A New York state of mind

I don't know why it is that the moment people approach within a 5 mile radius of an airport, their IQ drops about 20 points. Our ability to notice and navigate toward, around and in the terminals seems to be almost entirely suppressed by the stress trying to get to the right gate, check-in area or terminal on time.Yes, that includes me - despite working for Heathrow airport for almost 3 years I realised with barely an hour before departure that my flight left from Terminal 4, not where I was standing at Terminal 3, and I had to come close to breaking Olympic sprint records to make it to the other side of the airport before the check-in counter closed. This was made infinitely more difficult by having to duck and dive around foreign passengers and their kitchensinkinabags dawdling about like a school of stunned mullets with me quoting Shakespeare under my breath "my kingdom for a cattle prod!". If it hasn't been done already, I'm sure there's a psychology thesis just waiting to be written on human behaviour at airports.

Times Square

Fortunately, and yes, unsurprisingly, I scampered off the inter-terminal transfer and to the bag drop to find there was a flight delay - the plane had broken down. After being held up for just over an hour - I even had time to buy $300 in US cash, which I think came to about 10 pounds with the current exchange rate - we were shuttled across the taxiways to a spare 747-400 they apparently had lying around, and  I was off to the first stop of three months travel around-the-world.

Me and Yael

I've been to Manhattan probably a half-dozen times now. It's a different city each season and a chilly place in late November, the icy blasts funneling up and down the gridlocked streets which seem just as grey at this time as the London I've left behind. Peppered against the dull backdrop are startling dots of colour such as the iconic fleet of bright-yellow taxis, the thousands of which seem matched only in number by the different countries and native languages of their drivers. Central Park is a refreshing break on the dull with its trees still clinging doggedly to the last of the golden spectrum of leaves that cover the ground, making it a pleasure to walk through for a few hours despite the chill. Times Square is another, casting its electronic billboard rainbow as an oasis amongst the grime that dulls the walls and floor of the rest of mid-town Manhattan in the late-autumn overcast light.