The pain all those years ago was pretty well top dead centre. I have no idea why that should have been containing a barometric capsule. Reffered pain doesn't quite fit with feeling like I'm being trepanned. Coming back we were not so flush on fuel so pushed on up another notch. The pain was disabling.
The airline was running on crews either sick or about to be. Folk think they're doing a favour by coming back early, but 30 years later I was all but carried off an aircraft having spent a couple of days with a young chap that was coughing . . . a lot. Double pneumonia. Although this is a by the way, now we see the importance of masks - lifesavers in many cases. Just a small hand towel in a large family can be used to keep the patient count down to one.