‘Scripts, Skeletons & Scriptures: Writing About Writing in Yorkshire.

[Human]

A quick post on Parisian street art...



These people gave me permission to photograph them plying their trade...



If you've spent any time in Paris you've seen these. They're called "Space Invaders" and they're illegal, but beloved, pieces of street art from a mysterious artist known only as "Invader". You can download the official "Flash Invader" app and many Parisians love going out, with their phones in hand, "collecting" Space Invaders on their app. You can buy books about them!

 

[RooFlyer]

Funny, I had the day in Copenhagen and also spent it doing nothing or not much - just a few walks.Completely guilt free - no admissions paid, not many photos taken.

 

[Human]

Funny, I had the day in Copenhagen and also spent it doing nothing or not much - just a few walks.Completely guilt free - no admissions paid, not many photos taken.

Sometimes you just need days like that. I obviously did -- after lunch I crashed in bed and slept deeply for almost two hours. I obviously needed a rest!

 

[Human]

Chapter 3: The Nature of MAN.

Time for me to leave Paris. I caught a taxi to Terminal 2E. CDG isn’t my favourite airport (I don’t think it’s anyone’s favourite airport!) and as expected things weren’t totally clear about where I should go once I arrived, but I was pointed in the right direction by some Air France staff and I dropped off my baggage soon enough. Then it was about a 15-minute wait to get through Passport Control, and a short train ride to the L gates.



There is currently one Priority Pass lounge at CDG – the Yotel Lounge which just happens to be at the Terminal 2E L gates. I’d read one or two reviews beforehand and the consensus was that this is – how do I put this tactfully – not one of the great Priority Pass Lounges. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.






This lounge is to airport lounges what the Chico roll is to fine dining. The only thing it has going for it is that it’s not particularly crowded. It’s a big room with some cheap waiting room furniture and some even cheaper self-serve food and beverage options.

However, it’s home for the next couple of hours…

 

[Human]

AF1268 CDG-MAN Economy
Cost: 24,000 Flying Blue points plus US$48.60

Of all my flights, booking this flight was the most difficult. Having booked my flights into Paris, I quite reasonably thought that getting to Manchester from there would be a breeze. It was not! I first looked for reward flights on Air France using Virgin Atlantic points. Nothing. Then Qantas points. Nothing.

No problem, I thought; I’d just pay for a cheap EasyJet flight. Once the “cheap” EasyJet flight included checked baggage and carry-on, the 1-hour-ish flight cost well over $300.

I looked to see if Air France had anything cheaper. The Air France flight cost over $500. For a CDG-MAN flight! What’s going on here?

Air France, I discovered, uses dynamic award pricing. They had availability on AF1268 for 24,000 Flying Blue points – a lot of points for such a short flight, but given the cash cost of this flight, the value for point was a not-too-bad 2c per point.

That’s where some good luck came in. Last year I took out a Commonwealth Bank Smart Awards Mastercard and Commbank Awards are transferrable to Air France Flying Blue at an OK transfer rate of 2.5:1.

So I opened a Flying Blue account, transferred 60,000 Commbank points, and booked my flight. A day later, it was revealed that Commbank would be ditching Flying Blue as a transfer partner.

So far, so good. The flight was scheduled to depart at 9:50pm….


Why, oh why, can’t I be stuck in the Qatar Airways Lounge for two hours instead?

It's going to be a long night.

 

[Human]

So I've been spending part of this delay checking my rights under EC261.

If the flight arrives three hours late or more, I'm entitled to EUR250. Currently it's due to arrive 1 hour and 40 minutes late. Air France has emailed to say that the reason for the delay is "operational reasons", so that seems to mean that they're still on the hook if the delay is longer than 3 hours (as opposed to if the delay were due to "extraordinary circumstances").

While EUR250 would be nice (especially at the current exchange rate!) I'd rather arrive and get to sleep sooner, and not be in a situation where I'm entitled to it. Here's hoping!

The only other time I've been in this sort of situation was in very early 2022, when our KEF-CPH flight from Iceland was cancelled becuase the airline couldn't staff the flight due to the crew having COVID. We didn't receive compensation because that was deemed "extraordinary circumstances", but the airline did pay for our extra night's accommodation.

There was most definitely a silver lining to that story, though: you can read about it below!

Post in thread 'What's your favourite travel story?'

Feb 6, 2023

Our go-to story is quite recent (Dec 2021-Jan 2022). My wife and I were in Iceland, visiting at that time of year because we wanted to see the Northern Lights. The first night after we arrived, we excitedly boarded a minibus for our small-group Northern Lights tour… after waiting for three hours in minus 7 degree weather, they didn’t come out. We got back to our hotel room in Reykjavik at 1am.

The next night we tried again (the tour companies let you rebook for free if the Lights don’t come out). Same story. No lights. Hours standing in below-freezing cold. Back in our hotel room at 1am...

• Human

• 

 

[Human]

The departure has been pushed back to 12:30am (originally scheduled for 9:50pm), and the flight is now scheduled to arrive 2 hours and 31 mins late. I suppose a worst-case scenario would be arriving 2 hours and 59 minutes late! Given where the delay is now at, at this point an extra 29 minutes would be nice... I do know, though, that actually getting the money out of the airline is not a done deal.

