‘Come on,’ said William. ‘Let’s get it over with!’
Gilly laughed. ‘Do I look that terrified?’
‘Yes,’ said a couple of the other people.
‘But no need,’ one went on. ‘You’re going to love it.’
‘It’s traditional to have a big cooked breakfast after your first flight,’ said another, ‘no matter what time you go up.’
Gilly managed some sort of smile; now her ordeal was nearly on her, she was getting more and more frightened. She started breathing deeply. That was always a good idea.
‘Is this your glider?’ she said as they approached the machine, which seemed hardly bigger than a dragonfly.
‘No, this belongs to the club. Mine is a single-seater. I thought it was a bit early to put you up in that.’
It took Gilly a couple of seconds to realise he’d made a joke. She whimpered in response.
‘It’s tiny!’ she said, looking at the space she was expected to climb into. ‘I swear this must be one ofthe few activities where you can be claustrophobic and agoraphobic at the same time!’
‘Here, let me help you. You get in the front, but don’t worry, you don’t have to drive.
Gilly cast him a terrified glance before getting herself up and into the tiny seat. Then the Perspex top came down and clicked into place.’
He handed her a headset. ‘Here, put this on. It means we can talk to each other.’
There were a few minutes of bumping along the grass, the wings of the glider being supported by cheerful men, and then suddenly the glider took flight. Gilly gasped, breathed deeply and gradually felt her fear being replaced by amazement. She forgot about the flimsy machine and just felt joy at being in the air in almost complete silence. Only the sound of the wind rushing past disturbed it and Gilly found she tuned it out quickly.
‘All right?’ came William’s steady voice from behind her.
‘It’s wonderful!’ she said. ‘It’s like being a bird! Look! I can see the Severn! My goodness, this is amazing!’
‘Can you see the mountains beyond the river?’
‘Are they the Brecon Beacons or the Black Mountains? Oh, there’s the Sugar Loaf, that’s the Brecon Beacons, isn’t it?’
‘Do you want to have a little go on the controls yourself?’
‘No thank you. I just want to swoop about, pretending to be an albatross, though I think they mostly fly over the sea, don’t they? Oh, look! There’s Dead Man’s Acre.’
‘What?’
‘Doesn’t matter.’ If William didn’t know the story she didn’t want to waste time telling it to him now.
Gilly became totally absorbed in looking at the fields and villages, woods and hills spread out beneath her like toys. She could see the escarpment and where it dropped to the Severn plain.
There were sheep dotted about like blobs of cotton wool, cows in groups next to hedges splashed with blossom – blackthorn, she reckoned – and hawthorn. Smaller rivers, canals and ponds flashed silver. She saw a group of deer near a spinney and sighed with happiness.
The twenty minutes was over very quickly. The landing was very smooth.
‘I’ve been on scheduled flights that bump more than that,’ said Gilly, hoping her legs hadn’t stopped working while she’d been airborne. ‘I really hate the airline that plays that horrid cock-a-doodle-do thing if they arrive on time. I’d rather be late.’
Her legs had weakened a bit and she was glad of William’s supportive presence as she extracted herself from the tiny space and got to the ground.
‘So,’ he asked, looking down at her in a fond and proud way, ‘do I gather you liked that?’
‘I loved it! I never thought I’d be able to get through it without having some sort of fit but it was magical!’
‘Next time, we’ll stay up longer, go a bit further.’
