Youthinkyouhaditsnowbad?
IF YOU are smarting over the travel chaos on the roads and subsequent train delays caused by last week’s snowfall, well, let’s face it, things could have been worse. And for some it was.
A French sailor had to be rescued by a cruise ship after spending three days adrift in a life raft off the coast of Tasmania.
The Orion cruise ship picked up Alain Delord who was attempting a solo round-the-world voyage when he ran into trouble 500 nautical miles from Australia’s island state.
The ship’s crew picked up his distress call and made a staggering 50-hour diversion to pick him up.
Meanwhile in Queensland, Australia, a Welsh tourist wrestled with a 6.5 ft shark that was swimming towards paddling toddlers on a beach. Sixtytwo year old Paul Marshallsea from Merthr Tydfil grabbed the two metrelong dusky whaler shark by the tail on Bulcock Beach and dragged it out to deeper water. Paul commented: “It nearly took my leg off in a split second, it was that quick.”
An Australian coastguard spokesman said: “We don’t recommend man- handling sharks but this gentleman did a great job.”
Back in Blighty, passengers on easyjet flight EZY7279 from Liverpool to Geneva were told that the flight was 300kg overweight and could not take off. The pilot asked for volunteers to disembark but the offer of £100 compensation and an alternative flight did not entice any takers.
The other passengers had a whipround to bring the compensation up to £200 per person and this was enough to tempt four passengers off the flight.
And finally, spare a thought for the British travellers who were hoping to set off on holiday last week but were instead faced with flight cancellations because of the snow. Hundreds of passengers were forced to sleep on the floor in Heathrow’s Terminal 5.
Somehow, things don’t look so bad now do they?