Friday 24 June 2011

Who Needs Lourdes?

Of the twenty people who arrived in wheelchairs to board a recent flight to Tel Aviv, 19 could miraculously walk again once on board the aircraft.

Fly El Al and we will make you Walk might not be quite the right slogan for an airline but I trust their advertising people to find a suitable alternative.

Thursday 23 June 2011

Other People on My Plane


Flights to and from Israel are very often a nightmare. Too many ultra-orthodox with too many babies: The babies are constantly crying whilst their fathers are busy taking over the aisles for communal prayers.

Even the non-orthodox seem to constantly move about. Why can’t they remain in their seats during flights?

The man who sat next to me last week, was not orthodox, nor did he have any babies but he chose to fly to London in his polyester pants and a neon green sleeveless vest. Flying in beachwear seems to have become fashionable. A few days later, at Heathrow in London, I saw a man board a flight to Amsterdam in similar attire.

Should there not be some protocol for those entering public space, be it a restaurant or an airplane? Are we not entitled to fly or eat without others imposing their bodies, smells or noises on us?

Bias

She was black and fat, very fat, actually very very very fat and she came into the waiting room carrying plastic shopping bags in both hands. With her own body weight and the weight she was carrying in her shopping bags, walking did not come easy. She did not sit down, did not even bother to take a number, just chatted to some of the nurses and then entered the department.

Ten minutes later, when my number was displayed on the electronic indicator, the fat black woman stood at the entrance to a cubicle, showed me in and asked me to roll up my sleeve.

She had magic hands and I never even felt the needle go in.

So much for bias.