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October
Friday 9th October
First Capital Connect decided to remind me why I hate them so much. Signalling problems at Blackfriars caused a 35 minute delay. Then shoe-horned onto a shuttle bus because the Gatwick transit is being repaired. Finally reached the first class lounge waiting for a BA flight to Jersey.
Sunday 11th October
Awoke to the sad news that Stephen Gately had died.
Pics of the Jersey weekend can be seen here.
Thursday 15th October
Finally got out of work. Haircut on the way to the airport. Full flight. Idiot next to me decided that the rules about switching off electrical goods when landing; so I told him to switch his Ipod off. OH not impressed and told me off. Taxi to flat.
Friday 16th October
Who goes to the supermarket at 8am? We do when we have guests staying - OH’s work colleagues.
The visitors catch a very early flight from Gatwick. Colin collects them from Schönefeld while Chris prepares a traditional German brunch - Bratwurst.
After taking Steve and Chris to their accommodation (Dean and Phil’s apartment we headed off to Zoo station (via Wittenbergplatz, info here) to get the extremely tourist-friendly 100 bus to the Siegessäule (info here) from where we headed down Straße des 17. Juni to the Soviet memorial (info here) and then took a well-earned break at the Berliner Pavilion. It was then to the Reichstag (info here), the memorial for those who died trying to cross the wall and then to the Brandenburg gate (info here) and the Jewish memorial (info here).
It was then time to return home to freshen up before heading back east to Alexanderplatz (info here) and the revolving restaurant at the top of the TV tower (info here). They have changed their ticketing system so now you are given a specific time slot so you cannot go and enjoy the view before your meal. Back to the flat for more alcohol and ten-pin bowling on the Wii.
Saturday 17th October
After a hearty German breakfast we headed off for a day concentrating on the Wall; a good time to this as the Wall came down twenty years ago. Walked down the exclusive shopping street of Friedrichstraße (info here) to the tourist-trap that is Checkpoint Charlie (info here) and then onto the museum at Bernauerstraße (info here) that incorporates a large section of the wall.
Time to freshen up again before heading to our favourite restaurant (info here) and a great meal followed by a trip over the road to Magnifica for cocktails. Chris and Dee then hit the night-life of Berlin (well, the pub down the road and then back to the cocktail bar!).
Sunday 18th October
After a late breakfast (which one of the clubbers missed) we went to the Olympic stadium (info here) before returning to collect the luggage and send our visitors on their way.
First visit to Stageclub in ages where it was the post-Hustlaball party.
Monday 19th November
Awoke to an email advising that our flight to London had been cancelled so we quickly dressed and caught a taxi to the airport. The queue to rebook was very long but fortunately the man at the checkin desk allowed us to change our tickets there as we were Gold-card holders. Booked on the 1105 which meant a long wait in the lounge where the lady on duty didn’t know the flight had been cancelled, although she had been a little surprised about how quiet the lounge was! She also gave us a €15,00 voucher each instead of €7,50. To waste some time we went and had breakfast using the vouchers and then tried the Priority Pass lounge. Not bad but not very large.
Finally boarded - BA had put on a larger plane to bring us all back. Apparently a vehicle had collided with the plane at LHR last night, making it inoperable. Young child sitting behind me spent the whole of the flight kicking the back of my seat.
Wednesday 21st October
Out for a curry with D & C; waiter remembered the starter I used to have at the other restaurant years ago (Dill Alloo Chop) and made it specially for me. On the bus on the way home the driver suddenly stopped the bus and ran into the road; a young man was threatening to jump from the overpass; police arrived and handcuffed him to the railing so he couldn’t jump and we could continue our journey.
Friday 23rd October
Usual trip to LHR but this time it was to T1 so in future I will take the T5 tube as the other one waits at T4. Centurion card got me through fasttrack and I went to the Star Alliance lounge to wait for C. OK lounge but busy and nothing special so we went to the BMI lounge which was just as busy but the atmosphere and food and drink were all better.
The plane was boarded from the rear but, Gold card in hand, we ventured forwarded and were soon sitting in row 3, just behind club. Immediately spotted the rather large and clumsy BMI female trolley dolly; I was later proved right as later in the flight she spilled beer over my sleeve. Taxi back to the flat. I was still suffering from a cold; Colin went out.
Saturday 24th October
Lazy day before heading out for Paul’s 50th Birthday Party at his flat; had a good chat in German with Klaus’s brother and sister-in-law.
Sunday 25th October
Lazy day. In the evening watched the Gay Bed and Breakfast of terror. Absolutely awful.
Tuesday 27th October.
Happy Birthday C. Meal with D&P at Sangri which they paid for - nice one boyz.
Thursday 29th October
Norman Painting (Phil Archer) has died.
Friday 30th November
Busy day at work, leaving about 15:30. No problems getting to the hotel (Sheraton, Heathrow Airport) which is a pretty standard Sheraton. We were upgraded courtesy of our SPG Gold card to an “enchanced” room on the third, which we believe is the only floor that has been renovated recently. Unfortunately we can’t compare rooms as we don’t what an enhanced one looks like! C had tried the curry buffet in the restaurant which was too spicy even for him. I stuck to the tried and tested fish and chips which, in a nice piece of attention to detail, were wrapped in a copy of the previous day’s Daily Mail; a comment, perhaps, on SPG’s feelings towards that newspaper?
Saturday 30th October
As it was raining we used the Hoppa bus to get from the hotel to Terminal 3. Fasttrack worked for once and after a quick shopping expedition we headed towards the newly opened (this week) First class lounge of British Airways. See review and pics here. Visit was shorter than expected as the boarding announcement came earlier than expected as we were being bussed to the plane. Late take off but decent flight with second breakfast of the day (we were in Club) . Quick transfer to the domestic terminal at MAD and to the Iberia lounge (pics and reviews here) where we had a couple of hours to kill before our flight to Gran Canaria.
Boarding the plane we were upgraded to business which was a pleasant surprise. Although we were technically on an internal flight they were using a big plane usually used for long-haul which, in business, had the large, extending seats. It also meant that we didn’t have to pay for food or drinks.
At LPA we eventually found our driver and we were quickly on our way to Club Mancha.
After a quick trip to the supermarket for “essentials” and a short nap w headed out to the Yumbo centre: Construction, the Block and then Cellar Mens Bar. (click here for more information about Gay Gran Canaria).
NOVEMBER
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