h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's Saturday morning, 23rd December. I'm stuck on a piece of rock 9 miles long by 5 miles wide in the middle of the sea. Me and hundreds - if not thousands - of other people want to get off this piece of rock before the 25th. But the weather has other ideas...


I was walking though the terminal at Jersey airport, when in front of me an airport manager answered his mobile and said:
"Oh hello. Yes, not bad, thanks. Although it's just about to get really bad, we've just had to cancel some..."

The rest of his conversation was obscured by the PA system going: "BING BONG", and then:
"This is a passenger announcement. We regret that due to adverse weather conditions, all flights to Birmingham, Exeter, Gatwick, Leeds, Norwich, Southampton and Stanstead are cancelled. Please make your way to the back of the 4 hour queue for the ticket desk where you may wish to lose your temper and/or get a refund or attempt to rebook your flight for some point this year if you're lucky. Oh, and merry Christmas."

The entire airport simultaneously erupted into a sort of sound. Then there was a mini stampede towards the ticket desk.

Quite literally, we queued from one end of the terminal building to the other, snaking our way back and forth. If I hadn't been so busy stampeding and queueing I should've taken a picture. I was quite quick into the queue and was maybe in the first quarter when I got there. I took an hour getting to the desk. The poor folk at the back would've had a further 3 hours to wait.


So, I'm stuck on this bit of rock in the sea. But I'm getting off... I've rebooked my flight to Sunday evening. I've booked an extra flight for today. If both those options fail, there's the back-up plan of the 9 hour ferry crossing on Sunday night which at least gets me somewhere on the mainland on Monday morning, where maybe I can spend Christmas day freezing in a bus shelter or on a platform or something.

Paff

Oh I'm sorry to hear that!

I hope you do get back for christmas. If not, post on Ask h2g2 for any locals to at least bring you a cuppa in your bus stop!

I'm leaving in 10 mins for the airport again to try to get to Plymouth. Devon is still very foggy though, so who knows what'll happen.

I might be back here posting more doom and gloom in about 4 hours. Or I _might_ be on Dartmoor with the nippers, the missus and the dog.

Gee Whiz Paff, I hope you get home for Xmas..., and have a from Oz..Cascade cider is delicious..

Well seven hours has passed since he posted, so maybe he made his flight.

I've been looking at those poor stranded people on the news at Heathrow and thinking "Poor sods" and they really should pull that credit card advert where all those people are hugging each other at airports.

on your travels Paff and family

Back where I belong...

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(I must look out for some Cascade)

Oh I'm glad I stayed up a few more minutes now (an hour ago)

celebration time indeedy