Overnight flight from Winnipeg via Montreal. Roughly over Kilkenny, we get what passes for breakfast. Slice of dark, sweet bread - banana? And Juice. Too bumpy for coffee. Remember previous years when it used to be a large ice cold muffin. But that was a significant come down from years ago with fruit and - what? Hot breakfast before that - or am I remembering BA, which did a pretty fair full English in the days before they decided London to Cyprus, though fractionally shorter than London to Cairo, was not long haul, and didn’t require sustenance? What next? Would straight bread and water shame them - we’re nearly there.
Twenty minutes in the queue at Immigration at Heathrow. Post-Brexit will all except Brits be in the Liberians and others line? Then tube to Bayswater. But changes are in the brickwork as well as the air. We’re too early for the hotel but still have money on the Starbucks card. Queensway Starbucks another matter. Undergoing renovation and closed. Looks major. So a coffee at Macdonald’s across the road. Coffee not bad but atmosphere no hell and can’t make the wifi work. So define ourselves as on time for Barons. Which turns out to be completely surrounded by scaffolding. But still operational, fortunately. Major roof repairs, but our usual room, and if we keep the curtains closed the workmen won’t be looking in. So not up for sale anyway. Last surprise of the day is that Whitely’s - grand old lady of department stores (dating from 1911) now turned little mall - is undergoing transformation once again., as part of a major upscaling of Queensway. All business will cease as of November 30, and Marks and Spencer is already gone. Nothing stays the same forever. And finally the sim card I buy for the Samsung doesn’t work, despite the efforts of the girls at 3. I assure them the phone is unlocked and they kindly agree to retemplate the new sim to micro size so that it will fit in the old Nokia, and not be a waste.