Wednesday, March 08, 2006

(63) The elderly qualify for a driver´s (and maybe a pilot´s licence!?)

On October 11th 1990 I was watching the BBC programme Question Time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question_Time
One of the speakers was the Tory MP (later Lord) Norman Tebbit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Tebbit
I recalled that before entering politics he had been an airline pilot.

The previous day I had, at last, at my third attempt, aged thirty, earned my driving licence.
The whimsical idea occurred to me that were I to meet Tebbit I might quip that although I had just acquired my driving licence I would not be going on to try to qualify as a pilot!

The following programme on BBC 1 was a new American sit-com called Nearly Departed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Idle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nearly_Departed

The plot, in so far as there was one, revolved around the efforts of a seventy-five year old man, to acquire his driving licence. In the end, he succeeded.

The programme ended with his saying that he was now going to study.
"Study?", asked a character played by Eric Idle. "What are you going to study?"
"Are you kidding? Maybe I’ll try for my pilot’s licence!"

No comments: