To drift a little more. I just booked the flights. There was a recent thread mentioning Zoom's $199 fare out of YYZ. The fees and taxes make that $580(!), so we're going on USAirways. The price is the same for Buffalo or YYZ so we'll go out of Buffalo to avoid the hassle and parking charges in Toronto.

"Home" is a bit tricky. I use it to mean England, the YAL to mean the US, the "ex" Switzerland and the kids, being truly stateless, always leave it a bit vague. The eldest, for example, talks about working her gap year "at home" (CH) and then "coming home" (Canada). England, however, is no more home to the children than Canada is to me.

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We did that the night before last.

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What is it with these ticket prices. The base fare for my YOW-LHR return is 239 quid. By the time the other goodies have been added in, it's 358 quid. I find it a bit hard to see the current justification for a £70 fuel surcharge.

It's no good trying to look at airline ticket prices rationally. I just take the cheapest and, if the price is really terrifying, dig into the points stash.

I don't get terrified by ticket prices. My boss does. I have never seen a statement for my Amex.

Being somewhat limited in travel choices unless I want to travel massively out of my way to TO or some point in the US, I have to take AC. Cost for a St. John's - LHR via Halifax return in Nov is $800. That's about $60 more than I paid last April for YYT-LHR direct. The fuel surcharge is an absolute joke though. A nominal $498 fair gets $180 fuel surcharge on top plus taxes, improvement fees yadayada. IMHO It's about time AC a) stopped gouging pax with fuel surcharges when the price of avgas has droped and b) started posting 'honest' prices on their website. I don't hold out any hope of either of these happening anytime soon.......

My last pint of cask conditioned ale was in ohh June or whenever it was this year at dbd's local with him and his YAL. Pleasant though both the company and the pint were I am looking forward to a pint of Adnam's in the Harbour Inn at Southwold! 4 weeks to go from Sat.

I'm jealous. Mine was in January.

I already have my route planned. Bus from LHR to Feltham station. Train to Brighton, via Clapham Junction. Sharp right out of Brighton Station into whatever that pub is called this week. Then I'll go see my mum.

take the bus GREYHOUNd.ca

The market slows just after Labour Day in most years. Part of the reason is that school goes back the next day and with all the fuss of that most people dont really want to be thinking of moving home. After all it would not be your first choice to move between November and January!

I don't think it much matters to me when I move, frozen ground is easier with barras but otherwise, it's much the same bother. In most cases I've just gathered my clothes off the lawn and left everything else; so there wasn't even a need for a cart.

I understand the Labour Day issue but didn't know before then that we were going to think of moving and so couldn't plan for it.