We’re on the home stretch now – Singapore to Sydney – and this flight is only 8 hours which is much easier to bear than the 12 hour flight fandango we’ve just survived. There is no piggy in the middle so we have lucked out again. It’s not quite first class but it’s spatial economy!
The pilot keeps popping out to check on some dodgy window which is a bit unnerving. Before I remembered about the First Officer, I thought the plane was on autopilot! I try and distract myself with one last movie Warhorse. Oh my word, I am crying like a baby, over a horse! The waterworks are so severe, I have to go to the toilet for more tissues. It’s particularly poignant as today is ANZAC Day in Australia to remember all the fallen soldiers and watching a movie about World War I is a real eye opener and very thought provoking. I am really moved when the pilot asks us to observe a minute’s silence just before dawn to remember.
We land at just after 5am but there’s a short delay getting off the plane as someone is sick and we wait for quarantine to come and take them away. I think the patient is on the upper deck and I’m suddenly pleased I’m downstairs in the poor seats in economy. I feel a bit sorry for the ground staff having to work this early, and on a public holiday too! Maybe that’s why we sail through passport control and border security. They don’t even want to have a sneek peek at all the candy I’m bringing home with me!
It’s been an epic journey; planes, trains and now one last automobile, a taxi… home! We make it back in record time and it’s true what they say, there’s no place like home! The kitchen is like Mother Hubbard – there’ s nothing for breakfast and no milk in the fridge and we forgot that the shops don’t open until the afternoon because it’s ANZAC Day. I love it that Australians respect this day so ardently, there are usually dawn services, parades in towns and shops don’t usually open until after lunch. It makes me proud to be almost-Australian.
However, we still have to address our hunger and thirst issues so when we can’t take the hunger pangs anymore, we give in and go for a good breakfast and have ourselves a fantastic feed and the best coffee! Back at the ranch, we decide to just lay down and rest our eyes, and then promptly fall asleep for most of the afternoon. This is deadly for our jet lag. We have to stay awake in the day, otherwise we’ll be awake all night, which just won’t do. We have to be at work in the morning, aarrgh!
When I wake up from my slumber, I decide there’ s nothing for it, the only way to stay awake is to bake! It’s a bit tricky as I have butter and a whole cupboard of basic larder ingredients but not a lot else. I settle on Raspberry Squares because they’re easy and egg free. My tin is too big so I improvise and make 1 and a half times the mixture to ensure that my slice will suffice! Suddenly, I realise, it would have been opportune to have made some Anzac biscuits or slice but what with all the awesome oats and champion chewiness, there’s definitely a taste of Anzac about this anyway. I’m relieved, I wouldn’t have wanted to go to work tomorrow without bearing baked goods. I hope my colleagues haven’t wasted away in my absence.
In the evening, we go out for a light bite at the local Thai. Secretly I’m surprised they haven’t gone out of business while we’ve been away. We have to be one of their most regular customers. We’ve certainly had our fill of eating out the last few weeks and we’re both in desperate need of some honest to goodness home cooking. We pop by the supermarket for some basics and supper stuff for the next few days. No more Mother Hubbard for me! After our sudden burst of energy, we finally start to flag and retire to bed, to sleep off some of that jet lag!
