Getting Near …
Not long now. Just three weeks. And the Disaster Sweepstake is up and running. Icelandic volcanoes with unpronounceable names, dust clouds, awkward airlines. ( I am truly grateful NOT to be flying Ryanair or Malaysian Airlines – there is always one, and in this case two! Don’t tick their boxes. )
In my usual methodical way, I have been carefully checking out the details. I try to cater for every possibility. (OK – I did not spot Eyjafjallajokull, but I did consider Yellowstone. Given a choice, I’ll settle for Iceland.) Reading the fine print. On everything. I am so relieved to find that we are insured while bathing with elephants. Honest! Though I a trifle disconcerted to discover that the seats that we booked on the flight, have vanished from the plan of the Jumbo Jet, as displayed by our chosen airline. I appreciate the extra legroom, but was hoping for a seat to go with it.
And now a piece of history …
In September 1940, a Cavity Magnetron was flown from the United Kingdom to the United States of America. The Magnetron, a British invention (possibly one of the most important of WWII) was given, free, to the USA, as the need for High Frequency Radar to detect bombers, submarines was desperate in those terrible days, and only the USA had the production capability required. Few flights in history have been so important …
… so I find it a trifle ironic, that in the list of items absolutely forbidden to airline baggage, such as guns, knifes and nuclear weapons, you will find the magnetron.
Thank heavens that they were less fussy in 1940. Well, there was a war on, after all!
If you don’t know what a magnetron is, look it up. The device that powers your microwave oven was once used to sink submarines and bomb Berlin. Swords into ploughshares.
Everything is booked. Even a couple of shows in Las Vegas. I have left myself a reminder NOT to pack the microwave oven. I am keeping an eye on the currency market – gotta know what a Pound Sterling is worth. (Not a GBP! I hate the term. We do have a key on the keyboard for it – £ – though other countries probably show it as a #)
Will be back next week.
Do check the skies for signs and portents …