Too Close for Comfort

Travel broadens your mind and opens yourself to new experiences.  As a whole this is very positive, but it also exposes you to risks and more than that, makes real of the news stories you hear of distant lands.

This photo was taken in New York on 10th September 2001. Yup. You can just make out the towers.  Less than 24 hours later and the world was a very different place.  Several days later, as I sat teary eyed on Eurostar, returning to good old Blighty, I listen to a family discussing the incident that had happened in a far off land.

My travels in India make news of events there seem so much more real to me than, say Malaysia, a country and a region that I haven't been to.  However, nothing brings that home more than when something happens in places I have been, or places my loved ones had been.  The coordinated attacks in Mumbai, November 2008 were too close for comfort.  The Taj Mahal hotel was under siege for days.  This is the same hotel where I had sent my parents for a few days on their own to experience Mumbai before flying home just a few months earlier. A place where I thought they would be safe.

I vividly remember standing in the kitchen at one of my Rangers house's looking at the photos in the paper. I had taken my Rangers to India the year before and as well as landing in Mumbai, we spent a night there and did a bit of sight seeing including the Taj Mahal hotel.  I turned the page to see an image of bodies lying on the ground inside Victoria Terminus station.  I looked at my Ranger and said "that was the station we arrived at". It was a station I had used several times myself.

Its not just terrorist attacks though - do you remember the hot air balloon that crashed in Egypt last year? Probably not, unless like me you had taken that flight.

And its not just international travel that has these risks.  I remember one Christmas in the 80s, my mum agonising over whether we should go to London to see the lights with all the IRA threats. My GCSE geography trip to Canary Wharf had to be altered as the IRA had detonated a bomb there just weeks before. As it was, a bomb was found in Trafalgar Square on the day we went.

More recently, the 7/7 bombings happened a year after I stopped working in London. One of the victims had been the head of my department.  A real person that I knew.

The news these past weeks have been full of flight MH17 that was shot down over the Ukraine.  First reports were full of this being another Malaysian Airways flight disappearing, but soon that changed as it was realised that that was just an unfortunate coincidence.

The real issue is why was that airline flying over a warzone? Apparently because that's what they do. They feel safe 6 miles up.  Malaysia Airways weren't the only airline to be taking that flight path, there were others Lufthansa amongst them. Lufthansa who I flew to Pune with in January.

Little Owl and I flew over Ukraine.

In January.

It could have been our plane.

It wasn't, and for that I am very grateful.

But it does mean when I look at the images, and listen to the news, it makes it real to me. More real than I would like.

Travel broadens your mind and opens yourself to new experiences.  As a whole this is very positive, but it also exposes you to risks and more than that, makes real of the news stories you hear of distant lands.

Flying with a Toddler

Well that was a lot easier than expected!  At every turn there was someone to help, directing me to shorter lines where there was extra people to help! 

We flew from Terminal 1 at Heathrow, which is all very new and shiny.  The first thing we spotted was a free soft play area!  Little Owl loved it and it had the added bonus of burning off lots of energy and building up a huge appetite, which was lucky because the kids portion at Giraffe was HUGE!!!

We were the first to board the plane along with a couple of other kids, including the little boy who we had met at the soft play.  We were incredibly lucky in the plane being so empty which meant we had 3 seats to ourselves!  I opted to sit next to the window so Little Owl could have things to look at.

She pointed at a plane that had just taken off and said "up".  I asked her if we were going to go up - she gave me a look and said loudly "no".  

Oh well.

It was half an hour before we took off.  Little Owl got a bit restless sat on my lap and I began to get nervous about our next flight as I had been told there were only 5 spare seats on the whole plane!

As soon as the seat belt sign came off,  I plopped Little Owl in her own seat and shortly afterwards she was given a cake and I supped on a glass of wine... this was better!  And that was pretty much it until we landed and Little Owl had to get back on my lap again which she did willingly and snuggled in for cuddles.

