I too enjoy your reports - interesting places and creative writing!

Though I absolutely hate dentists! :

Thanks SKT-DK I really appreciate the feedback, glad you�re enjoying them. As far as dentists go, I�m with you all the way! All the intrusive work has been done under sedation otherwise I don�t think I�d have been able to go through with it. Right now I�m sat in reception waiting for my 8am appointment and even knowing there�s nothing intrusive planned my heart rate is still 25bpm over normal resting.

I'm with you. It is the worst form of torture.

Today started with another silly o�clock wake up at 4am so the first couple of hours were catching up on work and world affairs. Popped into the lounge a little before 7am for a coffee and pastry and then back to the room for a thorough dental cleaning as woe betide me should my dentist find a croissant crumb still lurking

it was still dark when I left the hotel and I had hoped that some of the interesting buildings along the way may have been lit from the outside but unfortunately not. The only place with any vanity lighting was the natural history museum and that was a seemingly pointless green glow in the bushes. The only notable part of the wander was that at one point, as dawn was breaking, I was completely in step with the street lamp sensors so all the lights were switching off as I approached as if I was in a scene from a cheap horror film.

Luckily I arrived at the surgery without any monsters accosting me from the gloom and now we have a little hurdle. My understanding of todays plan was that it was ten minutes to remove, cast, and reseat the upper jaw prosthetic. Which is exactly what it is, except the 2-3 hour gap between removal and replacement had not been communicated, or more likely that I misunderstood it!

I explained that I had an absolutely full calendar and needed to been fully toothed and back at the hotel before 9am UK time and suggested a reschedule however after a call to the lab my dentist has rushed the prosthetic over to them herself for immediate attention.

I have now been released toothless into the wild and am currently enjoying a quiet little park close to the surgery

I rate this dental practice highly, we have had some challenges along the way, unsurprisingly given the sheer amount of work that has been performed, not least me managing to break my first prosthetic on a particularly chewy desert whist at a conference in Prague! The practice and in particular my consulting dentist have come through for me admirably on each occasion.





And with that it is time to meander back to the surgery and await her return, and the return of my smile

Smile was returned just on time and a brisk walk back to the hotel meant that I arrived with ten minutes to spare before the start of the first of eight completely back to back conference calls.

I did spot this interesting sconce on a building I must have walked past at least twenty times, goes to prove there’s always something new to see.



Now some 9 hours later I’ve made it up to executive lounge and another interesting starch free food choice






None of the options particularly appeal so I’ve asked for the Aristocool menu and will order from this to be delivered to the lounge rather than sit downstairs in the open lobby






Time to enjoy the fizz, peruse the menu, and chill out for a little bit

In the end the decision was a little bit of everything: Duck Pancakes, Dynamite Maki, and the Antipasti Misto, all of which were very acceptable and sated
my hunger nicely. Quite a boring day overall, and tomorrow will be much of the same with more business calls in the morning and then an afternoon in the chair again.

Today has been a bit of a repeat of yesterday with an early start, multiple meetings, then another trip to the dentist for a template fitting that went really well, then back to the hotel for one last conference call.

Now installed in the lounge and the food has been put out and I continue to be baffled. After days of no starch, tonight we have double starch - potato and noodles





I think tonight I will partake of the lounge food for the first time this week and then a little later join some of my team for Jay’s youtube quiz, something we have been doing every week since lockdown!

And that is the sum total of my update for today, the shortest update ever. Tomorrow is a travel day so lots of fun

Edit: The potatoes had all gone before I got to them, must be faster. Replaced with roast parsnip and carrot! Two plates of the surprisingly tasty beef and noodles later and I am feeling replete but some rather nice looking baklava have appeared and so it would be rude not to.

Is it possible that someone from the lounge team or kitchen is on FT?

Some mentions of starch-free dishes, then - voil� !

The last day of this, the first of four trips and so far, so good, the planes are still scheduled . Tried the scrambled eggs from the menu and very acceptable but no sourdough toast so starch free.. I sense a theme!




Late checkout arranged and I have the morning at leisure so have booked one of the “free” tours with a company I have not used before, that’ll fill the morning and give me the opportunity to get some photos of the main Bucharest tourist spots. I find that every tour has a slightly different spin on things and a different route and focus depending on the guides interests so even though I’ve been on a couple of these with other companies over the past eight months it’ll still be interesting, I’m sure.

Another lovely morning here in Bucharest and a good twenty minute plus walk to the meeting point so it’s time to get on the way.

Some random views of Bucharest

And with that it�s coffee break time at the coffee shop under the communist museum. A good tour, lots of talking, not much walking, and some good narration of history both ancient and modern

rapidex may be safe from edible hats as flightly is pinging me every few minutes because the OTP-LHR flight is becoming more and more delayed to the point that unless something changes for the better missing the connection is now almost inevitable. That said, today it doesn�t actually make any difference to me as I have the weekend free so if things are going to go wrong this is the right time for them to go wrong. Problems on the next three trips would be more of an issue.

Some more random photos




Great restaurant, but pre-booking and absolute necessity



Tour guide�s recommendation for Romanian food. I have eaten here before but forgotten about it, maybe a return visit over the next three weeks

And update to the delayed flight, it is now expected to land 54 minutes before gates close on the NCL flight. It is a T3 to T5 transfer so there is a whisker thin chance that I can make it. It’ll all depend on the bus and the people on it.

In the meanwhile, at Otopeni airport

Land-side to lounge took 30 minutes. There is no fast path at OTP and security is always a free for all zoo. 30 minutes is on the fast side and I always try to factor in at least an hour



Expected delay on the board

Busy-ish check in

Short queues at the BA desk

And a short queue at security, I have seen this lane absolutely packed.


Once airside and through the tunnel you inevitably arrive at duty free but you can walk straight through and onto the departures concourse, no rat maze






The departures concourse is liberally sprinkled with shops and food outlets and a short distance from duty free is the elevator up to the business lounge. BA issue paper invitations to this lounge.






The lounge is usually busy and today is no exception as it is standing room only






Food and drink options are extremely limited, sandwiches and crisps are guarded by the lounge dragons








Normally I try to time things so that I can grab a coffee before boarding but no way am I spending 3 hours in here. I shall enjoy my snack and then head into the concourse

30 minutes later and 30 minutes ringing BA holidays on the number supplied and getting user busy I turned to the marvel that is flyertalk.

searching for the BA number I already had threw up an alternative number that was answered by an actual human!

The plan is to roll the dice and see if I can get lucky on the T3-T5 transfer, which I�d estimate as. 20-80 chance of success/fail, and if I miss the LHR-NCL flight then to call back. In the meanwhile and as insurance a club seat a reserved for me on tomorrows flight

And with that it�s time to take a little stroll through the concourse and see if there is anything good to eat.

The food court seems to deal mostly in fast food so first stop - space dog. The hotdog was just plain nasty! A hard dry bun, a Luke warm dog, and even the ketchup and mustard were sub par. Two bites and abandoned. The beer on the other hand was cold and crisp.






on the bright side, the NCL flight is now gathering delays, from 11 mins, to 40 mins, to 1 hour 11 mins. The hat is back in play