Day 10

The landing at Gatwick was a huge relief and for more than the reasons of general wellbeing. My son and I had settled into our seats (albeit slightly undersized seating for two 6’2” guys).The flight was full and next to me on the aisle was a spare seat; wouldn’t you know it I hit the jackpot! She plonked herself down next to me and immediately started to talk. The next 5 hours was a non-offensive barrage of unfiltered topics which were relevant to her, her boyfriend, her mother, her brothers, her father and her fake Burberry handbag which she was very uncomfortable about leaving under the seat in front of her. It was her first time travelling alone and she wanted me to know that at 21 years of age maybe her parents had been a bit protective (or, as I imagined, they were afraid to unleash her onto an unsuspecting world who would not tolerate such incessant chatter!). We covered many topics regardless of how much I responded; sometimes I just stared ahead and nodded in agreement and other times I would say-‘oh really’ or something equally interesting.  It wasn’t a great hardship but I would have liked a few moments to myself just to, maybe, close my eyes for fifteen minutes. As we’d approached our landing pattern my eyelids had started to droop and I’d informed her that I wanted to sleep but this didn’t dampen her desire to continue talking. The quest for some good old fashion shut-eye had been well and truly trampled on and all that remained was to let her pray for a safe landing; thankfully she did this in complete silence and it was two minutes of absolute bliss!! 

We disembarked through the flexi- tunnel and the chatter continued. I stopped momentarily to readjust my hand luggage and expected that she would just continue and somehow disappear into the freezing fog of Gatwick; alas this was not to be and she waited for us to catch up- oh the joy!

At the carousel I was wondering whether or not she would latch onto us and want to come home with us but I needn’t have worried- as soon as she grabbed her distinctive case she turned and said “It was great meeting you guys and we had a laugh, thanks and have a nice Christmas.” Then she was gone; in a strange way she had made the journey go quicker and in all honesty did provide some laughs on the way.  I always say that if you can make somebody smile and moreover make them laugh then that is a gift- Happy Christmas Little Miss Chatterbox!

Day 9

The holidays are upon us and this is the time of much merriment and joyous laughter; the time for giving and receiving of gifts and of goodwill to all men, except that at the moment for me and my son who are supposed to be in ‘Arctic UK’ for Christmas it isn’t so joyous. Our flight from Cyprus was cancelled last evening due to severe weather in the UK and most of Europe. We had a choice of our money back or moving our flight to the next day, today. So here I am, amongst the babble of foreign tongues all around me, in the coffee shop at the airport departure lounge. Most of these people seem to be travelling to non European destinations if their laughter and chatter is anything to go by. You can tell who the UK bound passengers are by their long faces and discarded piles of crisp packets and drinks cups. I can live with this kind of delay without feeling too aggrieved under normal circumstances but this time the delay means that I will not see my brother and his family, as arranged, who are due to fly out early tomorrow for their own Christmas holiday; neither will my son see his cousin. As if this wasn’t bad enough I received weather updates a short while ago from another brother in the UK. He informed me that although my flight may arrive on time and only leave two and a half hours later, the real problem will begin when (and if) we land at Gatwick. The weather forecast is for freezing fog and temperatures down to ten below zero! Effectively the runways could become ice rinks as will the roads. So even if we arrive in ‘Arctic UK’ we could be stuck in the buildings at Gatwick sleeping rough until the morning when the Gatwick express starts up again. I can’t expect family to drive tens of miles, risking life, limb and bumpers just to collect us and all the while hoping that they don’t skid off the motorway into a bottomless ravine! The more I think of it the best thing now would be the postponement of the flight until tomorrow morning which means that we could sleep rough in the airport of a warmer climate without the need for heat retaining foil ‘blankets’ as has been the case in the UK; you really can’t help thinking of Christmas when you see those unfortunate passengers wrapped up like huge Turkeys ready to go in the oven! But seriously, it’s at times like these that you realise how fragile our whole infrastructure is. The fabric of our lives is intricately woven and we are all at the mercy of unseen forces which are all ultimately masters of our very existence. The disruption of millions of people’s lives can be attributed to ‘severe weather.’ No amount of science or technology is a match for the raw, unpredictable beast that is ‘Nature’.

 The information screen is currently showing that our flight is still scheduled; so all that is left is to keep our fingers crossed and hope for a safe and trouble-free landing. Godspeed!

