We arrived at Terminal 5 Heathrow in good time…..wow is it different from the last time we’d flown out of here…we usually fly Virgin, but Maisie Morton at DialAFlight (+44 1616418179) had done a great job getting us cheap British Airways flights. Everything at Terminal 5 seems to be automated – boarding passes, baggage tags and drop, security – very efficient…machines certainly do it quicker than humans !!! From being dropped off to sitting in the departure lounge was just under 30 minutes.

We boarded the plane and took off 30 minutes late. The flight was uneventful. The food was the usual airline food….who serves curry on a long haul flight….the smell in the cabin proved it’s a definite “ no, no”!!!! The plastic “English Breakfast” was also rejected so I got off the plane somewhat hungry.

Getting off the plane was easier said than done. The ground crew were unable to attach the gang-way to the upper deck so we had to climb down the stairs into the main cabin to disembark….not BA’s fault we hasten to add. By the time we had reclaimed our baggage and cleared customs we were about 40 minutes late to pick up the hire car….no big deal they had our flight number so they would know of our delay…..or so you would think

Alas!! They claim because we were late they had let our car go and consequently they didn’t have the Toyota Urban Cruiser we had booked instead we were getting a Kia, they claimed it was the same category as the Toyota….I wasn’t at all happy as we had booked a “ guaranteed “ car ….but evidently the tiny small print states it’s only guaranteed if they have one 🤣🤣 and because we were late …..grrrrr…… I don’t think so…Alamo, Enterprise and Woodford cars all use the same desk…there were about 6-8 people all stood around waiting for cars which just weren’t there… they said to wait for 15 minutes….45 minutes later I asked if we had been forgotten!!! Eventually after me telling them that “ sorry” didn’t solve the problem and I would pay more if we could have the car we’d ordered NOW !!! Miraculously we were told to go upstairs to bay 26 and a Toyota was waiting for us…yeah!!!! Our elation was short lived. There was no car in Bay 26 …the priority desk on the garage level told us to wait 15 minutes and the car would be there !!!! 30 minutes later a Kia arrived….its nothing like a Toyota Urban Cruiser…much smaller, only one case would fit in the boot, it was much lower to the ground and I couldn’t get the very narrow drivers seat in a position where I could reach the peddles, see over the steering wheel and fit my fat tummy in….NO we were not accepting this car for a month…The manager was trying really hard to be helpful…he rang around trying to locate a Toyota…he did manage this but it meant us driving into Johannesburg and swapping the Kia over there….No!!! We know didn’t trust them at all so we didn’t believe they would honour their promise and we’d be left with an uncomfortable biscuit tin on wheels for a month….so wait we did…along with numerous other people who were threatening to pull out of their corporate contracts unless they got their cars NOW……of course they got ungraded immediately after losing their cool….not just one customer but 4 while we waited…eventually our nice man went off and came back with a Toyota Urban Cruiser… as we went over to it a rep said “no” it was for his customer…where upon I said “ No “ that’s for us….our nice man agreed the checks were done and I asked about the paper work for it…our nice man said he would change it and we could get going…. as far as we can see to date the paperwork hasn’t been changed…but hey ho…3.5 hours after we should of picked the car up we were on our way, in the vehicle we had hired. ……Would we use Holiday Autos again..Yes but we would select either an Avis or Hertz car defiantly not a Alemo, Enterprise or Woodford…

We drove through to our friend, Gills, very easily. We were so late she was on grandmother duties so Salmena, the domestic, greeted us with her usual cheery persona and we went straight to bed for an afternoon nap.The horrors of the car hire desk began to recede and we were able to relax. We had a pleasant evening with Gill. She cooked us a nice lasagne and salad and we had a good natter and an early night.