Round The World and other travels

The boarding process at JNB had been a bit of a nightmare - no wonder they start it so early! - but eventually I was able to settle into 2A, with a glass of apple juice and a somewhat non-standard mixture of macadamias and cashews. My amenity kit arrived, complete with an aromatherapy sleep aid which meant that, of my four BA F flights in 2007 to date, only the LHR-inbounds provided this feature. Most odd! On this occasion, I decided to change into my PJs on the ground. The doors were closed at 2013 and the cabin was sprayed with a horrid insecticide. We pushed back at 2027, but take-off was a full twenty minutes later. As we had taken off towards the south, a full 180-degree about-turn was required.

Once airborne, I had my customary glass of Champagne to accompany what I thought was a rather fine selection of canapés, consisting of a spring roll, a piece of chicken and a king prawn wrapped in bacon. The drinks orders and meal orders had all been taken prior to departure.

I had the soup, followed by the chicken, both of which were very good indeed. By now, I was drinking the Sancerre. I decided to have the cheesecake for a change, but found it surprisingly heavy and didn't quite manage to finish it. I ended with my usual sleep-friendly blackcurrant tea. I slept reasonably well, though not continuously, finally waking up at 0420 UK time over a bumpy Mediterranean. I noticed that we over-flew both Sardinia and Nice.