Our flight our was due to leave just after 5pm so we knew we could have a fairly leisurely drive down to Heathrow and hope that our flight wouldn't be cancelled and that there wouldn't be any lengthy queues either to check in or to get through security.
We had a pit stop at our usual watering hole at Watford Gap Services, but we didn't actually go into McDonald's because we had brought sandwiches as a way of eating up things left in the fridge at home.
We got to the long stay parking in good time and the shuttle bus took us through to Terminal 5. Check ins are now almost totally automated which we needed just a little help with and security was all fairly normal - and we didn't have to remove our shoes.
The first setback was when we were told the gate to go to which was downstairs. Elizabeth said it mean we would be bussed to the plane and that no air bridge was available. And she was right. And we were bussed for what seemed like miles until we arrived t the foot of the plane steps. Up we went and we were on board.
Our calculations were wrong. We had seats in row 31 as E and F and, knowing that a Boeing 777 Dreamliner had seats configured as 3-3-3, thought that we would be one of us on the aisle and the other next door with a stranger beyond. But no, BA had managed to squeeze and extra seat in the row, so that it was 3-4-3 and we were in the middle of the centre 4 seats and trapped in with strangers on each side. That is something I hate as it means relying on a stranger to get in and out. The woman next to me promptly started to unpack her blanket, pull it over herself and look to go to sleep - which she did for most of the flight.
As for the rest of the flight, we had less legroom than I can ever remember and we were so close to the person next door that it wasn't really possible to cut food up to eat it. Service on Elizabeth's side of the divide was fairly good, but on my side was patchy. All in all, it was BA, but not as we know it, Jim!
The flight was fairly bumpy at times, especially as we came into land at Toronto Airport and we both thought that we never would land as the pilot took a massive loop over Lake Ontario, almost reaching the other side before turning back.
We arrived to a very rainy Toronto and steadily worked our way through the various hoops to enter Canada legally and we were out on the pick up places. We go in touch with Marion and Mike who were waiting nearby and, after two and a half years, we finally met up again.
We drove back to Brantford and were given a very warm welcome as we arrived at M&M's house at around 10.30pm local time. We sat up chatting over tea and toast until midnight and then hit the sack. Day 1 was done.
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