Back to his roots

Betty Henderson

THE President of the United States arrived in Dublin on Wednesday, April 12, but it’s his visit to his ancestral roots that stole the headlines.

Joe Biden, a proud Irish‐American, returned to the land of his forefathers, and the Irish rolled out the green car‐pet for him. Crowds lined the streets of Carlingford in Coun‐ty Louth, where Biden’s great‐great‐grandfather Owen Finnegan once lived, to catch a glimpse of the presidential motorcade. Heavy rain could‐n’t dampen the enthusiasm of the locals, who welcomed their long‐lost relative with open arms. Biden also met with distant relatives in the Cooley Peninsula, where he visited ancestors’ graves.

But it wasn’t just a personal visit. Biden met with political leaders in Northern Ireland be‐fore crossing the border and called for the restoration of the power‐sharing govern‐ment at Stormont.

And he made time for a joke too, telling embassy staff he couldn’t qualify to be a cop, firefighter, or priest, so “here I am.”

Private jet from Portugal

A LUCKY air passenger was left in astonish‐ment when he realised he was the only pas‐senger on board a scheduled Jet2 flight.

As reported in a news outlet, Paul Wilkin‐son, 65, from St Annes, Lancashire arrived at Faro airport in Portugal on March 30, only to be informed that he was the only passen‐ger. Hailed as a ‘king’ by Jet2 staff, Paul was literally treated to a luxury private jet experi‐ence.

On arriving at the airport, Paul’s initial re‐action was panic when he got to the depar‐ ture gate with no queue in sight. Asked if the flight had been delayed or cancelled, air‐port staff told him that he was their VIP guest.

He said "The service was second to none. They did a one‐on‐one safety demonstra‐tion; we took photographs, and the captain came out and spoke to me.

Paul paid £130 for the three‐hour flight, and had three cabin crew at his 'beck and call'. He added, "It was like being on my own private jet.”