Round The World and other travels

A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries

This is: A Taste of the Deep South (2013)

Bond across the pond

At the end of an unseasonably chilly week that had brought cold mornings, wintry showers and freezing winds, it was nice to be leaving for my latest jaunt on a glorious spring day, albeit one that would have been more at home in the middle of March rather than the middle of May. Not that it really mattered, of course, as I would soon be enjoying the balmy heat of the southern United States. Still, it was good to depart with the feeling that all was well at home.

I had an easy drive to my usual airport car park, a trouble-free transfer to the terminal building and a swift check-in at the British Airways desks. As I was leaving the check-in zone, I very nearly walked into a TV interview with the leader of the UK Independence Party, a populist right-wing organisation seeking Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. My first reaction was to take immediate avoiding action; my second was: "What are you doing here?" (His party derives nearly all of its support from south of the border and in Scotland tends to be perceived as, at best, a refuge for Little Englanders, and at worst as having overtones of racism.) As I would soon discover, police had to be called the previous evening when the said politician made an ill-advised attempt to ingratiate himself with the Scottish public at an Edinburgh bar and received a less than rapturous welcome for his efforts.

I settled into the familiar territory of the BA Lounge and was presently joined by the second celebrity of the day, the youthful and much less controversial face of a certain local hero and snooker superstar. Worryingly, I also had a message from Bruce indicating that his journey from Cornwall had got off to a terrible start due to a cancelled flight out of Newquay and consequent missed transatlantic connection. However although American Airlines was in no way responsible for the problem, it seemed to have been most sympathetic and accommodating.

ABOVE: The new face of domestic competition into Heathrow - Virgin Atlantic and British Airways A320s meet up at Edinburgh.

Provided that there were no further nasty surprises, we were still on course to meet in Savannah the following morning, as planned. Shortly before boarding time, I decided to take a little walk in the main concourse, which gave me the opportunity to see a Virgin Atlantic-liveried Airbus A320 of Aer Lingus operating the former's recently introduced competing service to Heathrow.

(Link to flight log in side panel)

Benefitting from an easy airside transfer on arrival at Heathrow's Terminal 5, I quickly made my way through the endless throngs of travellers and was soon in the safe haven that is the British Airways First Class lounge. Bearing in mind the time of day and the meagre offering on my flight from Edinburgh, I initially made for the dining area and helped myself to a portion of what must have been the world's mildest chilli con carne, with rice and a little side salad. Transferring to the champagne bar, I then enjoyed a soothing glass of Bollinger Rosé before making my way to the infamous Gate A10 - the bus gate. 

(Link to flight log in side panel)

Following my transatlantic James Bond-fest, courtesy of BA, arrival in Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport meant that I was now in the first of the three states that I would be visiting properly on this trip. (The final state, Massachusetts, would only be a brief transit stop on this occasion.)

GEORGIA
GEORGIA, named after King George II of Great Britain, was founded in Savannah by General James Edward Oglethorpe in 1732. It became the 4th state to join the USA in 1788, and the 5th to secede and join the Confederacy in 1861. Readmitted to the Union in 1870, it’s now the largest state east of the Mississippi and is famous for peanuts, pecans and peaches. Vidalia onions are known as the sweetest in the world, and Gainesville calls itself the chicken capital of the world, where it is actually illegal to eat fried chicken with a knife and fork. Coca-Cola, originally intended as a medicine, was invented in Atlanta in 1886. The cocaine essence has long since been removed and the drink is now enjoyed in every country in the world except Cuba and North Korea. Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, hails from Plains. 

The US Immigration area at Atlanta was almost deserted, but passage was not entirely straightforward. After so many years of travelling I thought I'd heard it all, yet I was rendered nearly speechless by one of the questions asked by the officer while he was looking at my passport: "Sir, why did you remove your facial hair?"

That was definitely a first! Having gained admittance to the country despite my current and apparently controversial clean-cut look, I followed the somewhat convoluted process of taking a shuttle bus to the domestic terminal, followed by another shuttle bus to the airport Hilton. The five-hour time change had made this a particularly long day and I was beginning to notice it. I was soon ready for bed.