Transatlantic terror plot foiled

We woke this morning to news that a major terrorist attack had been foiled, but that UK airports were in turmoil.

News is still breaking, but apparently there were plans to blow up planes to the US mid-flight. And that the explosives were to be stored in hand-luggage. We now have a critical threat level in the UK. I think this is the highest threat level.

I'm not sure if any flights are going anywhere right now, but when they do there will be NO HAND LUGGAGE. No phones, no cameras, no liquids, no lotion, no hair product, presumably no eye-drops or contact cleaning saline. No bottles of water.

I know this is serious, I know there was threat of loss of life. But I can't help thinking selfishly of my mundane comforts on flight. I'm not the best flier anyway. I'm not scared of crashing or dying or even being blown up. I get bored and claustrophobic on long flights. And not just a little bit - I mean a lot - to an obsessive degree. I get obsessed thinking about how I might get bored or claustrophobic. I need my little things. I need my leather bag, a back pack that I bought in the leather markets of Florence (Italy not Alabama), that goes with me everywhere. I need things to entertain me a novel, sudoko, etc. I need to carry my water. I'm also not too keen on checking luggage on short flights. I go with hand luggage wherever I can. And I'm really not too keen on the idea of checking my brand new camera in the hold.

I'm already rethinking my holiday plans. Ferry to France with my car, methinks. Of course, since the Vol-in-Law lost two cousins in a ferry disaster - that's not without its emotional baggage, too.