Bluebells August 2, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in British Isles, England.Tags: England, County Durham, Durham, ground cover, European Beech, bluebell, North of England, deciduous, Fagus sylvatica, Common Bluebells, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, bulbous plant, Spanish Bluebell, Hyacinthoides hispanica, Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981, whitebells
add a comment
This area of woodland near the city of Durham, in the north of England consists of mixed deciduous species, with the European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) predominating.
The ground cover is fairly diverse, but in spring it is carpeted with Common Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta). Although the Common Bluebell was, well, common when I was young, the status of this bulbous plant has changed somewhat. Hybridisation with the introduced Spanish Bluebell (Hyacinthoides hispanica) has meant that this stronger hybrid strain has taken over in some locations. Since the Spanish species produce less scent, you lose the heady perfume of a typical bluebell wood in full bloom. In order to protect this quintessentially British landscape, it has been necessary to enact legislation, and since 1981, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (and a further prohibition to trade in bulbs and plants enacted in 1998) it is offence to remove these lovely flowers from their native habitat.
One item of note, bluebells don’t have to be blue! There is a very attractive, naturally occuring, white varient and these ‘whitebells’ can be seen mixed in amongst the drifts of flowers in many bluebell woods.
Beech wood June 7, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in England, South Yorkshire.Tags: beech, beech mast, bluebells, European Beech, Fagus sylvaticus, furniture, Mediaeval times, nuts, pigs, silver-grey bark, South Yorkshire, toxicity, trunk, undergrowth, wild garlic, wood
add a comment
Beech wood
The European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) is a delightful tree, with silver-grey bark and a straight trunk. If left without management, it forms dense woodlands, whose deep shade, coupled with heavy layers of dead leaves, often prevents much undergrowth from forming. Sometimes, as in this case in South Yorkshire, the woodland floor is carpeted in season with bluebells or even wild garlic.
Beech wood is valuable in furniture making, and the beechnuts (or beech mast) are edible, but should NOT be consumed in large quantities by humans as they do have slight toxicity. Pigs, however, really enjoy beech mast, and used to, in Mediaeval times, be left to roam in the woods to feed on these nuts.
May blossom, near Wittering June 6, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in British Isles, England, Great Britain.Tags: 'cast not a clout 'til may is out', 55BC, Cambridgeshire, Common Hawthorn, Crataegeus monogyna, diverse habitat, farm-stock, farming, Flanders, ground cover, haws, hawthorn, hedgelaying competition, hedgerows, Hedges, Julius Caesar, mammals, May blossom, National Hedgelaying Society, Nervi tribe, nesting sites, Wittering
add a comment
- May blossom
The Common Hawthorn bush (Crataegeus monogyna) is a common sight in the British countryside; this example is growing near Wittering, Cambridgeshire. It grows wild of course, but it is also ’semi-cultivated’, in that it is planted and managed, in some cases by ‘laying’ – an ancient farming skill. Indeed, Julius Caesar, in 55BC, noted that the Nervi tribe, in Flanders, were skilled in layering and interweaving hedges.
There are many plants which can be planted to form a hedgerow, of course, but the hawthorn is amongst the most popular, in that it grows relatively quickly, to a good size, and gives a natural thorny barrier to farm-stock as well as providing shelter in bad weather. The work of the National Hedgelaying Society, and its members, ensures that ancient skills will not be lost. Indeed, you can watch hedgelaying competitions in most areas of the British Isles, if you know when and where to look for them.
If skilfully tended and trimmed, a layed hedge will last for 50 years before needing major attention – if left alone, the hedge would evolve into a series of individual trees, some up to 30 feet tall. Hedgelaying also makes for a thicker hedge, as wel as one which is more beneficial to wildlife, with more potential nesting site for birds, more ground cover, and a more diverse habitat. Other plant species arrive over the course of time, and the hawthorn provides a copious supply of red haws – the name for the fruit of the hawthorn – which are a major source of winter food for birds, and small mammals.
One of the reasons I love the English countryside in late spring, is the arrival of the May blossom (the hawthorn’s flower). Carried in clusters, it gives a frothy, dense appearance to many roadsides, and reminds me of my youth. An old English saying, ‘Caste not a clout, ’til may is out’ – an admonishment to retain winter clothing or face the chills - does not refer to the month, but rather the flower of the same name!
Snake Pass, Peak District National Park May 23, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in British Isles, Derbyshire, England, Peak District, Royal Air Force, South Yorkshire.Tags: A57, Derbyshire, EGCC, Glossop, ICAO, Manchester Airport, National Park, Peak District National Park, Pennines, Sheffield, Snow, South Yorkshire, stream, UK, winter
add a comment
Snake Pass, A57 Glossop to Sheffield
I am from Derbyshire, and intensely proud of that fact. I am fortunate enough to be able to travel back fairly often, and visit friends and relations in the region. A few weeks ago, I landed at Manchester Airport (ICAO code, EGCC), the third-busiest airport in the UK and only a few miles from the boundary of the Peak District National Park. I have family in Sheffield on the other side of the Pennines.
I chose to travel the A57 road which runs from Glossop in Derbyshire to Sheffield in South Yorkshire. Part of this road forms the notorious Snake Pass, which winds it’s way through the National Park from west to east. Here you can see a typical piece of Peak District scenery on the A57, complete with pines and a rushing stream.
One thing the Snake Pass is notorious for is becoming blocked by snow, almost every winter, and its easy to see why!
Dry-stone walls, Derbyshire April 6, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in British Isles, Derbyshire, England, New England, Peak District, Prehistory.Tags: agriculture, architectural design, caravan, Carl Giles, cartoon, cartoonist, cattle, cattle pen, cultural link, Derbyshire, Dry Stone Walling Association, dry-stone wall, England, field boundaries, fields, flocks, foundation, France, frost, garden design, Germany, Giles family, Great Britain, harsh weather, herders, horizontal 'key', ice, key, livestock, maze, Middleton by Wirksworth, Millenium Wall, mobile studio, National Stone Center, Neolithic, New England, Peak District, Peak District National Park, predators, sheep, sheep folds, Sweden, thorn hedge, tour
add a comment
- Dry-stone walls, Derbyshire
Since Neolithic times, herders of sheep and cattle have sought to construct sheep folds and cattle pens to defend their livestock against predators. They also wished to define the limits of their own fields. Planting thorn hedges worked to an extent, but in harsh weather a dry-stone wall is best.
Date for GVFWE 2009, 9th/10th May – Kemble Airfield March 30, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in 'warbird', Aviation, England, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, aircraft.Tags: Air Show, aircraft, aircraft type, AOP9, Auster, aviation event, Bu131 Jungmann, Bucker, CH3 Super Ace, Chrislea, Cotswold, D H 82a Tiger Moth, D.31 Turbulent, Druine, Druine Condor, Druine D.62B Condor, EGBP, England, Europe, flying display, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, Kemble Air Day, Kemble Airfield, M.38 Messenger, Miles, RAF, RAF Kemble, Red Arrows, Royal Air Force, Terry Booker, Tiger Moth, Tipsy, Tipsy Belfair
add a comment
Great Vintage Flying Weekend
The Great Vintage Flying Weekend had come to be a ‘fixture’ on the UK air show scene, that is until 2008. With the retirement of Terry Booker (Operations Director, and the man responsible for much of the excellent organisation behind the events), the event fell into a kind of stasis. Without an injection of capital, and a permanent new home (GVFWE had been a moveable feast), it was likely that Europe’s premier vintage aviation event would simply cease to exist.
With a great deal of goodwill, and some complex negotiations, it was announced just after Christmas that the event would be moving to Kemble Airfield (EGBP), the former RAF Kemble, which had once been home to the Red Arrows. The home of the highly-regarded Kemble Air Day, the Cotswold airfield had already been used before by GVFWE and was therefore a known quantity in organizational terms.
Here you can find the link for the new, official, GVFWE site; a major departure from the established pattern will be a one hour flying display to be inserted into the daily programme of events. I can safely say that everyone involved is really looking forward to a splendid 2009 event.
As an indication of the many different aircraft types which can appear at GVFWE, here is a photograph from the last Hullavington event. You can see examples of the following; Bucker Bu131 Jungmann, Miles M.38 Messenger, Auster AOP 9, Tipsy Belfair, D H 82a Tiger Moth, Chrislea CH3 Super Ace 2, Druine D.31 Turbulent, and Druine D.62B Condor .
The feisty Fennec – a fiercer fox March 24, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in 'warbird', Aviation, England, France, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, United States, aircraft.Tags: Aviation, Air Show, GVFWE, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, England, Hullavington, Museums, nose art, France, Wright R-1820 engine, 'warbird', Hurricane, French, Sud-Aviation, Imperial War Museum, Duxford, .50 calibre machinegun, Browning, Algerian civil war, Algeria, close-support aircraft, North Africa, COIN, T-6G, T-6G Texan, underwing gun pods, observer, North American Nomad, North American, T-28A, Trojan, USAF, primary trainers, St. Nazaire, R-1300, R-1300 Cyclone engine, R-1820-76B, Pac-Aero, Fennec, desert fox, T-28S, SNEB rockets, 87mm rockets, napalm containers, 'iron' bombs, light strike unit, Escadrilles d'Aviation Legere d'Appui, EALA, 7/72 'Fennec', Armee de L'Air, Haitian Air Force, Radial Revelation Inc, Wilmington, Delaware, The Aircraft Restoration Company, 'Little Rascal', Metropolitan France, Mirage IIIC, air exercise 'Carte Blanche', European, