I miss what Concorde and Barbados did for each other
We were bigger than the sum of our parts – Barbados and Concorde. The world’s fastest, most expensive, classiest passenger jet plus Barbados: vacation paradise chosen by the who’s who of the rich and famous.
Twenty years ago they would pay ten thousand US dollars a bottom to fly from the UK to Bim – sipping champagne and taking their photos by the Mach display. The Concorde became the unofficial flag of a tiny Caribbean island. The Concorde was synonymous with Barbados – but unlike Rihanna it was all positive and upscale. God, how I loved to see that bird on final with everyone waving and taking photos and videos.
A 747 is a taxi. The Concorde was the Space Shuttle.
Had a chance one time, but I thought the price was too expensive.
I can’t tell you what I did with the US$7,000 I “saved” by not flying the Concorde home, but looking back – a single photo of me standing beside the Mach meter with champagne in hand would have been worth US$7,000.
I can’t tell you what I did with that money. Maybe I paid my phone bills or repaired my car. Maybe I fixed my teeth.
But had I spent that 7k on a Concorde ticket, I could tell you what I did with the money. I could tell you that, for a time, I LIVED and did something special.
I have few regrets in my life, but one of my regrets is that I never flew Concorde. I (wrongly) thought it was too expensive.
The other regret?
I should have crawled back to her and done anything to make her forgive me.
But we cannot live thinking every day of our mistakes.
I should have flown Concorde. 🙂
Robert
Barbados Free Press 