Sitting Ducks

Have you missed our daily chats?  I certainly have, but what an adventure I have had!!!

We set out on our journey to Disney just after teatime on Weds.  Our flight wasn't until the following morning but as it was a really early departure we decided to stay close to the airport the night before.  Not wishing to shell out too much we chose the Luton Travelodge.   In hindsight It would have been more cost effective and less miserable to purchase a couple of  cardboard boxes and sleep in the airport foyer.   For those of you who have ever stayed at this venue, I no doubt do not need to qualify that statement any further.  For those of you who haven't, and I pray never shall, think public toilet meets ageing caravan and you'll have a rough idea of the standard.   It was so manky I daren't even use the loo for fear of catching some nasty STD.  Not that there are any nice ones, of course.

Still.  We were going to Disneyland so there was no place for negativity amidst our number.  Corrinna nobly offered to sleep in the bed nearest to the broken window (I joke not), and so we settled down for the night, me in a reasonably comfy bed but her with the wind whistling down her neck, what a stalwart.  In the morning we awoke at 4.30am, bundled the girls in to some clothes and headed over to the airport.  

Again, being incredibly tight, we had decided that rather than leave the car in a designated car park, and pay for it, we would instead dump it on a nearby housing estate and walk to the terminal.  And so it was that two grown women dragged two small children, five suitcases and two teddies through the drizzling rain and a pavementless industrial estate, in order to save 4 quid.  

We entered the terminal at approximately ten past six and immediately sought out the flight information board instructing us which desk to approach for check-in.  Our flight was scheduled to depart at 8.10am.  There was a flight listed for 7.55am departing to Barcelona, 8.00am to Dublin, 8.05am to Madrid then 8.20am to Marrakesh.  No 8.10am flight though leaving for Charles De Gaulle.  For an instant I doubted myself - you know the feeling, wondering if you've mixed up your days, or are infact just dreaming, but no, it was Thursday 4th Feb 2010 and I was most definitely awake.  The rain had made sure of that.  And so came that sinking sensation which is your guts' way of telling you that sod and his law have struck again.

We then made our way to the "EasyJet" booking desk and enquired of our flight only to be informed that it had been cancelled.....two months earlier!.   "Okay, but you have made some kind of arrangement for us though haven't you because we are booked on that flight and now can't get to Disneyland".  "Errr No.  But what we are willing to do is transfer you FREE OF CHARGE on to the next available flight which  leaves in another nine hours".  "Oh well that's okay then, we'll just fork out for a Motel in Hellsville, wake up at ridiculous 'o'clock, pay for a day in Disney with all meals included and not mind one bit that it's all now wasted because you've so generoulsy given us a FOC transfer to compensate".  Perhaps you could just FOC off in the process too.  Needless to say not one bit of our protest or upset mattered a jot to them.  The manager's final words were "This is EasyJet, what do you expect??".

Now, if there is one thing you should understand about us Silvers (Silver being our pre-marital name) it's that we have been taught well by our Mother in areas such as this.  No Silver girl takes anything lying down - with a few exceptions perhaps.  What do we expect????  JUSTICE of course, and nothing less.

So now our minds are working in overdrive.  What can we do to make them pay??  Chris texted to suggest we purchase a pair of handcuffs and chain ourselves to the seats of the plane until the airline agree compensation.  This scheme I felt was slightly flawed.  Firstly where to buy handcuffs? To date I have never yet seen an airport concession selling kidnap and hostage accessories.  Secondly, if I am chained to a seat for several hours won't that make me even later getting to Disneyland and thirdly if, which is highly probable, I get arrested under the anti-terrorism act it may have a rather adverse effect on my C.V.- at a time when I am trying to launch a career this is quite simply unwise.

It did get us thinking along the right lines though  - and we decided upon a sit-in protest.  We dressed the girls up in their Disney Princess outfits complete with Minnie Mouse ears and tear-streaked mascara, made a few slanderous posters defaming the character of EasyJet and, with the help of Chris, called in the local media.   Admittedly I felt it would probably accomplish nothing more than revealing us as a pair of nutters, but it was an outlet through which to vent and a much needed one at that.  However the response it generated was amazing.  Many of the airport customers stopped to offer us words of support and encouragement, the Police came and chatted to us (initially perhaps just wanting to know what we were up to) - they listened to our story and thought it was wonderful to see someone standing up for themselves (legally that is);  but most importantly the newspapers got involved.  The Luton News came down to photograph the scene and ran a feature on our 'plight'.  They also passed the story on to BBC Three Counties Radio who tackled the problem live on air, managing to get hold of EasyJet's Press Office who, presumably concerned at the prospect of such bad publicity, agreed to make monetary reparation.  Turned out an email sent by them advising of the cancellation had been rejected by my Yahoo spam filter.  The real error had occured though when a glitch in their system  meant a flight confirmation was sent to us just a few days before the day of departure.

Of course the story was far more long-winded than I am able to portray here on the blog, without boring you to pieces.   If I am completely honest, although the compensation covered the cost of the entire trip, it wasn't, I don't feel,  worth the emotional upset and physical stress.   By the time we arrived in France at 7.00pm that night the park was closed and the girls were utterly inconsolable.  But it did teach me an invaluable lesson, which is that sometimes standing up for what you believe in does make a difference.  The fact is they had been negligent and in the end justice prevailed.

From therein onwards it was wonderful.  I had been to Disney once before with the boys but I thought it was quite wasted on them.  They did enjoy it but would have enjoyed Alton Towers just as much.  All they wanted was fast rides.  The girls however soaked up every magical detail of the experience which was a delight to behold.  From the Disney parades to the dancing shows, meeting the characters, and the fairytale rides., every last element of the park is finely tuned to satisfy girls of all ages.  I almost cried when we left as it filled me with an excitement rare to find at my age.  Sadly.

The only negative is that Disney routinely pump out an airborne chemical which stimulates your child's spoilt gland causing them to become fully blown uber-brats during their stay, Miley Cyrus style.   Everywhere you look girls are wailing at their parents over some toy, dress or teddy that they just have to have.   I was in a store around teatime on Friday when a little girl aged about six started screaming in her Dad's face "you don't love me, if you did you would buy me that Pooh Bear...I hate you".  To which he responded by simply sitting her on his knee and trying to offer some comfort.  I am wondering if Walt is also pumping out a sedative gas which affects only parents.  Clearly I am immune to it though, as Charlotte and her black eyes can attest to.   I have said before that she can be a real madam but even I was surprised at the new heights to which her diva-esque qualities could rise.   I must confess that 50% of the time I neither liked nor recognised the child I was with.  Which really was a shame, and something which absolutely did not happen with the boys.  Bless em.

As far as eating and exercise goes.  Well I did a lot of one and not much of the other.  I won't tell you which way round that goes, but based on the fact it was an all inclusive package I think you can probably guess.  Happily though, although the scales have not gone down they haven't gone up either.  It is now only 27 days until the big race and I really do need to get my skates on so to speak.   This little blip in the middle of it all hasn't helped, although I planned Disney well before the notion of blogging/jogging came up so cannot be held responsible!  Send me some encouragement folks as I really do need it.

Hoping today finds you happy and well. 

x x x