Friday 16 April 2010

And then...a volcano erupted...in Iceland...

Family,

And a good evening to you from across the Pond after another GREAT (but super busy!) day in the Mother Country. So today was, well, about as random as it gets.

So have my normal walk to work, and when I get to the Tube, I notice a sign that reads: "Flying from a UK airport today?" Knowing full well that I'm not (but I've got peeps coming in), I decide to stop and read the message.

As fate would have it, a volcano that hasn't erupted in TWO HUNDRED YEARS blew it's top on Wednesday morning. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. However, since this volcano is sitting UNDER AN ICE CAP and the JET STREAM IS BLOWING OUR DIRECTION, EVERY SINGLE AIRPORT IN THE UNITED KINGDOM CLOSED AT NOON. That's right - I can't make this stuff up.

So I had 4 friends flying in, and I didn't have flight info for either set of them. I basically guessed on CP's flight, and all it told us was "diverted." Thanks for that! Very descriptive and helpful.

I called my flat at 2:15 PM local time, and Ryan (other buddy) said he'd just arrived (flight was about 2 hours late). Apparently he caught the LAST FLIGHT INTO THE UK. And tell me this isn't a "cryptic message" that you NEVER want to hear a pilot say (Ryan's pilot broadcast this to the cabin) "Due to an incident, the UK is officially restricted air space and will become a No Fly Zone after we touch down. " Then that's it - he signs off. Really? REALLY? Cause that wouldn't cause a panic AT ALL...

All that aside, we found out that CP was diverted to Brussels and will arrive in the UK at 7 PM on Friday. I got out of work a little after 8 and headed home, where I met Ryan, Shannon, and Muffin Puffin at the Mason's Arms for some Timmy T and Thai. We had a great chat and hung out until about 11, at which point we both went home and crashed.

Okay, that's all the news that's fit to print. Fingers crossed that the winds in the Stratosphere change today!

Love,

Sam and Jenny

1 comment:

  1. Sam, I once had a pilot come over the intercom while we were sitting on the runway and say "We're going to need to go back to the terminal due to the fact that one of our engines has disintegrated".... "Disintegrated" and "engine" are not words you ever want to hear on a flight.

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