London, Belfast, Paris, Zurich…..

Following our successful sortie in Belfast, the very next day found me on the Eurostar bound for Paris to spend some quality time with Jayne. The Paris weather was extremely kind to us as we experienced clear skies and temperatures in the mid teens.
Escapism is certainly good for the soul- however all good things……

On Friday morning at 5.30am, Paris was a million years ago whilst waiting in the cold for Squirrel and Gibbo. Zurich was beckoning.
Check in at Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 was painless as Steve ‘Elvis’ Ballard and the normal ‘A’ Team made our way through to the departure lounge. Boarding was also fairly eventless; however, that’s when the sketch writers from Monty Python took hold of the whole scenario.
The Pilot informs us that the luggage hold had frozen shut and a very heavy container was effectively being held captive in forward compartment. Now.. they can’t get the container off, apparently the weight ratio is off kilter and the weight has to be redistributed. The following statement is not a joke and actually occurred on our flight.
Cue all the ‘larger’ passengers from the front of the aircraft to be redistributed in the rear to balance the weight to enable a stable flight. This happened…..no….really!!!!
Zurich is picture postcard perfect with snow all around, no doubt deep and crisp and even.
The gig is at a local Stadthalle with the attendees featuring a number of government personnel, high profile company hierarchy and various ‘IT’ people (that’s ‘in the know’ people and not mundane computer nerds!)
The gig is brilliant and we are heralded as a total success as we get the majority of the non English speaking audience on their feet and dancing.
A quick mention must go to The Trend Hotel – top place and a definite recommendation for all Zurich bound readers.

The return leg is somewhat event free…except for the 150 mile an hour head winds, dodgy air pockets and the unfortunate event that happened to me whilst try take a wizz in the rear toilets of the plane during the severe period of the turbulence.
Enough said…..

Pete