Tuesday, December 18:

Cancelled flight

It was a bit of an eye-opener when I go to breakfast to see everyone armed and carrying firearms – pistols or rifles – which brings home the fact I am now in a warzone.

I am booked onto a Canadian flight to Kabul which means hanging around at Kandahar Airfield for a couple of hours.

It is what you would expect of a frontier outpost – all arches and crumbling plaster. I ask if the decay is the result of old age or armed attack and the answer is probably both.

My helmet and body armour are gradually becoming the colour of the sand, the very fine dust which seems to get everywhere, and contrasts with the former navy blue of the basic protection the Army provided me with which marks me out as a member of the press.

We are told there is a delay to the flight but not the cause. Then, an hour after the scheduled take-off time, we are told that the plane is broken and there will be no flight. A common fault apparently. Which is a pity because I would have liked to have seen the capital of Afghanistan.

This means another day in Kandahar trying to track down soldiers from the Scarborough area – not an easy task when you consider they are spread across the whole of Helmand Province. I manage to speak to a few local troops and it is strange doing interviews over satellite phone.

Later I get the chance to explore the base and find it is really well catered for it is like walking down any high street in the US. There is a Burger King, Pizza Hut and a duty free shop where you can even buy Taliban t-shirts and patches.

I ask Nick, the Sunday Times photographer, whether he felt safe in the field. He said: “It feels a lot safer being embedded than not being embedded.”

In the evening I hear in the distance the crackle of gunfire which again brings home my current situation.

Top Tip

Carry as little as possible with you by cutting down on clothes etc. At most bases there are laundries which can do your washing within a few hours.