Friday, May 19, 2006
04/2006: Birmingham Airport: 'it's not all about being abroad when you do this job...'
National Express driver turns up and tells the 4 people waiting (me included) who all have valid tickets that he’s “not due to pick anyone up at this stop”. A minor scuffle ensues and he retreats to take further instructions from the control centre, shutting the door so we can’t storm the bus.
10 minutes later the driver reluctantly allows us on but moans about the lack of luggage space.
Sit next to a delightful student who is on her way to visit her Brummie boyfriend in Illinois. He’s 6’10 and is in the US playing college basketball. She proudly tells me he was number 6 on the list of best college players in ‘Sports Illustrated’ magazine. It’s nice to hear of at least one sporting success to come out of the city, particularly in the light of the recent deeply humiliating thrashing of Birmingham City by Liverpool, followed by their marginally less humiliating thrashing by Manchester United - and the upcoming expected thrashing by Chelsea…
Tap Airlines (the Portuguese national carrier) is an hour late taking off. No reason is given. The passenger’s average age is around 97.
Arrive at Funchal and just miss the airport bus so have to resort to expensive taxi driven by an elderly psychopath. As we hurtle down a narrow one-way street with no pavements, someone steps out of a restaurant and it’s a miracle that we don’t mow her down. The driver just hisses nastily and speeds up.
National Express driver turns up and tells the 4 people waiting (me included) who all have valid tickets that he’s “not due to pick anyone up at this stop”. A minor scuffle ensues and he retreats to take further instructions from the control centre, shutting the door so we can’t storm the bus.
10 minutes later the driver reluctantly allows us on but moans about the lack of luggage space.
Sit next to a delightful student who is on her way to visit her Brummie boyfriend in Illinois. He’s 6’10 and is in the US playing college basketball. She proudly tells me he was number 6 on the list of best college players in ‘Sports Illustrated’ magazine. It’s nice to hear of at least one sporting success to come out of the city, particularly in the light of the recent deeply humiliating thrashing of Birmingham City by Liverpool, followed by their marginally less humiliating thrashing by Manchester United - and the upcoming expected thrashing by Chelsea…
Tap Airlines (the Portuguese national carrier) is an hour late taking off. No reason is given. The passenger’s average age is around 97.
Arrive at Funchal and just miss the airport bus so have to resort to expensive taxi driven by an elderly psychopath. As we hurtle down a narrow one-way street with no pavements, someone steps out of a restaurant and it’s a miracle that we don’t mow her down. The driver just hisses nastily and speeds up.
# posted by hotelreviewer @ 1:39 pm 
