Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 8 January 2023

Hello all, Do hope you are all keeping well despite mixed weather conditions.

Annette - heard about the flooding on Route 101 etc in the Santa Barbara area so do hope you are safe and the floods haven't reached you. Remembering my son and his wife driving down the Route 101 in Augst/September this year.

Skimmed through all your news. Not a lot to say down here. Keep well and safe, all.

Lindybird:  Oh right - now I remember about your bro.  Wonder if his daughters will ever make it back to the UK to visit.

dibnlib:  All okay here thank you, but I did pop over to Trader Joe's the afternoon of the closures (there was one south of us and one north of us) and was sort of shocked to see most of their shelves bare, which made me realize I need to stock up on emergency food supplies just in case an earthquake or major mudslide shuts that highway down for days or weeks at a time.  Eeeek.

Niece has just landed at Heathrow; I'm on the third lot of laundry.  Life goes on.

Just a thought

It may be Friday the 13th, but it is still Friday and a reason to dance!

Friday the 13th is still better than Monday, the whatever.

Superstition is foolish, childish, primitive and irrational – but how much does it cost you to knock on wood? (Judith Viorst)

AQ: Flight from LAX to Heathrow was 9.45 hours I was tracking it on FlightRadar24 and noticed they'd take a more southerly route than I've ever taken. The flight went across the US and out over Quebec then across southern Ireland and Wales.... She said it was a rough flight, more like a roller-coaster ride the whole way and that even though she had the row to herself, she didn't manage to sleep. The good news is that her dog gave her a hysterically happy welcome home. I'm sure they're both snuggled up in bed now.

ANNETTE – That flight doesn’t sound too bad, timewise, but a rough flight was not good. I am comparing the time from Adelaide to London – we have to take 2 legs. Mine were 7 hours to Singapore, hours in transit, then another 14 hours to Heathrow. I always claimed it was 30 hours from my front door to hotel/B&B. . . and that was before major security checks were brought in to add further delays. In some ways I am glad I no longer travel overseas.

AQ: Right, not too bad - especially when you compare it to what you guys would had to do - even in pre-security times Nowadays we have to be at the airport three hours before flight time and that's after the travel time to the airport -in our case, it's two hours to LAX. You really have to want/need to make a trip these days!

ANNETTE - I think in Aussieland it is 2 hours before flight time for domestic and 3 hours for international. Not just because of increased security checks in recent years but also staff shortages due to covid. Many overseas airlines have not yet resumed full service, perhaps only 3 days a week from our fair city. S-i-l was pleased to get a direct flight from Adelaide westward overseas, but was dismayed to find they detoured to pick up passengers in Melbourne (to our east!). He can't win.

ANNETTE - PS. When I was travelling, luckily we live 5-10 mins from airport. Dau#1 & OH drive here, leave car with us and gets taxi to airport. Years ago I would drive them & pick up.

Good Morning. A wild & windy night, here. Raining at the moment: not sure if I'll venture out, apart from feeding the birds.

Glad your niece got home alright, Annette, especially after hearing that there had been incidents over some flights which had to be grounded.

Sad to hear that Lisa Marie Presley has died. Somehow it makes me feel old! I remember Elvis getting married!