New York Here we come 4th November 2014

Well we managed to wake on time sort ourselves out and be ready for the bus to the airport for 5 30, the member of staff was very helpful in the process, by the way if you are reading this and ever are staying overnight at one of the hotels close to Heathrow, its worth knowing there are buses run by National Express throughout the day to many of the bigger hotel chains that are near to the airport at a cost of only £5 each throughout the day.
Paul had managed to sort out our boarding cards with the hotel, thanks again Premier Inn, so it did not take long to check in, I asked for assistance to get to the plane and at New York and this was quickly arranged, I explained we were going to No 1 Lounge so she sorted out for us to be collected there.
The lounge easy to get to and efficient with paperwork, so soon we were settled with something to eat in very pleasant surroundings, plus we had Wi Fi to catch up with friends, the only problem was when a very noisy man came along, threw his case etc down on the seat then promptly set about making a number of very loud mobile phone calls, eventually he went, the time passed quickly and soon it was time to be taken to the plane, the staff were pleasant particularily the lady who helped on the last part of the trip.
On the plane we were soon settled in our seats and ready for take off, a flight attendant came to ask Paul to speak to somebody from security, I presumed it was something to do with his medical equipment but he was quite a while before he came back. It seemed for some reason there was a problem with his visa and there had been a threat to have him removed from the plane, luckily common sense prevailed, the plane was late taking off and I do wonder if it was down to Paul,  but from then on it was a pleasant flight with frequentl food and drinks, plus we managed to obtain a neckloop so I could listen to music and later watch a film.
On arrival a pleasant man took us through passport control and customs,  which was much quicker than I thought it may of been and told us where to find the Air Train to the city. We again found people very helpful whilst doing all of this, so soon we were in New York city.

I think this is a good time to explain to you readers about my problem in life at present and what I have quickly realised on this trip, in that wearing hearing aids is affecting what messages I pick up and how hard it is to hear people and announcements particularily innoisy environments, Paul has been very good and patient with me regarding this, but I do wonder as the trip progresses how I will manage when on my own.
Well we got to the subway and this was where everything started to go wrong, firstly the staff at the ticket counter were unhelpful, then I got the cases stuck in the barrier,  again good old Paul quickly helped sort it out, the subway was busy but soon ours came, it seemed a long way to our stop, eventually Paul noticed that we had got on the wrong line so we started to retrace our steps.
Then next the train stopped and it seemed someone had become ill, it took quite some time and the driver suggested that people find alternative, Paul was reluctant but agreed, and soon as we got off the train started, ooops,but he had found another way for us to get to our destination, finally we arrived but then needed advice about how to find the hotel, luckily it was only a short walk and we were quickly booked in, the room is pleasant, but by now we were both tired out, I realised we had been travelling for over 20  hours.
The time here was about 8pm, so we went out and had a  burger,no surprise to some readers but not at one of the well known chains, then back to the hotel for a relaxing bath and a chat about what we were doing the following day, well no Paul nodded off in the bath for a few minutes and I wad quite tired so we decided to leave and sleep instead.  I am typing this in the dark, outside there is a view of New York lit up, I am in the dark so as not to disturb Paul and local time is 3am, so will finish now and tell you more of our adventures later.

You will of noticed no mention of Chico, this is because with all of the time spent getting here with the suitcases etc, the last thing I needed was to be sorting photos out for him but I am sure today we will get back to normal.

Sadly a setback for the trip

Well I was just sorting last minute paperwork out when during a visit to run through the vouchers Sue my travel agent informed me that Virgin had cancelled the flight home from Shanghai to Heathrow and my choices were to cancel and have a refund, come back a day earlier or maybe a day later but that I would need to pay extra for the costs involved myself. It did not seem to bother them and the effect on me when I am starting the trip next Monday.

It has taken nearly 12 months to get this package together so extra stress now is the last thing I need to cope with, plus having to sort out replacement accommodation and transport all adds to the pressure.

I have spoken to one of the solicitors at Which Legal services, she gave me some advice so I have contacted Virgin via e mail to see what response I now get, on her advice I will also contact my credit card and see what they have to say as it seems they maybe jointly liable, plus it also seems there may be some way through EC legislation to argue my case, which I have also put to them, but if not solved now, I will deal with on my return.

Also i have posted on Facebook both my profile and Chicos because its not right that a company such as Virgin that tells us how customer friendly it is, can just cancel flights I presume because they cannot fill the plane but then walk away without any responsibility to the public as far as they are concerned, whilstsomeone such as myself have to pick up the pieces and spend more time trying to re book elements of the trip with only a couple of days to go before I start on the holiday.

