Peeling an Orange

Trying to keep all my balls in the air at once has always been my problem! (oor, er, missus! :rolleyes: ). By that I mean burning the midnite oil with too much aviation – photography, modelling, writing articles…and another book…doing reearch for model companies…keeping friends happy, trips to the post office, to air shows, airports, museums. Somewhere amongst that lot comes eating and sleeping and holding down a full time responsible day job. Then the lure of the PC gets all too much and I switch off, cuddle up with the cat on my lap and wiffy beside me and watch a solid evening’s TV….ah, sanity returns!!! 😉

I sit in the conservatory and watch the birds in the garden.

Then I shoot them and have them for tea.

Very satisfying

I was joking about the shooting bit

Thanks for that Nick I needed a laugh today!

I try to spread my interests around. Apart from aviation (obviously) and my work (I’m a self employed accountant), I make scale models (mainly aircraft but also other subjects from time to time), sing and act with an operatic society, enjoy reading (mainly aviation related but not exclusively), indulge in some astronomy (at a very basic level) and reading up on space related matters and I generally try to keep up to date with the world in general.

I also own a Caterham 7 sports car so try and make use of that through “spirited” road driving and the odd track day or sprint event.

All in all, I have a tough time squeeezing it all in.

Oh dear.

I spend most of my time these days thinking of ways to save “that place” (okay, RAF Driffield) and feel terribly sad (bloody angry) that not enough is being done to save what remains of our aviation heritage.

Why do you feel you’ve been chosen to ‘save’ RAF Driffield? Don’t tell me, think about it.

Oh, and turn off the TV and spend a bit more time outside. Nick and Trumpeter’s advice is good. There’s a lot more to life than aviation or old airfields.

Get away for a while and you may come back with a new approach and a solution to the ‘Driffield challange’. Ot you might decide it’s not worth it after all. Either’s better than angry frustration.

You know what they say about banging your head against the wall? It’s nice when it stops…

I would suggest giving aviation a break for a bit and try your hand at something else.A change is as good as a rest as they say.
Libraries are a brilliant source of info for things,try different stuff,painting/drawing,walking,cycling.
Take a camera with you,look at different stuff,GET AWAY FROM THE TV.
Mortgages and real life are harder to deal with,i would suggest Citizens advice or an INDEPENDANT financial advisor to help you out,you may be pleasantly surprised,when did you last shop around for a mortgage?.
I know it is easier said than done but you need to get out of the rut somehow,sorry just some ideas floating around in my head,no criticisms meant,just typing as i think.

If ever a man needed an Old Warden fix, Philip Rhodes is that man!

If ever it all gets too much (I’m fat, I really dislike the management at work but really like my job and sometimes I have to remind myself that aviation is a hobby not a lifes dedication) then I sit in the conservatory and watch the birds in the garden.

Then I shoot them and have them for tea.

Very satisfying

I was joking about the shooting bit

Cheer up Phillip!

Have a run to your local museum or catch a fast taxi by the jets at Brunty sure that will get you on the right track again

Aviation has long been a large part of my life and has given me lots of great experiences; however when I was 21 and working towards a PPL I ran out of money and realised that I would never be able to afford the level of aviation I desired (ie fly everyweek, own a Tiger Moth or Stearman etc etc etc……)

The result was I deliberately scaled back aeronautics in the scheme of things. These days aviation forms about 50% of my reading, I attend a few airshows and museums a year, build a few models (I’m currently making a 1/48 Eduard Lysander – stunning kit) and enjoy taking pleasure flights in as many types as I can find (still want to visit the Aviodrome to fly in their Catalina).

However this is ballanced by my Girlfriend and family, a love of travel (its surprising how much of the world one can see by just chipping away at it), and horse riding cantering over the hills in the rain is as breathtaking as aerobatics, and I’m hopefully about to start learning to jump!

Yes I have a crap job, a fairly restricting mortgage and can’t afford my own horse, but I guess I’m happy.

And what makes me angry politicians, arrogance, bigotry and the fact that not enough is done to preserve this countries historic airlinners. I really want to see Duxford and Brookland’s airliner collections under cover; and an airworthy BAC 1-11 preserved for posterity.

Well thats me hope there’s some inspiration in my life…..Steve

PS. I think I’ll have an Orange too

How does one reply, I thought that I was on a downer today.
Starting in reverse order, I last flew 2 years ago on Easyjet from Munich and the landing at Stansted was so appalling, lots of screaming, etc, that it didn’t exactly enhance my love of aviation.
The crippling mortgage has proved my downfall, there’s a twenty quid note in my missus’ underwear drawer that has got to last us for a while, it’s our only hard currency to date, cheques from Forumites would be welcome.
What else floats my boat, we have 2 lovely dogs that I have just taken for a walk past our local A-20 crash site, they know that something happened there and it freaks them out.
My job, yeah, anyone would love it, working from home designing houses, how lonely and a what beurocratic pain that is.
Finally, the weight problem, I get this every day from my missus, fortunately, I can still wear the same size clothes as I did in the 60’s, great isn’t it, I can pinch stuff off my son and it’s too big for me, just because he’s a tall skinny git.
I’m afraid that my display shelf consists of an Airfix Hurricane, Spitfire,(well made though), a Nottingham Trolleybus and a Hornby clockwork train complete with signal.
Ho Hum, isn’t life fun.