Flash-mobbing at Heathrow

Attended the flash-mob at Heathrow's brand new terminal 5 this morning with Clementine. There were 250 of us according to the Evening Standard (that'll be 500, then!). A lot of the residents of the villages that will be partially or completely destroyed should the third runway get the go-ahead were present. At one point people lay down on the shiny new floor (only made dirty by the Queen's Wood mud flying off Clementine's buggy wheels!) and spelled out 'STOP RW3' and other messages. It was all very good-natured and peaceful, and we got the usual "Get a job!" comments from travellers. Got one, thanks.

Incidentally, when I arrived I took off my jumper to reveal my red 'STOP AIRPORT EXPANSION' t-shirt, I was immediately surrounded by 3 policemen. I really am ridiculously law-abiding - my legs started to shake as they asked me "Have you got a ticket to travel? We can ask you to leave immediately, you know." They then proceeded to shepherd us into a small area in the arrivals hall. At one point a policeman told me to walk further across the hall than I was doing. It was all rather heavy-handed.

All this, and we've got very little press coverage in the free-sheets and the Evening Standard. But there's a very good reason for this: Terminal 5 has had an incredibly shambolic first day. Flights delayed or cancelled, luggage lost, 17 out of the 18 lifts broken, loads more technical glitches, passengers waiting for hours...Welcome to 21st century air travel. And this is a holiday?! Good luck with that...I'll take the Eurostar.