On 05/09/2014 14:16, JNugent wrote:

OTOH, how do I get to the USA or Canada (let's not even mention the
Antipodes) except by flying?

http://www.cunard.co.uk/cruise-ships/queen-mary-2/

--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK

Arthur Figgis wrote:
On 05/09/2014 14:16, JNugent wrote:

OTOH, how do I get to the USA or Canada (let's not even mention the
Antipodes) except by flying?

http://www.cunard.co.uk/cruise-ships/queen-mary-2/

This is more my kind of cruise liner (admittedly not very practical as a
way of getting to New York in a hurry, and it doesn't have a 3D or any
other kind of cinema, nor a shopping mall, swimming pool, casino, theatre,
etc):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/reclin...57646248350410

I took this pic in the Minch. Here's another, with a sliver of railway
relevance, taken off Thurso:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/reclin...57647048741926

On 2014-09-05 19:07:44 +0000, d said:

Who said anything about a fear of flying? Though it is the most miserable and
unpleasent way to travel long distance this side of a NEx bus.

Some of us happen to disagree. I personally quite enjoy it.

Neil
--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the @ to reply.

On 2014-09-05 19:42:21 +0000, Arthur Figgis said:

On 05/09/2014 14:16, JNugent wrote:

OTOH, how do I get to the USA or Canada (let's not even mention the
Antipodes) except by flying?

http://www.cunard.co.uk/cruise-ships/queen-mary-2/

Though ships are not spectacularly environmentally friendly, either.
And flying is no worse than if each passenger had driven an average
family car, though obviously that isn't an overly practical way of
crossing the Atlantic.

Neil
--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the @ to reply.

Neil Williams wrote:
On 2014-09-05 19:07:44 +0000, d said:

Who said anything about a fear of flying? Though it is the most miserable and
unpleasent way to travel long distance this side of a NEx bus.

Some of us happen to disagree. I personally quite enjoy it.

Me too, but then, unlike Boltar, I'm not afraid of flying. I've also
noticed that most people with that fear dress it up in other ways, just as
he does. Then, if they go on a fear of flying course, they suddenly change,
and are quite happy to fly, forgetting all their previous reasons for not
doing so.

People I've met with this fear sometimes developed it after a bad flight,
while others are just afraid of not being in control when the plane
manoeuvres in the sky. When they do fly, they avoid window seats (I love
them) and some also have a fear of heights.

Neil Williams wrote:
On 2014-09-05 19:42:21 +0000, Arthur Figgis said:

On 05/09/2014 14:16, JNugent wrote:
OTOH, how do I get to the USA or Canada (let's not even mention the
Antipodes) except by flying?
http://www.cunard.co.uk/cruise-ships/queen-mary-2/

Though ships are not spectacularly environmentally friendly, either. And
flying is no worse than if each passenger had driven an average family
car, though obviously that isn't an overly practical way of crossing the Atlantic.

Ships have traditionally burnt cheap, dirty bunker fuel, but the rules have
been tightened up at US and EU ports, so they now have to buy more
expensive, but cleaner fuel. But that's not true everywhere, so ships in
those areas emit dirty black smoke.

Cruise liners also travel much more slowly than the old express ocean
liners, which keeps down the pollution, though that's not why they do it.

On 2014-09-05 22:31:16 +0000, Recliner said:

People I've met with this fear sometimes developed it after a bad flight,
while others are just afraid of not being in control when the plane
manoeuvres in the sky. When they do fly, they avoid window seats (I love
them) and some also have a fear of heights.

Exit row window is my preference (exit row for the legroom, window for
looking out!)

For tomorrow's flight to Milan I have 11A - spot on. BA from T5 as
well, should be nice and civilised.

Neil
--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the @ to reply.

Neil Williams wrote:
On 2014-09-05 22:31:16 +0000, Recliner said:

People I've met with this fear sometimes developed it after a bad flight,
while others are just afraid of not being in control when the plane
manoeuvres in the sky. When they do fly, they avoid window seats (I love
them) and some also have a fear of heights.

Exit row window is my preference (exit row for the legroom, window for looking out!)

For tomorrow's flight to Milan I have 11A - spot on. BA from T5 as well,
should be nice and civilised.

Yes, I really like T5 and BA. Enjoy your flight!

Paul Corfield wrote:
On Fri, 05 Sep 2014 17:31:16 -0500, Recliner
wrote:

People I've met with this fear sometimes developed it after a bad flight,
while others are just afraid of not being in control when the plane
manoeuvres in the sky. When they do fly, they avoid window seats (I love
them) and some also have a fear of heights.

Reminds me of my first flight. I'd not given it a second thought
despite never having flown. I was sat next to a young woman who was
repeatedly fiddling with a bracelet. She obviously saw me looking at
what she was doing and said it was some sort of "calming" device as
she didn't like flying. I probably didn't help by saying "I've never
flown and have no idea whether I am scared or not".

I'm not good with heights but have no issue with looking out of an
aeroplane even when coming in to land. I also enjoy take off as you
hurtle down the runway wondering if several tons of plane, people and
cargo can make it off the ground. ;-)

The thing that gets me is taking off in a propeller plane. They always seem
to be slow to get off the ground, making me wonder if it'll ever take off,
but then rise up anyway. They often have nice big windows, too.

Perhaps my hairiest flight was in a small single-engined sight-seeing plane
over the Grand Canyon, where I occupied the co-pilot's seat. The pilot
could see me taking pics, so he went out of his way to bank steeply as we
manoeuvred over the Canyon, so I got the best possible shots. The rising
air was bumpy, so I felt the need to hang on, but not to any of the moving
dual controls in front of me. It was one of those exhilarating flights
which you simultaneously want to go on forever, and to end immediately.

A more amusing flight was taking off from Aberdeen's short runway. The
pilot has to go for maximum thrust, and an ice bucket came loose in the
forward galley as we banked away. The ice cubes slid smoothly right down
the full length of the 757, staying perfectly in the centre, demonstrating
how well balanced a plane is, with zero cant deficiency.

The loneliest flight is from Santiago to Easter Island, the world's most
isolated airport. The entire route is over the South Pacific, with nothing
at all underneath and no diversion airports. Consequently, no more than one
plane at a time can be en route to it, lest one have a bad landing and
block the single runway. I've no idea where the nearest railway station is,
but it's certainly thousands of miles away.

On 05/09/2014 20:05, d wrote:

JNugent wrote:

OTOH, how do I get to the USA or Canada (let's not even mention the
Antipodes) except by flying?
Or is it your thesis that because you don't accept that I need to go to
those places (on your own definition of "need"), nothing should be done
which might facilitate my getting there?

Well personally I couldn't care less if you could get there or not.

That's OK. I don't expect you (or anyone else equally unimportant* to
me) to care about that.

But neither do i expect you to be allowed to hinder me, as, in fact, I
don't expect that even you think that you ought to be allowed to hinder
others.

But what
I'm saying is there should be a limit on flights.

Why?

If that means people can't
go to New York or Ibiza or wherever the next day then thats just too bad.

The market takes care of that. An immediate ticket LHR - JFK costs a LOT
of money (more than I'd care to pay).

Only children expect to get what they want straight away. Society is
infantilised enough already.

You say that people travelling at short notice to the places they wish
to travel to are childish, do you?

I assume you exempt yourself from that.