Ash horror? Don’t make me laugh

Apr 22 2010 By The Stirrer

WHATEVER happened to the British stiff upper lip? Judging by our reaction to the Icelandic volcano story, it’s gone so limp I doubt whether even Viagra can help.

Remember how it used to be? All those buttoned-up emotions, the emotional restraint as Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson calmly accepted in Brief Encounter that their love would be unrequited.

So when did we become a bunch of pathetic whiners who always expect someone else to pull us out of the mire whenever things go wrong?

Yes, thousands of holidaymakers were trapped abroad by the “no flight” rule – but nobody starved, nobody was hurt, nobody died.

The worst that happened was that someone caught sunstroke enjoying a few extra days on the beach in Tenerife. Why all the hoo-ha? And, more to the point, why the mobilisation of a fleet of coaches and even the Royal Navy at vast expense to the taxpayer?

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not unsympathetic to families caught on the other side of the Channel and, as the father of two young children under the age of six, I’m glad it wasn’t me having to deal with all the hanging around caused by this curious episode.

But we’re not talking about famine or earthquake victims here – just wealthy holidaymakers facing a bit of a slog to get home. So get on with it, and stop expecting the rest of us to bail you out.

I don’t believe previous generations would have expected the Ark Royal to be despatched if their transport home had broken down. Nor would politicians have been quite so responsive to their pleas for help outside of election time.

So come on people, get a grip.

The welfare state was created to help those in genuine need – not bail out middle-class travellers who regard a suntan as a basic human right.