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24 September 2014
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Flying Popeless
by Morris Telford
"That's not Lord Hill's Column!"
Phil's navigation might be a little off

Morris is... well nobody knows.

As he circles in an out-of-control plane, we just ask everyone to gaze sky-wards and look for a wonky jet, hopefully heading towards Shropshire. If you see Morris, let us know.

SEE ALSO

Back to the Morris index

The Morris Telford archive
. Read about Morris's previous exploits, and find out how the adventure has unfolded.

Follow Morris's journey
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Day Seven
PRINT THIS PAGE
View a printable version of this page.
FACTS

Name: Morris Telford

Age: 33

DOB: 18/04/70

Occupation:Unemployed

Hobbies: Enlightenment, Philosophy, Bingo

Favourite book – Ordnance Survey Map of Shropshire 1999 edition

Favourite foods – Pickled Eggs

Favourite film – Late For Dinner

Favourite colour – The delicate cyan of the dinnertime sky in Moreton Say.

Favourite British County – Shropshire

Favourite Place – Moreton Say

Favourite Postal Code Area – TF9

Favourite radio
frequency - 96FM

Favourite sound – The gentle breeze rustling through the leafy glades of Moreton Say

Favourite Clive – Clive of India

Favourite Iron Bridge - Ironbridge

Favourite adhesive note size – 75 x 75mm

Favourite Vegetable – Anything grown in the fertile soils of Shropshire

Favourite band – *(shameless plug)

Biggest inspiration –

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Do you have a question for Morris?

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WEEK 38, DAY 1
Phil, our self-appointed pilot and navigator, appears to have gone to the same school of aviation as Icarus.

He's under the impression that all the dials and switches and little flashing lights that litter the cockpit are for novice pilots, and that all he needs is a compass and a general idea of wind speed.

I'm a great believer in letting people fulfil their potential.

...But even in my most optimistic moments, I'd be hard pressed to entrust my life to someone who thinks they can accurately gauge the wind speed of 50 tons of high-tech, high-speed, winged metal... just by licking their finger and popping it outside for a bit.

This cavalier attitude makes me uneasy, but there's no escape from the frivolity. The men have found some video games in one of the rooms and are playing Space Harrier with the volume turned up far too loud, which to be quite honest is jangling my nerves a bit.

This isn't helped by Phil doing barrel rolls every time someone gets a high score.

I'm going for a lie down.

WEEK 38, DAY 2
Phil made an announcement just now on the tannoy. He asked us to look out the window "to see the shores of the Thames".

I had to go up to the cockpit personally to tell him that while the UK sports some lovely beaches, some of which are almost completely free of radiation and sewage, none of these lovely beaches are quite that big, or have camels on them, or indeed, pyramids.

After half an hour of arguing, Phil conceded that we probably were over Egypt after all and stopped looking for Big Ben casting it's shadow over the Nile.

It was while we were arguing that Phil knocked a button on a hitherto untouched control panel and a screen lit up with all sorts of satellite navigation, GPS and hologramatic navigational sensors.

It was very impressive and looks to all intents and purposes like an expensive special effect. I clicked a few icons, entered the postcode for my house in Moreton Say and clicked the "auto-navigation" button.

The plane banked sharply to the right and steadied. A little message lit up in reassuring green which said "Course Locked".

Phil wasn't very happy, but I managed to distract him by telling him that we'd found a sea lion in one of the Jacuzzis.

By the time he realised it was just Trent having a bubble bath I'd locked him in.

WEEK 38, DAY 3
We hit some turbulence in the night. I think a bit of the plane dropped off. I hope it wasn't anything important, like a wing.

Phil got loose again and tried to take control of the plane.

One of the Alaskans, a tall man called Obican Rumus (with long silver-white hair and painted nails), thought it was a good idea to keep Phil from the controls, so he locked the door to the cockpit and threw the key down the toilet.

Unfortunately no one was in the cockpit at the time.

After three hours of trying to fish the key out with some string and a magnet, I gave up.

Although I did manage to retrieve a gold tooth, a pair of cufflinks that were inscribed "The Gipper", a tiny, beautifully detailed, die cast toy soldier and a coin marked "One American Dollar" dated 2023.

The coin had the image of George W. Bush on it, but he looked much older, had an eye patch and what looked like a mobile phone but may have been a cybernetic ear.

So the plane is on autopilot and we have no way of getting into the cockpit. I'm just hoping that among the satellite navigation, GPS and hologramatic navigational sensors, there's also something that automatically lands the plane.

WEEK 38, DAY 4
Things are actually getting quite bad now.

Steven Watson bailed out a few minutes ago. He wailed something about "sensing Devon" and made a break for it. He grabbed a parachute and was out the escape hatch before we could stop him.

Trent tried to follow him but five of us managed to hold him down while the hatch was secured. I have to admire Trent for trying to leap out of a speeding plane wearing only a bathrobe and fluffy yellow slippers, he must really hate the ex-Pope.

Despite everything Steven Watson did, I hope he's OK and lands on something relatively soft.

I must admit, just before he jumped out of the plane, I did sense a nearby evil... a terrible chill of foreboding, like the Shrewsbury marathon running over my grave. So maybe we really are over Devon.

The one and only good thing about Devon is, it's relatively near Shropshire. So I actually hope Steven was right, it means I'm nearly home.

The plane is juddering and some of the men are talking about jumping out. I counted the parachutes and we are one short.

I haven't said anything to the men - It's my fault they are here, I'll go last.

WEEK 38, DAY 5
Morris One seems to be circling, and it has been for most of the night. The floor is constantly tilted at about 30 degrees, which makes drinking from a glass surprisingly difficult.

I've wedged myself between the back of a seat and some sort of storage locker while I type this.

A few of the men are trying to break into the cockpit.

One of the Alaskans jumped out a few minutes ago, I hope he remembered his parachute.

If this is the last time I send an entry in from my palmtop, then goodbye and remember - I did it all for ShropshireÂ….

WEEK 38, DAY 6

.................................

WEEK 38, DAY 7

................................

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