You can see the curvature of the Earth from here...

I'm talking about standing in the middle of T5 and looking in both directions.  I might be exagerating, but it feels like.  So what else is new about T5.

Well, it has a lot of "state of the art" systems which didn't seem to work very well.  The much discussed biometric data collection points were not turned on... frankly this is probably a good thing - I just can't see them processing people at anything like the required rate with those things.  Not to mention that the security system itself is quite borked - you have to put everything in bins which you, as a mere member of the public are urged not to touch for any reason.  Another system that doesn't work.

It's a BAA facility so the next thing you see are the shops - but nothing particuarly special here either.

The BA lounges are a vast improvement over the T4 mess though.  Large, mind bogglingly so, and there are simply loads of them.  Good thing too, my flight has been pushed back an hour :(