Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it’s….

We headed down to Ayrshire yesterday.

We’ve had our caravan at Craig Tara for as long as I can remember now and we’ve pretty much decided to move it. Craig Tara is great for kids and those who want a beer drinking, nightclub-by, dancing and partying sort of holiday. Hang on though, I’m not saying that everyone who stays there does any or all of those things but that’s the kind of facilities that they offer and which we end up paying for as part of the annual site fees whether you want it or not.

We don’t, so we’re thinking of moving. We love Ayrshire now so we want to stay in the “shire” by the sea and we’ve found what could be the ideal spot – no holiday lettings; friends and family only. I’m not telling you what it’s called – I don’t want you getting there first! I promise though, when we move to let you into the secret.

Anyhow, on the way back up to Saltcoats to get a new bed for Moscow, our Big Black Daft Russian Terrier, we noticed, as we passed the big roundabout at Ayr on the A77, cars stopped in every lay-by, people out standing on the grass verge in our beautiful summer rain. Every slip road, country lane, every nook and cranny was filled with cars and people looking to the sky.

Maybe Airforce 1 is due to land at Prestwick (or as it’s known, Glasgow Prestwick International) Airport? Maybe the alien invasion is starting? Maybe our troops are coming home from Afghanistan?

We eventually pulled in at the next big roundabout and Maureen, my wife, got out and asked a person standing with his eyes, ears and binoculars all trained at the grey, low cloud that was Ayrshire on Saturday, 5^th September 2009.

“We’re waiting for the new Airbus 380. 500 seater. Can you imagine it”, he said, “a 500 seater?”

I couldn’t. But I didn’t have to wait too long: it flew over us a few minutes later what seemed like just 500 feet up in the air, did a major left hand turn over the airport and another loop round before flying off towards Northern Ireland. I think it had escaped from the Airshow at Portrush we’d heard about on the BBC Ulster travel report earlier that day. Since you missed it, here’s it’s picture in Emirates colours we saw it in Airbus colours.

500 seater, you know….!

JohnF

With great power comes great responsibility

I’ve just got back from Prestwick Airport after dropping off my wife’s brother’s wife and her sister and husband and wee boy who are on route to Krakow by Ryanair and who are all here on holiday from Canada. As I am writing this they are probably just getting on to their plane. The journey to and from the airport was wholly uneventful other than, as I was filling up the car with diesel at the garage in Baillieston before leaving the girl at the Shell station told me there had been a murder in Dyke Street. Sure enough when we got round that way to pick up Val, Johnathon and Wee Alex, Dyke Street was cordoned off with blue tape. Apparently a young person was stabbed by another after each had consumed too much alcohol. Baillieston isn’t like that anymore – its a small dormitory town on the edge of Glasgow where life is normal – we don’t do murders in Baillieston. Until today. I feel really sorry for that young persons family right now – I try imagine how it would be if it were one of our girls, and its too much to imagine, that is I don’t want to imagine it.

So anyway on the way back from the airport I was listening to BBC World  Service and Jodi Picoult was talking about her 2009 book, Handle with Care. She writes a book every year and this is book 16. Check the website. She mentioned the phrase which of course comes from the first Spiderman movie when Uncle Ben is trying to talk sensibly to Peter. Hold it – I just checked on Wiki and it came from the original Spiderman comics first.

When I heard the phrase at first I thought “Yeah, that’s right, but I don’t have great power that’s for superheroes.” But really that’s not true, as parents, as adults, we all have great power to bring up our kids right, to nurture them into good responsible adults, to help them understand right and wrong. Because actually if we as (parents, god-parents, adults) in the community we live in don’t exercise our power (ability, experience, share knowledge – call it how you want) we can hardly blame the kids for acting irresponsibly. That doesn’t excuse murder and I’m not saying it’s the parents’ fault. I’m just saying let’s make sure we help kids grow up and not abandon them to some kind of random school of growing up derived from bebo, celeb goss and street culture. Sure, that’s part of 21st Century life but there’s more to life than bebo.

With our power, just like Spiderman, comes great responsibility.

JohnF