by
Ryan Clement
There is a kind of high that comes from wrapping up a speaking engagement. The room empties out, the adrenaline starts to subside, and usually, I would head straight for a celebratory drink, food or a good night’s sleep. It was a pleasure speaking at a recent event in Sheffield. The host and attendees were very welcoming and engaging. Thank you!
This time, however, the moment I finished my engagement, I had a quick cup of tea with a cake or two; ok, three, with the host, and the countdown officially began. Destination? Nice, France. The challenge? A 7.20 am flight to catch out of London T5 Heathrow—with a few necessary stops in between.
I rushed to catch my train from Sheffield to London, but I had just missed my scheduled one due to the rush hour traffic. I then had a convoluted journey of four changes to home. At around 10.15pm I was on the road, negotiating B roads, A roads and two motorways – M25 and M40! By 11.30pm, I finally pulled up at Caz’s house to drop off my car. I tried to book into my regular chain hotel but the website was dow. So, at nearly midnight, I managed to book myself into another hotel. It was stressful! Caz booked a cab. There was a quick thank-you, a swift luggage transfer, handed over the car keys and I was back on the move towards the hotel ‘not-so-near’ to the airport.
I strolled to my Heathrow hotel room at roughly 12.30am. When your alarm is set for the crack of dawn—or really, the middle of the night—getting into bed is a mental game. Do you attempt a deep sleep, or do you just rest your eyes? I opted for a rapid-fire sequence of the mandatory 5-minute emergency unpack/re-pack, setting three separate alarms (my insurance!), accompanied by a three-and-a-half to four hours shut-eye!
At 4.30am, the alarm buzzed; I got out of bed on the third. I was mashed! Where did the time go??? I then set off to catch the ‘once an hour’ bus but ended up with an Uber instead – another story! Surprisingly, T5 was relatively busy for that early time.
After breezing through security and my customary double espresso (it would have been rude not to!), I boarded the 7.20am BA Flight. The moment the plane lifted off the tarmac, the fatigue finally caught up with me, but I kept going! I stayed awake for the ‘almost’ 2-hour flight.
Landing in Nice as the morning sun hit the Mediterranean coast made every minute of my late night ‘marathon’ experience worthwhile. From the cool evening air in South Yorkshire to the warm morning light of the Côte d’Azur in approximately 15 hours. Not bad!
AND, it was worth every moment of tiredness!
As for the rest of my time in Nice, Watch this space!
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