Manchester; Wednesday, 08 November, 2006

I’ve had something that I always thought was probably true confirmed to me. Having several pints with a departing colleague, and then taking a flight don’t mix.

After spending a significant part of the afternoon firstly in the pub, then queuing to get through security at Gatwick, I arrived in the departures lounge to find that everything, except the bars, were closing for the evening! I decided, thankfully, against any more booze and instead concentrated on consuming as much expensive French water as my wallet could allow.

It still lead to a particularly uncomfortable (though part of that was turbulence outside of the plane, rather than inside of me) flight. By the time I arrived in Manchester, not that I knew it at that point, the worst had passed.

After a relatively swift trip from plane to bags I then encounter possibly the longest walk ever to get to the “Integrated Airport Railway Station”. It was nearly 10 minutes of walking before I finally got a glimpse of a ticket office and tracks!

An uneventful journey later I arrived in Manchester Piccadilly, to repeat the same process all over again, as the platforms for trains from the Airport are positioned somewhere closer to Cardiff than to Manchester!

By the time I got to the hotel, a further 5 minute walk away, I had worn off any alcohol that was still in my system, and after a very large glass of water from the bar, collapsed into bed and sleep.