Dinner is Served
Early in his RAF career, Dad took part in an operation to airlift Yemeni Jews from the Yemen peninsula into the newly formed State of Israel.
The Yemenis were simple, pastoral people, most of whom had clearly never seen an aircraft before. Being expected to board one with all their worldly goods, on their way to a new life in a strange country, must have been a terrifying experience.
As it happens, one particular trip turned out to have been somewhat alarming for all concerned, not just the Yemenis.
An hour or so into one of the flights, there was a bit of a disturbance in the cabin, and then the co-pilot came forward. "Sir", he said to Dad, "We've got a bit of a problem. I think you'd better come and have a look."
So Dad put the plane on auto-pilot and went back to see what was going on. The Yemenis, none of whom spoke a word of English, had produced a tender young lamb and some firewood, and were about to start cooking dinner.
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