Charlotte’s flight back to Stockholm was 7:15 am from London Heathrow. She ordered a mini-cab to take her there, and actually left at 5:40 a.m as planned, without waking me.

It then turned out that the security system to my gated area had finally been activated. Charlotte couldn’t get out of the compound because all the gates were locked! She had to buzz the door-intercom to my flat. This finally woke me up and I talked her through finding and opening a side-gate which is separate from the main security system.
EU-Swedish Passport
Twenty minutes later I was in bed, feeling the pain from my surgery and trying to get back to sleep. The phone rings. Charlotte is in the taxi on the way to the airport. She had just realised that she left her passport!

Yes indeed, her passport was laying on a desk in my small flat, together with a purse and miscellaneous bits and bobs from her handbag. I noticed that she had also forgotten her new pride and joy; a Babyliss haircurler for £100 that she got in a sale.

I packed it all up and waited the 20 minutes until the taxi was back. It was too late to go back to sleep.

The whole things was really incredibly stupid and she is far too old to be that clumsy!
I didn’t scold her though, because I am sure she realises this herself. To top it all up; she is sure to miss her plane and it will probably cost her a fair penny to get on the next flight.

I have decided not to mention this to anyone in the family since she doesn’t need any bad PR with them about being a scatterbrain. I am irritated because the whole thing meant I got only five hours of sleep. I really don’t understand how somebody can fail to check for their passport when leaving for the airport!

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UPDATE: She just called me from Stockholm - Arlanda. Unbelievably she made the flight! She arrived only 25 mins. before the departure time and talked her way onto the flight. As far as I am aware British Airways recommends that you should be there 1 (or is it 1.5?) hours before the departure for inter-European flights. So much for that recommendation! I actually thought 30mins was the absolute cut-off.
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