Apologies for hogging the headlines this morning but I was struck by the similarities between the US Airforce’s latest, if flawed brainchild and the highly successful craft we all knew in the ‘fifties.
Not being of a scientific bent, may I be allowed to comment on the amazingly prophetic illustrations from 60 years ago?
Do we owe both to the pioneering efforts of experts in the infamous Peenemünde laboratories in the ‘forties? Or was Leonardo da Vinci the real originator of rocket science?
Waking to stillness
Wide-open windows
Whiff of seaweed and spindrift Continue reading “Impressions of a holiday”
“It’s a nice class o’ sand ‘ere at Scarb’rough,”
Said me Dad as he marked out the pitch.
“Uncle Silas likes Brid for ‘is cutters;
But I really can’t tell which is which.” Continue reading “Holiday pome”
While most of the world’s TVs were full of Olympic stuff, some more ‘GB and N Ireland’ fellas were winning – in fact four of the top six golfers at the PGA Championships in the US of A qualify for the description. Rory McIlroy carries a British passport and claims to be Irish too, while the others hail from England: David Lynn, Justin Rose and Ian Poulter. Something in the water obviously!
I’d like to offer OZ this incident for his much-anticipated Olympic rant: the failure (yet again) of a British relay squad to pass the baton. Now I know that as mere runners they are not used to communicating with others or controlling themselves in confined spaces – or even holding things in their hands – but p-lease! All the other teams practise and manage to do it without mishap – why not you? Btw, the girls are just as bad, in case you wonder.
After the Solomonic Solution which rewarded a Japanese gymnast who fell so very nicely, we have the ticklish question of ‘making a bone fide effort’ while participating, which led to the disqualification of some badminton players earlier in the Games. Continue reading “Another little local difficulty”
We love the glory, don’t we? (Well, Backside does, although I couldn’t possibly comment.) No wonder we won so many skirmishes in far-flung places over the years. The Olympics are our chance to relive those special moments when the rest didn’t like it up ’em. Continue reading “A thoroughly British affair”
Jacques Rogge, the IOC Pres, opened London 2012 with this observation: “And to the athletes I offer this thought: your talent, your dedication and commitment brought you here; now you have a chance to become true Olympians. That honour is determined not by whether you win but by how you compete”. A much-derided clichè, I know, in this world of fast money and instant celebrity. But I suspect that the two camps (pro and anti London 2012) are divided by a simple criterion: have you been a competitor in sport yourself? Continue reading “Taking part”
Boadicea's Chariot 
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