Last week as I worked my backside off to finish up a project I was doing up in Cambridge, a cloud was looming over my exciting plan of action. That plan of action was to jump on a plane to Vancouver. Collect my good friend Rob and go and surprise my oldest friend Siggi who I had managed to convince I was not attending his Las Vegas wedding on Wednesday 21st April. It was the perfect cunning plan. Our mutual friend Lech was going to fly the rings and the suit to Vegas on the Sunday, the fun would begin on Monday when the rest of us all arrived.

As I sat in a shoreditch (London) bar on Wednesday night (14th April) boasting about my trip, a funny thing was happening. A volcano in Iceland decided to erupt. Clouds of ash have gone into UK and EU airspace and planes are not flying all over Europe. The subsequent days as all will now remember, have been utter chaos. No planes have left UK airspace, my flight to Vancouver has been grounded since yesterday morning and classified as delayed so I am in between a rock and a hard place about my plans still. I am now sitting here on Monday 19th April in PM when I should be on a bus on my way to Seattle to catch my Vegas flight to go and suprise Siggi and Emily in time for their wedding

Luckily they went out a week earlier so they are out there and can get married and then take their honeymoon and the rest.

Then there is the story of the internal flights issue and the act of God. All insurance companies and the airline industry have suddenly become religious all of a sudden. I have spent a total of 7 hours on hold in the last 48 hours to Expedia who I booked all my internal flights in the states only to be told I am not entitled to cancellations due to the nature of the incident. My travel insurance company simply laughed me off the phone at the idea that they might cover me for such a thing. I mean what is the point of this policy you wonder.

My father, his wife and my little sister are stuck out in Copenhagen and they are unable to get home also with ferrys all booked too. They have been stuck there since Wednesday. So will I make it out to Vancouver and salvage at least the Vancouver and San Fran part of my trip. I am gutted the Vegas part is over, which we all are realising it is now. I know Siggi and Emily will appreciate the effort we all made at least but it would have been nice to be there non the less.

As I have just spent since Sept 09 working I am going to make it out there somehow so I guess I am going to have to wait until the ashes settle rebook and just take the cost on the chin.