Last plane out of Heathrow

So when last I blogged, I was relaxing in the departure lounge at Heathrow, waiting for a flight to Tel Aviv, sipping coffee and basking in the comforting glow of the interweb.
They finally stared loading the plane about half an hour after our scheduled departure and by that time I was glad to wedge myself into a seat and try to get some sleep in preparation for my 6am arrival in Israel. So I sit down, immediately fall asleep and nap for what feels like (and actually was) about 20 minutes or so. Upon waking, I can't help but notice that we're still on the ground. No matter, I figure we'll be on our way shortly and drift off back to sleep.
What I didn't know at that point was that a heinous freezing fog had descended on the airport that night and was coating everything in ice. As airplane wings and ice don't mix so well, flights were being cancelled left and right. And now, our plane was sitting on the tarmac, waiting for clearance to go.
So, having no idea that I'm in danger of spending a night camped out in Terminal 4, I slumber some more, only to be woken by the following announcement:
"Ladies and gnetlemen, this is your captain speaking, as you may have noticed, we're still sitting on the ground. You may also have noticed that it is quite foggy outside. And those of you sitting above the wings most certainly will notice, if you look out the window, that the fog is icing up the wings."
At this point I, from my vantage point above the right wing, look out the window and noticed that, yes, the fog is icing up the wing. fancy that.
"So now, ladies and gentlemen, I have some good news and I have some bad news. The good news is that we have, finally, been given clearance to take off, the bad news is that in order for us to do so, our wings have to be de-iced, and unfortunately, the de-icing crew has got their hands full tonight. We are currently number 7 in the de-icing queue and it will be about an hour before they can get to us. So we will be going, but not just yet."
There were, as you can imagine, a few groans and sighs and general sounds of discontent about the cabin, but most people just looked at each other, shrugged, and went back to talking/napping/listening to their ipods. I closed my eyes and went back to sleep, only to be woken an hour later by the de-icing crew spraying my window with de-icer. This is also when the second announcement came:
"Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain again. I'm sure that those of you sitting over the wings have seen the de-icing crew and expect that we will be leaving shortly. Unfortunately, we can't leave just yet because when all of the flights were cancelled, all of the ground crews went home, so now we need to wait for the only remaining ground crew to come and push us back from the gate. It shouldn't be too long, so just hold on and I'll let you know when they arrive."
More groans, but also a few chuckles, as hey, we'd been sitting here for over 90 minutes, how much longer could it be? And aren't delayed flights and missed connections what holiday travel is all about?
A few minutes later the captain was back:
"Ladies and gentlemen, as I'm sure you've noticed, we are now leaving the gate. We'll be taking off shortly and we'll do our best to take advantage of our tailwind and see if we can make up some of the lost time."
This time, some scattered claps for the good news, and when we left the ground a few minutes later people actually cheered.
I guess that's the secret for airline crews, just make people think that the plane might not take off at all. Then, not only will they not mind that you're leaving two hours late, they'll actually cheer when the plane gets off the ground.