Trap’s Ireland in holding pattern

SO what did we learn from our little trip to London?

Firstly, that if you want your plane to land bang on-time, it’s advisable to travel with the President. Mary McAleese happened to be on board our scheduled flight from Dublin last Sunday morning which, I assume, is why we didn’t get to experience the traditional thrill of being put in a prolonged holding pattern over Heathrow. Instead, just like that, it was all quick descent, wheels deployed and touch-down.

(By the way, I accept that arranging your life so that you can fly with the President is probably easier said than done and, as handy advice goes, is therefore almost in the same league as the following memorable consumer tip once offered by Viz: to save on the expense of buying a pair of binoculars why not just walk up closer to the object you want to look at?).