About nine hours into my 10 and a half hour flight from Frankfurt (Germany) to Houston(Texas), I assimilated my experience to childbirth…long and painful and seeming like it will never end….then it does and you will do it all over again! Maybe learn a few tricks on the way!

So today I have no beautiful pictures, just some not so beautiful words. I boarded the plane in my designated group “5” and took my middle seat next to a women from Azerbaijan (near Russia), a quite large women who looked like Jennifer Coolidge (Tanya in the White Lotus) ensconced in her window seat. I slid into the one next to her and waited for my Aisle seat companion! A hundred and 50 Kg black man, with a lovely smile and very nice, sandwiched himself into the seat next to me.. knees touching seat in front- enormous thighs that sat two stories higher than mine and three times as wide, and shoulders that overflowed over the armrests onto my seat back! Yes I felt like a sardine, the middle one in the can!

So the one on the left needed my armrest and the one on the right needed my armrest and a quarter of my back seat (while sleeping all the way) ! No other option for yours truly except to sit in a straight line and read for most of the journey – elbows tucked inside the, otherwise occupied, armrests! Looking forward to the two snacks offered on the way! Daren’t drink too much as I couldn’t escape to the aisle over the sleeping giant (very nice man though) !

Needless to say I was very pleased when we touched down in Houston (10.5 hours later) and I could unfold and stretch a very sore back and cough with abandon!

Tona and Chuck collected me and we travelled to their home in Lake Jackson, where I have a very very spacious apartment to spread out in.

Work from and relax in for the next week while I try and recover from my recent ailments, without bothering anyone!

Time out to be spent by the pool!