Well let's get the bad part out of the way first -

When i tried to check in for my flight at Heathrow, the "computer said no".
"Sorry Sir, we don't have a seat for you". I'm like "what!!!!" + expletives
Apparently standard practice for British Airways is to overbook all their flights because statistically some people don't turn up, and it's money for nothing.
Only in this case 8 people got bumped and the next direct flight was two days later.
So the best alternative for me was to fly to Miami and then connect through to Cayman from there...
Oh that reminds me i need to claim the cost of the ESTA back from BA.
The one upside - since 2012, if your flight is delayed by more than 3 hours, the airlines have to give you compensation.
£471 in this instance, on a preloaded debit card, which softened the blow a bit and took the wind out of the angry complaint letter i was already drafting on my laptop.
I was joined in this airport pergatory and rant composing by Dan, a journalist for the Irish Times, supposedly en route to Bahamas to cover their carnival.
So 4 hours later we were initially pleased to find we had been given the emergency exit row seats with extra leg room - although somewhat less pleased to find that also meant sitting next to families with babies,
whilst just ahead through the curtain were several empty business class seats with a full wine list...
10 hours later, Miami. No problems in immigration for once, they now have an automated system for fingerprinting and such and don't seem to be on any lists.
Miami airport is jammed up. Bad weather on the coast has cancelled craploads of flights.
Fortunately i'm not on American Airlines with its entire terminal full of people queueing at information desks.
Cayman Airways is a smaller, friendlier outfit, but the plane is 3 hours late arriving and all the sleepy waiting passengers (i can barely keep eyes open) have to change gates twice (including moving to a different terminal!),
meanwhile since its now 2am, all the shops and food outlets bar one are closed, and the queue for toasted paninis snakes for miles through the departure lounge.
The rest is a drowsy, uncomfortable blur, until Alison appears at Cayman airport and whisks me off to the relief of a large air mattress.....