The 'Single Step' (or a few of them) took me to John's car for the journey to Heathrow Terminal 5. Since the weather in the U.K. improved in time for the recent Brewood Vintage Garden Party a few days ago, we've enjoyed a heatwave so the journey was a bit warm but, fortunately, uneventful.
Arriving shortly after 2.00 p.m., I found the huge Terminal 5 quite empty. I had a fair walk to the correct Check-In Desk but the actual process was both prompt and painless and the British Airways lady polite and friendly. Even Security (which usually can be relied upon to worsen my mood) was pretty quiet and the only member of staff I spoke to was friendly.
Another walk took me to the Gallery South Lounge. Signage at airports is sometimes more artistic than informative so I initially managed to get to the wrong lounge but a bit more walking took me to the right place.
View from the Gallery South Lounge looking towards Satellite 'B' with the Control Tower in the background.
Whilst the lounge was quite busy, it was reasonably quiet so I relaxed a little. I found a spare computer (a rather tired Dell running an Internet Explorer so old that Google kept complaining about it. I'd got my Notebook Computer with me but didn't want to faff about setting it up) and prepared this Blog Post.
I'm leaving on the BA39 to Beijing at 16:40. This route still uses Boeing 747 'Jumbos' which have been one of my favourite aircraft types for years. I'd been warned it would take me twenty minutes or so to reach Gate C55 from the lounge - I believe it must be in the 'Satellite' terminal accessed by a driverless train.
The non-stop flight to Beijing is, of course, considerably more than "a Thousand Miles" but is planned to take less than eleven hours, such are the marvels of modern international air travel. Wish me 'Bon Voyage', Gentle Reader and be assured I will post updates when I'm able.
My Pictures
Pictures taken on various visits to Heathrow (including this one) are here.
