The next chapter

So I embarked on my mammoth journey to Perth in Australia to re-join my family. It would end up being well over 36 hours of travelling, I would be going from Heathrow to Singapore to Sydney to Perth (the logistics were complicated – flights at short notice and airmiles). I left our African crafts in the UK, left my car back at my parents-in-law and got a taxi to the airport, my bag much lighter this time. In some ways I was quite looking forward to my travels – I was released of all burdens. No work, no interview to prepare for and not even a family to manage for this long-haul marathon. For all my optimism, it was inevitably a bit tedious though.

Heathrow airport was quite an experience. I had been looking forward to my solo exploration of the airport, finding a nice place to eat lunch and peruse some shops (childer agendas usually offer a different dynamic to such time waiting to board planes). However, certainly conditioned by my time away, I was initially bemused then completely overwhelmed by the vast masses of rushing people, the oppressive advertising, the compulsory walk along the snaking path through almost a kilometre of various duty-free stalls. I have travelled fairly frequently over the years, but having been away, this almost violent and unavoidable immersion into the depths of Western Capitalism was an assault on the senses that had completely the opposite effect from what it is trying to achieve. Rather than being drawn into buying stuff (which I definitely didn’t need), I withdrew. I walked serenely, looking, but letting all this just wash over me. Completely put off by my environment, I found an inexpensive sandwich, an empty seat and sat down with my book to await my flight. My conclusion – it’s completely bonkers what we have created. And I’m sad to say that I really don’t like it. But there we go.

I was suitably awed by my plane however. I have never been on a double decker, nor seen one up close. It is quite an exceptional feat of human engineering. It even gets two jetways for passengers to board. Amazing that such a beast can fly too! Whilst being in ‘economy’ meant I was on the bottom tier, I must say that I felt very well looked after by Quantas. Although I did wonder if the portrayal of first class in the film ‘Crazy Rich Asians’, watched on my flight home last week, would be going on above my head. I quite fancied a double bed! I did manage to snatch a glimpse of the sheer internal volume of this craft, responding to a call for a doctor about 30min after I had gotten to sleep. I was in the middle of the plane, and it was quite a long walk to the back where I was guided up a staircase to where the unfortunate individual was located. A far cry from needing to perform an emergency tracheostomy or chest drain with a biro, it was much less exciting and when an enthusiastic Emergency Doctor joined us soon after my arrival, I was very happy to step back and return to my seat. No upgrade. I settled down to a fitful sleep. My mind trying to quiet, but in the slightly uncomfortable setting, it drifted back to the major question hanging over me.

I have come to realise over the weekend, just quite how much getting this job meant to me. Impossible to keep my mind away from such an important and interesting topic, I indulged my imagination, playing out so many different takes on the situation. Of course one of those options would be not getting the job, and whilst I quickly caught myself, pulling back from pointless speculation, that option left me feeling very empty. Using a surfing analogy, I felt like I had just paddled into the biggest wave of my life. The tremendous power of the ocean palpable. I had taken the drop (a bit wobbly, but fairly well) and was flying down the face, loving the experience, with the wave now forming a tube above my head. But then the pause button. The ‘Sliding Doors’ (film) moment. Would I be successful and come out of the tube victorious, whooping and smiling broadly. Or would it be one of the biggest and most painful wipe-outs of my life.

I slept, fitfully. No news as we transited through Singapore (although I wasn’t expecting it so soon). Those of us continuing to Sydney had to get off for a couple of hours then would re-board. The next leg was much the same. Plenty of time to think and I was running out of movies to watch. Whilst the staff were brilliant and food was pleasant enough, I am not a captive animal. Being confined to a seat on a plane for a long period of time is not my ideal. I slept and woke up for ‘breakfast’ as we approached Sydney. Another very smooth landing (which I was again totally impressed by when I remembered the sheer size of the machine I was on). It was 05:00 local time on Tuesday morning and I was in Australia (8pm Monday night in the UK).

I had a moment of nervous anticipation. This was it. If I turned my phone on and allowed it to roam, I would probably get the news. I was sitting in my seat as my fellow travellers were all busying themselves with their hand luggage. I did it and closed my eyes.

I breathed, looked, it was searching for a connection. I closed my eyes again, breathed. All the time I was surrounded by a lot of hustle and bustle. I sat quietly (to be honest I have never seen the point of rushing at such times). This time though, rather than watch in bemusement the inpatient activities of my fellow travellers, my reality compressed into a very small space. The noise disappeared. I was in the zone (to use a sporting analogy). The anticipation left my mouth dry (or was that the air conditioning). I opened them, saw the flashing green notification LED. This was probably it. The screen had timed out and I woke my phone up. There were quite a few WhatsApp messages (which is unusual for me). I breathed again and allowed my phone to show me them, I was back in the ocean. I was frozen surfing that massive wave. The play button was pressed and the wave was suddenly crashing all around me, I was searching for the right message to open. And then I flew out of the tube. All my suppressed emotions silently burst forth as I realised I’d got it! I had been offered the appointment! It was almost too much to process in my sleep deprived state. However, all the other messages were absolutely delightful and helped to cement my reality. Lots of ‘well done’s from all my future colleagues. I was soooooooooooo chuffed!

The sweetness of victory, if I can call it that, was just amazing. I was buzzing.

I was one of the last ones to get off the plane. It was 5am in Sydney Airport but given the time difference I had enjoyed a flurry of message chats with the UK – technology definitely has its advantages. However, my wife and children were still fast asleep in Perth (it was 3am there). I sent them a message to wake up to, but knew that I would be boarding another plane soon and would be once again airborne when they got it. I was a very surreal experience. But fabulous nevertheless.

I had left the plane and was walking along a link corridor when I passed some seats. I had to stop and sit down. I breathed, a broad smile across my face. I closed my eyes and savoured the moment. I was the cat that had got the cream. The last few passengers had overtaken me, and I found myself opening eyes to an empty corridor. If anyone was watching the CCTV footage, they would have been bemused I am sure but probably smiled. As I left those seats and walked alone down that now empty corridor the emotions burst through. I did a few arm-air-pumps and whoop, whoops. What an absolutely fantastic result.

I retrieved my bag, passed customs (despite the ingrained red dust), and walked the couple of kilometres to the domestic terminal. I embraced my now completely confused body clock and treated myself to a rather delicious breakfast bap and a cold beer. Whilst it was 6am in Sydney, I reasoned it was still 9pm in the UK and I had passed the offer of ‘complimentary’ alcohol on board. I thoroughly deserved it and it was fabulous.

I have two weeks in Australia now with friends and my family to unwind and process everything. This feels like quite a big moment of change in my life. I wonder what the next chapter will hold? Exciting stuff.