"John" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 06 Mar 2006 11:44:33 GMT, dave wrote:

Just a fume to say how pathetic was the sound BBC coverage of last
weekends
flypast by several Spitfires. What I was waiting to hear was the sound of
those
wonderful Merlins. What I got was two motormouth presenters with who were
terrified of any silence longer than 0.1 second.

The OB pictures were excellent though, great to see those aircraft flying.

I live just north of the Scottish Border. A couple of years ago, I
was having lunch and thought I heard that unmistakable sound of a
Merlin engine - once heard (and like so many folks now retired I heard
my first a very long time ago) never forgotten. Surely not a Spitfire
or Hurricane? I left my lunch and rushed outside, just in time to see
a lone Spitfire cruise overhead at no more than 1000 ft, heading
south. There had been an air show further north a day earlier, so it
was presumably heading home.

One of my neighbours saw me looking up and asked what was the matter -
I pointed to the Spitfire. He wasn't impressed - "What's all the
excitement? Just some bloody aeroplane, isn't it?"

That man is a Philistine!

I went into full Victor Meldrew mode,

Understandable!

with the wife trying to quieten
me. The poor neighbour retreated down the street with my voice
getting louder as he retreated - "Some bloody aeroplane? SOME BLOODY
AEROPLANE???!! If it wasn't for that 'bloody aeroplane', matey -
you'd be speaking German and eating with chopsticks!!!!!"

I think the poor man crossed the street on his way back home.

You should have thrown bricks at him.

Just a few months later, a B17 flew over at low level, again heading
south. A hugely impressive sight and sound. But apart from me, not a
single person in the neighbourhood even raised their eyes. There's a
monument in London that promises we'll never forget. Hell - most
folks have forgotten already.

Planes that do the flypasts in London fly over my block. I have see
countless Lancasters (probably the same one), Spitfires, Hurricanes, Vulcans
(when that banks it is impressive), Tornadoes, etc. The Lancaster is a
"big" plane. A South African friend was visiting the UK, I took him up to
the roof so, he could see London from higher up, Coming towards us was a
Lancaster, at about 100 feet higher than us, it passed within 500 yards and
appears at the same level as us and banked away. He was mesmerised. First
day in London he sees a Lancaster at close quarters in flight. He never
stopped about it for days.