Day 8

At long last the moment we had all been waiting for (slight generalisation) finally arrived; a well known German supermarket arrived on the island and what a reception they received! I just so happened to be at a loose end on the first day of trading on the 4^th of November so I decided to have a look at what was on offer. I parked up at 7:45am and grabbed a brand spanking new trolley and stood in the short queue which was not getting longer by the minute as I had expected. I met somebody who I had seen a couple of years ago at a friend’s house. He was there for one thing and that was it; a petrol powered chainsaw. He was a man of course much like me living in the 21^st century, but unlike me he was insistent that he didn’t do the shopping seeing as that’s his wife’s job. We killed time until 8:00am when the doors finally opened to a big cheer. Organised chaos ensued as doddery 70-somethings clattered trolleys and made snide remarks under their breath, all trying to get through the entrance at once. The Christmas sale mentality was put into motion as the race to the non-food section began; the opening day offers were indeed special. I took my time as I merely wanted to browse. The scene which confronted me as I approached from the quiet, foods-section could only be described as bedlam. There were packets of ladies-wear being opened and discarded, oversized boxes being manoeuvred onto trolleys, shoppers barging other shoppers, shouts of joy and despair from others as the last pack of cheap cotton underwear got snapped up. The aisles in that area were now no-go areas and you would not voluntarily, trust your shins to the frenzied mob, who were seemingly devouring everything in their path; it reminded me of a plague of locusts making short work of a corn field, but with bigger teeth!

After moving away from the mob I took a stroll around and dropped some keenly priced goods into the trolley. On my travels I caught sight of the ‘chainsaw man’ who by this time had not only purchased his bargain but lo and behold there was real food shopping in his trolley! I didn’t make eye contact because I couldn’t be bothered with the idle chat and besides I didn’t want to embarrass the macho man inside him. I made my way to the checkout where the first customer had just passed through and I could hear a commotion from outside. After I had paid and begun to exit I noticed a throng of people outside the store making themselves heard and complaining to the security staff who were preventing any more shoppers from entering. There were no more trolleys left which of course made me a target as I exited... ‘quick, run for the hills!’ was my first thought but the young woman with babe in arms seemed harmless enough;  I wished her luck... she was in for a rough ride.

Day 7

We’ve all heard the words: “I’m not a morning person” spoken at some point in our lives. So what does this really mean? In most cases it means that this type wake up miserable and for the next hour or so treat anybody near them as if they’ve slandered their whole family! The bad news is that if you somehow manage to rub them the wrong way, then the whole day is shot to pieces and you’ll have to start again tomorrow. The worst kind of person to partner the aforementioned is a chirpy positive, ‘glad to be alive’ morning type-like me. Even after 23 years of marriage I can’t seem to do the ‘keep quiet’ thing; at the end of the day we are what we are.
Some people wake up in the morning and seem to just want peace and quiet and you cannot speak to them and if you do then you can expect a grim,mono-syllabic response. This type of person cannot function properly until consuming a good quantity of coffee and at least an hour has passed since waking. If you wake up with such a person you have to try to resist the need to witter on until your partner is able to respond in a civilised manner; this is much harder than it sounds!
 Is this  behaviour normal or does it imply some hitherto undiagnosed problem; after all its a new day, the opportunity to do things better or to make somebody smile; the ability to make our day negative or positive begins as soon as we step one foot out of bed. So for somebody like me who is annoyingly positive and happy first thing in the morning is it because I was born this way or is the way we are affected by external factors?

Search ‘I’m not a morning person’

Sleep is important for our general well being and for proper healing and cell repair and regeneration. Your body is ruled by your body clock which utilizes ‘Circadian Patterns’ which in turn rule your world! These patterns are disrupted, for example, when travelling between time zones and are responsible for jet-lag. Genetics have been identified as being responsible for varying sleep disorders so it is also likely that not being a ‘morning person’ could have its roots in your genetic makeup. So the next time you wake up miserable just blame your parents and accept that this is just you and tough for everybody else!

Day 6

Well, after the driest November for 100 years the rain finally came, and how! Thunder, lightning and all the trimmings. Sitting here with my Capp’ and looking out at the grey gloom it’s oddly calming and somehow ‘warming’ as the pit-pattering rain gently washes the pavements clean and signals, perhaps, the onset of winter. What is it about falling rain that mesmerises the onlooker into a soothing daydream unlike any other? Getting lost in the moment of just ‘being,’ without thinking of anything in particular is the most relaxing moment in your day. This is no coincidence and it is well documented that it is actually a healthy thing to do, whenever it may occur; let the day dream run its course-don’t fight it. This is probably worth a bit of research to confirm the benefits.

Search- ‘Daydreaming is good for you’

Research has shown the following findings:

1.      When we daydream, the more complex part of the brain is subconsciously  activated causing the problem solving and idea making departments to become supercharged so that although it seems as though you are doing nothing, your good friend, sub consciousness, is busy solving all your problems. 

2.      Trying to solve problems and sitting there scratching your head can just increase the block on your progression. Taking a break from it and forgetting about the problem can actually help to solve it. Daydreaming takes you away from your problems on a conscious level whilst laying them at the door of your ‘inner’ brain.

3.      Also daydreaming can relieve stress momentarily which in turn makes you happier; obviously this is good for your health. However, experts agree that too much daydreaming can be a problem and it is important not to lose touch with the present day!

So next time that you find yourself daydreaming, just let yourself go...be happy, it’s doing you the world of good.