It was hundreds cheaper to fly to Perth on Qantas domestic flight 475 and join London bound QF 9 in Perth than leaving Melbourne on QF9, so here we are. I missed that we should have boarded the plane via the stairs at the rear, so we went the full length of the 737-800 to get to the rearmost seats 30a and 30b, against a tide of passengers going the other way. We made it in the end, and eventually landed in Perth to learn that we had a new Prime Minister, the sixth in 10 years, counting Kevin twice. Qantas sent us to the business lounge in both Melbourne and Perth, without me having to wave my new lifetime Gold card. It took me almost a lifetime to earn it, and it seems I don’t need it now.
In the Perth lounge we looked for a place to stay between Heathrow and St David, Wales, without driving too far. The Malvern Hills (place of great scenic beauty) leapt off the Google map, and I booked a room at the Cotford Hotel, Great Malvern.
