"Nothing but the rain"
There’s not much better than having a cake and cuppa at Lashenden Airfield when the weather’s lovely and warm. While it wasn’t lovely and warm yesterday it was a nice time to watch the coming and goings of this little airfield in Kent.
There were people learning to fly, people having pleasure flights and people falling at an acceleration rate of slightly less than g from 11,000 feet.
No, I don’t mean Bluebirds of the Clan Campbell variety, they are entirely different and not covered in this communication. This communication deals with the rare communication device of the Second World War where the country listened to a female sing propaganda about the White Cliffs. This is the sort of jingoistic bullshit we see our country faced with at the moment. All this Brexit shit. Anyway, here are some photographs of a recent trip to Dover to see the port.
It was foggy and so a wonderfully bad day to visit the cliffs. I was hoping to see France but, at times, I couldn’t see my hand!
Now for a view of some calcium carbonate.
While in the area I also went to see the Louis Blériot Memorial. I didn’t get a photo of it, but I did take this one of the castle in the mist.
Finally, here’s a photo of some collected chalk pieces. It’s quite a satisfying photo but I am unsure why.
I’ve noticed this apparition a few times recently. I’ve been out running to the east of the village and nearly fallen over past this tree. Well, it’s a mug tree, isn’t it. Any idea why?
I have to say that it looks a little better in the winter and the mugs stand out more, but you get the idea. How very strange, but also, quite cool. I think that one of my mugs will end up on it soon.
I am sure that some people could be convinced that this is a rare form of tree. One that grows mugs. Most major china exporters have more of them. Obviously.
What’s better than a Wokka flying overhead?
Three Wokkas flying overhead.
iPhone photos. No telephoto. Sorry. #avgeek #wokkas pic.twitter.com/4OYZz0MhiU
— Ian Parish (@iparish) April 2, 2017
Everyone should love the sound of these elegant beings. They are gorgeous.
I went to see Monster Trucks at Rochester Cineworld Cinema. It’s a kids film. I rated it (surprisingly high) on IMDB and you should read this before taking my ratings seriously.
I rated Monster Trucks (2016) 6/10 #IMDb https://t.co/QTiAwOvm97
— Ian Parish (@iparish) April 2, 2017
You know what? This film was alright. It was a bit like an earthly version of Transformers. There was a young man who was obsessed with trucks but also quite intelligent and a young woman trying to impress him. I’m not really sure. There was also some step-dad stuff along the way with Danny Glover playing a scrap metal merchant in a wheelchair.
There were monsters. But, of course, they were mostly friendly. Apart from the physics of crashing down a hill and crushing your vertebrae this film was mostly good fun.
The last in this recent Season of Lego this is a road sweeper and repair unit.
At work:
Last view (a fish-eye!):
I went to see Ghost In The Shell this afternoon. I booked a 14:30 showing. As is custom I went to the Cineworld at Rochester. Maybe one day I’ll change my “usual”.
I rated Ghost in the Shell (2017) 8/10 #IMDb https://t.co/PRJQl1opAC
— Ian Parish (@iparish) March 31, 2017
So, the thing with the ratings is that you should read this communication.
I enjoyed what I saw of this film and I thought it was good. I recently watched the original anime version and thought that was brilliant. I don’t care for comparing across the genres. The only film I would get touchy about is that tour de force Akira.
I did “rest my eyes” a few times during this film and so I think it would be sensible for me to go again sometime when I am feeling more awake. A short and sweet review this time!
I recently had a day trip with the cadets to RAF Brize Norton. We visited three main areas of the base:
I learnt a lot and saw two types of aircraft I hadn’t seen before. The weather was quite grey and so the photos are a bit of a washout, I don’t do Photoshop. The low cloud base did mean that the aircraft would take off and about fifteen seconds later they would climb through the cloud.
Now, the final communication. Here’s the bucket wheel working:
Here’s the machine turning the bucket arm:
Moving forward:
And general operation:
Overall this was great fun and very relaxing. Hour for hour entertainment it was about the same as watching an IMAX film.
This is the final push. The operators cab and safety railings is built. Along with adding lights and ladders this now completes the Bucket Wheel Excavator.
This was probably another hour and a half so total build time is roughly 11 hours. I would argue it was worth every penny.
Some detail photos for you now:
