| Wednesday, 26 March 2003 Preparations The trip to Dublin began with a trip to Croydon to pay a final visit at the Home Office. We were up at 4 AM and on the road to the train station by 5. Not the most relaxing of ways to begin a holiday.
Britain's popularity has not waned during the past year. In 2002, we arrived at 7:30 and were number 60 in the queue; this year, we were in line just before 6:30 and there were so many people in front of us I didn't bother counting. To the credit of the Home Office, they seem to be dealing with the influx well. We were herded inside, searched, sorted and sent to our respective waiting warehouses in a timely and orderly fashion. We even noted the addition of port-a-loos outside and a cafeteria inside. These are definitely steps in the right direction, but I think a kiosk out in the car park selling coffee and danish and renting little fold-up chairs might be a real money-maker. This year was more of a formality so there was less tension, and the visit was not the comedy of errors that the previous one was. We were asked no questions, we simply handed over our documents and returned to the corral to await summons. That, in itself, might have been nerve-wracking--as it seemed to take an inordinate amount of time--but, prior to sending us off, the clerk had smiled pleasantly and informed us that it would take upwards of 45 minutes to process our paperwork, a period of time I strongly suspect included a leisurely tea break. When we were called, our various papers were returned and the clerk held up my passport for us to see, opened to the page with the 'leave to remain' stamp on it. She smiled again, congratulated me and welcomed me to the United Kingdom. A very nice touch.
We returned home for lunch, then got back on the train for the short trip to Gatwick and the usual 'hustle like hell, wait, have a drink at the airport bar, get to the gate and find your seat on the plane' routine. It's an Aer Lingus / British Airways flight with a captain who, by the sound of his greeting, is just a bit too laid back for comfort. I prefer someone with a little more enthusiasm driving my plane. The weather is warm and overcast here in Britain and our Quaalude-popping captain assures us it's the same in Dublin. |
We
were out of there like a shot, and I hope to never see the inside of that
building again.