Day 1 - Saturday 30th August

Not the best start to a holiday. Using Ryanair always introduces a random element and so it proved. First the flight was delayed an hour. Then as we waited on board for takeoff we were informed that the stairs would not retract. The girl beside me got more and more upset as it became increasingly obvious that we were going nowhere that evening. She got on her mobile several times and talked with great emotion in a language I did not understand. Eventually she burst into tears and nothing would console her. Just before they announced to us that the flight was cancelled, ground staff came on board and took her to another plane. It is one of those times where you are forever left wondering what the full story was.

So it was back to queue in the terminal to arrange alternative flights. The best they could do for me was a flight out of Stansted the next day at 6 PM.