Sunday – It’s the last day

Although the conference was due to kick off at 8.00am, we actually agreed this time to meet in the restaurant for breakfast.

As it turned out, we didn’t get to hear any of the talks. There was work to be done, and we needed to discuss some data that a customer had submitted. This took most of the morning, tying it in with data that I’d generated earlier this year, and one way and another, we just didn’t make it to the talks.

About 12.00pm we realised that almost all the other exhibitors had gone, and at 1.00 we decided to throw in the towel and break the stand too. For a short while we were the cloakroom too, while the great and good (and less ‘great’) left their luggage for us to look after, before we were finally done. At 2.30pm I found myself at the airport for a 6.20pm flight, and no way to check in until 4.20pm :-/ Pass time talking with another lass that we got to know, who’s a cytogeneticist in London, and interesting.

Finally managed to check the case, then go look at over-priced tourist stuff and expensive jewellery. Picked up some Amber ear-rings for Chris (she’s always wanted some, and the kids usually get the prezzies) then sit and read.

And wait.

Realise I should have been called to board 25 mins ago.

Go and look at the monitor – flight delayed to 7.20pm. Nuts.

10 mins later, hear some kind of announcement in Hunglish about the flight, so go look again. Delayed ‘till 8.00pm 

Collect voucher for ‘refreshments’ and buy a dubious Danish pastry and 2 bottles of water. The aircon is off, the terminal is hot, sticky and airless and so am I!

Visit duty free. Kids love ‘Milka’ chocolate, and the really big bars are 2.70 euros. Grab 2 and then acquire a litre bottle of apricot brandy (locally made, and silly cheap).

Sit down to finish typing this, look up and see a Finnish lass from one of our competitors that had been exhibiting too. She’s a really nice person, and so we sit and chat about photography, children, digital cameras, travelling for work and all sorts. Her plane has been delayed too, but is at least on the stand being prepared – I feel sorry for her, since she has to change at Helsinki before flying on to Turku and home – won’t arrive until about 1.00 am.

As we’re discussing my plane lands and taxies to the stand. *Sighs with relief*. Maybe an 8.00 pm departure is possible after all.

7.43pm – I’ve just been called to the gate. TTFN.

The plane is absolutely packed, mostly with lads coming back from stag weekends in Budapest. While boarding I half recognised a girl from the conference. She’s Greek, desperately attractive and now stuck alone in the middle of these guys that have (as they told everyone) toured the sex shows. Cue 2.5 hours of absolutely continuous (failed) attempts to chat her up. Fortunately she’s as bright and intelligent as they are stupid (she’s doing a PhD in Kings, London) and is more than capable of resisting, but was still worn down by the end of the flight. I intervened a couple of times, just to try to draw their attention away and change topics when things got a little near the knuckle.

11.30pm – finally make it home. Chris has gone to bed quite a bit earlier, but Ben’s up, since he’s not got to do anything on Monday. At least he’s glad to see me.

Bed.