Flight to London

We flew rather uneventfully from Houston to London today, or was it yesterday? Not sure how you classify that when you leave on a Saturday, travel through 6 time zones and land in London on Sunday morning. All I know is that fatigue has really set in as I write this, now that it is close to bedtime, but I have a couple of quick thoughts to share before retiring. First our arrival into Heathrow was not a pleasant Welcome to London-Glad You are Here greeting, to say the least. Typically, Mike and I sail through passport control, thanks to a rather clever system the Brits have designed. Named IRIS, the entry point into the UK goes like this. A year ago, our eyes were photographed and documented, so that when we enter the country now, we step into a booth, focus on two dots, the camera registers our irises, and then the door to the booth opens out to the other side allowing free access into the country--no hassle, no questions, no contacts with humans, and best of all, no lines.

Well, today of all days, the system was down, and so, we made our way to the end of the most atrocious line I have ever observed in the Heathrow Airport. Six planes arrived virtually at the same time, and approximately 1000 people were in line. (I didn't count them, you understand-I could barely keep my eyelids open, but the gentleman behind me did an approximation.) To add insult to injury, there were only 4 agents working, instead of the usual 8 0r 9. That meant we had to stand in line, captives in the Passport Control hall, for one hour and 40 minutes. Thank goodness we did not have any specific plans upon arrival or connections to make, because we would have been sadly disappointed.

The one bright spot in our travel, however, was my choice of movie with my dinner. Called Millions, and released in 2004, this film produced by Danny Boyle, of Slumdog Millionaire fame, captured me. I had never heard of it, but I was hooked from the first scene. Two young British boys are caught in a quandary of conscience and ethics when a quarter of a million pounds literally falls from the sky. The challenges they face in trying to decide how to spend it will delight you and warm your heart. I am a sucker for any movie with a little boy speaking in a British accent--I just want to take him home with me. If you want to see a heart-warming, feel-good story, go now to your Net Flex and Blockbuster lists and add this name-Millions. If you give the title a click, you'll get a preview and see a hint of what I'm talking about. Let me know if you've seen it and what you think!

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi4086890777/