Stranded with the Reindeer
Stephen texted me from Helsinki, Finland this morning.
"Plane cancelled because of volcano. Should know more later."
As reasons for cancelled planes go, I must say it was amongst the most interesting I've heard. And unexpected. Before he went, I never thought to say "Hope your plane's not delayed by a volcano erupting or anything."
Stephen was trying to get home after a few days of meetings in Helsinki. But then the volcano under a glacier in the Eyjafjallajoekull (try saying that after a few beers - - or indeed at all!) region of Iceland decided to erupt.
The skies of Northern Europe are now filled with ash and almost every flight to or from the United Kingdom has been cancelled.
I expect this is how it started with the dinosaurs. "Damn it! No planes!" followed soon after by "Damn it! No sun!"
So - - no planes until at least 7am tomorrow - - but I'd be surprised if there were any then.
Stephen is therefore stranded. Finland is a land of forests, mainly, and the Suomi (formerly known as Lapps) herding reindeer in the North. So it seems a straight choice: stay put in Helsinki for a few days or try a reindeer sleigh to the Eurostar terminal, which is probably a tiny bit impractical.
Of course, there have been the usual nutters complaining that there aren't any planes and saying what's a bit of ash, anyway? But since ash tends to cause jet engines to fail, I think it was a wise decision to cancel the flights. You can read more about it all over the BBC news.
"Plane cancelled because of volcano. Should know more later."
As reasons for cancelled planes go, I must say it was amongst the most interesting I've heard. And unexpected. Before he went, I never thought to say "Hope your plane's not delayed by a volcano erupting or anything."
Stephen was trying to get home after a few days of meetings in Helsinki. But then the volcano under a glacier in the Eyjafjallajoekull (try saying that after a few beers - - or indeed at all!) region of Iceland decided to erupt.
The skies of Northern Europe are now filled with ash and almost every flight to or from the United Kingdom has been cancelled.
I expect this is how it started with the dinosaurs. "Damn it! No planes!" followed soon after by "Damn it! No sun!"
So - - no planes until at least 7am tomorrow - - but I'd be surprised if there were any then.
Stephen is therefore stranded. Finland is a land of forests, mainly, and the Suomi (formerly known as Lapps) herding reindeer in the North. So it seems a straight choice: stay put in Helsinki for a few days or try a reindeer sleigh to the Eurostar terminal, which is probably a tiny bit impractical.
Of course, there have been the usual nutters complaining that there aren't any planes and saying what's a bit of ash, anyway? But since ash tends to cause jet engines to fail, I think it was a wise decision to cancel the flights. You can read more about it all over the BBC news.
posted by Daphne at 7:04 pm
6 Comments:
...and Les is stranded with Dracula in Romania.
I had heard of the volcano's eruption but didn't know that your Stephen was affected by it. Small world....
It's payback time from the Icelandic banks: ash for cash.
Lucy
Aged 70, never been on a plane. do you think it's a good time to try it?
We are seeing stories about how the airplane situation in northern Europe is getting worse, not better. I hope Stephen has been able to get home.
Your poor hubby! To pass the time he could always visit one of those lakeside Finnish saunas. They are always unisex and for hygiene reasons nudity is obligatory. "You vanting moor steamy Steffan?" whispers Tanya.
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