The trip home 15 July 2014

I could not sleep, so got up early and finished most my packing, had a bath then went taking some photos before breakfast, it was unusual to have nothing to do, apart from sit around and chat, breakfast was, as usual, a pleasant experience, our ranger Evan I’d offered to let us have copies of his photos, whilst waiting for him to do mine. We chatted about photography, I had not realised that it was Evan the Rangers last day, but he was moving on to a new job after this day, some of these photos were quite stunning, after we had something to eat, then off we went after saying our goodbyes for the trip to Johannesburg, we had a short drive until we reached the transport to take us there. Interestingly, the ride in the vehicle was worse than the four-wheel drives, we were travelling around in during the Safari, it seemed a long trip with only a short break for the toilet and a snack, it took nearly 4 hours, part of which I slept through.

When we arrived at the airport it seem much more disorganised than Heathrow, with poor signage, eventually I found my way to the desk, but this time it seemed to take a long time in the queue, on the seem to be some problem with the conveyor. For reasons I do not understand I was told I could no longer have the seat I wanted, so was offered another one, on that particular row, it seemed that none of the three seats had been booked, so I could choose which was most convenient for me. I mentioned that I could cope without assistance at this airport but would need help at Heathrow, so this was logged, I then went through security and passport control, then up to the lounge to relax. There were problems with my card, but I was surprised at the lack of efficiency at this particular desk, I mentioned wanting a shower so was given three packets wrapped in polythene and pointed in the general direction, quite different to that at Heathrow. I had my shower, then relaxed in the lounge with a drink and snack, then went to board the plane.
There seemed to be a long disorganized queue waiting to board, eventually it was my turn, and I was directed to my seat, I now understood why the people did not want to see it in the seats, this was because they were immediately next to the toilets, I decided I would sit in the middle seat, which seemed to be the most spacious, when a flight attendant came along, he said he could move me to a better seat, which also would have more legroom, so I took advantage of this. Yet again I struggled with the sound system and then gave it up as a bad job and had a read of the paper. The evening meal was pleasant and afterwards I settled down to go to sleep, I slept for a while, but then found for the rest the flight I had brief periods of sleep and wakefulness.

Finally we arrived at Heathrow the rest of the passengers disembarked apart from those of those who needed assistance. They seem to have a crazy system to get us to the exit, it consisted of a wheelchair for part of the trip, then an electric vehicle to take me on the next leg of the trip, finally and another wheelchair through to the baggage hall, unfortunately at passport control, there was some sort of problem, at the two passport desks, there seemed to be some sort of difficulty. So we waited for nearly quarter of an hour before finally passing through, my case was ready for collection. So I set off to find the vehicle to take me home, it was a different driver and vehicle to on the way out, not quite so luxurious this time, but the driver was pleasant enough, it took about four hours to get back home, so in total. I’ve been travelling for over 20 hours, first task was empty the case and do some washing, then check my mail, yes the holiday was finally over.

The trip to South Africa 8 July 2014

Well I left you readers at the lounge, things from there did not go quite to plan, I duly went to the desk at 7 45pm but no assistance, the nice ladies offered to contact the service that would take me to the plane,  unfortunately someone had disconnected the phone, so it took a little while for her to find out I was not registered for assistance, but that this would now be resolved.
Whilst waiting  I was sat by the desk so it was interesting to watch the people arriving,  they came as you would expect in all types, but it was the ones who wanted to bring  families in without paying the extra money per person that seemed involve the most debate, it was only at that point I realised to use the lounge on a casual basis was £35 each, a room was £120 per night or £20 per hour with a minumum of 3 hours to pay.
After 3/4 hour someone came yo collect me it was just as well because I would never of made it otherwise  to the plane in time.
The staff on the plane were pleasant, I found my seat but an elderly man who obviously had the window seat was blocking my access therefore nobody could move past me, he seemed oblivious to the chaos, I moved a little further down the passage to enable others to reach their seats until he finally was settled. 
He fid not engage in conversation so I decided I would explore how the sound and audio system worked,  it was quite complex with little in the way of instructions as far as I could see,  but worse was that either their headphones or my hearing were not up to the task,  so I gave up and had a read instead. 
It did not seem that long before my evening arrived it was fruit juice, then a cucumber salad with dressing, followed by a chicken pasta dish which was quite pleasant and finally a mousse desert and to finish off cheese and biscuits, I was offered  tea or coffee but felt they would keep me awake not sure really that the Pepsi was any better.
The elderly man had finished his meal before me donned his eye mask ear plugs and blanket and was fast asleep,  when I looked at the clock it was past 12 so decided to follow suit. I must of slept for a couple hours, as everywhere was dark and quiet. I had a further go with the music but  quality of sound put me off. I slept on and off for a number of hours.
At some point the staff came round with breakfast,  I had a full english, this also came with fruit juice, a danish pastry and a yogurt so according to , my friend Brian thay constituted a full 4 courses LOL they were stingy with the coffe so only got one cup. There wad an announcement I did not quite catch so enquired it seemed someone had taken ill and the staff were seeking someone with the skill to assist, obviously not me.
The elderly man woke so I mentioned he had missed breakfast, this was brought and finally we got chatting he was telling me he does a lot of travel round the world and has bought a property in New Zealand. I mentioned to a member of staff that I would need assistance when we arrived,  she said she would sort out but for me to wait until others had disembarked,  which I was happy to do. On landing it was explained that we would all have to wait until the medics had dealt withe the sick person.

