ENJOYED IT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 23, 28 January 1937, Page 5

ENJOYED IT.

FLIGHT AT 88 YEARS.

FEILDING MAN'S THRILL.

ON VISIT. TO HIS SISTER.

At the age of eighty-eight, Mr. James McFarland, of Feilding, has been converted to ai> travel. He had his first flight on Monday, from Palmerston North to Christchurch, and enjoyed it. Mr. McFa-rland went to visit his sister, Mrs. C. Pratt, of 83, Waltham Road, whom he has not seen for seven years. He proposes also to fly back to Palmerston North on February 22. "All that was wrong with the flight ■was that the sunshine disappeared just over Blenheim," he said to a "Star-Sun" reporter in recounting his experiences. "I was told it might be a bit 'bumpy,' but after the first five minutes I was as comfortable as I am now sitting in this armchair in front of the fire. It was a grand experience." Asked what prompted the flight, Mr. McFa#land said that when a grandson learned of the projected visit to Christchurch he offered to "shout" the trip by air. Mr. McFarland accepted with alacrity, and he is now looking forward to the return journey, when he will add a few more flying hours to his singular record. No Special Occasion. Mr. McFarland, who is a farmer by occupation, added that no special occasion brought him down to Christchurch. It was his home town, but he left here 36 years ago. His previous visits had largely coincided with the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, as he was an elder of the Feihling congregation. On each occasion he has chosen less interesting modes of travel, but now that he had been introduced to aeroplane travel he hoped to be able to make more use of it. Mr. McFarland confessed that a visit from a photographer and a reporter •♦arprised him, as he considered there was nothing exceptional in his trip. He

told the story of a visit made by a church dignitary to the West Coast. The churchman stayed at a hotel, where the same evening some of the other guests decided to make an evening of it. The resultant noise and mirth prompted him to remonstrate with the landlady, who exclaimed: "But, your Lordship, it's all in honour of you!" "And, your visit, I suppose," added Mr. McFarland, "is all in honour of me."