Next Day

With much good humour the group assembles.  Dad and Dave have come from Heathrow, having just arrived on overnight flights from the US.  Russ, Miles, and Sally have come from near London where they spent the night at our aunt and uncle’s house after a couple of days of visiting relatives.  And I arrive with Oliver after flying in from Munich and meeting him the afternoon before.  After all, someone had to make sure that Oliver showed up this time (on one of our previous hikes he did not :-).

The only things missing are my bags (BA having left them in Munich the day before), and suddenly Ollie, who disappears.  But it turns out that he just wandered off to find a cup of coffee and he is back in good time for us to shoe-horn ourselves and our luggage into the train and set off.  The first train to Carlisle is – mirabile dictu – on time, the connection is made (although the second train is 30 minutes late), and we roll into St. Bees around 16:15.  Carol, our cheerful landlady at Stonehouse Farm, welcomes us to our rooms and then, after a short walk around the 12th Century church, we have a solid meal at the next door pub and turn in early.

Or at least, most people turn in early… I stay up until 1AM to wait for my luggage… and consider myself lucky at that.  I was partially to blame, having showed up a mere 25 minutes before my planned departure time at Munich airport the day before (a senior moment… I thought the plane was leaving an hour later than it was).  But the BA personnel there (check-in desk and baggage handlers) said that my bags would make the plane;  so the blame was shared and I felt that it was their responsibility from then on.  Of course, the bags didn’t make the plane. 

At Heathrow, in the midst of the chaos of the claim area (I’ve rarely seen one quite as bad) I made a report, pointing out that if they weren’t able to get the bags to me in London by 8 the following morning, then they’d have to bring them up to Cumbria.

Of course, they weren’t there the following morning.  So I called them on the number they had given me and, after 10 minutes in a holding queue, learned that they hadn’t located the bags yet.  Yikes.  This was starting to get serious.  All my hiking stuff… including my boots… was in those bags.  If they didn’t show up, I might be baggage myself in a taxi or a bus, but I was not going to be a C2C hiker!  I explained the criticality of the situation, told them where to bring the bags in St. Bees, and was assured that they’d do all they could and that they’d call me later.

3PM and I’m waiting for the train to St. Bees in Carlisle and I still haven’t heard from them.  So I call again.  20 minutes in the holding queue.  I’m starting to get a little irritated, but then a person to talk to and good news!  They found the bags.  Closely followed by bad news:  but they haven’t sent them up to St. Bees.  Why not?  Well, they weren’t sure if I still wanted them sent to the address I had given them.  Did I?  Ummm… yes, of course I do (you morons).  OK then, they’ll give it to the courier company and I’ll get a call from them soon.  Riiiiight.

Surprisingly, a couple of minutes later the phone rings.  It’s a representative of the courier company.  Terribly sorry, can’t get them there tonight… maybe tomorrow towards midday?  I tell him, he doesn’t understand:  I need the hiking boots for a 7 hour hike starting 8AM tomorrow.  Yes, but I can’t get them there... he kept saying.  No, you don’t understand, I need them … I kept replying.  Well, I don’t want to lie to you… and I wouldn’t want you to either… but we can’t get them there tonight… you don’t understand, I need them… and so it went.  Perfectly pleasant on my side, increasingly frantic on his.  Unable to get my acquiescence to my own execution, it was probably a relief to him when we went through a tunnel (by now we were on the train to St. Bees) and my cell phone lost the connection.

A few minutes later on the other side of the tunnel, the phone rings again.  It’s a new person who informs me that there are now about 8 people working on the case and it is starting to get confusing.  Starting?  Did I still want the bags delivered to St. Bees?  Ummm… yes, of course I do (you megamoron).  Right, well, then they’d be there tonight… late tonight, but tonight.  Elation!  Scratch the megamoron comment.  I told him that he had restored my faith in BA.  He said wait until the bags arrive.  So I waited, and at 1AM my bags arrived and my faith was restored.  A textbook case of not taking no for an answer.

Next Day