She's off again - Tashkent
 

Four days' travel for five days' there. I left home at ten this morning and am staying with some delightful friends not far from Gatwick airport in preparation for my flight to Istanbul and thence to Tashkent tomorrow.

Sent by thought transference

Tashkent...Pics please. Pretty please?

two days each way? Not four to get there, right? Safe travels.

.....so this enquiring mind wants to know what you do on these trips. Are you interpreting speech or documents or is it nothing whatsoever to do with interpretation?

I imagine it's one day each way just to get from the island to a major hub.

Right. Limey said today she went from Arran to Gatwick (a major international airport in London). And I think then she's saying tomorrow she'll go to Tashkent via Istanbul, but I wasn't 100% sure that she wasn't saying that tomorrow she'll fly to Istanbul ready to go to Tashkent, so I was just checking that that wouldn't then take two more days.

I knew I should have given more detail, in the inimitable style of the Cellar's favourite raconteur. ..
I left home yesterday at 10am to be in plenty of time for the 11.05 ferry (it's only a half hour drive).
Because time was a little tight between the ferry arrival and plane departure I took a taxi to the airport (ferry crossing 55 minutes but it left late, taxi to airport around 50 minutes). Ticket prices forced me to fly to Heathrow (flight time on this occasion just over an hour), and I'd planned to stay with friends near Gatwick for my departure today so I took the coach (bus) link to Gatwick (about another hour, though on the M25 that could easily be far more). My friends collected me from Gatwick and we got to their place around 6-ish.
By my twisted logic the first two and a half hours of any journey from home (ie up to Glasgow station or airport) don't count.
That was day one.
Sent by thought transference

Do keep us updated, I love your travel threads. Even, or especially, because they are actually earning you money.

I will not write the limerick this destination puts me in mind of. I will not...

Day two of my travels. Back at Gatwick by 8 am where I was offered a free cocktail before I'd even had breakfast. First flight about 4 hours to Istanbul where I am now. Three hour layover and then another three and a half hour flight to Tashkent. ETA 1.30am, local time. Four hours ahead of the UK so only 9.30pm "my" time and time to get almost enough sleep before starting my working week ...
Please provide limerick, Sundae 🙈🙉🙊
Sent by thought transference

You just missed the World Championships! My kid fenced both of these girls growing up. Now she can say she beat the #2 fencer in her age group on the planet. She did not do well at all against #1.

There was a young man from Tashkent
Whose penis was totally bent
To save himself trouble
He pushed it in double
And instead of coming he went

I understood that young man to be from Trent...

...maybe the problem is more widespread than previously thought.

it's a pandemic!

Rise of the bent-cock zombies -

ahem
The bleakest bit is just before landing in Destination Town (whichever it is). I'm tired and not looking forward to the scrum for passport control and for the customs' declaration forms (or immigration forms, depending on where ...) which have to be filled in duplicate and stamped before you can get out of the airport and which are usually in insufficient supply and NEVER made available to you on the plane when you have time on your hands ...
And although you get the roaming text (once you've landed) from your homeland mobile supplier you are NEVER able to send a text or make a call to say you've landed safely to Mr Limey.
And you wonder if the hotel really did send a taxi for you and even though they have there is a HUGE crowd of other taxi drivers trying to get your fare even though you are clearly marching along behind one of their own who has your case in his hands.
But then the drive through completely empty streets and the banter with the taxi driver and the thought that BED is getting nearer begins to cheer you up.
But this time my allegedly smart phone has a dumb blond moment with the hotel wifi, but fortunately I've brought other gadgets and my ancient iPod touch enables me to text Mr L at last.

Get some sleep! :)

That scrum is the worst. Excellent post. Feels like I'm right there.