I have had a strange day today, starting with the most stressful of situations and ending with the most relaxing of ones.

My taxi driver chose to go off the route to JFK this morning and circle round Queens in ever decreasing circles. I was terrified. I knew his route wasn’t the way to the airport and I had no way of alerting anyone to my plight. My cell phone only works in Europe and not in the USA. When I challenged the driver he said ‘ there are many ways of getting to the airport’ – I responded ‘but none of them involve doing circuits of Queens…’. I decided to bluff my way out of trouble. I fired up my cell phone and punched in a random number and started a fictional conversation with someone waiting for me at the airport. Luckily he believed me and changed his route and took me there. Whereupon he charged me $280 for the privilege. I tried to get out and he locked me into his cab until I’d given him my credit card. In the event, I was so relieved to be out of the car, I let it go. However, I will be taking it up on Monday with his employers.

My journey home was uneventful and this shot of the Jumbo jet wing at sunset was about the only photogenic moment of the journey.

Tonight though, DM has been serenading me with U2 – ‘All that you can’t leave behind’ – a poignant reminder of the week and a deeply emotionally charged memory of our first date when we listened to this album while feeling the electricity of the first throes of passion. Later, we went to Paris to see them live and I swear there could never be a more sensual time in our relationship….. ah, it’s good to be home!