Robin Hill Remembered, in a New York Toy Shop...

You know you have done a lot of travelling when you go into a toy shop in the JFK airport, New York, and the assistant says, "Oh, you back again so soon!"
I was quite amazed, and amused, when Robin told me this had happened.
She must get hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of customers each week. It's not even as if Robin is buying large, expensive, presents each time. It tends to be just a small memento for the children.
Mind you, there can't be quite as many shoppers with large guitar cases slung from their shoulders.

The journey home proved the usual tedious event we all now expect with air travel.
Robin's direct flight was cancelled, reason unknown, so they put him on a flight to Heathrow.
On paper it should all have worked out fine.
Except for the security checks.
So he watched his flight to Manchester depart, whilst he was still trying to get into the terminal building at Heathrow.
Coincidentally, I read this related article today, by David Millward.
I think Robin was beginning to think, "Why do I do this?".

I certainly was.
Having got two children up very early to go the airport, then a call to say wait for further information, by which time we were all too wide awake to go back to bed.
Shouldn't complain really, at least we'd been to bed!

So there we have it.
Instead of getting home at 6 am, Robin is now biding his time in Heathrow,due home approximately 6 hours late.
I know that doesn't sound a lot, and if you only travel by air a couple of times a year, then it's manageable.
But it's very frustrating when such a lot of your work is done outside the UK.

So next time you are at a concert, watching a musician from abroad, just remember the trials they have gone through in pursuit of their music.
They just want to play.
Unfortunately they usually have to jump through a few hoops to do so.