I was satisfied with my lot in life, right up until that dreadful moment when she said,

I was satisfied with my lot in life, right up until that dreadful moment when she said,

            ‘We have lost three landing slots at Heathrow so will be needing fewer pilots. As one of the oldest, we have decided to let you go in the first group’

            She was the HR Director for LOT Polish Airlines and had been given intructions to get rid of seven pilots.

            I had many years of flying experience so I thought getting another pilot’s position would be simple. I replied to an advert for pilots from British Airways in Flight magazine and they sent me a sheaf of forms to fill in. This was going well until I came to the section called academic qualifications and there, staring at me, were about three acres of gleaming white paper with me having nothing to put in there. I knew this meant I didn’t have a chance with BA. I had been flying with LOT for many years and had started before qualifications were a requirement – if you could fly well, you were in. I had to get some qualifications.

            There was only one thing to do, start studying with the Open University. I went to see the friendly folk at the regional centre in Bristol the next time I passed through and they suggested I start with a level 1 course to get me into the idea of learning at home, but which course?

            I have long had an interest in the arts and humanities so decided to try a twelve week course called Rabbit snaring and street betting. This went very well except my tutor was a little elusive, especially on evenings with no moon but he gave me some good tips and the winnings paid for the course. The snaring part of the module convinced me of the truth that the meek shall inherit the earth, but only the patch they are buried in and taught me to be more ruthless in advancing my goals. I also managed to get some credits approved from my time at the university of life although there were some raised eyebrows over some of the subjects I put forward, Hang gliding and restaurent management and Bungee jumping with quantum physics were easily approved of course.

            I got a good pass on this first course, which encouraged me to press on with the OU so, here I am, signed up for A215 Creative writing and raring to go.

            Next time you are passing through Warsaw, look me up and we can have a chat about our OU experiences. If I am not at home, I may be flying the plane you are booked on.