Airport Dad

Airport Dad mode engaged early in the day - ensuring tickets and passports were all in place and all formalities had been completed.

Should I wear my gilet?

Leave House 12:40.

Traffic to the station quieter than normal.

Walk through the train station like it’s the first time that you have ever been let out of the house, let alone travel. Present airline boarding card to ticket gate - and wonder why it isn’t working. Tutt loudly before realising its me not the ticket machine. Correct quickly as I notice the station guard approaching and nod to him confidently as the barrier opens.

Train is already at the platform. Is that definitely our train - could it be a an earlier one. Go with daughter’s suggestion of ‘just get on’

Search for optimal seats in quiet carriage facing forward with good air con. Panic and totally ignore previous plan and plonk ourselves in a crowded carriage with no air con. The guy across the carriage starts watching his reels without any AirPods and the woman behind starts by phoning Alison, working her way through her contacts quickly making it to Fred "I'm on the train Fred, Fred?, Fred I said I'm on the train". The train pulls into Birmingham International.

Didn’t make the same mistake at the ticket barrier leaving the station. Quietly congratulate myself for getting it right this time.

Monorail to airport. Airport dad now turned up to 11/10 - high vigilance - we are entering the airport!

Lose sight of daughter, find daughter, lose sight of daughter - we’ve only just got off the monorail! Hear wife’s voice in head - check I’m not wearing AirPods - nope, it is my internal wife voice - ‘She’s 20 and quite capable of travel’

Present train ticket instead of boarding pass check before security, take less time this time around to correct mistake - quietly congratulate myself.

Follow clear rules on poster on what needs to be done for security search, whilst those around demonstrate that they didn’t read or couldn’t read the signs.

Confused when security agent changes those rules and asks for belt to be removed. Shrug.

Navigate through duty free - they have extended it, get a little lost and dizzy with the smell of perfume. Find lounge with full expectation that my entry with a priority pass will be refused. Rehearse planned conversation with AMEX about benefits not really being beneficial, and why I was thinking of closing my account.

Priority Pass would be accepted - really? Try not to sound too shocked. Delete previous thought from head.

Look blankly when asked for boarding pass - start looking in app. Reminded by daughter that its in my apple wallet - as I put it there.

Lounge is a zoo. New noise reduction AirPods work a treat. Congratulate self for smart purchase as Lewis Capaldi starts to bang out some tunes in my head. Realise that these AirPods probably can do other new stuff - make note on to do list to remind myself to research, whilst acknowledging not a lot of people would approach it that way.

Start writing blog post.

Check watch 15:28, 32 mins before alarm going off, for moving from lounge to gate for 16:35 boarding time.

Ponder on why my new AirPods can’t mask out the other people’s children that won’t sit still around me. Think that I might be onto something and consider a quick tweet to Mark Zuckerberg - I’d buy his glasses if they could filter out children that never stay still. Decide this could be a unique selling point, as much as noise reduction was when it first came out. What a great idea, congratulate myself - I could have been an inventor.

Get lost writing post.

Rudely interrupted by random man telling me that I’d left my ‘coat thing’ behind at the seat we had first sat at. Daughter needed power outlet - so we had moved. ‘Coat thing’ didn’t compute. Ah gilet - bloody gilet, should have left it at home - it’s not like I’m wearing it. Feel bad about harsh words to gilet and give it a gentle stroke it, congratulate oneself for another good purchase. Consider mentioning the benefits of a gilet in this blog, that you only appreciate in your 50s….

Alarm goes off at 16:00 - gate not showing until 16:25. Reset alarm to 16:20

Leave lounge, head down, lost daughter, found daughter, lost daughter. Inner voice reminds me to just assume she is keeping up as it’s too difficult to walk in a stright line, and continuously check without bumping into someone. Get to usual gate 16, at other end of terminal.

That’s odd - gate isn’t open.

Consult information board. Gate 56. Doh. Should have paid attention to main board and not got distracted by managing daughter as suggested by inner voice.

Get to gate sweaty. Should have carried not worn, regardless that it looks nice on me, the gilet. Wait another 30mins before we get to board.

Propeller plane - no air con on plane until engines are started. Bag stored above. Beloved gilet carefully folded and placed underneath seat in front. Heat making people that little more aggravated than usual. Inner voice wants to bet someone is about to lose it. Does he know something I don’t , is he about to kick off, am I about to kick off? Force thoughts about random stuff to distract. Seems to work.

Sit on tarmac for what seems a lifetime, before taxing off, and then serenely soaring into the blue sky above - well as much as a twin propeller Aer Lingus regional plane can.