Vilnius (VNO) - London Gatwick (LGW)
The flight had first shown a 10-minute delay, then 20 minutes, but in fact it was already 1415 by the time boarding commenced. At least it was by jetty, in contrast to our arrival the previous day. I settled once more into 1F and soon realised that I had a fellow Scot for company in 1D, who was not a member of our group. Hot towels were distributed in the Club cabin prior to our departure at 1429. With a short taxi to the runway, we were airborne by 1440.
The cabin service got underway fairly quickly once the crew were released from their seats, with a round of drinks and nibbles. I had the first of two little bottles of the Monopole Blue Top. The captain explained that we would be passing between Gdansk and Warsaw, about 80 miles from each, then overflying both Berlin and Rotterdam before crossing to the UK. Soon it was time for the meal service, the menu being as follows :-
Your choice of | |
Lamb stew with spring vegetables | |
or | |
Goat's cheese ravioli with a citrus sauce and cracked pepper | |
Selection of warm bread rolls | |
Apple caramel cake | |
Fleur de Lait and Black Wax Cheddar cheese | |
Your choice of tea or coffee | |
I had the lamb option, and very nice it was too. Bizarrely, I was given two sets of cutlery - one metal, one plastic I like the way that the drinks service, followed by the meal helps to pass the time : when the trays were cleared away, we had little more than an hour to run. It was a fun-filled hour, with our group of 17 having a natter, having a laugh, getting snap-happy and keeping the drinks flowing The others didn't seem to mind too much. I didn't manage to identify the anonymous voice that called out "Red socks, red drink!" when one of our group ordered his favourite tipple
All too soon, we were crossing the Kent coast just south of the Thames estuary and taking a fairly direct route to the westerly runway at LGW, where we touched down at 1502 - a very creditable result considering our late departure from Vilnius! Seven minutes later, we were at our allocated gate.