Dusty delay

The best-laid plans o' mice and men gang aft agley, or words to that effect. If the world worked as it ought to, in the middle of the afternoon that's just ended, Rebecca and I would have met Janet Wendy's nephew Ivon Hurst and his wife Wendy at Ottawa International Airport, where they ought to have disembarked from their trans-Atlantic flight that should have left Heathrow about lunchtime today, London time. But a few days ago, a volcano in Iceland erupted, disgorging a plume of volcanic ash and grit that is drifting high in the atmosphere over all of western Europe. Those tiny particles, small and light enough to float in the air, even in microscopic concentration at stratospheric levels, can clog the jet engines of wide-body passenger aircraft and shut down all engines, causing the plane to crash, so every airport in western Europe is closed until the cloud of ash and grit has drifted on further east or dissipated enough for safe air travel. It's been like this for two days now, and Britain's senior meteorologist on tonight's BBC TV news predicts that these conditions could continue for several more days. It's one of those times when I recall (not fondly) the delays and disruptions at airports around the world that I've experienced in my time of bouncing about between continents. I feel sympathetically for Wendy and Ivon, and hope they are holed up comfortably in a hotel near Heathrow, not trying to catch a few moments fitful sleep on the benches that British Airports Authority has thoughtfully provided for stranded travellers. They could be there for days, may have to bypass Ottawa altogether if the ash cloud drifts slowly enough to delay them for more than 3 or 4 days. It's the sort of event, Mother Nature flexing her muscles, that makes me aware of how puny we humans are in the grand scheme of things. I hope it blows through quickly, that gale force winds will clear the air in time for Wendy and Ivon to have at least a couple of days here in Ottawa, where Janet Wendy is looking forward to seeing her nephew again -- and so am I. I hope Mother Nature blows brisk gales across southern England and gets rid of the dust in a timely manner. Certainly there is no human intervention that can clear the air and make this little family reunion happen.