I have just received an SMS from Air France offering a EUR 11 dining credit from various outlets in the terminal.

 

[Human]

I left the lounge and walked into the terminal to use my EUR11 credit. Of course, all the eateries were closed (as was everything else).


Big CDG Airport Cat.


My flight has now been delayed further to 1:00am, with a current arrival estimate of 2hours 58 minutes behind schedule. Hey Air France, may I have an extra 2 minutes (and EUR250) please?

 

[Human]

The flight ended up boarding at 12:45am, departing at 1:15am and landing at 1:35am (Manchester time) – three hours and fifteen minutes behind schedule. Unfortunately, the captain announced that the long delay was due to “the crew being delayed on their incoming flight due to severe thunderstorms”. I’m pretty sure that weather conditions qualify as “extraordinary circumstances” as far as EC261 is concerned, so I doubt whether I’ll receive the EUR250 compensation. I’ll still apply for it and see what happens, but with no expectation of receiving it.

Darn. All that delay and nothing to show for it. Which is exactly what would be the case anyway if the delay happened anywhere else in the world.

The flight itself was my first on an Airbus A220. This plane was an A220-300, which had 31 rows of seats – the same as on a typical 737-800. So it was a big plane. I had seat 27D, which was an aisle seat. At one point I used the “How to put your aisle armest up when the tray table is down” micro-hack to get out and use the toilet – thanks AFF!

The seats:



Nice big windows...


The snack...


The toilet was larger than a 737 toilet...


Manchester airport. I came here for the first time in January on my way to Houston, and I wrote at the time that I’d be happy to never come here again. Little did I know…


Credit where it’s due, though: I was through passport control in less than 5 minutes (they let Aussies use the smartgates), the luggage was out less than 10 minutes after that, and (as seems to be the norm in Europe) there was no Customs control at all.

I was very grateful that I’d decided to book an Airport hotel overnight, rather than a hotel in the CBD. The hotel I’d booked was TRIBE Manchester Airport. It was a poorly-signposted, 15-minute walk which involved several wrong turns with my luggage and which I did not enjoy at 2:30am! Eventually I got there and checked in.

The cost of the room for one night was GBP 92 which the front desk agent asked for immediately. I told him that I’d like to pay with my Accor ALL points. He looked puzzled and told me that I could only do that if I’d paid in advance.

With as much gentleness as I could muster at 2:30am (ie. with probably not enough gentleness) I responded I should be able to pay with my Accor points at an Accor hotel.

He looked genuinely puzzled and spent several minutes closely examining whatever was on his computer screen. After a while he told me that he could take out 5000 points from my account and that I’d need to pay the extra GBP 5 or so on my credit card.

I don’t think he’d been lying to me; I just think he’d been poorly trained. After the points were deducted I said, with as much friendliness and goodwill as I could, “Now you know how to do it!”.

It was a long walk to my room on the 6th floor.


My room: small but functional. Doesn't look like I got an upgrade despite being ALL Gold.


I had a much-needed shower and was in bed by 3am. Breakfast was between 5:30am and 10am; I set my alarm for 9:15am...

 

[Human]

… And woke up at 8am. Not nearly enough sleep, and it’ll be a massive day. I awoke to the news of a totally unexpected “Trip Report of the Month” honour!

I went downstairs for the breakfast, past the bar area…


...To the breakfast buffet. It was a confusingly-laid-out but perfectly functional, if unspectacular, buffet. Not a baguette in sight!

Having said that, they made a nice creamy bowl of porridge to order for me. And after the night I’d had, I decided to indulge slightly more than I normally would at breakfast time.

 

[jastel]

Re The Space Invader thing...I remember seeing a lot of Pac Man's and Ghosts around Germany a few years back, wonder if its a similar thing?

 

[Human]

Having downloaded the Trainline app as instructed, I attempted to book a train ticket to Hebden Bridge. I was mostly successful, but there were a couple of rookie errors in the mix too. In my defence, the app is more than a little user-unfriendly.

But I ventured across the road to Manchester Airport station, where soon I found myself on a platform whose train was departing to my first destination, Manchester Piccadilly Station.




I boarded, sat down, the train pulled out … and the announcement came over the PA that this was a TransPennine Express train. Rookie error #1: I most definitely did not have a ticket for the TransPennine Express.

The good news is that the train did pull into Piccadilly Station, I disembarked and soon came to the realisation that I had gotten away with my heinous crime.

Rookie error #2: The first train took me to Piccadilly Station. The train to Hebden Bridge was from Victoria Station. Piccadilly Station (chalk) is not Victoria Station (cheese).

This was where I came to realise that crime really does pay: the TransPennine Express had gotten me to Piccadilly way ahead of time – so I had plenty of time to catch the free bus from Piccadilly to Victoria.



In terms of the free bus’s interior, well, you get what you pay for. It was crowded and uncomfortable. But it did the job and got me to Victoria with plenty of time to spare.





Once safely onto the train to Hebden bridge, I allowed myself to relax a little and called to book a taxi from the station.

