Up at 5am and taxi to Heathrow at 6am which arrives in record time at 7am, pity our 10am flight had been cancelled 15 minutes earlier, along with many others because of freezing fog. We are all told to rebook, which causes hour long waits on the premium rate phone number supplied or even longer waits in the snaking Disneyland style queues in Zone E where we stand in line until we have the bright idea of calling the BA Executive Club number and hey presto, 20 minutes later we are booked on the 12.30 and relieved we leave the queue and go for breakfast and pass thru security for some recuperative retail therapy.

Sadly, our reprieve is short-lived and by 10.30 the board tells us ominously to contact our airline. The nice lady at the BA desk confirms that this plane has also been cancelled and suggests we go back out to queue in Zone E to rebook. No chance. Back to the Exec Club premium number to be booked on the next available flight at 15.30 and back to the nice BA lady who assures us our bags will make the new flight and gives us £5 each towards lunch, for which I think we have the EU to thank, hardly worth the millions they cost us really.

The plane takes off only 45 mins late as the captain announces we have to wait for 12 unaccompanied minors or possibly miners, hard to be sure. However I am seated next to a chatty concert pianist, born in Israel but living not far from us in Southeast London which passes the time ageeably. Our cases do make it to Madrid, we are hijacked by a smartly dressed man at the airport exit posing as a taxi driver who slaloms through the evening traffic and deposits us at our hotel some 15 hours after we had left home for twice the official fare, but by now we are just pleased to be here, and as the Spanish don't eat until 10pm, in time for dinner.