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Published: February 16th 2009
My journey back to the UK included a short stopover at Stockholm airport, where the ludicrous cost of a DC ate up a chunk of the savings I'd made by not flying directly to Heathrow. Despite arriving in Stockholm at about 7AM, which could not be considered early by airport standards, there was hardly anyone around except the cleaners, gliding elegantly across the empty floor spaces on scooters.
At Heathrow I had a layover lasting the entire afternoon, which I filled with my first Times crossword in months as well as an intake of multiple chicken and stuffing sandwiches. My last layover at Heathrow back in 2005 (when I left New York) had resulted in sightings of De La Soul and Andy Bell (from Erasure) but this time celebrities were thin on the ground. I compensated by buying a copy of Q magazine.
On arriving in Teesside, I discovered that my Quito-bought sports bag was showing further evidence of shoddy craftsmanship. The shoulder strap had given up the ghost between Bogota and Buenos Aires, and one of the remaining carrying handles had clearly been unable to survive the rigours of a transatlantic crossing. More annoyingly, one of the Christmas
Landscape
Valley Gardens (aka Italian Gardens)presents that was in it had mysteriously disappeared. I suspect it's not a coincidence that I found a note in the bag saying it had been randomly chosen by US Customs for a search. Anyone in the Newark area who unexpectedly received 3 scented Sabon soaps for Christmas from an employee of US Customs should submit the giver to a thorough grilling as to their provenance.
The next 5 weeks were spent enjoying being home with the family and completing various admin tasks that had accumulated over the previous year, including replacing my full passport with a stiff and empty new one. Then it was time to make tracks again - first to London, then to Africa.
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