The Captain

-





The captain of our airplane is a woman. I find that hugely reassuring. I have come to expect that if a woman is in charge, things will simply run better and safer. (I live with a woman and my daughters are women, so I know what I am talking about).
I have also started to think that since men pilots stopped appearing in cigarette adverts alongside unfeasibly manicured admirers of fag smoke, or as heroic characters in disaster movies, being a pilot is no longer a male fantasy, but ranks alongside veterinarian science as a career choice. Marvelous being a vet, amazing for sure, but, you know, it is slightly less photogenic than piloting. I think that the perceived loss of poseur power has discouraged a certain demographic from applying to attend pilot school.
Our aforementioned womanly pilot stepped out of the cockpit ( shouldn't that be the henpit?) to reassure us as we sat on the plane waiting for a 'window' to take off. Using incomprehensible but impressive terminology such as 'apron', 'hopping on' and reassuring us that Brussels was aware of our predicament had limited impact. As soon as the French air control was mentioned obliquely as
the possible 'source of the problem', however, a knowing murmur rose uniformly from the cabin. The French. Of course. Now everyone sat back and relaxed. The French and their 'funny ways' nodded sagely the mature gentleman in the seat opposite. A few passengers shook their heads. 'The French'. They were responsible. Everything made sense again. Suddenly waiting became a show of maturity. 'We'll show (them) how grown up we are'.
The captain cut an incredibly swish figure as she addressed us. Sharp as something that epitomizes sharpness as a concept, (pin? knife? razor?) she stood sideways like an archer taking aim, her head looking over her right shoulder and speaking into the microphone. She spoke clearly in a way that made me feel that this pilot knew best. Male pilots always make me think that they have forgotten something...like refueling, for instance. I had to shake the childish thought that she might at any moment 'turn' and have me standing in the corner wearing a pointy hat with a big D on it.
Soon after the 'apron' became available ( a bit of the airstrip apparently) Brussels gave us the nod and Captain Fabulous pulled that throttle, or something, and catapulted us into the fluffy clouds. We all sat back happy that Brussels had seen our side and that 'the French' had not won this one. We proceeded to ascend victoriously to the appropriate height. Our pilot occasionally spoke and a surprising silence fell upon us each time. Pilot knows best after all, and flying is as safe as houses again.

Comments

Post a Comment

Your comments are my way of improving this discourse, so thank you in advance.

Popular posts from this blog

-
Image
DNA · ancestry · migration · 2018 Lazarus A collective body of works where DNA, ancestral movement, maps, faces and lost places begin to form one field of memory. Following my explorations in DNA analysis, I began to trace the movements of my ancestors around the world. At a certain point it felt as if I was trying to resurrect the past. Lazarus · DNA 2018 ✦ This is a branch, not the trunk. Lazarus is the ancestral-recovery branch in which DNA analysis, maps, faces, named places and remembered ancestors join the older concerns of displacement, faith, archive and print. The 2018 Lazarus page describes a collective body of works, not a single image. Kırkağaç , Kelempes and Ancestors belong inside that body because maps, lost places and remembered ancestral faces are central to the series. Older root Maps and inherited geography Before Lazarus there were the personal maps, the lost places, the family stories and the recurring question of how a person carries geogr...
Read more

The Knight, Death and the Devil

-
Image
The Knight, Death and the Devil. A 2018 reinterpretation by G. Sfougaras. Part of Leicester Museum's Permanent Collection. Presentation at House Ohrbeck, Osnabr ü k June 2019 Haus Ohrbeck  is both an adult educational institution and a conference centre  run jointly by the Franciscan Order and the diocese of  Osnabrück . A Reevaluation   Leicester Museum January 25th 2025 10.00 am and January 30th 17.00.  Engraving on paper measuring 24 x18 cm 1513 Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) It is hard not to feel humbled when one sees Durer’s amazing Knight, Death and the Devil engraving. It is a remarkable piece of work, elegant, brave and subtle despite the subject matter. There is mastery in the drawing, but even more so in the execution. The textures are beautifully depicted and the mark making is impeccable. The softness of the marks on the horse compared to the harshness of the marks on the landscape and the texture of the armour are uns...
Read more

Our Lady of Lourdes

-
Image
OUR LADY OF LOURDES The finished icon of Our Lady of Lourdes "Our icon is now in place on the feature wall within our offices. Can I thank you once again for how wonderfully you took my rambling request for a modern painting of Our Lady, which was clearly Our Lady of Lourdes but which retained some of the recognizable features of Our Lady and created such an iconic piece. Our new Multi-Academy Trust of 21 Catholic primary and secondary schools from Nottinghamshire and Nottingham City has Our Lady of Lourdes as its patron. Many of the images I had seen were very old fashioned and unlikely to appeal to the majority of our community and I really wanted an icon which would be individual to our Trust but universally recognised. The piece you created is exceptional and captures perfectly what I struggled to articulate, let alone visualize (or even paint)! Many thanks, once again, your work illuminates and inspires our central offices and those who come here." ...
Read more