Some dramas on the trip back. We had begun our descent into Paris when the plane banked (incredibly) steeply upwards - a near miss with another passenger jet in the fog.

Upon landing, my supposedly seamless transfer to a London-bound flight was scuppered as Heathrow was temporarily closed because of fog. The first available flight out was a mere seven hours later. As a South African I need a visa to exit the airport, so instead of turning the disaster into a lovely jaunt around Paris for the day I was forced to enjoy the pleasures of the departure lounge. As I had not expected this delightful interlude, I had no euros with me - the nearest cash withdrawal machines were all outside of the departures lounge, but to use them I would need a visa. Aaargh! To their credit the airline provided me with one drink and one snack which I appreciated, but seemed slightly measly twelve hours later when I finally reached home - an abundant supply of coffee would have been highly appreciated!

Luckily I always travel with books. I worked on my Tamil, with papers spread around me on the floor (comfortable carpet they have there!), finished Xiaolu Guo's A CONCISE CHINESE-ENGLISH DICTIONARY FOR LOVERS and began Ronnie Govender's SONG OF THE ATMAN.

Exhausting, but will have to drag myself off to London in a couple of hours - Tamil class; I have missed the last three weeks with my trip to South Africa, so this evening's tutorial looms terrifyingly.