going home

Packing for Canada felt exciting and stressful in equal measure. I hadn’t been home since September 2020, and after six years of living in the UK, that was the longest gap between visits I’d had. I wanted to see my family. I also wanted the travel day to be over already.

My video published in June 2022 follows the packing, the journey from Gatwick to Toronto and the first few days back in Ontario. There wasn’t a packed sightseeing itinerary. Once I arrived, I was mostly relaxing, spending time with family and enjoying being at home. Plus buying snacks. Obviously.

The flight time kept changing

Before we even left England, WestJet had changed our departure time more than once. Then I got an email saying it was time to check in, only for the check-in link to tell me I was too early. The airline’s website showed another flight time, and I hadn’t received a message about that change from either WestJet or Expedia, where we’d booked it. I was a bit on edge.

While I waited to try checking in again, I kept packing. Bathing suits were high on the list because I was hoping for sunshine, then pyjamas because I tend to spend so much of my time at home in them. It wasn’t glamorous. It was the sort of visit where being comfortable mattered.

I wasn’t looking forward to about seven and a half hours on an afternoon flight. I find that harder than travelling when I actually want to sleep. Someone had suggested using the time to edit videos, and I thought that might help with all the editing I needed to do. I also realised whoever sat beside me would get to see me editing footage of myself. Slightly awkward.

When I caught up from Ontario, I said our boarding pass had still shown 11am, we’d gone to the airport early and we hadn’t actually taken off until around 3.30pm. It had been a long day. Arriving at Pearson was fine for us, though: getting off the plane, customs and baggage all went smoothly. That was our experience on this journey, not a promise about anyone else’s flight.

Home was hot, humid and familiar

By the time I filmed the Ontario catch-up, I’d been home for almost a week. I said it was 32 degrees, the humidity felt enormous and rain had started as a thunderstorm approached. I was sweating through my clothes. A little rain was welcome. I knew England was having a heatwave too, but with a pool and air conditioning at home, I would rather have been dealing with the heat there.

I loved the house and the backyard. There was a hot tub as well as the pool, and I knew we were spoiled. Mostly, I was happy to be outside again and to have the familiar family time I’d missed. I usually tried to go home every year, often in summer. Nearly two years away had felt like too long.

Straight to the snack aisle

Our first trip was to Fortinos to stock up on goodies. To me, it was a bit like Marks & Spencer: I felt I was paying more, but there were interesting things I wanted to try or buy there. The grocery prices I saw on this visit were a shock. I’m talking about my reaction at the time, not a comparison of supermarket prices today.

Lime Tostitos were one of my favourites. I’d seen Tostitos in the UK for a while, but they hadn’t seemed quite the same to me, and I hadn’t seen them for ages. I also bought the little fruit gummies I love. I couldn’t explain what made them so good; I just thought they were the best gummies I’d had.

Miss Vickie’s crisps were another favourite, including a flavour I thought was chilli and sour cream. I’d already eaten the salt and vinegar ones too quickly to take a photograph. Ranch dressing made the list as well. We also went out for dinner with my sister, where my partner had lovely fish and chips that made me think of England.

These were the early days of the visit, before it went badly wrong. The video ends with a note about the nightmare that followed, which I explained in my later Canada update. At this point, though, I was happy to be home: hot, sweaty, with my family and surrounded by the snacks I’d missed.

Watch my packing, journey and first Ontario catch-up.