Excellent, thanks for that.

🙂 Love that, manual gearbox, that’s going in the memory banks for next time I take a novice flying :diablo:

They were also on the picket lines. It was the miner’s strike (and I had no affiliation one way or the other to it) that brought home to me how thinly veiled this democracy we’re supposed to live in is.

There was one famous incident, I think it was at a coking plant somewhere where the pickets were shown attacking the police and then we were shown the police charging them with horses. In fact it was the other way around.

I never quite understood why we actually had to destroy the mining industry. In any other country during a drop in demand for coal they simply put the mines on care and maintenance. It would cost billions to get the mines open again, in fact we would have to start from scratch. Utter madness.

Armed forces black humour. In the Falklands (not sure whether this story is apocryphal) the Paras were under artillery fire. One unfortunate had his lower leg blown off to which he screamed ‘Aargh, I’ve lost my leg.’ To which his mate replied with appropriate sang froid ‘No you haven’t you dozy ****, it’s over there.’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlVqz3Mq1CY&feature=related

Didn’t know there was an airfield at Tibenham. Mind you I haven’t looked. Just asking as there’s a French fly in at Old Buck in Sep that I have penned in to visit.

If you’re into aviation then ‘Fate is the Hunter’ by Ernest Gann is an aviation classic and must read. It should be mandatory for all aspiring pilots, I learned as much about flying reading that as I’ve done reading any textbook.

‘Mission Completed’ by ACM Sir Basil Embry is excellent, but out of print now, you may find it on ebay or suchlike.

If you like history and a laugh then any of the Flashman books are superb.

Born in God’s county in a little place called Cudworth. Spent 20 odd years in RAF as an aircraft engineer travelling the world, fancied a complete change when I left and now live in peaceful Lincs teaching music. If it had hills it would be nearly as good as Yorkshire. To any Yorkshire knockers I will just say this to assert our superiority. Someone once asked the Queen if she hadn’t been the Queen what she would rather have been. Without hesitation she said ‘A Yorkshirewoman.’ I rest my case. 🙂

Phantom, it’s not surprising we’re mostly Brits as it’s a Brit publication. However, always good to see other nationalities.

Hey Mog, I get the impression that you fly from Little Buck?