3 CHEERS

...for the tens of thousands of stranded tourists and regular travellers who used their initiative and ingenuity to find ways of getting home when their flights were grounded because of the threat to aircraft engines from ash from the erupting Iceland volcano. In most of the first-hand accounts the emphasis was on the sense of achievement and appreciation of helpfulness found in many places. Although the experience must have been difficult for the elderly and those with young children, the overall impression was of a sense of satisfaction in facing and dealing with an unprecedented dilemma. Is there a lesson in that?