We pushed back on time and then it was a very slow and extended taxi around JFK before we were finally off the ground nearly thirty minutes later.

Drinks service started about thirty minutes into the flight and then the food service was thirty minutes later. I had pre-ordered the beef.

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I thoroughly enjoyed this. For drinks I simply had a couple of beers and, later in the flight, coffee.

When asked if I’d like a desert it was no competition, I do love Hagen Daz Ice Cream! The “which toppings” question was met with an “all of them” :D

When the ice cream arrived it was with a “that should be worth a photo”, they’d clearly spotted my photographing everything. This was as delicious as it was impressive

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After dinner I hunkered down and watched a couple of films and at this point a design issue made itself clearly felt. As you recline the seat there is nowhere for your elbows to go except the hard side edge of the console beside you, so the only way to avoid this is to lie with your arms crossed :(

With an hour to go breakfast was served

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And soon thereafter we were on our approach to Heathrow.

A comment on the two servers who looked after me, they were really really good. The gentleman was also serving first class and would pop through business occasionally. It was he that made the ice cream. The lady who served me for most of the flight was an absolute delight at every point, cheerful, funny, attentive, a complete counterpoint to the crew on the Earlier flight

We were at the gate on time and passport control was empty, straight through to baggage reclaim
to gather my bag full of bottles, which seem to have survived.

Customs was empty as usual and it was straight up to the second floor to the AA arrivals lounge.

The Easiest way to get there, as you emerge from customs out into the terminal there are steel ‘fences’ either side funnelling you forward but on the right there is a gap right beside the doors, so a hard right turn and the lift is then on the right opposite the ‘Departures’ doors.

The reason for using the lounge was to get a shower. I had every intention of booking a day room but the earliest one was 8am so cleaning up would kill the time nicely

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Having showered I just had time for a quick coffee before I headed off to the hotel. The coffee was RANK!

Deciding to have a coffee at the hotel instead, I headed off to the Underground

Over to the tube station and a quick hop to T5 and then off to the Sofitel.

The Sofitel was by far the most expensive option but it had two huge advantages, firstly the day rooms started at 8am, and secondly I could take a trolley all the way to reception and not have to lug my weighty and broken roller!

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Way OTT for a day stop!

After a good solid six hours sleep it was time to decamp to the CCR. The lift had been fixed whilst I slept, and there were plenty of trolleys waiting which made getting the cases to the first wing for check in a breeze.

And that brings me up to date, currently sat in the CCR, caffeine and an old fashioned opened the proceedings

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Now enjoying a glass of wine whilst perusing the menu

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Three hours to go now until my flight to NCL. On the original booking I was supposed to be in Spain right now but instead I get to go home for 12 hours before heading to Birmingham for a board meeting. I guess Birmingham is like Spain… OK, maybe not :D

With the current UK weather and Spanish power cuts, I think your bread is buttered on the right side😂

Out onto the gallery which is my favourite place to eat, I find the dining booths a bit dark and stuffy

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The large table on the gallery is laid out for afternoon tea

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Looking out across the tarmac, anyone recognise this livery?

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No coronation cauliflower abominations I hope!

Not feeling overly hungry, I’ve gone for the shellfish bisque with some sourdough bread. I’ve had this before, a definitely crowd pleaser

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A quick peruse of the desert menu

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And I’ve opted for the pannacotta. There may well be a second desert of cakes for the afternoon tea stand :D

Don't remind me of that abomination! Although, at least it looked moist, unlike the other two sandwiches.

The Pannacotta desert was very pleasant and I’m sure the toasted flakes were from a breakfast cereal box but they did their job in delivering some sweetness and texture

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Now I’ve picked up a small selection of the afternoon cakes just to test them out

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Down to gate A13 at T-30 and pre-boarding was well underway. as usual with LRH, I walked along the tensabarrier and caught the eye of the gate agent and was straight through. There were a lot of pre-boards this evening and there was a minute of #BoardingNotBoarding before we were allowed onto the plane

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G-TNEB tonight which I have been on once before for my one and only flight from MAN almost a year ago… Sweet Bird of Freedom :D

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Next Stop: Newcastle in around an hours time

one of my favourites - G-YMML, Great Festival of Creativity. On its way to Toronto
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And I’m done! This trip is ending as many do, with my penning the final update from the Uber on the way home.

Food offering on this evenings flight was either veg sushi or prawn salad, neither of these appealed, so I simply opted for a coffee and a baileys to see me home.

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Quick and easy flight, at the gate at 19:44 and then a 25 minute wait for bags as we had landed just after an easyJet plane full.

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Home sweet home, almost

And that’s me done! 13 hours to turn my life around and then I’m out the door again.

Thanks to everyone that contributed along the way, always makes the trips more fun.

Next up: in two weeks time. A long birthday weekend in Shanghai where I do not intend to leave the hotel :D

The Sofitel is by far the best option.