Your grandfather has crossed the equator and is now in Surabaya, Indonesia. While flying due south across the vast island of Kalimantan, otherwise knows as Borneo, a short opinion piece in Hong Kong's South China Morning caught my eye.
Headlined "Commonwealth ready for dustbin of history", journalist Michael Chugani wrote that the upcoming Commonwealth Games due to start in New Delhi next week prompts him to call for future events to be scrapped.
Various problems associated with these Games, which involves a third of the world, have been in the news recently. Clearly the Indian's have not been as efficient as required in getting their act together, which has attracted much criticism. But I witnessed Delhi being transformed in preparation for the Games during the many visits I made to the city in 2008 and 2009, and I know just how important this event is for India.
But Mr Chugani argues that the Commonwealth should be scrapped. "The Commonwealth is a product of British Imperialism. It's existence today is like a joke", he provocatively writes. Interesting to read these comments from Hong Kong which, as I wrote in my previous blog, was the last bastion of the British Empire.
The Commonwealth of Nations, as is formally called, was previously known as the British Commonwealth. It's an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states. All but two of these countries were formerly part of the British Empire.
The member states co-operate within a framework of common values and goals which includes the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism and world peace. Queen Elizabeth II heads the organization. She is also monarch to 17 member states.
Now it may not be the most powerful bloc, but its purpose is positive. I am personally in favour of any organisation that encourages interstate collaboration. Certainly, the Commonwealth Games is a force for good, like all great sporting competitions. When I was at school, we used to be taken to the Commonwealth Institute in London to learn about the cultures of former colonial nations. But the significance of the Commonwealth has been eroded by the growth of such politcial groupings as the European Union and the Asean bloc.
It's quite likely that this organization will be retired to the hisotry books by the time you are a grown up. But I would hope it will go gracefully, and not be seen as something for the "dustbin".
Grandpa Jonathan
Surabaya, Indonesia
