#1 Day 1 turns out to be very long

Day One plan; train to London, lunch with daughter by Paddington canal, Elizabeth line to Heathrow, plane to Hong Kong and then to Auckland.

It started well; quiet train, chatty lunch, busy tube, no delays, the only hitch a mix up of the pizza bases in our order. Lovely spending time with people I know well, and people I'm getting to know better.

It continued well as far as getting on the plane and beginning to taxi; in fact the captain was very pleased with himself and told us that we were slightly ahead of schedule. Unfortunately his next announcement was to let us know that there was a "little light" showing which needed attention, and not to be alarmed, but he would be turning one of the engines off and then back on again. (Always a good start to fixing a technical problem.) After the appropriate engine noises, as well as some potentially in-appropriate ones he let us know that the technical team were on their way; that it was a minor problem and that he'd update us as soon as he knew something.

I decided to find a film to watch to pass the time.

Time passed, and a few "I'll let you know when I know more" type of announcements later, plus some snacks and water from the cabin crew, we had the outcome; nope, no take off today - we taxied to the gate and waited for the BA buses to take us to the terminal to collect our bags, and to be given food and hotel vouchers. "You will be booked onto later flights". Turns out my "later flight" leaves 28 hours after the original flight, losing more than a day from my holiday.

We de-planed and queued for buses, for bags, for tokens, for others buses - some of which didn't appear so I (with my newly made queue-friend) took a taxi to the hotel. Three hours on the runway. I just wish I'd started watching the film 15 minutes earlier. No-one tell the ending - I'm hoping to catch it on the next flight (Mrs Harris goes to Paris).

So I spent the night in a very nice hotel, with a gym for a quick row and stretch in the morning. Remote working flexibility and my fabulously supportive colleagues mean I will now be able to save a day of holiday and leave my work email un-attended for the first week I'm away. (I'm working remotely for about 6 days of the 40.)

It was supposed to be an adventure; it is.

Interesting people I have met;

• An American who was very interested in my dragon flag and what country it is from.

• A queue friend who moved from Psychology to Physiotherapy, encompassing Taekwondo - interesting conversations and parallels with teaching.

Things I learnt today;

• I want to read "Being and Nothingness"

• Having plenty of bright stickers on your suitcase makes it very easy to spot.

• Adventure (and life) appears when you're not looking.

• Starting a blog isn't a big deal; making it interesting is!