Is it a bird, is it Superman? It isn't a plane...

I hate flying. There, I said it. Completely unique opinion, I know. I'm sure everyone else loves flying... (!)

To be fair I dislike most forms of travel. Bizarre as it's kind of a neccessity in order for me to enjoy one of my favourite hobbies, which is travelling. That in itself is a bit of a misleading noun - travelling in itself is the bad part of seeing new places or familiar, loved places that are any considerable distance away. As a generally impatient person I long for the day of teleportation that wouldn't result in me eventually morphing into a fly.

But, until that day arrives, as I said, it's a neccessity. An unavoidable obstacle in getting from A to B. Flying is the worst because of the finality of the "what if" question. You don't want to think about it; that makes me think about it more. Any hint of turbulence, hell, it doesn't even have to be as severe as that, an ascent or descent that I've managed to convince myself is a unique weather condition that has struck my plane at the perfect time. You can imagine what fun I am to be sat next to on a flight.

It's a condition that I seem to have picked up through watching my fathers own discomfort with it when I was younger. Worsened after 9/11, by which time I was at least mature enough to encourage and condition my own irrational thought patterns.

That fear manages to at least partially alleviate my impatience. Last year I was going to the US, and the flight was delayed by two hours, while we were sat on the plane. I don't mind delays for technical problems. I can't understand who in their right mind DOES have a problem with that. I do slightly mind being told there is a technical problem, though. When I'm on the plane.

"The crew are just checking the engines are OK"

Yeah, that could have been done before. Or without telling us. I'm now concerned about the durability and condition of the engine. Perhaps you could have said..

"Apologies for this folks, the pilot had a kebab last night, and well, we did warn him..!"

All would laugh and no-one would be concerned. Silly pilot! Get a move on!

Yesterday we woke to the news that an erupting volcano in Iceland had grounded most flights from the UK. Today it's reported that it may be Saturday morning before things return to a degree of normality.

A terrible inconvenience, sure. But consider the response of a guy I saw interviewed on the news who was irate because he had travelled to the airport for his flight, checked the flight company's website when he got there and the website hadn't been updated to cancel his flight. The news was clear; the airport staff had informed him his flight was cancelled, too. For some reason, the guy felt strongly enough to label the situation "a disgrace".

I'm not exactly sure what, exactly, was the disgrace. Was it Mother Nature's inexplicable decision to cause the volcano to erupt? The airline's decision to NOT go against all safety advice and attempt to navigate through conditions hazardous enough to grind the rest of the country to a standstill? Surely not the fact that the website hadn't been updated yet, considering all other contact information at his disposal?

Now if it were me and I was impatient for whatever reason that guy was, then maybe my response to this might not be so level headed, I'll accept that. I tried to rationalise this when I was informed by my fiancée of a friend of hers who was due to get married abroad next week and the flights obviously have disrupted (not neccessarily ruined) those plans. As I mentioned in my first ever blog post here, I am getting married abroad so it's a fear that is very real.

How would I feel then? I can't say for sure. Money's one thing; you get insured for this purpose. Time is another. I know that we have arranged to fly out well in advance so that this kind of situation wouldn't arise; a delay or cancellation through no fault of my own would not prove to be insurmountable. First and foremost I would want the travel method to be completely safe, especially when as said, if it isn't so, with flying you know any instance where it's unsafe is likely to be very final.

But, I can't bring myself to empathise with the feeling of angry impatience in such circumstances. The bottom line is I want to get married; I want there to be a wedding. I don't want to risk my life or that of anyone elses just to get there quicker, I don't want anything to be put to risk, and I certainly am not going to get angry or impatient about it.

I can't help but wonder if mine is the opinion that's "wrong".. whether by and large more people are angry even taking into account it is a freak force of nature or simply a bunch of people trying to best ensure our safety as we prepare to travel thousands of miles, thousands of feet up in the air.

Me being someone with a black and white view; I don't even think there's a middle ground on this.

Mail me at yolkietalkie@yahoo.com if you have a topic you would like to know my opinion on.