Simple Twist of Fate
I flew out of strike-torn Britain via Edinburgh Airport on Wednesday 30 November - St Andrew's Day - the same day as the public sector workers' pensions strike.
I left in plenty of time not knowing what to expect - long queues, general chaos and disruption, hordes of frustrated passengers, pickets and picket lines - perhaps.
I resolved that if I came across any pickets, I would stop and have a chat - and ask what people hoped to achieve by going on strike.
I read somewhere that a London Labour MP - John McDonnell - had called for the complete closure of Heathrow Airport over alleged safety concerns - and his heart-on-sleeve support for the aims of the strike, no doubt.
But as it happened everything went very smoothly - there were no hold-ups or delays.
If anything the whole business of getting through the airport and security checks - went more quickly than normal.
As I headed for my departure gate - who do you think I spotted in the lounge?
None other than Grahame Smith - the general secretary of the Scottish TUC - who had been speaking at a strikers' rally in Edinburgh earlier that afternoon - if I remember correctly.
Now if I had more time I would definitely have stopped for a word.
What a coincidence us both being in Edinburgh Airport - that day of all days - what was he doing there, where was he off to and so on?
Sadly I was in too much of a rush for small talk - but what a strange coincidence.
Or a simple twist of fate - in the words of Bob Dylan - from his 1975 album 'Blood on the Tracks'.
