Much has been said about the chaotic boarding procedures for Europe’s cheap-flight carriers, but it’s not until I’ve joined the devastating queue for EasyJet Flight 3775 that the rumors seem less than overblown. People are shifting with the deft choreography of an offensive line protecting against the pass rush. There seem to be eye signals at work. I’m holding my boarding pass with a dumb smile while around me, a frothing insurrection is surging toward the gate. By day, these same people kiss their wives and pat their sons’ heads and make stupid gurgling noises at baby carriages. Beside me, a little old lady is using her wide hips for leverage. I take my seat beside a tearful young Spanish girl who’s staring bleakly out the window. Her shoulders heave and convulse; her mood shifts ... read more

There’s some confusion at the campsite over just who to pay for the night. Apart from a few lazy sheep and an inquisitive horse that’s sniffing a young colt’s behind, there’s not a soul in sight. We decide to pack our tents, along with our good intentions, and make tracks to Glastonbury. Nearby we stop to make breakfast in a small clearing, and we’ve just polished off the last of the bangers when a car stops at the side of the road. From the wary look in the driver’s eye, we suspect she wants to make sure we’re not about to make off with a thresher. Lenny turns up the charm and her best finishing-school accent. Benny explains that he wanted to show the beauties of the English countryside to his American friend, a travel writer. ... read more

About a month before my flight, a major terrorist ring is broken up in England. They’d been planning to blow up as many as a dozen trans-Atlantic flights, using high-tech liquid explosives that could be mixed and detonated aboard the plane. New rules are put in place; liquids and gels are banned from carry-on bags. For a few frenzied weeks, water bottles and toothpaste tubes and little cans of spray-on deodorant are piling up in all the airports, as confused travelers adjust to security procedures being implemented on the fly. Apart from some chapped lips, everyone’s taking the new measures in stride. Major carriers are assuring that extra water bottles will be loaded onto each plane. The mood in London, as it often is in the face of adversity, remains resolute. Though bowler hats and bobbies ... read more

On the line for my flight’s check-in, I strike up a conversation with an 8-year-old from London. I start with a few tentative comments about football - “You mean soccer?” he asks, puzzled - and soon the kid is off and running on complex attack schemes and off-side traps. He’s not so sure England would’ve faired much better in the World Cup with Jermain Defoe. He thinks Chelsea will repeat with ease. “They start you guys young, don’t they?” I say. He grins bashfully beneath his Yankees cap. He says he doesn’t like baseball, but he likes New York. His mother pats his head approvingly. Behind me, an Iranian guy is getting harassed about his passport by two severe-looking guards. It’s been nearly a decade since I made the acquaintance of our trans-Atlantic neighbors, and for ... read more