Gruezi Edel Moran,
HOW can I ever thank you? In the past we enquired with Aer Lingus as to your whereabouts but to no avail — they said you were probably working for some agency in Zurich. We also tried the Joe Duffy show, however no joy there either!
It was back in 1993 when I took my son Eoin to visit Switzerland where I had worked in my late teens and early 20s. I was eager to show him the beautiful village of Baden on the river Limmat, where from a depth of 3,000m around a million litres of water a day bubble to the surface at a temperature of 47 degrees. With 19 thermal springs, the town has an international reputation as a spa resort and is within easy reach of Zurich and the airport. The first railway in Switzerland started a service between Baden and Zurich in 1847, delivering a puff pastry called Spanish Brotli.
In the early 1990s Superquinn Shopping had a special deal, whereby if you saved enough stamps you paid only for one airline ticket and the second person travelled free. Stamps were diligently collected and finally the day arrived for our big adventure. What excitement!
My friend, Mary Rose Molloy, kindly drove us to the airport and enquired when we would be returning. I told her the day and time and she apologised and said she was not available to collect us on our return.
We based ourselves in Zurich in a clean hostel in the centre of town and got up very early and made our way by train each day to Davos. Eoin enjoyed the days in the Ski Schule learning to snowboard and ski. On the last day of the trip (or so I thought), we boarded a brightly coloured, double-decker train from Zurich to Winterthur and made our way to the Kunstmuseum on the outskirts of the woods. We enjoyed French masterpieces from the impressionist period alongside Van Gogh, Picasso and Kandinsky. In the afternoon we strolled down the Bahnhoffstrasse in Zurich and spent time in the Watch and Clock Museum. The following morning we got up early and made our way to Kloten Airport. When we got to the check-in desk the woman there enquired ‘Madam have you changed your reservation?’ ‘No,’ I replied — is there a problem? In a very unfriendly manner she replied ‘Well, yes, your flight left yesterday’. I stared at this woman in disbelief, my mind went blank and my stomach fell into my boots! What to do?
I asked where the Aer Lingus office was. There wasn’t one she barked back so I said I would speak to a member of the ground crew, all the while feeling faint and deeply traumatised. I was then informed that there were no Aer Lingus ground crew. After some time and the minutes ticking away I was finally put in touch with Edel and I explained the situation to her. She listened to our sad state of affairs and said she would call us back, which she did. With only 10 minutes to departure this Angel of Mercy said “it’s strange but there are two empty seats at the back of the plane and I am going to let you on”. I will never forget those words. With only seconds to spare and with a heart beating too fast we raced across that tarmac and fell into those seats. What a relief!
Edel, you were truly an Angel of Mercy that day. Sincere and heartfelt thanks und merci vielmal. We will never forget you or that trip!
Cecilia Cecilia M Garrigan, Blackrock, Co Dublin