[capetonianm]

Small boy, with parents, directly behind me on LH flight FRA-CPT, playing with irritating beeping effing game through the small hours. Several pax asked him to turn the sound off. Kid refused.

Beeping gets softer and softer and next thing, call button is pushed, female FA arrives and brat says :
“Get me some batteries for my GameBoy.”

FA : “Vee do not keep batteries for childrens’ toys”
Brat : “What sort of airline is this?”
Me : “One that doesn’t keep batteries for nasty little boys with no manners.”

Breakfast time …..
I put my seat right back (this is the old LH business class) as breakfast is served. Brat bangs on back of my seat :
“Put your seat forward.”
I ignored him.
Brat’s vile mother : “My boy asked you to put your seat forward.”
Me : “And lots of people asked him last night to stop playing with his toy and making a noise.”
Brat’s father : “Put your f***ing seat forward.”
Brat’s mother to FA who is serving breakfast :
“Will you ask this man to put his seat forward so my boy can eat.”
FA : “Of course I vill ask him. But zer is a possibility he may refuse.”
FA to me in voice dripping with sarcasm : “Vill you plees put your seat forward so zat ze young chentleman behind can eat his breakfast.”
Me : “No, I won’t.”
FA : “Zer you are, I haff asked him and he von’t. Zer is really nussink I can do about zis. I am SO sorry your son vill be inconvenienced.” (And don’t tell me the Germans have no sense of humour!)

Of course there was an audience, and the lovely FA got a round of applause! As I was about the last to leave the cabin, she came and thanked me with a hug.

The next thing I knew was that someone on board must have had friends in high places because as I went through customs, guess who had been stopped and was having their cases searched! Just once in a while, even as an agnostic, I think maybe there is a God after all!

[SimonRowberry]

Capetonian,

Excellent story. Thanks.

The Germans do indeed have a great sense of humour (and sometimes I think that FRA is further proof of that fact!).

Have a great weekend.

SR

PS I take it that the family were not Cherman, as they obviously had no sense of humour?

[SimonRowberry]

Capetonian,

Utter proof of the Cherman sense of humour is a guy called Henning When. Check him out on YouTube. The guy is a genius. Like us poor Brits, the Germans can laugh at themselves.

SR

[Gin&Tonic]

Dear all, great discussions I have been laid up all week after some knee surgery and this thread has kept me very entertained, thank you. As we have sometime drifted on to arrogance let me share the following.

I was returming to Lhr from Zrh the week prior to the Engand football squad going out to South Africa and they had just been at a training camp in Austria. On the coach out to the aircraft I spotted Fabio Capello who was then seated next to me on the flight. I had picked up an english newspaper in the terminal and the front age was full of the storey how he was returning to meet the FA to negotiate a new contract and salary even before a ball had been kicked in South Africa, and of course the back pages were full of the player news.
I had already decided when I sat down I would not pester the guy nor would I suggest how he should be playing Lampard and Gerrard together in midfield, but I thought I cant ignore the fact he is sat there so I made a quip of a comment “ Should I read my paper or would you like to tell me about it” he barked back at me “YOU READ” then proceeded to sit there with a facial expresiion of a bulldog chewing a wasp, which I realised later is his natutal expression.
So bit rude I thought but maybe my ice breaker wasn’t the best. I eventually finished the paper and he turned and said “so what did it say” I replied “it said you are a greedy git who is only in it for the money and have no place trying to get more money before your prove yourself” He looked even more angry and said did it really say that, I picked up the paper passing it to him barked “YOU READ”

[spudseamus]

“own goal”? lol!

[Bruce98]

G’Day SimonHB

[Binman62]

SimonRowberry
Once travelled with Leo Sayer in F on Continental (back in 1991) AUK to HNL. A really, really good bloke.

I travelled with him also but from LHR to SIN on Qantas around 2003. Realy nice bloke and very upset when my daughter fell off her seat. Did not have the heart to tell him that she was probably drunk ( aged 4 ) as she had swiped my pre take off Champagne.

[SimonRowberry]

Binman

Great that we both had positive experiences of Leo. I remember he had a manager I think called Bob – also a good guy. Flew a few days later DEN-LGW with Leo and Bob again by chance. Asked him whether “Orchard Road” was about Singapore and he sadly said no, it was a true story, but about Churchfield Rd in Acton. A bit of an anticlimax!

Fascinated about the story re Leo and your daughter – good job you didn’t tell him about the champers as he doesn’t drink as a recovered alcoholic!

Good stories about Leo, who is a top bloke.

Cheers, Simon

[LuganoPirate]

G&T, interesting to read about Fabio C. I’ve also sat next to him and found him very pleasant. I can’t say I know him but we greet each other as he has a home in Lugano as well as Italy and see him quite often in restaurants. I speak to him in Italian and never about football as I know nothing about the sport.

I think part of the problem is we have to realise people in the news are also human. How many times have we had a bad meeting, business not gone quite the way we hoped etc. and all we want is some quiet time to reflect and forget.

I think it depends on what has happen on the day that effects them and the mood they’re in.

[Binman62]

Simon

We were in business class and my daughter had drunk most of my per takeoff drink before I realised. They were small glasses but she did, and still does have a liking for her bubbles…will go far I am sure.

About a hour later and just prior to lunch she was sat on the arm of the seat and fell back. Leo was in the other aisle and tried to catch her but missed. She hit the floor and the wailing began. He seemed more concerned than her parents, possibly as we were by now used to her falling over as kids do.

He was going on to OZ but kept asking us if she was ok right till we got off in Singapore. I just thought it was nice he reacted as he did, many, as we know, don’t like kids, let alone in premium cabins and the reaction could have been very different.

I seen lots of troublesome passengers (even a punch up just last year in club world an hour out of Hong Kong) over the years, but on the whole I have only directly encountered nice people……I hope they felt the same.

[Author]

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