Nothing to declare...

I got up early to do the Thorpe Wood breeding bird transect and found that my right leg was agonisingly painful and I couldn't even put my sock on! The pain was even worse on the five minute drive to the site although the walk round the wood actually relieved the symptoms a little. When I got back I was really worried that I wouldn't physically be able to get Alex to Heathrow - and going by train seemed even more complicated, thanks to the Tube strike.

In the end I survived the four hours of driving, thanks to a cocktail of ibuprofen, paracetamol and a heat wrap. Thankfully the journey was relatively straightforwards, and we set off sufficiently early to avoid rush-hour on the M25.

When we arrived we found that EVA airways passengers were supposed to use the self-check in kiosks, but for some reason they wouldn't accept Alex's passport - a bit of a panic, especially as Alex has never flown before and was a bit nervous anyway. After queuing for what seemed like an age, among a large crowd of Taiwanese and Thai customers, he managed to check-in manually and to get his seat changed for a better one with a window view!

After the stress we all needed a drink, and headed to the 'pub' in Terminal 3, where Pete and Alex had beer and cider respectively, and I downed a couple of orange juices. The staff were incredibly helpful and attentive, and in the end we decided to eat there before setting off for home. I had a hot smoked salmon and beetroot salad, Pete had a smoked haddock fishcake with a poached egg and Alex just had chips, much to the amusement of the Chinese waiter. He didn't really feel like anything more - too much adrenaline had suppressed his appetite!

This was more-or-less our last view of him before he headed into Security - looking cheerful, with nothing to declare! Next stop Bangkok!