Volcano

I should be on a plane now, like hundreds of thousands of others but instead have just enjoyed one of my Mum's roast dinners. Tomorrow my parents are off to Plumpton Races.... well it's rude not too isn't it? Any tips gratefully received although Aerospace in the 3.20 has my name all over it.

I am re-booked on Wednesday afternoon's BA flight to Bermuda but with the airspace bans continually being extended by 6 hours (currently until 7am tomorrow) the sudden resumption of flights, particularly long haul ones looks improbable.

Yesterday both KLM and Lufthansa flew Boeing 737's to the usual maximum altitude of 13km (8 miles), the German airline actually put 10 trial airplanes in the sky without any effect whatsoever. More trials were due to take place today in France, Italy and Britain, with BA's CEO Willie Walsh on board incidentially. No doubt in first class. Nonetheless despite how much I am missing my other-half and 5-month old daughter I don't particularly want to be sat on the first plane taking off.

Unsurprisingly the airlines this evening called for a review of the flight ban. European's biggest airlines are mostly already financially strapped and are estimated to be losing £25m each a day whilst their jets are grounded and their staff sit at home or are stranded like the rest of us. Governments I am sure will be put under pressure very soon by airlines to either prove the science or open their coffers to provide financial underpinning.

I'm supposed to be in Boston the week after this, as you can imagine my fretful other half is thrilled by that prospect. Fortunately at least for me I have the comfort of my parents home, roast dinners and a pretty loaded wine rack unlike many who are misplaced and unsure to where the next bed will come from.

I can tell some untoward travel stories from my life, in fact this year has been a bit of a nightmare to be honest, but who would have thought a south-eastern wind and a volcano not even considered to be one of Iceland's, let alone the planet's most dangerous could cause so much global anguish and anxiety. The title of the world's most dangerous volcano belongs to Italy's Mount Vesuvius if you were wondering.

Finally a word for Iceland, who after ruining the global economy, clogging up the world's skies and giving us relegation virtuoso Hermann Hreidarsson, I find myself wanting to stick up for this implausibly beautiful country. I was lucky to visit in 2006 and surrounded by land so cinematic to appear unreal in Þingvellir I looked deep into the continental drift between the North American and Eurasian Plates and stared for ages into an abyss while my fingers and toes froze. I knew I'd never forget that moment.