How many pints did you and Hugh have at the airport????

DEAR SPOOK, you cant imagine how exciting it was this afternoon. Sun set at 3.30pm, Salvation Army playing christmas carols and the snow starting to fall in big flakes, lit up in the street lights. I ordered the turkey for christmas dinner and came home to find the children very excited with the snow. Between that and the anticipation of you coming home, it was a very happy household. So to read your email telling me that you had left your passport in Hugh's office in Queenstown airport where you had put it for safekeeping while you had a pint with him and only noticed it was missing when you went to check in for the flight to LA, and had since spent the night in Auckland airport waiting for Hugh to wake up so you could ask him to send it up on the next flight, and that all flights to LA are fully booked until Christmas and that you didn't now how you were going to get home........well, it did kind of put a dampner on our spirits. Having lost your bank cards the night before after your night out with your workmates may have seemed insignificant when you were leaving anyway. I suppose it wasn't so handy when you were faced with an indeterminate period of time in Auckland. Also, being without a mobile phone as it was a work one, will have been inconvenient. Thankgoodness you had written down the numbers of your friends, so that, once they all woke up, you could begin the process of clawing your way home. Hugh is sending the passport once the wind in QT drops and flights can take off, Kevin has picked you up at the airport and will see you safely to the front of the standby queue and hopefully see you onto the next flight to LA. There is only one flight a day, so if your not on that one, you will need to reroute and I suggest you investigate all possibitities including flights via Outer Mongolia if necessary. Christmas day is fast approaching and I do believe it will be a hot and sweaty one in Auckland. Have you thought of hitch-hiking?

I have to say, that your brother, my brother and BJ, who were all here for dinner tonight, were not as sympathetic as I might have hoped. One really needs ones girlfriends at a time like this. We did all make a toast to absent friends. But it made them laugh very loudly. Oh Spook, do you really want to hang out with these people?? I will be tuning in very closely to your plight and have fingers and toes crossed that some deserving person will be upgraded to 1st class so that you can get their seat and that will make someone elses christmas as well as ours.

Hang on in there honey.

xxx