滯留機場港生和家長顯得緊張憤怒甚至抓狂，是可以理解的，不竟當中很多都是未成年中學生。要求他們都處變不驚，家長們都泰然自若，有點那過。即使他們是如何富有，這些都是情況緊急下的人之常情。

有說這次倫敦大雪不是甚麼戰亂暴動或者特大災害，滯留港人的驚恐不過是小題大做。我想作為局外人，未有親歷其境是很難判斷。報載有萬計旅客在希斯路進退不得，不安的、憂慮的、惶恐的、憤怒的都擠在那裡。這種情況下人的情緒是很容易受到影響。是的我們一直都說做是要處變不驚要冷靜，但這不是每個人在每一刻能夠做得到。他們未必是合理，但我不會怪責他們。有些事情，親身體驗和隔岸觀火可是兩回事。

又有說倫敦是個好玩大城巿，由機場坐地鐵到巿中心不過大半個鐘，何不出去租個酒店多留幾日而要在機場發狂?首先在這種情況下即使你有錢，都未必有房。在聖誕期間在倫敦的旅客我信有數十萬計，當中有不少都是沒法離開而要多住幾天。而更最重要的，沒有人知道他們要濟留多久。當時情況不是「拿三日後就有飛機喇你去玩三日後番黎報到啦」，而是機場可能要關兩日、三日、一個星期、橫跨聖誕......就是沒有人說得準。那樣離開機場又是否一個合理的選擇呢?第一你未必可以找得到住處，第二你不知道要留幾天花多少錢，第三又擔心會否錯過恢復的航班。又有說，學生們何不回到學校宿舍等待，或者索性留英過聖誕?首先報載有宿舍在假期是關閉的。以英國人做事方式，我相信你要在假期找到一個可以決定因緊急情況而重開宿舍給你的人並不容易。而且，當你計劃了要遠行，我相信一日未有人對你說「整個假期都一定無機比你番香港」，一日你都會存有一絲希望而不是立即打道回府吧!

當然，受影響的人對港府可以做甚麼的期望要理性。包機其實是得淡笑，飛機可以起飛降落你就不會滯留。這次港府派員設立一個helpdesk，安排學生到酒店等待，統一消息發放和處理，有醫生駐場，已經非常足夠。當中有不足的地方，例如有人偷走回機場反而可以更快上機，或者聲稱死老豆可以優先上機等不公平情況，等待的酒店會議廳環境不甚理想，膳食不周等，屬非戰之罪。始終當時訊息混亂，又不是香港地頭，而且有幾萬人和你搶食搶住，有這樣安排算不錯了。

記得上年4月自己險些因冰島火山暴發而滯留紐約，所以我會較同情地理解今次事件中受影響的港人。如果是滯留在倫敦或香港，就不是問題。因為我在這兩地方有住處，走不了可以回家。但人在異地情況就不一樣。就如我上面所講，想租酒店又不知要多租幾多日洗幾多錢，又不知道幾時才可以離開，在當地又沒有可以照應的朋友，這情況是會令人感到不安。我記得當時看BBC，英國政府叫所有受影響在外國民要通知當地使館，以便評估形勢和按情況作適當建議及援助 ─ 政府這種態度和動作對國民是十分重要。對他們不可以派包機立即接你走，亦不可能提供衣食住處給你，而事實不是所有人都懷有這些不合理期望，但這種知道在特殊情況下有人可以讓你聯絡提供支援對當事人可以是很重要支持的。不是所有找政府的人都是「郁D就搵政府要人幫」的懶人或者不能照顧自己的人。也許當人不幸親歷其境時可能會有另一番體會。

* 雪都融左幾個星期先寫這個其實out了，不過好處是可以讓自己冷靜少少睇然後再寫。當我見到那些一身埃風名牌貌似二世祖驕生慣養的港童發脾氣，以及那些應該唔係好識教仔種到壞晒的中產富豪家長抓狂時，我都覺得星一巴埋去叫佢地番屋企食蕉係好正確既做法。但我相信唔係人人都係咁樣，唔可以一竹篙打一船人，我地應該睇成件事而唔係睇個別例子。

I like the humour in British politics. It makes it less boring to watch. Here is one from this week PMQ:

Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman to deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, “We all know what it’s like: you are at freshers’ week, you meet up with a dodgy bloke and you do things that you regret. Isn’t it true he has been led astray by the Tories?”

(Nick Clegg is the leader of Liberal Democratic Party and becomes the deputy prime minister after forming the coalition government with the Conservative Party (Tory, pl Tories). Before the election his whole party pledged to oppose any attempt to raise university tuition fee. Now the government is proposing to raise tuition fee to maximum 9000 quid a year.)

After Liverpool last week, this week United comes under spotlight as Rooney declared United "lack of ambition" and wanted to leave. Today he shocks everyone and signs a new five-year contract and hence will apparently stay at the club for the near future. However this is a really sad story to him and united and to a certain extent the football world as well.

Behind the whole saga, one of the below three must be true:

1. that Rooney confirms himself an idiot. Days ago he claimed in public that he didn't have any injury this season, that he thought United lacked ambition to win more trophies and he wanted to leave. Today he finds he's completely wrong and decides to stay. He's as mature as a five year old boy in terms of decision making and dealing with problems. 

2. that all these fuss are strategies to negotiate a better contract. If today footballers together with their agents think going public to criticize their club and threatening to leave are legitimate and moral tools for negotiation, it's really sad and I can foresee many others will follow suit. If I want a better contract I will negotiate behind door with my employer. I will not go and tell everyone that the company sucks and will not make any profits and I will leave when the contract ends. This not only hurts the company which employs you now, but also my colleagues who some of them are also my friends, and ultimately hurts me as well as how outsiders, including potential employers in the future, think about my behaviour of manipulating media, damaging my company image for my own interest.

3. that the new deal is a calculated agreement between the club and the player. Without a new contract Rooney value will depreciate as his current contract is coming to an end. This will hurt not only United but Rooney agent too in any future transfer as the transfer fee will be much lower. Rooney himself will suffer as United will not play him as frequent as before. Any manager with sanity will give more chances to others young players who are likely to stay at the club than to a guy who will leave in a few months time. This will avoid Rooney from rediscovering his form, which may turn potential suitors away. It may also affect his England career as well. Therefore a new contract plus a promise of sales in the coming transfer windows looks absolutely possible. United will get the money they want and a full-heart service from Rooney. The agent will get a huge sum of money from the future transfer. Rooney will get regular football as United will not let him rot in reserve and depreciate, an improved contract from now to the day he leaves, and the most important a future move to a more "ambitious" and richer club. Think this is impossible? Look at the sales of Ronaldo.

Either one of these is true and it's really sad. Even in the case of Beckham and van Nistelrooy which their relationships with Fergie were so bad that everyone on the planet knew their departures were inevitable, there wasn't any mouthwatering drama like this. As an United fan I don't know how to react. Should we forgive Rooney stupidity and treat him as the golden boy of the club as before? Or as someone wrote in a banner "Coleen fogives you we won't"? Fortunately Rooney is now sidelined for three weeks due to an ankle injury (I bet it's true this time isn't it?). We can put aside this question, at least for now.