My luggage felt like it weighed a ton...

A flashback to the day of my departure from Toronto to Africa:

I arrived at the Air Canada checkin at around 7 am., having packed my two cheap duffel bags the night before. I hoisted the two bags onto the Air Canada conveyor belt. The first bag weighed in at the limit -- 70 lbs; the second, 76 lbs.

I had just lifted 146 lbs. Let's round down for the sake of convenience -- 140 lbs.

Air Canada wasn't set-up to accept the British Airways re-booking caused by the pending BA cabin crew strike. An AC supervisor looked over my flight details, grimaced, and informed me, very officially, that I would have to remove my bags from the conveyor until they sorted the problem out. Problem was, the conveyer doesn't work in reverse, so there I was scrambling up the conveyor to fetch my bags and drag them off the conveyor belt.

That's 280 lbs; plus I had helped the limo driver put them into the limo and take them out at the airport, another 140 lbs (at half-weight), so I was up to 420 lbs.

Air Canada worked out the glitch and invited me to put my bags on the conveyor. I complied.

That's 560 lbs.

I arrived at Heathrow Terminal 3, but my flight the next evening was going out of Terminal 4. You have to take a train to get to Terminal 4 from Terminal 3, and you cannot take the luggage cart to the train platform area. You have to ditch the cart, and hand-carry your bags to the train. So I do.

That's 700 lbs.

Only problem was, there are two types of trains that stop at Terminal 3, the kind that actually goes to Terminal 4, and the kind that doesn't. The kind that is a "Heathrow Express" -- into London. Unfortunately for me, I found myself on the train into London.

The conductor scribbled a note to allow me to return back to Heathrow from London Picadilly at no cost. But, I would have to leave the train and board the train across the platform.

I arrive at Picadilly Station, and lug my bags out of the train and fetch a luggage cart to wheel them across the platform to the train opposite.

That's 840 lbs.

The train is virtually empty. I wait for about 5 minutes for the train doors to open. They don't open, and at some point the train just saunters away from the terminal. I cart my bags back to the other train where a young homeless man helps me load my bags on the train. He also knows enough to press a button to open the door to the train. Typical British way of doing things! You could stand forever outside the train and its doors wouldn't open -- and there was, of course, no sign near the doors saying "Press button to open door". You're just supposed to know these things. (Someone should do a book on "the things you're just supposed to know".)

I take the train I had been on back to Heathrow T4. I lug my bags off the train.

That's 980 lbs.

A staff person sees my dilemma and calls for a cart. I lug the bags onto the cart.

That's 1120 lbs.

I head for "Left Luggage" where I plan to store my two heavy bags for the night and lug them up onto their conveyor.

That's 1260 lbs.

The guy looks at the scanned image and asks me what food I have in the bags. I tell him -- cereals, trail-mix, dried-fruit; I'm heading for Africa. He informs me that the company does not permit food items in luggage left at Left Luggage.

I lug the bags off his conveyer and onto the cart.

That's 1400 lbs.

I go off to think. I decide to buy a smaller bag from Left Luggage, put all the food items into it, and lug them into London on the Underground.

I go back to Left Luggage to buy the bag and sort through the luggage for food items. He informs me that he is closing in two minutes. I look at him, stunned.

This is London.

This is Heathrow.

And they're closing?

Yup.

Heathrow basically shuts down by 11pm.

After mulling it over some more, I decide to take a London Cab. I help the taxi driver load the luggage.

That's 1470 lbs, at half-weight.

We have a black taxi ride into town. I get to see Picadilly. I get to see Harrod's. I get to pay 65 GBP for the trip (about $130 dollars -- as much as my hotel room).

We arrive at the hotel. I help the cab driver/porter lug my bags off the taxi and onto the luggage cart.

In Britain they have little elevators with little doors. So, of course, I had to lug the luggage off the cart into the elevator, then off the elevator and back onto the cart, and then, off the cart and into the room. At the half-weight rate, I figure that's another 140 lbs (1610 lbs).

And that's why my luggage felt like it weighed a ton.

And why it was a very tired and deflated Ball that bounced up into bed that night.