small side window looking up at a sloping bank that obscured most of any available possible light in the best of all conceivably sunny worlds. Happy Gigster instincts firing up, the HGG well remembered, I returned to the front desk & moved to a much better room immediately. Happiness! A corner room with light on two sides.
Legs snapping like whipcords & into town for supper at The Broadway Diner I…
II...
III...
Returning to the hotel…
… along very cold streets.
In the room: a care basket of fruit, cheese, crackers, water & sweet tasty things from Joanne Redmond. Hooray!
Terminal Five, Heathrow.
The Minx fell asleep rapidly last night, my own light going out c. 22.10. Awake at 02.30 & rising at 04.10. The Minx rose shortly afterwards: the early hours are her usual office hours, after all.
At 05.25 both the Minx & WillyFred pleaded for me to stay I…
II...
III...
… but who would prefer to stay home with a wonderful little Wife, enjoying ménage a WillyFreds in a loved home, when a week in New Jersey in a small retreat house with Guitar Craft students is an option?
Light snow on the ground, the KevinMobile arrived punctually for a 05.30 departure I...
II...
Goodbye Minxie!...
The M25 was already very busy at 07.30…
Arriving Heathrow Terminal Five c. 07.45. Straightforward security procedures, albeit teeming with passengers. But Terminal Five has many scanners & staff to operate them; not a feature of all Heathrow terminals.
11.55 EST Time: the time in Newark.
BA185 above the Gulf Of St. Lawrence.
Breakfast at Giraffe in Terminal Five & to the gate. Secondary security procedures in place, as currently on all flights into the US, involving opening bags, pockets & body search.
Usually, I fly United. However, UA don’t go directly into NY, so journeying to Washington is c. 8’30”, 3 hours for connecting (additional security + delays necessitate a 3-hour turnaround to be sure of getting the Washington > New York flight), 1’45” to NYC = 13’15. Then a ride from JFK to NJ = 2 hours, but from Newark c. 45 minutes. Add a 2’15” ride in the KevinMobile & United provides a long day. I am a million-mile UA flying-person, following a million miles on PanAm before United took them over. But here it is: giving British Airways a shot in World Traveler Plus. BA makes conventional class distinctions in their four passenger zones: First Class for Upper Class, Business for Upper Middle Class, World Traveler Plus for Lower Middle Class, and the Working Class are crammed at the back in their small, uncomfortable seats.
As a grammar-school-educated son of working class parents, lower middle class is appropriate for this working player. And much better than United Premium Economy: wider seats, good armrests, in-seat tray tables & computer power. The back cabin is pretty full, this cabin is half-empty. I have two seats to myself, which makes all the difference. No large-boned person is filling half of my ticketed space, no boobyite tendencies to make the flesh creep.
De-icing before we took off…
… and then settling in…
19.12 Hotel Acceptable, Red Bank, New Jersey.
Approaching Newark I…
II...
III...
… arriving around 13.40. The immigration was pretty bad. There were around 500 people in front of me, but even then I was through in an hour. All in all, a much better journeying than I’m used to having.
Hellboy Tom was waiting & carried us off along the New Jersey Turnpike…
… which has left continuing scars in this Happy Gigster’s psyche from many night-journeys between 1971-74, and onto Red Bank…
A drive around town with Tom pointing out various locations of interest I…
II...
III...
IV...
… and arriving at Hotel Acceptable c. 16.00. Tom left & I went to the room he had arranged for me: it was terrible! Unhappiness! One small side window looking up at a sloping bank that obscured most of any available possible light in the best of all conceivably sunny worlds. Happy Gigster instincts firing up, the HGG well remembered, I returned to the front desk & moved to a much better room immediately. Happiness! A corner room with light on two sides.
Legs snapping like whipcords & into town for supper at The Broadway Diner I…
II...
III...
Returning to the hotel…
… along very cold streets.
In the room: a care basket of fruit, cheese, crackers, water & sweet tasty things from Joanne Redmond. Hooray!
