Blogs from Temora, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania

DAY 388 Well my reverse psychology clearly worked, it was gone 5.00am and there was not a breeze to be had, the trailer and canvas were completely still, the birds squawked and tweeted outside playfully. I could hear a vehicle start up and leave, I wondered if it was David (our next door neighbour) leaving early, if that was the case there was no chance to say goodbye. We were both up and out of bed at around 7.00, ok so I lied, Andy was a little earlier than me, I woke up to hear the familiar sound of tippy tappying on the keyboard at the bottom of the bed. Andy went out to put the kettle on, rigging it all up so that it was sheltered from the cool breeze that had now appeared. The ... read more

DAY 386 I was born in Castle Bromwich, near Birmingham, in 1963 and spent most of my adult life living in Southampton, strangely enough both places synonymous with the Spitfire, the creation of RJ Mitchell, a brillant aircraft designer and aircraft that still makes the hairs on my arms stand up, everytime I see one. Castle Bromwich is the place where my childhood was enjoyed, a great village, formed in Anglo Saxon times, more importantly to me, a place where my family lived but equally a place that produced 20,000 Spitfires from 1940 onwards, in a factory that still exists but is now where Jaguar makes its cars. RJ Mitchell went to work for the Supermarine aviation works in Southampton in 1917 and went on to design the S6B which won the Schneider Trophy in 1931 ... read more