1st November 2013 and I´m óff to Ethiopia with Vision Aid Gondar project. Have to get to Heathrow for 4pm and meet the rest of the team in the coffee shop. Ethiopian of course! We were all arriving by different routes. I arrived from Spain yesterday, stayed in London and came by underground to Heathrow. Vera, from Cumbria, flew down from Manchester. Chris, our dispenser came up by train from Minehead in Somerset and Manpreet on her first trip came by car as she lives in West London.
Spotted Chris Bryan first. The distinctive VAO polo shirts made it easy and we settled down with our cappuccinos to await Vera Wilton, our veteran team leader,  veteran in that she has made 13 trips to Ethiopia and NOT for any other reason!.
 Unfortunately we found out that we were only allowed 7kg of hand baggage with Ethiopian Airlines and they weigh it to check so we had a frantic re-packing session before checking in our 6 bags of kit and luggage and adjourning to duty free. 
It was Diwali and we had a very entertaining Bollywood show in the departure lounge before indulging in a quick snack some last minute shopping and then boarding our flight to Addis. Unfortunately we got the back row, zero leg room seats but managed to get some sleep on our 6 hour flight.