| It's amazing how our preconceptions towards | | | | want to sit by your friend, rather than be alone for |
| something or someone change how we act. | | | | ten hours? And finally when you arrived at your |
| Foreigners are treated with suspicion, celebrities are | | | | destination, wouldn't you want your clothes, shaver |
| either heroes or villains and 4x4's such as Land | | | | and presents to be waiting for you? The answer to |
| Rovers are used solely to destroy the Earth's | | | | all these questions is of course "yes". Yet, because |
| atmosphere. The list goes on and on. Since 9/11 it | | | | of the media causing a moral panic in not just my |
| seems every Muslim has a bad name and there's | | | | head, but those passengers around me, those two |
| almost an expectation that something bad will | | | | Muslim men were needlessly under suspicion for the |
| happen. I experienced such a thing a few years ago | | | | duration of the flight. I still feel ashamed and |
| flying back from Chicago, a few days after planned | | | | embarrassed writing about it even now. |
| terror attacks on US to UK flights were thwarted. | | | | The media also causes us to have negative |
| With the airport on high alert, passengers by default | | | | preconceptions about any four-wheel drive vehicles |
| were also uneasy. I was particularly so, as I hate | | | | and label those that drive them as having no regard |
| flying anyway and the thought of being blown up mid | | | | for the wellbeing of the planet and future |
| air rather than crashing due to a catastrophic | | | | generations. Now unlike the furore over Muslim |
| technical failure really didn't appeal to me. As we | | | | people, I can see some logic in the argument that |
| started boarding, two Muslim men rushed to the | | | | parents using large gas guzzling Land Rovers just to |
| check-in desk. They were obviously late arriving and | | | | nip to the shops or pick the children up from school is |
| there was a real danger they wouldn't be allowed on | | | | needless. In fact I agree wholeheartedly. The |
| the flight. They pleaded with the clerk to let them | | | | problem comes when eco-mentalists lose perspective. |
| on, saying things like "We must be on this flight" and | | | | Not long ago there were calls for all off road vehicles |
| "We have no alternative." | | | | to be banned from Britain's ancient rights of way. |
| I started to panic, the hundred news channels I'd | | | | Just because they'd been used as roads for hundreds |
| seen over the past 24 hours had warned about | | | | of years a Land Rover shouldn't be allowed now in |
| behaviour like this. It got worse. Next they had the | | | | case they roll over some mud and pebbles. |
| audacity to want to sit together "We must sit | | | | But surely if you are going to get muddy and drive |
| together" and finally they wanted to ensure their | | | | over bumpy stuff, a Land Rover is the car to use? I |
| luggage was on the flight "It's so important our bags | | | | mean if I took my Hyundai Coupe down a country |
| are on this flight". Convinced I was embarking on a | | | | track I'd either have half the road lodged in the front |
| doomed journey I took one last look at the Crispy | | | | spoiler, or no front spoiler left at all. It's all |
| Kreeme donut stand in the terminal and got on the | | | | preposterous, so if you don't just drive to the corner |
| plane. | | | | of your street, I pronounce you consider buying a |
| Worse was to follow - I was put by an emergency | | | | Land Rover and ignore the media tripe. |
| exit and told that if anything were to happen, that | | | | Clearly there are other 4x4s out there, but Land |
| the door by me was my responsibility to open. I was | | | | Rover are the most well known for a good reason - |
| petrified. Not only was I going to die, but it was | | | | they're the best. Admittedly the old Discovery was a |
| going to be partially my fault for incorrectly operating | | | | pretty shocking glitch on their record, but since its |
| the door as the plane fell out of the sky in a million | | | | re-launch in 2004 you can't go wrong - particularly as |
| pieces. Of course none of this happened. The flight | | | | prices on used Land Rover Discoverys are in the |
| was fine, Nicolas Cage kept me entertained | | | | £11,000 bracket. For a go-anywhere vehicle |
| throughout (via my television screen I might add) and | | | | with the pedigree of Land Rover that's a bargain. It's |
| we arrived a tad early at London Heathrow. | | | | just a shame the government may stop you short |
| Upon reflection, wouldn't you insist on being on the | | | | of any mud. |
| flight you'd booked to take you home? Wouldn't you | | | | |