It was my mother's 70th birthday on Easter Sunday, so last Thursday I took her to Guernsey for lunch (pilot couldn't do Sunday). Huge thanks to my boss for the use of the company Baron :bow:
Anyway, I told her to come to the airfield, so she knew she'd be flying, but wouldn't tell her where to. Then I asked her for her passport number for Special Branch. That confused her, she wanted to know why Special Branch needed her passport number, were we going to visit the queen or something? Classified, came my reply(you actually have to notify Special Branch for any light aircraft flight to any of the islands offshore).
Thusday dawned, bright and sunny, which is a minor miracle as it always rains wherever my mother goes. Mother arrives and asks where we're going. "Classified!"
Took off, headed south and mother decides we're heading north west because the compass her side hadn't been set up. When we reached the channel I told her it was the Irish Sea, then I told her that Alderney was the Isle of Man and asked her if she'd ridden a Honda C90 before.
"I wish you'd told me, I haven't got the right shoes on for that." She was going to do it!
Once we landed, the conversation went as follows:
"Will they bring the bike here?"
"We're not on the Isle of Man, Mum"
"Well, where are we then?"
"That's classifed"
"Right, I'll ask him!"
Mother stomps off to accost the bowser driver, who is busy refuelling the Baron. Conversation:
"Excuse me, where are we?"
"Oh, I don't think I'm supposed to tell you that"
"You've bloody well primed him haven't you!"
"No mum!"
The game was up when we walked to the Tower though, as there was a van with Guernsey on the side of it.
Needless to say, she had a great day and a cracking lunch at a restaurant overlooking a bay, and plenty of sunshine. Arrived back at Kemble just before 5, and had coffee in the restaurant there. She hasn't stopped talking about it since, but has added the topic of the surprise party my brother threw for her on Sunday night.
How many 70 year-olds would be game enough to agree to ride for the first time, I wonder. :bow:
Anyway, I told her to come to the airfield, so she knew she'd be flying, but wouldn't tell her where to. Then I asked her for her passport number for Special Branch. That confused her, she wanted to know why Special Branch needed her passport number, were we going to visit the queen or something? Classified, came my reply(you actually have to notify Special Branch for any light aircraft flight to any of the islands offshore).
Thusday dawned, bright and sunny, which is a minor miracle as it always rains wherever my mother goes. Mother arrives and asks where we're going. "Classified!"
Took off, headed south and mother decides we're heading north west because the compass her side hadn't been set up. When we reached the channel I told her it was the Irish Sea, then I told her that Alderney was the Isle of Man and asked her if she'd ridden a Honda C90 before.
"I wish you'd told me, I haven't got the right shoes on for that." She was going to do it!
Once we landed, the conversation went as follows:
"Will they bring the bike here?"
"We're not on the Isle of Man, Mum"
"Well, where are we then?"
"That's classifed"
"Right, I'll ask him!"
Mother stomps off to accost the bowser driver, who is busy refuelling the Baron. Conversation:
"Excuse me, where are we?"
"Oh, I don't think I'm supposed to tell you that"
"You've bloody well primed him haven't you!"
"No mum!"
The game was up when we walked to the Tower though, as there was a van with Guernsey on the side of it.
Needless to say, she had a great day and a cracking lunch at a restaurant overlooking a bay, and plenty of sunshine. Arrived back at Kemble just before 5, and had coffee in the restaurant there. She hasn't stopped talking about it since, but has added the topic of the surprise party my brother threw for her on Sunday night.
How many 70 year-olds would be game enough to agree to ride for the first time, I wonder. :bow:
