Home, sweet home

Straight from Gothenburg, it is off to the Faeroes for a KIMO Board meeting.

Atlantic Airways is definitely the most liquid airline I have ever flown with. On responding to the request “Would you like a drink sir?” my request for a beer was met with contempt and I was asked if I wanted a real drink! Bar service was constant, free and continued until the plane was on the very last stages of the final approach.

Being outside the EU, duty free went like wildfire on the plane, with one crew member exclusively dealing with packing the duty-free into plastic bags. It seemed that everyone was buying 800 fags and a couple of bottles of something – I realised why when I saw the prices at the bar in the hotel.

1 beer, a whisky and a cup of tea cost £20!

Had very important meetings with the Faeroese Environment Minister, their Fisheries Department and with their climatologists, and we came aware much more aware o the importance of the climate on the future viability of the Faeroe Islands. The Gulf Stream is vitally important (of course) but the melting ice-caps are even more so. Apparently, although the ice-caps are shrinking in surface area, there are growing in height, so that the total mass remains broadly constant. It is the interaction of these two elements that will determine the future – and no-one seems able to predict the outcome.

The Faeroes are attractive, but the people are uncompromising smokers, with seemingly everyone having a cigarette whenever they can. Thankfully, they did respect the non-smokers amongst us and went outside when they could. The food was delicious, with fish in every variety and taste that you could imagine.

Now I am back in Glasgow airport, having been away from home for six days, and my I am so looking forward to getting back. You forget just how extremely tiring travel can be, especially when there are very important meetings at every location.

Thankfully – apart from the holiday – no more foreign travel planned until September, with the KIMO AGM in Sweden. I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and sitting my own desk for a few months.

Most importantly, I’m looking forward to seeing my wife and children, who must almost forget what I look like!