A Green and Pleasant Land.

Busy, busy, busy....Up Over!

A Long Day!

Will dropped me off at the airport at 11.15 pm on the 30th June. My flight left at 2.30 am on the 1st July. I was hoping to be upgraded...it has happened before .....but it was not to be. I wore a smart jacket for nothing!I was sat in 49K....which is a window seat right at the back of the plane.....you are statistically more likely to survive an Isis missile attack whilst flying over Iraq if seated at the back....in my head anyway!49K is one of the few paired seats at the back, most of the others being in 3's and 4's. I always like a window seat and almost up until the last minute I thought that no one was going to be in the seat next to me but in the end a chap came along and sat next to me.We left on time and headed off towards Singapore. Soon after we were up and the stewards had been released from their seats, the head steward came along holding a piece of paper, He glanced up at the row number and looked at me,"Mr Coulson?"I shook my head.He looked at the man next to me."Mr Coulson?".....For it was he. "Welcome back Mr Coulson, How is everything?" Mr Coulson must have been a 'frequent flyer' to get this personal welcome.Mr Coulson was not happy. He was disappointed that he did not have a window seat. He had changed his flight from Friday to today but they had not been able to give him his seat preferences.There was nothing the steward could do but would he like a drink?Mr Coulson did not want a drink. The steward left and Mr Coulson covered himself with his blanket and went to sleep.I watched the film "Rio 2"....there was nothing to look at out of the window....Australia was just black.We were given a sandwich, cake and a drink. Mr Coulson just slept.I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. I have never found it easy to sleep on a plane but this time I nodded off.I don't know how long I slept it cannot have been more than 30 minutes but when I woke up I felt quite ill. I felt cold but I was sweating. I felt light headed and was sure I was going to be sick.Mr Coulson was still asleep. I unfastened my seatbelt, stood on my chair and leapt over him into the aisle.I was seated very close to the loo but it was occupied. I stood outside waiting. All the stewards were on a break and seated chatting in the galley at the back. One of them looked up."Are you alright, Sir?""Actually, I feel quite ill," I said. "Can I sit down?" Standing up I felt much worse. I was worried that it was something to do with my blood pressure...not that it was high but that it had gone too low.I pulled down one of the fold up seats that the stewards sit on during take off and landing and sat down. She brought me some water and then a cool wet towel to wipe my head. She asked me lots of questions and took notes....sometimes I couldn't answer for awhile as I was fighting the urge to be sick or simply that my head was taking a while to process the question.I had a little heartburn so I was given an antacid tablet. She pulled down the seat opposite and I put my feet up.The head steward came along. He wanted to know if I had felt like this before on flights. I hadn't.I suddenly started to feel a bit better. The stewardess said that my colour was coming back. The loo was free so I nipped in. When I came out there was another man sitting where I had been...only he looked really bad and the stewards were frantically getting an oxygen tank ready."Blimey, another one!" I said to the nice stewardess. She just rolled her eyes. I went back to my seat. I couldn't leap back into my seat so I had to wake Mr Coulson. He was very good  about it and went straight back to sleep.I watched the film "Frozen then nodded off again.I woke feeling ill again but this time stayed where I was and just took deep breaths until the nausea went away. It did not bode well for the rest of the journey and I was worried that it was going to keep recurring for the rest of the journey.Dawn broke over Java and I was having breakfast over Borneo. Mr Coulson slept on.

Dawn over Java                                           Island at light near Singapore

We arrived at Changi Airport in Singapore 7 hours and 20 minutes after leaving Brisbane. It was just after 8.00 in the morning and was already 28 degrees outside. The stopover was to refuel. Everyone had to leave the plane and take their belongings with them. The nice stewardess asked me how I was as I passed. I said I felt fine now.I walked off the plane and immediately got in the queue for the departure gate. All hand luggage was x-rayed again. I wondered about taking my blood pressure tablet or not but in the end took it as normal and hoped I would not feel ill again. I was determined to stay awake for the rest of the flight now anyway. We were in Singapore just over an hour before heading off again to Dubai.

Approaching Singapore               Just what it says on the sign.

There's an awful lot of ships in Singapore!

Mr Coulson was back in 49J. He got another special welcome and was given a 'fast track' card for Dubai. We got chatting. He was going all the way to Manchester too. He was an Emirates Platinum member...hence the special welcome."You probably heard me moaning about not getting a window seat," he said.I thought about giving up mine for a few seconds and then thought .....nah! It was light all the way to the UK now....lots to see....Platinum? Pah!He asked what I did......I nearly said 'Teacher' but remembered at the last minute that I was a 'Carer' now.He was a Consultant and had been making the trip three times a year for the last ten years.....no wonder he was platinum!We headed off over Malaysia.I watched 'Nebraska' and then 'August, Osage County' two contenders for best film at the Oscars earlier in the year.The steward came with lunch...."I'm sorry we only have chicken left....is that ok?"I nodded and took it.Mr Coulson said emphatically " I want fish!"He got it.....a little later....but they brought him the fish dish....on the lid it had the words 'crew meal'.The power of platinum!I looked down as we passed over India....it was very brown.We arrived in Dubai at 12.10 pm 6 and a half hours after leaving Singapore. It was 40 degrees outside.Mr Coulson showed me his collection of 'fast track' cards......he didn't give me one.....well, only fair because I had kept my window seat!Again all hand luggage had to be x-rayed....Mr Coulson went in the fast track line....He'd said to me that no one ever looks at the card so anyone could get in that line....he gestured for me to get in that line behind him.....but I declined, shaking my head....today could be the day that they ask for the cards....this was the Middle East......you get your hand chopped off for stealing....Allah knows what they would do for 'fast-tracking' without the proper piece of cardboard. I suspected it might be being something like being dragged behind a racing camel. I think I made the right choice.I was in Dubai airport for about 2 hours before finally boarding the last plane to Manchester.

