rm | #ashtag update

We're now ensconced in the guest room of our LJ rescuers. It's a lovely room, in a lovely flat, with lovely hosts, and we can see Parliament from the window, and it's all quite grand. There's a cat nosing at my toes. Yay.

Meanwhile, the news says that test flights trying to determine the safety of flying through the ash have found NO IMPACT from the ash on the planes. And I just don't know what to think, or how to process that emotionally.

On one hand, we know ash is dangerous to planes. If you've ever seen a Discovery Channel thing on this, you know, YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE IN A PLANE FLYING THROUGH ASH, because all your engines will shut down until you're clear of the ash, and you'll be lucky not to die.

On the other hand, seriously? Might it be that this ash is different? That the governments are being too cautious? THAT THIS HAS ALL BEEN FOR NOTHING? That we are trapped in the UK for no discernable reason?

And do I trust the airlines that are demanding that flight space be reopened because their test flights were safe and they are losing money? Not at all.

While our flight remains rebooked for Wednesday, the news is now saying that it is unlikely British airspace will reopen before Thursday, meaning we do not expect to get out until the weekend, although all of this is a theory right now. With the airlines exerting pressure and an emergency ministerial meeting called by Gordon Brown, I suspect anything could happen at any time.

I love the UK, and when are arrived here I was like "oh, I want to stay," but I'm a creature of plans and expectations, and being delayed bothers me slightly and not even having certitude about that bothers me _a lot_. I'm doing my best with it, and that best is pretty good, but it is awfully overwhelming to me.

I will be able to work remotely from here, although it is unideal. Patty will be able to do more daytime tourism. And I'll be able to see more London by night. If we get stuck until the weekend we'll be able to go back to the St. Katherine's Dock market again, so that's nice, and I still haven't squeezed in seeing Canary Wharf yet, so I'll have time now, although admittedly that seems a little ominous.

So yeah. It's all really, really fucked up and stressful. And it all may be for naught. Or greedy airlines and frightened governments may be about to get us all killed.