Pussies, planes and Premier League

I have never before met a cat who won't drink water out of his bowl until the ripples created by setting the dish down on the floor have completely stopped. 

This is Shadow, a slightly deaf 18-year old New York cat who is the most fussy eater I have ever seen.

For example, he won't eat anything put down by my friend Laura. She can lovingly prepare a meal totally in accord with Shadow's exacting requirements, set it down in front of him, only to find that her best efforts are totally ignored. Shadow just sits there looking at the dish with the body language indicating his displeasure.

Shadow will only eat when Laura's partner Rich performs the ritual. The food has to be mashed up into a fine paste, with the essential vitamins and other medications crushed into a fine powder and thus secreted into the mix. Final touch involves the meal being gently heated in a microwave.

I watch all this happening while we are debating what to do on a rainy day in New York.

Laura suggests a visit to the 'Cradle of Aviation Museum' (www.cradleofaviation.org).

I didn't realise, but Long Island, where I am staying, has always been at the forefront of the development of flying. The flat Hempstead Plains, close to the eastern edge of the Continental US was an ideal base and the area was used for flying even before the first unsuccessful attempt at a transatlantic balloon crossing in 1873.

From Roosevelt field, Lindbergh flew to Paris in 1927 and, only 10 years later, flying boats were operating the first commercial transatlantic service from nearby Port Washington.

Mitchel Field, whose original hangars house the museum, was closed in 1961.

I have been to many such museums over the years but Cradle of Aviation is rather special. The aviation history of the area is very well represented, with some truly splendid examples of early string-bag aircraft up to the most modern jet fighters, manufactured by local company Grumman. It's interesting to note that around 240 companies still operate in Long Island producing parts for aircraft. Grumman developed their business into the space age and the lunar landing module, featured in the museum, is just one of many examples of their work.

Our visit coincided with a model aircraft weekend with some enormous radio controlled planes on display. We spend three hours in the museum and could easily have spent a whole day. 

In the afternoon, I am delighted to discover that Fox Soccer is showing Fulham against Norwich and although the Canaries fought back to reduce the London Club's early two goal lead, it was nice to have a little link with home.

Photos at: https://picasaweb.google.com/113030621059953130627/AroundTheWorldIn60DaysBackwardsNorwichToNewYork?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Day One Norwich to New York

Packing for a sixty day trip, especially one that involves many different climates, is always something of a challenge. This one is slightly eased because, in the main, I will be staying with friends, so getting laundry done shouldn't be a huge issue. So I decide to take six days of clothing for hot climates and the same for cold.

Experience has taught me that everything needs to be split between two bags, so that if one goes missing, you always have enough for two or three days. That plan goes awry, of course, if they lose both.

I've got an evening press event to go to in London, so I take the Greater Anglia train from Norwich to the capital. The ticket lady welcomes us aboard the 'National Express Service to London'. Not once, but twice. In her defence, the service has had several re-brands in recent years.

I couldn't find a reasonably priced hotel in the area I needed to be, so I am trialling an apartment. (www.marlinapartments.com). It turns out to be a sensationally equipped palace of a place, 16 floors up, with stunning views of the city and east towards the new Olympic Park. It's a steal at £106 per night, although they take a £200 deposit 'in case of damage' which will, they say, be returned to me in five working days. We shall see.

My evening event is the launch of P&O's 2013 cruise programme, but both P&O's boss, Carol Marlow, and her Cunard equivalent, Peter Shanks, give us presentations.

I am joined by my old broadcasting chum, Russ Kane and we leave for a post-event curry each clutching a heavy goodie bag which will give me a bit of a late night packing challenge.

Russ kindly drives me back home, pops up to my apartment, marvels at the incredible views and agrees that I have indeed found a bargain.

In the morning, the taxi to Paddington gets stuck in traffic and costs me twice as much as the official website suggested it would. Fifty quid doesn't last long in a London black cab.

I catch the efficient and comfortable Heathrow Express which whisks me to the airport in just 15 minutes. Despite my detailed planning, I can't find anywhere in my booking details to tell me which terminal United Airlines is using. As always, I can't make a connection to the on-board wireless internet. The ticket collector looks up a BAA list and informs me confidently it is Terminal One.

So I wait until the end of the line, walk with all my luggage to the end of a long corridor, to discover a sign which greets United passengers for everywhere BUT Newark, which goes from Terminal 4. Aarggghhhh.

Luckily, I have left plenty of time for such eventualities although there is further confusion before check-in when a girl carrying out a ticket pre-check can't seem to understand that, as a holder of a Round the World Ticket, I don't have an actual return portion. Aaaargghhhh.

The plane is full and, although I only take a large briefcase on board, the overhead compartment above my seat is full of crew luggage and the attendant is not at all disposed to render assistance to shuffle things about. Aaarghhhhh.

The aircraft is a pretty old 757-200 which, by modern standards, is cramped and lacks storage space around the seats.

But the food is pretty good; I enjoy the latest Tintin film, which I have been meaning to catch for months and I fall asleep enjoying the music to the surprise hit of 2012, 'The Artist'.

On arrival at Newark, Homeland Security is, as always, slow with tourists. But once all the US Citizens go through their area, it is opened up to allow we aliens through. I just cannot understand why entering the US is always such a pain, especially when, these days, you have to pay to be pre-screened before you even board the aircraft.

Newark Liberty Airport has a splendid monorail 'AirTrain' to link terminals and to take you to the New Jersey Transit and Amtrak station.

$12.50 and 25 minutes later, I change trains at Penn Station for the Long Island Rail Road, feed a further $8.75 into a ticket machine and almost exactly 14 hours after setting off from London, I reach my home for the next six nights.

More photos at: https://picasaweb.google.com/113030621059953130627/AroundTheWorldIn60DaysBackwardsNorwichToNewYork?authuser=0&feat=directlink