Category: History

Little treasures – a peek into English rural life

Bob Derham has been a close friend of mine for too many years.  We first met in Cyprus when it was my Winter base for cruising the Med. and have kept in touch ever since.  He will be embarrassed by me describing him as one of life’s gentlemen.  It’s great to have Bob’s occasional Post but when you read this, his first, you will get an excellent idea of how this person views the world.  By the way, here is a picture of Bob’s office! (And more details for aviation buffs!) PH.

Airbus A319
Airbus A319

A chance to pause awhile and reflect.

We are lucky enough to live in a special part of England in the county of Hampshire, in a part called the New Forest which used to be the hunting ground of William the Conqueror. Our village is called Woodgreen, and as part of the forest, Cows, Ponies, and Pigs are free to roam, kept within the forest confines by cattle grids. Our house is one of several which are thatched and surround the common, in the middle of which is a cricket pitch.

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Innovation and Invention

Mankind has a huge potential.

Just recently we recognised the 100th anniversary of the flight across the English Channel by Louis Bleriot.  His aircraft looked like this:

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The End of a Wall Street era.

Michael Lewis, author of Liar’s Poker, writes about what went wrong for Wall Street.

As with all great events, and what is going on in the world just now is certainly a Great Event, artists, poets and writers always capture the essence of change.

In December of 2008, Lewis wrote a wonderful essay for Conde Naste Portfolio.  Read and be impressed.

By Paul Handover

Taleb’s Black Swan-proof world

Nassim Nicolas Taleb has a deserved reputation.  His book, The Black Swan, has become a classic and, for me, was a wonderful and deeply educational read.

Here is Taleb’s recipe for our present, difficult times, as published in The FT.

By Paul Handover

Just one hundred years on, update.

As it happened, just a few minutes after my Post on Louis Blériot I came across this epic adventure including a leg of over 4,000 km across the Pacific Ocean.  It really does put the last one hundred years into contrast!

By Paul Handover

Walter Cronkite, the most trusted man in America.

These days, commenting on something that happened longer than 24 hours ago is probably passé.  The last few days have been a bit busy but one couldn’t possibly not comment about this sad news.

Nice piece from the BBC and, thanks to technology, his voice lives on.

By Paul Handover

Moon landing exactly 40 years ago today!

At exactly 20:17 UTC/GMT today on July 20th 1969 mankind started a journey to outer space when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the Moon.

That time translates to:

  • 14.17 Pacific Time
  • 16:17 Eastern Daylight Time
  • 20:17 GMT/UTC
  • 21:17 British Summer Time

NASA’s 40th Anniversary Web Site has all the details including the link to a replay of ‘real time’ audio of the event.

By Paul Handover

Concorde – the aviation icon, that is.

Health warning.  If aircraft and flying don’t give you a buzz then give this post a miss!

There’s a Forum in the UK that is subscribed to mainly by private pilots but also has a decent share of members from all walks of aviation including pro pilots and Air Traffic Controllers.  Love of iconic events in flying is often talked about.

Recently there has been a thread about the last flights of the Concorde including links to radio calls between aircraft and London Controllers.

Read on if you enjoy flying nostalgia big time!

The Moon, 40 years on.

Probably one of the highlights in my life was watching the Apollo 11 flight to the moon and back.  I took a week off from my job at ICI in Sydney, rented a TV and hardly slept during the whole event.

For those who shared those feelings of excitement as man reached out beyond his home planet, NASA has some wonderful archives including the Apollo 11 audio in real time.

America and mankind at its best.

By Paul Handover