Hayfever is such a major pain in the backside.
I've probably used a whole box of kleenex, my nose is red, sore as hell and still running.
One more reason to just move to the Middle East, where it's too bloody dry for anything green to grow, just the way it should be.
It's also getting too hot here in England. Something like 25 today and sunny during the first half of the day, then the lovely clouds came out.
My opinion is that the weather here in England should always be miserable and grey (not too wet though). All the more reason to brag about going to work, where I'm mostly guarranteed a lovely climate.
I'm kind of apprehensive about the summer at work.
If 25 and sunny in England is making me moan, what's 40 and roasting in Tashkent going to turn me into?
Well well, I guess we'll see when it comes to that.
Tehran was actually very warm, I'd guess a comfortable 28-30 degrees. Actually quite hot in all fairness, and when you add the tremendous amount of exhaust pollution there I can imagine just how stifling it will get there in the summer. Oooff.
Actually, this must have been the best Tehran trip I've had so far, and I've done my fair share of them.
A passenger on the flight out asked if this was my first time in Tehran... well, "no" I replied, "it's about my 9th time in the Islamic Republic".
The crew was absolutely brilliant, although we didn't see much of the Asst.Purser, the rest of us managed to stay quite active, walk around loads and go up to the mountain for lunch, tea and a hookah. And may I say, when one goes to a 'normal' Iranian restaurant there will be a menu. Fair enough. However, every single item on that menu will include the word 'Kabob' in the title. Yes, them Iranians are big on 'Kabobs', that's kebab to you and me (as in the meat on a stick roasted over a fire/coals, not the greasy turkish variety). Fair enough, but when you've had 'Kabob' for lunch and dinner for two days one's gotta draw the line somewhere, chamean!
Anyhow, as I think I mentioned in my previous post I was to be the most 'senior' main-crew member on the flight, and so I was. Funny, to suddenly be asked all the questions I was asking only 7 months ago (alhtough it certainly feels like it was only last week!).
So of course I got to work up in Club World (Business Class), with the purser, a brilliant Croatian-Italian (who happens to speak fluent Japanese) and a Zambian guy who's actually Gujharati (Indian) but still English. Working down the back in World Traveller (Economy) were the lovely Vicky, Shelley and Eric, who is an Australian-born Finn, and ever so funny. Everything went really smoothly and the flights passed by in no time at all.
One thing did happen though which I happen to find hillarious. When I made the welcome onboard announcement in French on leaving Tehran, apparently I said: "Mesdames et Messieurs, au nom de tout l'équippage j'aimerais vous souhaité la bienvenue à bord ce vol de British Airways à destination de Téhran...!" (never mind the spelling). Not like it matters though, as by that time they all had their headscarves off and ready to down a serious amount of champagne!
Another one. As we were a very multinational crew, the purser decided we'd do welcome anouncements in a variety of languages, so I started off with my French one, with the above-mentioned success, then the German one which was nothing out of the ordinary. Then as I just finished my Icelandic anouncement the purser came out of the toilet with the funniest look on his face and said "Oh, that sounded so sexy!".
Now, beat that, I make Icelandic sound sexy. Haha.
If anybody really cares what I do say when making up welcome onboard anouncements, here it goes:
"Góðir farþegar, góðann daginn. Fyrir hönd British Airways og áhafnarinnar langar mig að bjóða ykkur hjartanlega velkomin um borð þetta flug okkar til London í dag. Það ætti að taka okkur um sex klukkutíma að koma ykkur á áfangastað.
Ég heiti Palli og er íslenskumælandi áhafnarmeðlimurinn um borð í dag, og ef það er eitthvað sem ykkur vanhagar um, þá hikið ekki að ýta á hnappinn og spyrja eftir mér, og svo getið þið auðvitað spurt einhverja aðra fluffuna líka.
Ég vona að þið munuð njóta ferðarinnar með okkur. Takk fyrir."
Og þetta segi ég svo með minni kynþokkafyllstu íslenskurödd sem hægt er að framkvæma, allavegana segir Damir það (fyrsti-fluffinn á Tehran fluginu)!
Ó, og ef einhver er með uppástungur um að breyta þessari rullu, þá endilega kommenta, alltaf gaman að bæta einhverju kryddi í þetta!
