It’s a strange feeling when you just know you have to follow your heart.

18 years.  18 long years since I left flying, and I have thought about my old life every day since.  Don’t get me wrong; I have mulled over returning before now, but then life just gets in the way…or death.  Time seems put on hold while life passes by and before you know it you’re mid-40′s and realise it is now or never.

I worked for British Midland, when flying still had an element of glamour.  We worked hard - 3/4/5 sector days of full service in 2 cabins on a Boeing 737, DC9 or Fokker 100, before all the cost cutting started and low cost airlines were born.  Yes…we worked hard, and played harder.  It’s the lifestyle I miss though.  The camaraderie of working as part of a crew, the laughs, the weird stuff, the daily moan, the awful coffee, and the leftover breakfast hot bits - bacon and sausage stuffed in a warm roll and crammed down between 2nd tea and coffee and clearing in…securing the galley and throwing yourself into the jumpseat seconds before landing.  They really were great days.

BUT…the airline world has changed.  Immeasurably.  No more full in-flight service unless the passengers have paid full whack…no more chatting with the flight crew IN the flight deck on the odd quiet sector…no more sneaky ciggies down the back on a turnaround, or on the jetty if the ground staff turned a blind eye (not that I smoke any more, but still…), and, more importantly, NO MORE LANDING DRINKS!

But…again…the life still appeals…the lifestyle, the people, the flying, the travel and exploring…and so here I am.

A few slightly backdated posts will follow as I started this blog and then left it unpublished until a lovely (ex-hostie) friend convinced me Tumblr was a good idea…