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Synopsis: many years ago 2 sons-in-law invented a new passive verb: “To be noramlyed”. The meaning: when you travel with any member of the Noramly family, something will go wrong with your plans. Now read on…

Daughter and husband have been noramlyed. Firstly, she and her husband sent their passports off to have a Chinese visa inserted…but only one passport came back. Much telephoning and pleading ensured.

Promise was extracted that passport would arrive on plane at local airport at 11 pm, the night before they were to leave at 7 am. Hmm.

Drive out to airport. One hour later, it was established that a) passport was not at airport and in fact no one had the faintest dea where it was, and b) the plane it was supposed to have come in on was not arriving – at all. Which might not have been such a huge problem, had it not been the same plane they were supposed to be taking out the next morning. Which might not have been such a huge problem, except that they were connecting to a flight, to China, in Atlanta and there was no other flight that would get them there in time to make the connection.

Midnight to 2am, they spend 2 hours on 2 telephones to:
a) find out where passport is
b) book new flights
c) persuade airline to add 2 days on to end of trip seeing as they were going to knock 2 off the beginning – yep, they couldn’t get them to China until 2 days later!

Of course, there are all kinds of knock on effects too…

Noramlyed, definitely.
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