I WRITE to you this week about Hugh Burbidge and the Red Arrows. Why? Well, because both of them have caused me delays.

I was in Belfast for the rugby, Ulster v the Warriors, and had a fairly tight schedule. Leaving Bristol for Belfast, the flight was delayed as the Red Arrows were doing a display over Westonsuper- Mare, so the plane wasn’t allowed to land, thus I had to race from the airport to the ground.

Hugh Burbidge, well, to be honest, I have never met him but he was, it seems, the cause of the delay on my return. It appears there were 102 people on board the plane and only 101 had come through the desk. It seems Mr Burbidge had booked a flight to Malaga but wasn’t on that and it was assumed he was on our flight.

With all the checks you have to go through, I find it amazing someone could get on the wrong flight, and I asked the steward who told me it happens “quite often”, which is a bit worrying.

I took with me a lot of radio kit, none of which seemed to bother the man with the scanner, known no doubt as scanner -man, but my toothpaste was taken from me.

I have, it has to be said, often been accused of attacking people with toothpaste. I can see the reason for such security, though, and if only Hugh Burbidge had been carrying toothpaste we could have taken off on time.

I’ve had a major back problem of late, which is more in the buttock region, so could be called a pain in the **** but that would be rude.

So I trotted off to see my physician who promptly told me there was really nothing much that could be done about it.

It seems I have a trapped sciatic nerve and he recommended building my back up, but the problem is it hurts when I do that.

I think it’s called Catch 22.

Anyway, he says to do lots of swimming so stand by in Splash over the next few weeks. I have to say it will be good when the anklebiters, or children as some people call them, are back at school as it does allow us old fogies to do some proper swimming.

It was good to see so many folks at the rugby on Saturday and the cricket on Sunday as well.

Sadly, it seems the PA systems at both didn’t want to work properly. I am told it will be sorted at both venues so please don’t shoot the messenger, even if you can’t hear him.

I am writing this at motorway services on the way to Taunton, and they are somewhat soul-less places, are they not, motorway service areas? But who is that sitting over the way? Could it be Hugh Burbidge? I would speak but can’t be heard for the roar of the Red Arrows going over.

* Dave Bradley is the BBC Hereford & Worcester sports correspondent.