Thanks Dave for the comments re. Ohakea. My observations were from the outside as I arrived after it had closed for the day – seemed very dreary and only a tiny building with these couple of aircraft outside. I just wrote it off mentally. And I fully agree that if traveling past by car by all means stop. But if I were coming for the other side of the world, I wouldn’t deliberately try to go there.

Those Avengers you 3x Daves and Hairy are talking about. Is there still one, at whatever that army or airforce place is, near Ngaruawahia on Highway 1? Used to always be something I looked out for as kid. But I haven’t travelled H1 for years and years, always do the faster H27 route north/south.

Some Velvet Morning

Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra sing what is possibly the most dreadful song we are unfortunate enough to have in our CD collection … and before you ask why, it’s on what is otherwise a great compilation.

Lee:
Some velvet morning when I’m straight
I’m gonna open up your gate
And maybe tell you ’bout Phaedra
and how she gave me life
and how she made it in
Some velvet morning when I’m straight

Nancy:
Flowers growing on the hill
Dragonflies and daffodils
Learn from us very much
Look at us but do not touch
Phaedra is my name

Lee:
Some velvet morning when I’m straight
I’m gonna open up your gate
And maybe tell you ’bout Phaedra
and how she gave me life
and how she made it in
Some velvet morning when I’m straight

Nancy:
Flowers are the things we knew
Secrets are the things we grew
Learn from us very much
Look at us but do not touch
Phaedra is my name

Lee:
Some velvet morning when I’m straight
Nancy:
Flowers growing on the hill
Lee:
I’m gonna open up your gate
Nancy:
Dragonflies and daffodils
Lee:
And maybe tell you ’bout Phaedra
Nancy:
Learn from us very much
Lee:
And how she gave me life
Nancy:
Look at us but do not touch
Lee:
and how she made it in

So taking a Mensa test gives you status, does it?

Oh … dear me … I always thought a long-bonnet was the key measure 😎

lysergic acid diethylamide

No Rob. Think of how welcoming this very forum is (petty squabbling aside) and your question is answered. D

I concur with the general tone being stated here – we should remember and regret that the war happened, and Dresden is one of those dreadful moments of excess that seem to be a feature of war and make the remembrance all the more powerful. Here’s an interesting article, the Frauenkirche Cathedral has been rebuilt …
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/02/13/rebuilt_dresden_signals_shift_in_germany/

That’s newspapers for you…got it wrong again.

This is the first paragraph from the said link …
It is now some years since the Daily Sport, a paper not frequently quoted in the Weekly Worker, ran the headline “World War II bomber found on moon!” This startling intelligence was supported with a photograph, quite clearly showing a Lancaster bomber silhouetted against the lunar surface.

Funny thing, in the 80’s I worked in a FX dealing room and one of our number subscribed to News of the World. I very clearly remember that fine rag publisihing the very same article and I can assure you all, being then as now an avid historic aircraft enthusiast, the photograph was of a B24 (seen from above). To the unititiated I can see how that might be mistaken for a Lanc.