VANCOUVER WINTER OLYMPICS DAY 13 (Wednesday 24 Feb)

A big day for Canada – we’re leaving. Far more seriously, the ice hockey has reached the sudden-death stage and what was widely expected to be the final is being played out in the quarter-finals: Canada v Russia, the top two teams in the world. If the locals were to lose this, the rain in Vancouver would be nothing compared to the floods of tears from a despondent nation. As we fly to New York our pilot diligently keeps cattle class up-to-date with the score, there is a suspicion that those at the pointy-end are watching the game live on TV. Thankfully for the future of Canada they win 7-3; the aircraft feels a lot lighter.