Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Shanghaied in Tuscany!
Getting into position
After a low-key day making my final preparations for this latest trip, I set out as planned just after 4pm, thereby managing to miss both the school run and the start of the evening peak. It was an easy drive along the M9 in fine Autumn sunshine and in no time at all I was on the familiar territory of my usual airport long-term car park where, for the first time, a minor glitch occurred. There was no record of my booking in the system! On further investigation they did manage to find my credit card payment, so it was a simple matter to update the system and put things right. The staff seemed as puzzled as I was. With all that straightened out, I was transferred to the terminal where, with a little apprehension, I checked in my shiny new suitcase for its first journey. I felt like a parent handing over a child for his first day at school. 
Security was the busiest I'd seen for a long time, the snaking queues backed up as far as the entry point. Despite this, everything seemed to keep moving at a tolerable rate and eventually I made it through to the crowded airside concourse. At the BA lounge, I was reminded that this was the facility's last day in operation in its current format. From 02 October, it would close for seven weeks for refurbishment and conversion to the latest, T5-style 'Galleries' concept.
Knowing that the on-board food offering would be close to non-existent, I took the opportunity to have a light meal based on the very acceptable selection of sandwiches provided in the lounge. Surprisingly few people left when the 1815 Heathrow flight was called. It seemed that the majority were waiting for the joint Gatwick and City departures at 1910.
(Link to flight log in side panel)
The luggage appeared relatively quickly at Gatwick, at least compared with my last such experience. With the inter-terminal transit closed for major refurbishment, I found my way to the replacement bus service. This was better than expected, with the South Terminal drop-off point being particularly handy for the Hilton. Following a speedy check-in, I made my way to my room, started the task of writing this diary and, aware of the early start needed the next morning, made sure that I went to bed at a reasonable time.
The day had been little more than a scene-setter, but on that basis it had worked well enough. I was eagerly looking forward to the first proper day of the trip, albeit with that early start!