Gliding a Boeing 747

I was up early again today as I was to represent the Wiltshire Masters' Lodge at a special daytime meeting of the Berkshire Masters' Lodge held at Sindlesham, near Wokingham, Berkshire. I left home at 8.30 a.m. and using my "sat-nav" took the A303/M3 to Hook and then through Harley Wintney and Arborfield to Sindlesham. The journey took just over an hour and so I arrived quite early for the 10.30 a.m. meeting. I had a coffee in Sainsbury's to kill some time and arrived at the Sindlesham Masonic Centre at about 10.10 a.m. As an "honoured guest" I was given a seat near the front and enjoyed listening to W. Bro. Eric Moody, the Assistant Provincial Grand Master for Hampshire and Isle of Wight, give an enthralling talk about his experience as the British Airways pilot who was flying the Boeing 747 (G-BDXH) on BA Flight 009 from Kuala Lumper to Perth when all four engines failed and the plane started to descend with no power. When all hope seemed to be fading for the plane and it was likely to ditch into the sea the engines re-ignited and the plane eventually landed safely at Jakarta. The reason for the failure was found to be that the plane had flown into a volcanic dust cloud following the eruption (as they took off from Kuala Lumper) of Mount Galunggung about 110 miles south-east of Jakarta. The dust had got into the jet engines and also pebble-dashed the windscreen making landing in the dark very difficult. The talk was peppered with amusing anecdotes of his early life with BEA and BOAC and he spoke in an unassuming and understated way of what must have been a terrifying experience. He is famous for having announced to the passengers " This is your Captain speaking. We are having a little bit of trouble - all our engines have failed but we are trying to get them to start again. We trust that you are not feeling too distressed or uncomfortable." I had read about the incident in a book some years ago, discussed it with Leigh, a BA cabin crew member when I lived in Brighton and seen a programme on TV about it quite recently. It was wonderful, however, to actually hear and meet the man who had gone through the drama. The talk was followed by an excellent luncheon of fresh fruit, pan fried sea bass with noodles, sin sauce and vegetables, pavlova and ice cream and coffee. Members' and guests' partners were also invited and I was sorry that Sara couldn't join me. One of the ladies on my table insisted that I took Sara her orchid which was a very kind gesture. I was seated next to the Deputy Provincial Grand Master for Berkshire, Martin Peters, who made a delightful host. He had vaguely heard of Sara's father as he had worked for 30 years with IBM. I listened to the first half of the Ghana v Australia match on the radio in the car on they way home and watched the second half once I got back (result 1-1). Mary was practising her ballet exam moves as she now has a CD with the examination music on it. She does it with wonderful poise and agility. I do hope that she continues to enjoy dance and drama. Tom made supper tonight (with a little help from Sara) - chili con carne - which was excellent - I had three helpings! Tonight I wrote some letters (including a thank you to the secretary of Berkshire Masters') and also wrote my flag article for the parish magazine whilst Sara and the children watched Pirates of the Caribbean. I must confess that I also watched some of it - not for the plot, acting or special effects but because Keira Knightley is in it. Any scene with her in it is always worth watching!