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| Allen, Endal and Ikea deep in a pre-flight discussion. |
MOST folk would agree that from choice, the recent week when the terrorist plot to blow up planes was exposed, was probably not the best time to be flying anywhere. Especially during the first few chaotic days suffered by the airline industry and more so at Heathrow airport due to the heightened security threat. Imagine then travelling with two dogs, a wheelchair and a group of five adults during the height of this chaotic time - a disaster waiting to happen?
The making of the Endal and Allen movie is still moving apace and recently saw Allen and Sandra Parton visiting their past, accompanied by their son Liam and daughter Zoe ... a return journey after a period of 23 years to their first home - married quarters in Rosyth, Scotland. The Royal Navy rose to the challenge, ensuring the whole visit went without a hitch. Throughout their stay the Captain of HMS Caledonian, commander Nick Stenhouse, hosted the group during a tour of the naval base and then during lunch in the wardroom. The main aim of this part of the filming is to explain and introduce Allen Parton's early married years while serving with the Royal Navy in Rosyth. The memories of this time have been completely lost to Allen as a result of his serious head injury. This nostalgic visit held much significance and has allowed Allen to create new memories and share in those held by the rest of the family. Sandra and Allen Parton were first married on November 5th 1983 and on their honeymoon night travelled up to Scotland on the overnight sleeper train. Allen jokes that being a true Naval man Sandra said "that I claimed the top bunk bed as mine on the sleeper on the way up" ... who says romance is dead? The very next morning Sandra and Allen moved into their Naval married quarters in Rosyth.
Assistance dog Endal and demo dog Ikea (golden retriever) arrived at Heathrow airport's terminal one and straight into the usual media scrum of being photographed and interviewed by the airport press prior to flying off to Edinburgh. Both Endal and Ikea were photographed checking themselves in at the BA self service machines The journey was timed to such an accuracy that even the military planners would have been envious, last minute toilet stops for the dogs, clearing security etc, the whole trip past smoothly and without incident. Endal, a veteran of countless flights, slept his way throughout the air journey but Ikea, experiencing his very first flight, was a little tense and cautious during the take off and landing but calm throughout the rest of the trip.
On arrival at Edinburgh the next stage of the filming started almost immediately, following the Parton family through the airport and eventually on to South Queensferry which is a small town positioned at the foot of the forth bridges. At the historic Hawes Inn, a mere four hundred years old, the filming continued with the Partons talking about what the visit meant to the family as a whole.
Thursday morning the family were taken to HMS Caledonia and then shown to their old married quarters. So powerful were the emotions of such a visit that very few naval personnel and film crew involved had dry eyes.
On the very same morning the TV and papers were full of the news about the security developments at UK airports which was worrying but what can one do, said Allen. Terrorists win through if they cause disruption and chaos to our normal lives and all one can do is to try and carry on normally. We did have a lot more options than most on how to get home but decided to wait until the Friday to see how everything was panning out.
Friday's planned filming programme was somewhat curtailed and the Parton family set off a lot earlier than intended to the Edinburgh airport with the film crew in tow and into the unknown. It could only happen to Allen and Endal that a return trip to Heathrow airport could have been booked wrongly - the return portion of the trip had been mistakenly booked to London Dockland airport and not Heathrow as planned (where the Parton car had been left). As it happens all flights to Heathrow had been cancelled or were very delayed, but their flight to Docklands though was on time and spaces available.
"Someone must having been looking over my shoulder when I made the booking," Allen said, "but how I didn't notice the error in the return part of the trip will always remain a mystery. Anyway, after battling through the throngs of people at the departure hall we arrived at an empty BA check-in area, after a few minutes transferring all of our personal stuff, now not allowed on the aircraft, to our suitcases (including Ikea's travelling teddybear). We actually had an easy and uneventful check-in. Both Ikea and Endal very quickly became the therapy/calming dogs for the staff and passengers to de-stress with. It all added a bit of excitement to the filming," said Allen, "and showed our life as it really is."
The new rules about what one can take on board left one feeling mugged and robbed said Allen. I had to use an airport wheelchair as my own one was taken away for security checks. Having then to have someone push you around is so frustrating but it did mean a more leisurely pace for Endal for the remainder of the journey through the airport. I kept looking for my mobile phone, keys and other bits and pieces, a clear plastic bag with just wallet and photo ID did not feel right. Having the two dogs with us added an extra dimension to everything and Endal and Ikea were frisked too, and their travelling food checked, prodded and x-rayed - thankfully the security didn't ask me to taste test it the same way they were asking parents to proof test babies milk!
Because the plane we caught home was of a smaller type and not at the usual boarding pier, travelling with an assistance dog could have been a problem, but the staff were absolutely brilliant and listened to my requests and directions on how to handle Endal safely up the rickety aircraft steps with all the engine noise around, and I was then carried on.
Luck was really on our side and we took off on time and had a great flight to London Docklands despite it being the wrong destination (an in-flight gin and tonic took away a lot of the stress). The following two-and-a-half hour trip to Heathrow by railway and underground was not without it's problems and left Allen and Endal at one stage having to escape the underground and catch a taxi across London until they reached a wheelchair-accessible underground station that allowed them to continue on to Heathrow, eventually meeting up again with the rest of the Parton family. Ikea, who had remained with the main group, was shown such kindness by the underground staff as they turned off the escalators, allowing him to safely walk up and down the stairs without being carried - a service they provide for guide dog users.
The next epic is to be a day at sea with the Royal Navy for Allen and Endal. This will be an opportunity for Allen to share his thoughts and feeling about the career he loved for 20 years and the feelings of loss he has experience following his injury
