You don't meet people like that in the back end of a Boeing 747.To travel First Class from London to Washington costs about $2,500, considerably less than by Concorde, but it has certain advantages. You have a much larger and more comfortable seat and are given an extremely good lunch. My neighbour on this flight was probably even grander than Concorde man. He was more expensively dressed, wore more jewellery and sent back the toast because it was soggy.
His reading consisted of the journal of the Royal Horticultural Society and a book called Stick and Rudder about how to fly aeroplanes. But I can tell you no more about him because we didn't exchange a word during our entire seven and a half hours in the air (Not quite true. Noting his interest in horticulture, I asked him if he could identify the leaf on the smoked salmon. "Dandelion," he replied.)At this point, you may be wondering what I have been doing travelling in such an extravagant way The fact is that I had no choice in the matter I had two business class tickets with reserved seats. But the New York- London flight was cancelled, so British Airways put me on Concorde; and on the London-Washington flight, the Club Class compartment was overbooked, so they put me in First. It seems that British Airways encourages upward mobility of this sort.
When I was bumped up from Club to First, I met a First Class passenger in our VIP lounge who had been bumped up to Concorde to make room for me. It is fortunate that Concorde is hardly ever fully booked, for where can one go from there except down?The only problem with the British Airways upward mobility system is that it appears to operate according to modern Thatcherite principles It rewards the "haves" but not the "have-nots". If I had not been holding a Club Class ticket, but had been a simple Economy Class passenger, I would never have been allowed to fly on Concorde, even though my flight had been cancelled. Instead, I would most likely have been stranded in New York for many hours waiting for another ordinary flight to leave for London.So, if you want to rub shoulders with Omar Sharif (as I did at London Airport on Tuesday), if you want to send back your toast to a smiling and uncomplaining steward, spend the extra, buy a business class ticket and anything might happen.`Out of the West' from the Foreign News pages of `The Independent', Thursday 7 April 1988. CUT FROM The Girl Who Came to Supper (now in The Complete Lyrics) was "What's the Matter with a Nice Beef Stew?" Coward advises: "it fills the crevices and makes you grow /. when you've had a little grouse / At Lyons' Corner House / Or a steak and kidney pud at Slater's / You'll appreciate a chew, / At a nice beef stew / With greens and mashed potatoes." No mention of Quorn, made by Marlow Foods of Cleveland. Rank Hovis discovered a particle of the mushroom-like fungus - Fusarium Garminearum - 30 years ago.
It owned some tradenames and, bizarrely, gave the meat-substitute one associated with a Midlands hunt, whose name means, ulcerously, a hill where millstones are got The hunt cannot name any regular eaters of it.. Griff Rhys Jones was born in Cardiff in 1953 and spent his childhood in Essex He studied English and history at Cambridge University. He started work at the BBC as a radio producer before moving into television to work on Not the Nine O'Clock News In 1998 he produced his 11th series of Smith and Jones. He has recently finished producing the Griff Rhys Jones Show for BBC Radio2 and is currently hosting his spoof discussion show, Do Go On, for Radio 4. If you could choose to act any character in a film or play, who would it be? Elisabeth Tinner, EdinburghI should like to play evil villains Recently I was asked to play a 6ft vampire hunter.
Unfortunately, the director took one look at me and said: "You are wrong for the part." I was very disappointed.Years ago I saw you in an excellent Play for Today (I can't remember the title, but it was constantly raining). Have you considered taking on any other serious roles?Angela West, Skegness, LincsThat was A View by Harry Clarke, about a decade ago, and it was my first serious role I played an alcoholic who murders his children That was about as serious as I'm ever going to get. I also decided I would never play a part where the rain cost more than me.How would you describe your relationship with Mel Smith? What about him do you love and what do you hate?Edward McKay, Weston Hills, LincsMel has the loyalty of a water buffalo and the intelligence of a bee and he looks like a hippo, so you have to adore him. Nothing else is allowed.How will you handle being Prince Edward's father-in-law?David Hasell, Thames DittonI think it's a very great thing for the prince to marry into the Rhys Jones family. Actually Sophie and I are not related, we just both come from the same sort of middle-class family who wanted to jolly up our status with a Welsh name.Did you tell jokes when you were at school? Are you a naturally funny person or do you have to work very hard at it?Norman Wilson, Tarnock, SomersetI enjoy being in the company of people who are in a mood to be amused - and I think that was true at school - rather than working hard.