Amazing co-incidence: the person sitting next to me heard me book the taxi … she was doing the writing workshop too! So of course we introduced ourselves, had a lovely talk about our backgrounds and aspirations for the week, and agreed to share the taxi.

We arrived at Hebden bridge with increasing feelings of excitement…



We found the taxi, which dropped us off here…


We walked down the long driveway to the house…



We met some of the participants who had already arrived and were led to our rooms.

I arrived at my room, took these photos of the room and its view…



… and burst into tears.

 

[Human]

Chapter 4: If Only They Could Write

This chapter title is an homage to James Herriott. I grew up reading his books and watching All Creatures Great and Small … and now here I am, within spitting distance of the Yorkshire Dales!

The Writers’ Workshop has started. Because what is covered there is not my Intellectual Property and because of the need to safeguard confidentiality, I will not cover what is said and done during the Workshop sessions.

However, there is a lot more that I can share. Here are some photos which I took of the property and its surrounds this afternoon and this evening. After a delicious dinner I went for a walk in fading light.









Needless to say, after my 3am bedtime this morning, I’m having an early night tonight. Tomorrow I’ll share more about the days’ routine. And there will be more exploring as well!

 

[FlyingFiona]

I want to go to Hebden Bridge now, just to visit that railway station

 

[kookaburra75]

The Writers’ Workshop has started. Because what is covered there is not my Intellectual Property and because of the need to safeguard confidentiality, I will not cover what is said and done during the Workshop sessions.

Sort like a combination of Fight Club and Chatham House Rules then?

 

[Human]

Sort like a combination of Fight Club and Chatham House Rules then?

Exactly. What happens in Write Club, stays in Write Club!

 

[Human]

I feel like I need a couple of matchsticks to pry my eyes open with right now. But it’s been a wonderful day.

I fell asleep very easily last night, before 10pm – very early for me. Annoyingly, I woke up at 3am but I slept sporadically after that before finally deciding that it was probably time for the day to begin at 7:30am. I FaceTimed my wife and headed downstairs for breakfast, which was “help yourself”. I had a Sainsbury’s granola and a coffee.

Some photos from outside the house this morning. The clouds were beautiful.





The workshop sessions go from 10am to 1pm each day, with each presenter presenting for about 80 minutes. I came away with some great ideas for my own writing and also some great ideas to use with my students. The presenters are very high-powered, bestselling authors, absolute masters at their craft, and amazing teachers too – this is, of course, an incredible privilege and also more than a little daunting!

Lunch was at 1pm and today consisted of a delicious tomato and basil soup, a fresh salad and bread baked on the premises.

The afternoons each day this week consist of a few different things. First, each participant gets one session during the week of one-on-one time with each of the presenters, during which time they critique our work. Second, the course participants are tasked with helping to make dinner, once during the week. The rest of the time is free time, for us to write, sleep, explore, or read from the extensive library of great literature here.

Today it was my turn to help make dinner, so I only had a couple of hours after lunch before dinner duty called. With that time, I gave my writing sample a final emergency edit before submitting it for my first one-on-one time tomorrow, and I went for what was intended to be a quick walk.

The walk took me to the bottom of the valley which the house overlooks…



Past a mill...


And along a stream.




Then I turned around, started to walk back to the house, took a wrong turn, and got hopelessly lost.




Even though it was only about 15 degrees and overcast, I found myself perspiring profusely both from the effort of climbing the steep hill, and also from the stress of not knowing where I was.



I soon came across a friendly middle-aged lady with a strong Yorkshire accent, and two beautiful large dogs. She gave me directions back to the house and I arrived a few minutes before 4pm, just in time to start making dinner: a chicken tagine.




This is the well-organised and well-stocked kitchen we cooked in.


After dinner we had another session with the presenters which finished about 20 minutes ago as I write this.

Other tidbits from today:

• I brought along 4 bottles of Aussie wine for the participants and presenters, which we have been drinking at dinner time. They’re a great hit and the people here love it! It makes me realise that Australian wine can really hold its own with the best in the world. Even better: I don’t have to lug it back across the world with me! My luggage is now several kilograms lighter.
• I also brought along 2 bags of Caramello Koalas, which the participants and presenters have likewise appreciated.
• The people here, both participants and presenters, are incredibly encouraging and kind. Some can write with a brilliance and an eloquence which I feel I could never hope to match. But I certainly feel affirmed and encouraged!
• My first one-on-one session with a presenter is tomorrow, which I will most definitely approach with some anxiety! I’ll let you know if I live.
• My wife found a shop she liked in Hebden Bridge, ordered a whole lot of stuff from it online, and has instructed me to collect it when I have the chance. The nerve!

 

[FlyingFiona]

What a day! I love your lost walk, minus the stress it seemed perfect for shaking off the jetlag and inspiring the creativiness that all writing requires.

(Love your wife's style )

 

[jastel]

The wife knew you were 4 wine bottles and a box of Caramelo's lighter now.

 

[kookaburra75]

Quick, get to Tesco or Sainsburys to get some whisky or gin to replace the wine. "She" will never know