wouldn’t want to interrupt filming.”
Filming?
“Yes, a short flight . . . No . . . No, really? Washing powder? . . . Well, it’s worth a try . . . Yes . . . Yes, thank you.”
He put the phone down. I lay there, wondering sleepily what was going on. Had I been dreaming? But I was so tired, it didn’t seem very important. I closed my eyes and fell asleep again.
DAD’S AIRSHIP
Airship: A power-driven aircraft that is lighter than air.
Concise Oxford Dictionary : Ninth Edition
AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR
WASHING POWDER
5th March
Next morning, when Mum was getting Ella ready for school, the phone rang. Mum answered.
“Hello? . . .Yes . . . Who ? . . . He said what ?”
I rolled over in bed and craned round so I could peer through the open bedroom door.
“Daniel! I’ve got a man from a film company here. Says he talked to you yesterday!”
“Oh, yes. . .” Dad came through, still clutching a piece of toast. He took the phone from Mum, who gave him a funny look. “Hello? . . . Yes? . . . Yes. Really? That’s wonderful! . . . Hang on . . . four p.m., Legburthwaite . . . Yes . . . Yes. Thank you very much . . . Goodbye, now.”
He put the phone down. Mum and Ella were staring. So was I.
“What,” said Mum, “was that about?”
“Are you going to be in a film?” said Ella.
Dad laughed. “Of course I’m not going to be in a film,” he said. He rubbed his hands together, like the conjuror about to pull the rabbit out of a hat. “That was a man called Stanley Rhode. He’s doing some work for a company that’s filming an advert up on Helvellyn.”
“An advert ?” said Mum.
Dad laughed again. “For washing powder,” he said. “Can you believe it? I think they’re going to spray the washing powder out from behind it and make some joke about clothes as clean as clouds.”
“ Daniel! ” said Mum. “What are you talking about? Spray washing powder out of what ?”
“Oh.” Dad looked startled. “Didn’t I say? From an airship, of course.”
“From an airship ?” I nearly fell out of bed. “Dad!”
Mum and Dad turned. “Oh, there you are,” said Dad. “Yes, I rang the British Airship Association yesterday, but they said you’d have to go to Germany or Italy to get passenger flights. So I explained the situation and they gave me this fellow’s number. He’s the pilot, and he says he can take us up today, after they—”
“ Today? ”
I couldn’t believe it. Was it some sort of joke? Dad was beaming round at everyone. Ella was hopping up and down, tugging on Dad’s arm.
“What’s happening?” she said. “Dad? Are we still going to school? Are we going to be on the telly?”
I scrambled out of bed and into the hall. “It’s even better than that,” I told her. “Just you wait and see.”
PERFECT
6th March
Some things are perfect, from start to finish.
That’s what going up in an airship was like.
We had to drive all day, nearly. It was very cold. There was a creamy white sky, with no clouds, and only the faint, silver disc of a sun. Most of the snow had gone and what was left clung in pale, frozen icebergs on the motorway verge. Me and Ella were buried under duvets and blankets in the back of the car.
The airship was in a big field under Helvellyn, all bustling with people and trucks and equipment. It was moored to a mobile boom truck, which is a sort of van with a boom on top of it, which can be attached to the front of the airship. There were about twenty people looking after it. We had to wait for ages while they did things like check the instruments and refuel the engines. Then Stanley and the co-pilot, Raoul, showed us the inside.
Most of an airship is the envelope, which is like a long, bean-shaped hot air balloon. All the bits that aren’t the envelope are in a cabin at the bottom called a gondola. There are engines at the back, a cabin with seats for passengers to
Filming?
“Yes, a short flight . . . No . . . No, really? Washing powder? . . . Well, it’s worth a try . . . Yes . . . Yes, thank you.”
He put the phone down. I lay there, wondering sleepily what was going on. Had I been dreaming? But I was so tired, it didn’t seem very important. I closed my eyes and fell asleep again.
DAD’S AIRSHIP
Airship: A power-driven aircraft that is lighter than air.
Concise Oxford Dictionary : Ninth Edition
AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR
WASHING POWDER
5th March
Next morning, when Mum was getting Ella ready for school, the phone rang. Mum answered.
“Hello? . . .Yes . . . Who ? . . . He said what ?”
I rolled over in bed and craned round so I could peer through the open bedroom door.
“Daniel! I’ve got a man from a film company here. Says he talked to you yesterday!”
“Oh, yes. . .” Dad came through, still clutching a piece of toast. He took the phone from Mum, who gave him a funny look. “Hello? . . . Yes? . . . Yes. Really? That’s wonderful! . . . Hang on . . . four p.m., Legburthwaite . . . Yes . . . Yes. Thank you very much . . . Goodbye, now.”
He put the phone down. Mum and Ella were staring. So was I.
“What,” said Mum, “was that about?”
“Are you going to be in a film?” said Ella.
Dad laughed. “Of course I’m not going to be in a film,” he said. He rubbed his hands together, like the conjuror about to pull the rabbit out of a hat. “That was a man called Stanley Rhode. He’s doing some work for a company that’s filming an advert up on Helvellyn.”
“An advert ?” said Mum.
Dad laughed again. “For washing powder,” he said. “Can you believe it? I think they’re going to spray the washing powder out from behind it and make some joke about clothes as clean as clouds.”
“ Daniel! ” said Mum. “What are you talking about? Spray washing powder out of what ?”
“Oh.” Dad looked startled. “Didn’t I say? From an airship, of course.”
“From an airship ?” I nearly fell out of bed. “Dad!”
Mum and Dad turned. “Oh, there you are,” said Dad. “Yes, I rang the British Airship Association yesterday, but they said you’d have to go to Germany or Italy to get passenger flights. So I explained the situation and they gave me this fellow’s number. He’s the pilot, and he says he can take us up today, after they—”
“ Today? ”
I couldn’t believe it. Was it some sort of joke? Dad was beaming round at everyone. Ella was hopping up and down, tugging on Dad’s arm.
“What’s happening?” she said. “Dad? Are we still going to school? Are we going to be on the telly?”
I scrambled out of bed and into the hall. “It’s even better than that,” I told her. “Just you wait and see.”
PERFECT
6th March
Some things are perfect, from start to finish.
That’s what going up in an airship was like.
We had to drive all day, nearly. It was very cold. There was a creamy white sky, with no clouds, and only the faint, silver disc of a sun. Most of the snow had gone and what was left clung in pale, frozen icebergs on the motorway verge. Me and Ella were buried under duvets and blankets in the back of the car.
The airship was in a big field under Helvellyn, all bustling with people and trucks and equipment. It was moored to a mobile boom truck, which is a sort of van with a boom on top of it, which can be attached to the front of the airship. There were about twenty people looking after it. We had to wait for ages while they did things like check the instruments and refuel the engines. Then Stanley and the co-pilot, Raoul, showed us the inside.
Most of an airship is the envelope, which is like a long, bean-shaped hot air balloon. All the bits that aren’t the envelope are in a cabin at the bottom called a gondola. There are engines at the back, a cabin with seats for passengers to
Similar Books
