Jet Lag! (Day 181)
A quick zoom home, 22 hours in flight and I wonder how the Jet Lag will be?
We didn’t need to wait too long for our next flight from Abu Dhabi to London. As soon as we got on the plane we realised that we weren’t sitting next to one another. How weird. I sat there and thought about it. Am I bothered? Well, yes. I love Tim’s company, I enjoy sitting next to him and, what is more, I did mention to the ground staff in Sydney why we were coming back to the UK, I thought it rather insensitive that she didn’t sit us together. Shortly after we were up in the air, my veggie meal arrived so I had a quiet word with the air hostess. She couldn’t have been nicer; zoomed off and quickly returned to inform me that there were some better seats for Tim and I further back in the plane. When we got there, we realised that we had front seats of a section so could stretch our legs out. Wonderful!
The rest of the journey was uneventful. Over the 22 hours of flying from Sydney to London, I did go film mad and watched 5 of them! I don’t think I’ve watched that many in the last year:
• Lady Bird – Family move to Sacremento and main character Christine “Lady Bird” goes to the Catholic High School. She longs for adventure and feels that she is from the "wrong side of the tracks." Her lovely Dad loses his job and she has a difficult relationship with her Mum, Story based on her relationships, being in the school play and applying to college. Nice film, nice ending.
• Wonder – A very sweet story about a boy called Auggie who has a rare facial deformity. He is home-schooled by his Mum (played by Julia Roberts) then goes to school in 5th grade. Gets bullied and then becomes a hero – whoops sorry – just told you the ending!
• I, Tonya – True story about the American figure ice skater Tonya Harding who became the first American woman to complete a triple axel. Sadly her career comes to an end after the huge scandal when her ex-husband organises an attack on competitor Nancy Kerrigan.
• The Disaster Artist – another true story based on two aspiring actors who can’t get a break into acting. One suggests making their own film, so Tommy Wiseau, the main character decided to do just this. He writes, produces, directs and acts in “The Room”, a disaster and given the title in the industry as “The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made”; now a cult film. Funny and cringe-worthy.
• The Hours – I had high hopes for this film, with Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman as the main characters of three women searching for a meaningful life, yet all suffering from mental anxiety. Each character is alive at different periods and places so the film jumps from one to another. Finally the film brings them together in a surprising way. Couldn’t quite get into this, perhaps I was “filmed” out by this stage!
Arrived at Heathrow and managed to get an Uber to my sister’s home in Dorking. We thought Uber had lost their licence so was well pleased to get one, saved us getting a train to London then out again.
On the hour drive there, what struck me was the intense green of the countryside. It was like being a Lilliput person travelling in a bunch of spinach. In our last 180 days, I haven’t experienced this depth of green anywhere. Not even in Cameron Highlands in Malaysia or in New Zealand. The UK really is a most beautiful country with its lush” green green grass of home”.
We arrived at Jac’s and collapsed with a nice cup of tea. She arrived back a little while later so hugs all around. Updated us on the funeral plans, then Jac and I trawled through Marks and Spencer’s Party Food to make our decision and ordered, ready to pick up on Friday for the Wake. Jac needed to drive to London to be with our niece who is having minor surgery, so Tim and I decided to ensure we kept awake….Oh dear, I just felt as if I’d been drugged. The body just wanted to stay put, the brain had slowed down to a snail’s pace…if that. Keep awake….keep awake….keep awa……zzzzzz.
I woke up in the pitch dark. Where was I? What country was I in? It took me a time to come to my senses. Woke Tim up, then we did some admin. We need to book an Airbnb when we go to Bristol. Yes, I know that’s where our little house is, but it is full of our son, girlfriend and friends. There is no room at the inn! Luckily we found a nice pad about 20 minutes’ walk away. We ended up staying awake until midnight. I creaked up the stairs, each step was like a rusty old hinge, my knees feel that they need a spray of WD40 on them. Climbed into bed ahhh ….Let’s hope we have a good night’s sleep…zzzzz
