The everyday blog of Richard Bartle.
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11:09am on Wednesday, 29th October, 2025:
Anecdote
I'm at Gatwick Airport's South Terminal at the moment, waiting to take a flight to Oviedo for the Games Executive Summit Europe that's taking place tomorrow and Friday.
Gatwick is a better airport than Luton. I have a seat that hasn't had something out of a sandwich spilled onto it and doesn't back onto a man who is deaf and wants to bark a conversation with his grandson (sitting next to him) about Tottenham Hotspur's performace in European football. That said, I still had to walk through a labyrinth of perfume shops to get here.
The journey took longer than I was expecting, because Google Maps refused to acknowledge that there's such a thing as a South Terminal short-term car park at Gatwick, and I was also cautious about being fined for accidentally driving into the pick-up/set-down zone (which happened last time I was at the airport). That added 15 minutes to the journey time as I drove around the airport, doublng back and switching lanes at short notice, until I found the place. Unhelpfully, once I got parked, there was nothing to tell me where my car was located; I think maybe it was Blue something-or-other. I was obliged to take a bunch of photos to use for orientation upon my return instead.
I had a fast-track pass to get through security. Gawd knows how long it would have taken if I hadn't, there was a shortage of trays for X-raying. Eventually, we were told not to take any trays so the chap waiting closest to the machine would get one; clearly, he hadn't read my blog about my experience in Luton. Once the trays were allowed again, we were there for an age while someone in a wheelchair was taken through security and his wheelchair was zapped with all kinds of electronics to make sure it wasn't made of platinum or something. In addition, my bag was pulled aside for failing the X-ray examination, or whatever rays they use these days. My toothpaste was tested for illegal substances, and happily passed inspection.
I was fortunate to be driving clockwise round the M25 on my journey here. The traffic in the opposite direction was at a standstill for miles and miles and miles. Ambulances and fire engines were trying to force their way through where there was no hard shoulder. I don't know what had happened, but if I'd been heading to Luton this time round I'd have had to have gone cross-country instead.
I don't have to give a presentation in Asturias, which makes the GESE an ideal conference for me. This time, we're putting together a games almanac from 2030, so it's essentially an exercise in predicting what will happen in the European games industry in the next five years. It sounds as if it'll be fun! I just hope I don't end up in a group about how business aspects will change. That would not be fun (at least for me).
Right! Time to hotspot my phone so I can upload this.
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Copyright © 2025 Richard Bartle (richard@mud.co.uk).