One more Day to Go On My Adventure 6 July 2014

Good evening to all you readers, well its here at long last, another tick on my bucket list being achieved, case is finally packed, I have never had such a long list of things that I need to take, from swimming cossie to scarf and winter woollies, Bright clothes to drab green, hope the animals appreciate my efforts. Hope that South Africa is worth it all
I start the trip hopefully at 1.30pm with a kind Saga driver taking me to Heathrow, don't know yet if there will be others in the vehicle, hopefully we will stop somewhere along the way for a break. I have found an app that is called Evernote and have listed things I need to do when I get to the airport, just have to remember to use, maybe will do a couple of Post It notes in case, firstly have to to get the case wrapped in what seems to be cling film in the hope it discourages theft, then to check in or drop case off, I have tried to check in today but it seems Virgin will only let me do 24 hours before and already I cannot have a window seat, even if I try.

Then I want to use the airports support service to get me to the lounge where I hopefully can have a shower then relax, having something to drink and eat whilst waiting to board, I believe they have free Wi Fi so I may take the opportunity to let you know how the trip down went. Then its onto the plane, unfortunately I will have to refuse the champagne and settle for something else. I have plenty of reading matter as well as a supply of music, hopefully I will need neither and be able to use what the plane provides to keep me occupied until I fall asleep. It seems by the time I eventually get to my destination I will of been travelling for over 20 hours, for most people not a problem but the trapped nerve in my right shoulder is still causing issues and possibly sitting for all these hours will set off my bad back. Gail my physio has told me to keep doing the exercises she has given me, just hope other passengers and crew do not find it an issue. hopefully my flight socks will help cope with preventing DVTs. Hope there are no screaming children or drunken adults to cope with, not sure if will prefer someone sat next to me who is chatty or quiet

Safari here I come 9 June 2014

Well folks the safari to South Africa is not far away, I did worry last month when I had problems with my health,& mainly my back started to play up but also I started getting something that felt like electric shocks down my right arm. Luckily due to Gail and Andrea the physios things have improved, just now have to do more exercises to prevent a re occurrence.
I have had all my inoculations, I had read about monkeys being about the lodge so decided to have the rabies one as well but after buying it was warned I could have a bad reaction to it, so at present have vaccine in my fridge, sob sob. I did contact Saga who are arranging the trip, their view was, if I dont bother the monkeys, they will leave me alone, maybe I should of contacted them first.

I have bought a camcorder for the trip, couldent believe how small it is but can be used as conventional camera also. I have had to buy extra clothes for the trip, that are dark colours for when on safari, but also needed a mixture of warm for the early and late trips out but lighter for the middle of the day, have a list of things need for the trip such as special adapter for their electrical sockets, insect repellent, luckily was able to get this trip in a malarial free zone so one less tablet and adverse reaction to worry about, but have strong painkillers from GP just in case I need them for other aches and pains.
I had decided that when I found out I was travelling with Virgin that I would upgrade on the plane to their economy plus both there and back, because it would give me a better seat and more legroom on the 10 hour flight, I also joined their frequent flyer scheme in the hope it would help for future trips, also Saga had arranged for me to be picked up from home by car and transported to London by them. It was only the other day that I realised how much travelling was involved on this trip. I am being picked up at 1 30 pm on the day, then down to London for the evening flight at 9 30pm, then there is a trip of approximately 3 hours after to the lodge so it looks like in total is will be in excess of 20 hours before I reach my destination.
Well I will close for now but give more background on the trip as I get closer.