This ash cloud debacle has given some proper attention-seeking cranks the chance to get their mugs and beards in the local press. Here’s an example from the Greater Manchester Evening News. The latest on this amazing story of one man and his globe-trotting wedding party, is that he is in Madrid hoping to get to London for Wednesday. Phew…

Before you read it, let’s put it all in perspective. As a comment on the Evening News website (word for word, spelling for spelling) rightly says:

This is not going to cause devastatin just because your weddign is delayed. Devestation is happening in the 3rd world were people cannot even feed themselves on basic food rather that gorge on over priced fruit cake and chicken or beef. Have a care about the people who live near to the volcano and have had their homes / businesses disrupted. ME ME ME. IT’S ALL ABOUT ME.
Stuie72, Manchester

Here’s the GMEN exclusive:

Couple’s race against the ash cloud to wed
A bridegroom has just four days to get home for his wedding – after the volcanic ash cloud left him stranded 4,500 miles away in India.
Stuart Forrest, 33, was on a business trip to Mumbai when the eruption in Iceland grounded his flight back to Manchester.
Now his worried fiancée, Ann-Marie Richards, 31, has launched a Facebook campaign from her home in Northenden in a desperate bid to get him back for the big day on Saturday.

But Stuart is not the only person missing from the wedding, which the pair have been planning for 18 months.
Their photographer Andy McDonald is stranded in Bangalore, two ushers are stuck in Los Angeles and Dubai and another important guest is in Las Vegas.
Some of Ann-Marie’s relatives are also waiting to hear if they can fly from Ireland and some of her flowers will not arrived from Kenya.
Half of Stuart’s wedding outfit is still in a shop in Glasgow.

Stress
Ann-Marie, a manager at a major sports firm, said: “People normally stress about their wedding day, but I haven’t even thought about it because of everything else that has been going on.
“I just want him to be there. That’s all I care about now.”
The couple, who have been together for seven years, say plans to fly to Sri Lanka for their honeymoon on Monday are also in doubt.
Ann-Marie said: “It’s just a nightmare. I’m trying to stay positive, but I’m up and down all the time.
“We’ve been planning this for 18 months and have spent every minute of our spare time making the arrangements since Christmas.
“Hopefully, we won’t have to postpone it.”

Stuart, a self-employed consultant, who is on his first trip to India, was last night hoping to get a flight to Madrid via Tel Aviv.
Ann-Marie has put messages on Facebook in the hope of finding people willing to give Stuart a lift from Madrid to Manchester.
But Stuart’s brother Craig Forrest, an usher at the wedding, is still in LA, while Ann-Marie’s brother Mike, also an usher, is stuck in Dubai. Ann-Marie’s brother-in-law, Sam Pemberton, is in Las Vegas and photographer Andy is in Bangalore.
The church wedding is due to take place in Dunsop Bridge, Lancashire, on Saturday afternoon.

Stuart said: “It would be a tragedy if we couldn’t do it, after all this planning. We were seriously considering cancelling it yesterday, which would have been a disaster.
“I’ve looked at taking a route off the beaten track by going cross-country from Madrid to Barcelona, then a train to Toulouse and on to Paris.
“I won’t know for certain what I can do until tomorrow.”