Here I am at 35,000 feet...

Flying over California
Originally uploaded by Blue Blanket.

…on a relatively quiet flight to San Francisco, with the Well Being radio channel in my ear, playing a mixture of Irish flute and whale noise.

I have managed to commandeer a whole middle row to myself and have decided to hammer away on the laptop for a bit – at least until the battery begins to falter – instead of watching the array of movies on offer in the seatback screen in front of me.

Awake at 04.00 – isn’t that always the way when the alarm is actually set for 5.15? –for the first BA flight down to Heathrow and now awaiting my no-doubt delicious gluten-free lunch. The cocktail trolley has been and gone (gin and tonic, since you ask…) and now the wine trolley is here (white Bordeaux).

Talking of which, how’s this for pretention gone badly, badly wrong? Years ago I made a film about wine, shooting in Bordeaux and the Corbieres region of France . Having travelled through the country with wine expert, Oz Clarke, tasting merrily and learning lots, I flew home with Air France from Bordeaux. The drinks trolley came round and I asked for a glass of red. Following the tradition of the previous few weeks’ filming, I lifted the small plastic tumbler to my nose to give it a good sniff and managed to inhale a large nose-ful causing me to choke, expel a significant amount onto my shirt and generally look a complete fool. Now, I bypass the nose malarkey and go straight to the mouth…

Gluten-free lunch was basically a fish-fest. Salmon salad (x 2, oddly) as starter(s) followed by baked cod. As my second fishy starter arrived, I asked – innocently – what the gluten-free pudding was. It appears that us weirdo, dietary freaks don’t get a dessert. But, two salmon starters were a bonus. And I had bought a packet of Cadbury’s Chocolate Buttons and they certainly did the trick, sugar-wise.

PS Actually, this picture probably wasn't taken at 35,000 feet as I THINK it's the Cascades and we're well into our descent over Northern California. Anyone recognise it??