"Your flight has been cancelled"

Despite the harrowing two hour drive into New York through snow, I hadn't expected my flight (the only direct flight I'd ever had from the States to Geneva in 18 years of international travel) to be cancelled because of bad weather in Geneva.

A surly clerk put me on stand by to Zurich and promised to guarantee the next flight.

"When is that?" I asked.

"Tomorrow?"

"And what do it do in the meantime?"

She shrugged and indicated the next person in line should come forward.

"What about routing me through Paris."

In the end she put me on an American Airlines flight to Zurich, and I think called the airline and asked all the cabin crew to continue with her surliness.

Time was short to change terminals and check in and I arrived with a full six minutes to spare, but this clerk forgot to be surly. He was from Beckingham, where I'd gone to see a friend perform in her little theatre group a while back and he was so pleased to meet someone who knew his home.

Once on the plane we sat for three hours waiting for a bag to be removed, the plane to be towed out twice (the first equipment broke) and to be de-iced. I missed my Geneva connection when we landed at Zurich. The next flight was later in that afternoon.

Although I didn't have my train pass, for a mere 5 CHF I was given the half fare by a smiling clerk named Hansjörg and had a ride through a twinkling, snow-covered country side.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig...well almost.