Give up flying?

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Oldjohnw
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Re: Give up flying?

Post by Oldjohnw »

I gave up flying when I retired. But then I could. My family do not live abroad and I have never liked flights, long or short. Even when traveling for work I preferred the train for my most frequent trip to Brussels. Ireland was more of a challenge.

We always used the train even for Italy and Switzerland, which was expensive. It would, though, be wrong to be smug. I've had my life: it just happens I prefer the UK and neither my wife nor I like flights or airports.
John
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Paulatic
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Re: Give up flying?

Post by Paulatic »

It’s easy for me to give up flying :D
My first experience was a Dan Air flight from Newcastle to Poitiers in 1973 I took another flight a week later to get back. On landing I kissed the earth and swore never to repeat that experience. I’ve been true to my word.
Whatever I am, wherever I am, this is me. This is my life

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Ben@Forest
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Re: Give up flying?

Post by Ben@Forest »

Paulatic wrote:It’s easy for me to give up flying :D
My first experience was a Dan Air flight from Newcastle to Poitiers in 1973 I took another flight a week later to get back. On landing I kissed the earth and swore never to repeat that experience. I’ve been true to my word.


You are the Pope and l claim my £5.00. :wink:
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661-Pete
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Re: Give up flying?

Post by 661-Pete »

Ben@Forest wrote:
Paulatic wrote:It’s easy for me to give up flying :D
My first experience was a Dan Air flight from Newcastle to Poitiers in 1973 I took another flight a week later to get back. On landing I kissed the earth and swore never to repeat that experience. I’ve been true to my word.


You are the Pope and l claim my £5.00. :wink:

Lewis Carroll wrote:He thought he saw a Argument
That proved he was the Pope:
He looked again, and found it was
A Bar of Mottled Soap.
'A fact so dread,' he faintly said,
'Extinguishes all hope!'
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity.
Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
--- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
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661-Pete
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Re: Give up flying?

Post by 661-Pete »

Ben@Forest wrote:The issue here is of course the 'I'm old and I've done it so won't do it again' which favours the old over the young.
You have a good point there, yes it probably is because we're "of a certain age" that we think about giving up flying. But it all helps a bit. And not all elderly people do likewise. A friend of ours, who turned 80 last year, a widow with no children and fairly well-to-do, is, not surprisingly, of the "I can't take it with me when I go" persuasion. Her solution is to spend much of her time jetting all over the world - even visiting out-of-the-way places like St Helena (presumably to inspect the wallpaper there? :lol: ). Yes her actions don't exactly do anything for the environment, but can we blame her? No way would I try to talk her out of flying. One needs to be tactful....

Despite the 'Thunberg Effect' there seems to be no general cessation of flying by the young; the main reason for young adults not flying is lack of funds not an environmental conscience. This has even affected Extinction Rebellion.
I think there are many young adults who do have an environmental conscience - and the number is growing. Otherwise ER wouldn't have happened.

What bothers me is the sizeable proportion of youngsters who seem to be quite the opposite. Look at the litter-strewn venues after, say, Glastonbury, or Brighton Pride (after the latter the beaches were left in a disgusting state). Maybe not all young people were so irresponsible - but for those who were, where is their environmental conscience? :evil:
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity.
Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
--- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
kwackers
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Re: Give up flying?

Post by kwackers »

Ben@Forest wrote:You are the Pope and l claim my £5.00. :wink:

Pope was on a plane once doing a crossword.

Turns to the person next to him and says "four letters, ends in *unt, clue is 'pertaining to female'".

Person shakes their head thinking "I can't say that to the Pope".
Ten minutes later, they turn to the Pope and say "aunt, the answer is aunt".

"Thanks" says the Pope. "Have you got a rubber?"
Last edited by kwackers on 5 Aug 2019, 1:18pm, edited 1 time in total.
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661-Pete
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Re: Give up flying?

Post by 661-Pete »

kwackers wrote:
Ben@Forest wrote:You are the Pope and l claim my £5.00. :wink:

Pope was on a plane once doing a crossword.

Turns to the person next to him and says "four letters, ends in **nt, clue is 'pertaining to female'".

Person shakes their head thinking "I can't say that to the Pope".
Ten minutes later, they turn to the Pope and say "aunt, the answer is aunt".

"Thanks" says the Pope. "Have you got a rubber?"

https://youtu.be/cVWdbO6FFfw?t=261
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity.
Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
--- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
Oldjohnw
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Re: Give up flying?

Post by Oldjohnw »

I suspect (without empirical evidence) that there are as many older people who say "we no longer wish/need to travel" as there are new retirees with lump sums who have decided to "go traveling".

When I retired a niece asked if I was going traveling. I replied, "Yes, on foot, around Northumberland.' She didn't get it.
John
kwackers
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Re: Give up flying?

Post by kwackers »


Made me realise I'd missed of the 'u' too.
landsurfer
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Re: Give up flying?

Post by landsurfer »

Saint Greta is off on her grand publicity stunt to the USA.
Why not appear via Skype Greta ??

2 of the 4 Great Truths;
There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
There is no such thing as Carbon Neutral travel.

(Actually there's 6 Great Truths but one is a touch specific to my past lifestyle and one may be considered as obscene, there were 7 but tech caught up with it.)
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
Be more Mike.
The road goes on forever.
Ben@Forest
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Re: Give up flying?

Post by Ben@Forest »

landsurfer wrote:Saint Greta is off on her grand publicity stunt to the USA.
Why not appear via Skype Greta ??
.

Apparently it's going to take 13 days (not including Sweden - UK first) and she doesn't have a ride home yet.

I'm surprised it still takes that long, on a good passage a passenger sailing ship in the 1700s could do it in 6 weeks, and in comparison she's travelling in a bullet. But l guess they're sailing against the wind. I wonder who'll offer her a passage back?
landsurfer
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Re: Give up flying?

Post by landsurfer »

Ben@Forest wrote:[ I wonder who'll offer her a passage back?


Maybe she could travel back on a bulk carrier ship, carrying wood pellets for thermal power generation, burning Bunker Fuel for propulsion.
She's all in favour of "green" energy ..... :roll:
“Quiet, calm deliberation disentangles every knot.”
Be more Mike.
The road goes on forever.
reohn2
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Re: Give up flying?

Post by reohn2 »

According to some this young woman can't do anything right :?
-----------------------------------------------------------
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Cyril Haearn
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Re: Give up flying?

Post by Cyril Haearn »

I hope she is getting a lot of help and support

I am quite old and steady, delivered education to small groups, like to argue, but I am not sure if I should like to address the Un-general assembly

Maybe Ms Lucas could offer her a cabinet job when she gets back :wink:
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Freddie
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Re: Give up flying?

Post by Freddie »

Why travel at all? Only for selfish reasons. Greta could appear by video call, but where is the adventure/publicity in that? I don't blame her by the way, she is only 16, but these adults believing she will lead us to a bright, new, pollution free future, whilst not a perfect example herself, that is more worrying. Perhaps the answer would be "something, something, raising awareness", as though awareness itself will pull CO2 out of the atmosphere.

As for airline food, why wasn't you able to book in advance? Also, would eating the chicken make you physically sick. The reason I ask is a moral argument can be made for declining to buy chicken for your own consumption, but when it is placed in front as part of a meal, perhaps the moral thing is to not waste the chicken because you are a vegetarian, which in the position where an option isn't available and meat will go to waste, one could argue is a choice perhaps made for personal preference reasons, rather than ethical ones. The chicken having already expired and your behaviour having nothing to do with it, perhaps the better thing (from waste/moral point of view) is to consume the chicken? Just thinking out loud.
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