Sitting in the garden yesterday hopeful of a flypast as part of the VE day celebrations, Mrs Henderson said that her favourite plane is the Spitfire.
I hadn’t really considered what my favourite plane is. The Flying Fortress, Vulcan, and Concorde are really impressive planes. Although Concorde made a dreadful noise I do miss it. I remember when I lived in Reading and phoned Mrs Henderson in Woodcote, if Concorde went over I could tell her that it was on the way and it would be with her in seconds.
On reflection I think I agree with Mrs Henderson about the Spitfire. I certainly have a nostalgia for it; the wonderful sound of the engine. Obviously they are iconic planes and a symbol of our victory over the Germans in the Battle of Britain. My father always talked about Spitfires with great fondness. He worked at Biggin Hill during the war so that might explain it. I remember him taking me to see one fly and also pointing them out at the RAF museum in Hendon and at the Science Museum in Kensington.
He also gave me a Spitfire airfix model – the first one I ever got. I’m sure many of you remember Airfix models. It had to be Airfix. Never Revell. Mrs Henderson and I chatted nostalgically about these yesterday afternoon while I was trimming up the box hedge in the back garden. Personally I never really took enough care over them; I wouldn’t file down the rough edges where the parts had been pushed out of the mould. The glue was really stringy and went everywhere and wouldn’t stop coming out of the tube even as you tried to put the lid on really quickly. Then the glue went on the outside of the bits not just along the joins. I was rubbish at the painting. The transfers had to be soaked off the paper and then slid everywhere. I might order one from Amazon right now. I have just looked – Airfix now also do quick build kits with pre-coloured plastic parts that clip together rather like lego. Talk about cheating.
Sitting in the garden today we saw a vapour trail for the first time in ages. Plane travel will be very different for a few years to come.
Today we repainted the feature wall in the lounge. We think the new colour, slightly less pink, is a great success. All good.
A lot of possible music to choose from in this plane themed blog. Anything by Jefferson Airplane or The B52s. Enola Gay, Leaving on a Jet Plane, or Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines. In the end I went with our first thought. Great song.
What’s your favourite plane?
Isolation 