Watching your career take off

It was the hot summer of 1976 and I was fresh out of college and working as a trainee assistant manager at THF Airport Catering Services, East Midlands Airport.

During weekends the airport was generally quiet, so one Saturday evening I found myself working alone. My job involved packing up the outbound meals and supplies, and loading them on to an evening Britannia Airways flight to Palma.

I removed the dirty meal trays in their storage containers from the aeroplane and loaded them on to my van. I then replaced them with fresh lay-ups ready to be enjoyed by the happy holiday-makers on their flight, and I left the airport.

On returning to the unit, it was time to begin the washing-up, but on opening the containers I discovered, to my horror, that I had put the dirty trays back on the plane and brought the fresh meals back to the kitchen.

Panic! I rushed outside just in time to see the plane heading skywards. Serious panic!

There were three options: suicide, leave the country or try to minimise the damage. I decided on option three.

I charged across the terminal building to the tower and got a radio message to the captain. At least the air crew were warned and, luckily, the stores pack included biscuits, tea and coffee. I then sent a telex to Palma asking the Spanish airport caterers to prepare food for the return journey.

The worst part was the telephone call I knew I had to make to Britannia Airways' catering manager at 10.30pm - not to mention my boss!

Somehow I managed to keep my job - thank you Sir Charles - and things were fine until I nearly got the sack a few years later for crashing my company car three times in six weeks - but that is another story!