DON'T TAKE MY WINGS AWAY


'I will recycle,
I'll use my bicycle,
I'll turn the heating down,
I'll fill my kettle halfway,
Listen to everything else you say ...
But don't take my freedom away,
Don't take my holidays,
Don't take my time away,
Don't take my wings away ....'


says the chorus from the song 'Flying' written by Shannon Smy of Seize the Day.
For three days now our wings have been taken away. By a volcano in Iceland. With no chance for Willie Walsh of British Airways to slap on an injunction to stop the volcano doing what volcanoes occasionally do.
Many people have been seriously inconvenienced, including my friend who is stranded in Barcelona. Nevertheless, the world has not ended. Around airports and under flight paths tranquillity has been restored. Life goes on.
We do not yet know for how many more days our skies will be free of planes.
Perhaps the volcano has provided a reality check on flying.