Blue sky thinking

The volcanic ash cloud over Britain, which for days kept nearly all aircraft grounded, was much more than an inconvenience. For many, it was a catastrophe. Businesses that rely on air-travel have been paralysed, weddings ruined, and tens of thousands of passengers stranded abroad or stuck at home.

Yet for all the chaos — which appeared to be ending after air-space was officially ‘re-opened’ on Tuesday night – Eyjafjallajökull has had its upsides. As our enthusiastic poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, pointed out, the skies looked clear and calm, ‘as clean as white slate’, uncluttered by helicopters and 747s. And the act of God eruption was not just an act of God, but a godsend for the media: giving them something to picture other than the three sorry-looking prime ministerial candidates; and something to analyse other than those dismal debates on TV.

David Miliband was widely mocked for his appeal to the ‘great British spirit’. But the last few days have shown some Britons at their resourceful best. We’ve even learnt that there’s something akin to a Hippocratic Oath for pilots who are standing firm against the airlines in defence of passenger safety. Yachts have cut short cruises to rescue stranded holidaymakers.

We don’t expect the stranded passengers to see things in quite this light, but maybe once the dust settles, even the victims of the volcano will see that the great cloud of ash was not all bad.