Clare and I were on the first train into town this morning after nine. It was unusually eleven minutes late and we had to rush to get to her tram, just in time, to take her out to the Steiner school in Confignon for a day's visit, part of the purpose of our weekend trip.
As we boarded the train in Chambésy, a man I didn't recognise greeted Clare in Welsh, and both fell about laughing with astonishment. Chris is a member of the Cardiff Mochyn Ddu Tuesday Welsh conversation group. He was on his way to the airport to catch a flight home after a spell of house sitting for a friend in Versoix where we used to live. "I often meet someone I know when I'm far from home." he said. "But I've been here two weeks without meeting anyone until now. In fact, I only just texted a friend to say this trip was a disappointing exception." Mae byd bach, yn wir - such a small world.
I made my way to the airport, checked in early and used the free airport wi-fi to catch up on emails, although it took me ages to log on correctly. I was quite amazed by how fast it was and free of connectivity issues in comparison to British airport sites I've used on occasions. It certainly passed the time waiting for my flight, which was fifteen minutes late arriving and landing, despite a very rapid turnover of passengers.
As we boarded the train in Chambésy, a man I didn't recognise greeted Clare in Welsh, and both fell about laughing with astonishment. Chris is a member of the Cardiff Mochyn Ddu Tuesday Welsh conversation group. He was on his way to the airport to catch a flight home after a spell of house sitting for a friend in Versoix where we used to live. "I often meet someone I know when I'm far from home." he said. "But I've been here two weeks without meeting anyone until now. In fact, I only just texted a friend to say this trip was a disappointing exception." Mae byd bach, yn wir - such a small world.
I made my way to the airport, checked in early and used the free airport wi-fi to catch up on emails, although it took me ages to log on correctly. I was quite amazed by how fast it was and free of connectivity issues in comparison to British airport sites I've used on occasions. It certainly passed the time waiting for my flight, which was fifteen minutes late arriving and landing, despite a very rapid turnover of passengers.
I realised when I asked the flight attendant for a coffee that I didn't have enough change in English money, but felt sure I had enough in Swiss Francs. It turned out I was wrong. £2.50 or €3 equates to CHF5 on a flight out of Switzerland. In the air, it seems the Swiss Franc is only worth 50p, whereas on the ground it is worth 70p. I'm sure market economists have an explanation for this, but to those on the receiving end it's no more than a rip-off. I wonder what the Swiss government thinks? Or does it care?
It was a very bumpy flight, the worst I can recall for many years. With nothing but hand baggage, I was soon on a bus for the railway station, arriving to get straight on a Cardiff train, which was late leaving. So instead of having to wait half an hour for a train as usual, lateness of transport made no difference. I was home earlier than usual, soon sorting through a pile of month-end and year-end letters and making catch-up phone calls. More mail over one weekend than I get normally in several weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment