… of sleeping on Motorway Service Areas because this was one of the worst nights sleeps that I’ve had. The constant noise kept me awake for most of the night and I finally gave up the attempt at about 06:30 and went nd fetched a coffee.

Off to my little storage area at Jarry to unload the Dodge, and I’m afraid that there, I binned the bed. As you know, because I’ve said before, the constant screwing and unscrewing has weakened the screw holes so that it no longer holds together and I’m in danger of dropping through it, and also because I bought a new and “proper” folding camp bed and mattress which is slightly narrower and slightly shorter, but a good couple of inches higher, and so has all kinds of better potential.

And woe is me. For if you remember, I found a superb car wash and valet service in Montreal in 2012 and I’m badgered if I can remember where it was. And the one that I found instead is, well, unsatisfactory and to such an extent that I took the car back to Jarry and gave it another go myself, and then vacuumed it out. Disappointing, you might say.

Words were said this evening too.

When I took the Dodge back to the Car Hire place, the attendant said, in a loud accusatory voice “you’ve damaged this car!”. Consequently he and I had a “frank exchange of views” which continued inside the Hire Company offices where I told them precisely what I thought about their staff abusing my good nature in doing them a favour by taking out a damaged car.

My bad humour persisted inside the airport terminal at what is laughingly called the “security check” when a security guard said to me “take your boots off”. When I told him to say “please” he repeated his demand. Consequently I told him exactly what I thought of his pig-ignorant attitude and when the chief of security came out with a couple of minions to find out what the commotion was, I told him about it too and I made sure that the other 500 or so passengers at the departure gate and the rest of the staff there knew about it too. I’m totally fed up of this aggressive, impolite and pig-ignorant attitude of people at these terminals and it’s high time that other passengers responded in kind as well. I ought to be leading a revolt against this kind of arrogant attitude – after all, my friends (yes, I do have more than one) tell me that I’m quite revolting.

This is our aeroplane that brought me back to Europe, and I’m not quite sure how because in my humble … "humble?" – ed … opinion a more derelict and decrepit reilc never took to the air before.

It’s an Airbus A330 C-GCTS and if you want my opinion, it was the aircraft rejected by Nungesser and Coli in favour of “The White Bird” for their unsuccessful Trans-Atlantic attempt from east to west in 1927. The seats were vinyl, rather like an old Ford Cortina mk III from the early 1970s and the seat-back of the seat in front of me was held on by a rather worn velcro. Added to that, I spent almost 7 hours on the most uncomfortable seat upon which I have ever sat and the most comfortable part of the journet was the five minutes or so that I spent on the elsan. Someone did make the suggestion that I had forgotten to move Charles Lindbergh’s sandwiches off the seat, but I was too busy watching the in-flight entertainment – three big central screens (no individual screens at all) showing films and contemporary news features (and wasn’t that a tragedy about the Titanic?). Well it was either that or listen to the music, featuring Glen Miller and his band, live, on their way to entertain the troops in Normandy.

Having said all of that however, Air Transat did remember my vegan meal and so there was a positive side to the journey. But hopefully, there won’t be any further issues impinging upon any subsequent voyage, and so I won’t have to put up with this kind of nonsense in the future. It’s bad enough having to deal with the security guards.

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