First flight over and done with, we went straight to our gate when we landed at Heathrow.  Time for Little Owl to burn off some more energy!  She headed straight for the stairs leading to the business lounge!  The very polite man on duty told her she couldn't go upstairs but in return gave her a Ferrero Rocher.  Little Owl was made up with that and did 3 laps of the airport to celebrate!

People were starting to gather near the gate and there was a couple of staff behind desks so I cheekily asked how many spaces were available on the flight.  I'm so glad I did as they did a bit of juggling and got me a spare seat for Little Owl!

So here is the big one - an eight hour flight on my own with a toddler...

It was amazing!

Having her own seat also meant she had her own TV screen which worked straight away, I found her cartoons and she was set.  She wasn't even that worried by having the headphones.  She did a bit of colouring in as she was given a colouring book and pencils by the Lufthansa staff, but that got discarded as soon as the food arrived.

This is the only place where Lufthansa let themselves down.  They provide 'baby food' which I was told was 'mush' but nothing for toddlers.  I was told it was because she was travelling as an infant but seriously - how long are purees used for?  (not actually sure as we did baby led weaning).  The staff were very nice about it, but they weren't allowed to give Little Owl a meal until everyone else had been served.

This wasn't really a problem as she's a slow eater and tucked into bits of my meal and then we shared her (different) meal when it arrived.  But it could have been.  They told me I should have phoned to arrange this before the flight, but the thing is I had - I had the very same conversation with their customer services earlier in the week, trying to explain that very few infants over the age of one would eat puree...

After the food was cleared away, I got Little Owl into her pjs (cheated by keeping her vest and tights on and put her sleepsuit over the top).  We then walked down to the back of the plane with her empty bottle which was duly filled with milk and then toddled back to her seat.  She sat watching more cartoons drinking her milk until she said "mummy" handed me the bottle and promptly fell asleep which is how she stayed until the lights were switched back on and breakfast was served!

So that was that.  I didn't use any of the stuff I have brought to keep her entertained other than one small book when she was having her nappy changed and her headphone which she didn't really use.

I'm just so proud of Little Owl, she really was on her best behaviour yesterday, charming everyone, and just coping with all the crazy stuff I throw at her.  

Love her so much!

All my bags are packed...

...I'm ready to go....

Well almost.

A few last minute things to add but 'the list' that grew so long it multiplied into many expanding lists that continued to grow, is finally shrinking and combining with the hope of being one manageable list again.

I realised earlier this week that I had been in denial about having Little Owl sat on my lap for an entire flight. 

This was partly due to the fact that I kept checking the seating plan for the flight from Frankfurt to Pune and on the row where I was placed, there were only 3 out of the 6 seats taken.

However, I remember from booking that the Frankfurt flights from Heathrow were busy and that you couldn't book your seat until check in.

So I have checked in.

The flight to Frankfurt appears half empty but I think that's because people haven't checked in yet.  They appear to be filling the seats from the front as people check in.  I moved my seat from row 9 by the window to an aisle seat at the back in the hope that there might be a spare seat back there.

But its not all so hopeful.

The Frankfurt to Pune flight has got quite busy in the last few days.  There are a few spaces available but every window seat and aisle seat has gone and the entire row I am sat on is now full.

This is not good news.

Little Owl on my lap for 8 hours.

I have seriously been in denial about this!

My lap isn't the biggest, mainly because my legs are short and my belly... well you see where I'm going with this - the tray is not going to open!

I haven't been in total denial about flying with a toddler... I have plenty of things to keep her entertained, my kindle is loaded with CBeeBies programme and there are funky Penguin earphones for Little Owl to listen with, without disturbing other passengers.  We have coloured pencils and a notepad.  A box of plasters (was recommended instead of stickers as they can be removed easier than stickers).  A few happyland characters.  Books to read, books to look at.  Aqua doodle. And a few other bits as well.

I just don't see how I'm going to juggle all of these activities with a toddler sat on my lap, let alone, eat drink pee and hopefully sleep!

But nothing I can do about it now eh?  What ever happens on the plane, its not going to last forever, just 8 hours.  I'm now pinning all my hopes on Little Owl turning on her charms, flirting with the entire plane and doing what she does best - making everyone laugh!