Dubai Airport View                                                    A big plane gives birth to a little one!

I was sat in 49A....again a window seat.....but on the other side of the plane. I know Mr Coulson was on the plane but I never saw him again. No one came to sit in 49B.....it was fantastic!I watched films on my screen but put 49B's screen onto the flight information so I could keep a track of where we were. Manchester was just short of 7 hours away.I watched 'The Book Thief', 'Mandela. The Long Walk To Freedom' and 'Captain Phillips'.I couldn't believe that we flew over Baghdad! I kept peering out to see if I could spot Isis missiles heading towards us but we passed un-noticed this time. We crossed Turkey and the Black Sea and then over Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, German and Holland.

As we were approaching the UK, poor 'Captain Phillips' was in terrible trouble and the film kept on stopping for tannoy announcements....finally a chap came along to collect the headsets....but 'Captain Phillips was still not safe. I held up my hand and mouthed "5 minutes"  to the Steward. He left me to see if Captain Phillips survived his ordeal.At 7.10pm we landed at Manchester. I was back Up Over......actually I had been officially Up Over shortly before we landed in Singapore....but Manchester is 'proper' Up Over.I thought I might get a bit emotional at finally stepping onto the 'Land of my Fathers' and wondered about stooping and kissing the ground like the Pope.....but this was Manchester.....who in their right mind would kiss the ground in Manchester.....ground probably covered in old chewing gum, dried spit and something that rhymes with 'spit' that come out of a pigeon.The thing that hit me most about being back here was.......the smell!It smells so different to Australia....I have never noticed it before, returning from trips away, I can't say what it smells of.....and it wasn't chips....it just smells different.It was good to be back but it had been a very looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong day.

Heading Up Over!

Tonight I head Up Over....Goodbye, Down Under......for awhile!

Cross/Uncross.

Will is on holiday....so what does he do on the first 'proper' day off?.......Yes! He goes to work....to clear out some store room!I was upstairs ready to answer any phone calls by 8.15 am. Dulcie was up at half past.No sooner had she vacated her bed than I was in there to rip her sheets off and take them downstairs to wash.We were expecting a nurse at about 9 ish who was coming to check her breathing but the time came and passed and no one arrived.The washing was done so I nipped downstairs to hang it out. One sheet had some washing powder still on it so I put it back in for a rinse and spin.I went back upstairs to find Noel sat on the sofa.He had the look of nervous guinea-pig and was quite startled when I wandered in the back door.Dulcie must have let him in and she was sat on the reclining chair that has not been raised yet like the one she usually uses. It has to be higher so that her hip is higher than her knee but in the chair she was sat in it was not.....and she had her legs crossed."Oh!," squeaked Noel, " I was just telling Dulcie why I am here....sorry I am a bit late."I sat down and reached out and tapped Dulcie on her crossed leg. She scowled at me and I thought she was going to stick her tongue out....but we had company and she slowly uncrossed her leg.Noel chattered on in a very nervous fashion. It was not easy to listen to and did not put you at ease. He would start to say something and then seemed to lose confidence it what he was going to say and start on something else.He wittered on about some 'breathing group' Dulcie could go too....if she wanted.....she didn't let on what she wanted but I knew she didn't want to go. In fact I knew she didn't even know what he was talking about and probably wasn't even listening....she just looked like she was.She'd crossed her legs again.I tapped them again. She rolled her eyes and uncrossed them.Noel got her to blow into some 'beeping' machine (that is, a machine that beeped and it is not a Dulcie way of describing it!)"It tells you if your breathing is good, medium or severe," said Noel, as she blew into it for the first time. He peered at the reading..."Oh! That's low" he exclaimed rather tactlessly, "try again."She never improved upon it and she blew 4 times.Noel left us and said he would be back and in the meantime we were to thing about the 'breathing club.'"Well, that bastard could talk!" She said.I moved her to the higher recliner. She sat down and crossed her legs.I laid my hand on her knee."Oh, I forget!" She said exasperated."I know," I said "It's just a habit."I went down to hang out the re-rinsed sheet.I walked back in to the kitchen to find Annette making herself a coffee.Damn! That was twice now that it looked like I was wandering away from my charge.Annette had come to help Dulcie shower."How are you?" She asked sitting down with her coffee."Good, Dear," said Dulcie."Yes, she is doing really well," I said, "she only needs a few reminders to uncross her legs."Dulcie slowly uncrossed her legs.Today was the last day of Transition Care. It has been really good. From Wednesday Blue Care are taking over the showering.I thanked Annette for everything as she left for the last time.We both picked Will up from work this afternoon. Dulcie made easy work of the steps down now the new rail has been fitted. It was a nice change and she enjoyed watching the world go by and blaspheming at the size of the trucks.She was in bed by 6.45. I was fussing about and picked up her old bra and took it into the bathroom and popped it in the wash basket and flushed the loo on my way out."Did you just flush that down the shitter?" She asked peering at me from under her new clean bedding.We all laughed. It must have seemed very much like it."Don't replace me" I said saying goodnight. I won't see her again until the 20th of July."We couldn't," she said, "there's no one like you."Downstairs I finished packing and helped Will put the clean bedding back on the bed.He whipped the net down!"Free!" He cried."It's going back up when I get back!" I said.