[2019]
[Sunday 26 May 2019]
Dubrovnik to Humberside Airport
Grand Hotel Park, Šetalište Kralja Zvonimira 39, 20000 Dubrovnik
15:10–17:30 Dubrovnik to Humberside Airport
During the night there was a lot of noise and clatter, not seemingly in the room but nearby, and I suspected that it was because the wind had got up, so I closed the glass door to the balcony. In the morning it was raining heavily, and this continued moderate to heavy all morning.
Janet had a restless night. She was still coughing and having trouble breathing. She got up
ca.7.45am. I shaved and showered after she vacated the bathroom.
We had planned to take a walk to the south of Lapad Bay; but because that would now be out of the question because of the rain,
Janet suggested I ring Ante Bilić and ask him to come at 11am rather than the appointed 12.45pm. So I found his card in my wallet,—
—entered the number in my phone’s “directory”, and called it (08:33). “Are you sure?” he asked, thinking that it would be too long a time to be waiting at the airport. Not long afterwards he sent an SMS (08:43):
- Hi— Please, is it possible to pick you up at 11.15? Thanks :)
I replied (08:46):
- Not a problem! See you at 11.15.
Later he texted again (09:19):
- Hi again— I will be finished earlier so can be at 11am. See you :)
I replied (09:21):
- Fine!
We went down for breakfast, then paid the hotel bill. When
Janet went back up to the room to do the last bits of packing, I made comments in a book, open for that purpose. Someone had complained that there was no kettle in the room, so I commented, “Evidently this person has never travelled outside the UK before, where tea-making facilities in rooms are common.” Another was really nasty, without being specific, so I added that this was completely untrue and that the hotel was excellent. The only suggestion, independent of others’ comments, that I made was that čevapčići would make a good substitute for sausages in the “English breakfast” section of the buffet. I went up to the room, picked up my rucksack, and wheeled the suitcase as
Janet and I returned to the lobby in the lift. I handed over the key card at reception. At
just about 11 o’clock a car drew up and Ante Bilić got out. One thing I hadn’t noticed on the outward
journey, was that there was a meter with a red illuminated character display, integral with the driver’s mirror above his head to the right.
Our route as plotted on Bing Maps
Just before we got to the airport, Ante Bilić pointed off to the right and said that that was where he lived, where he had an apartment. The charge for the trip to the airport was not much different from on the outward
journey, and I gave him 400 kn. We got there ca.11.30am, and it was an interminable-seeming time before the check-in desk number for our flight appeared on the “departures” display. We found a cafeteria and had drinks. When the time did some, we checked in our hold suitcase and were issued with boarding cards,—
Stub of the boarding pass, retained after the boarding check-in
—then went through security, passport control, etc., and the duty-free shop (which was twice as expensive, despite being free of duty, than, say, the
Tommy supermarket). At the far end of the line of boarding gates on one side of the departures hall and of shops on the other, we found a cafeteria, where I had a beef bagel and a 50cl glass of beer, and
Janet had a Coke Zero and a tuna salad.
Caffe Lindo till printout, according to which the time was “13:04:06”
Debit card receipt, according to which the time was “13:04”
Monday 27 May 2019 — 13:34:38
Airside at Dubrovnik Airport
The departures hall and cafeteria became a lot busier than it was when I took the above photo. Later, I bought another round of drinks.
Monday 27 May 2019 — 14:07:48
Refreshments at Dubrovnik Airport
Monday 27 May 2019 — 14:08:46
“Departures”, Dubrovnik Airport
Boarding of our flight was supposed to be at 14:30, but it was announced not long after the above two photos were taken. So I had to drink up quite hurriedly, and then we went to the toilets. I
joined the end of the queue at Gate 11 while Janet was still in the loo, and everyone got on the shuttle bus while I was still waiting. That bus moved off, and
Janet and I and another woman boarded a second bus. Oddly, though, that bus stopped closer to the aircraft than the first one, and the three of us were the first aboard.
Monday 27 May 2019 — 14:34:52
About to board the Embraer 145 aircraft with Flybe logo
Monday 27 May 2019 — 14:34:52 (detail)
“Suz”, the senior flight attendant, at the door
Our seats on the return flight were in Row 5, which was the third full row from the front.
It’s likely that the seat layout and numbering was the same as in this plan that I found on the internet and adapted somewhat.
The plane started taxiing at 15:10, and came up behind a stationary
Iberia aircraft (the 15:00 IB3155 to Madrid, judging by the “14:08:46” photo), which moved off almost immediately. It turned left to the start of the runway, and took off at 15:15. We waited where it had been. An
Austrian plane was following us (presumably the delayed 14:55 OS732 to Vienna). We turned left, as the
Iberia had done, at 15:18, reached the start of the runway, and turned about. Our plane was in position at 15:20 and started its run, taking off southwards at 15:21. It circled right, to the north, and entered very bright, low cloud.
The refreshments-trolley run started before the “fasten seatbelts” sign went off. I went to the loo as soon as that happened, so the trolley had to back up to let me return to my seat. I was going to ask for coffee, as I’d done on the outward flight; but in my absence
Janet had requested for me red wine, which I didn’t refuse.
We crossed a coastline and started flying over sea at 16:20 BST, so I saw through a break in the clouds. (I’d changed my watch back to BST by this time.)
Not long afterwards, came the announcement that we’d be landing in “20 minutes”. We passed Spurn Head, and not long afterwards banked around to the left. We landed at 16:57, did an about-turn, taxied to near the terminal, and came to a stop at 17:02 (so, 28 minutes ahead of schedule).
Passport control, baggage reclaim, and the walk through the unstaffed customs didn’t take long. I rang the taxi firm (17:15) and was told that Graham Buston was on his way. So I rang his number (17:16) and he told me he was in the car park. So we left the terminal and he waved at us.
We arrived home ca.5.50pm. I carried the suitcase upstairs, and removed the straps from it. Before long,
Janet had unpacked it, including my connectors and adaptors, so I was able to set up the computer in my room.…
[2019]
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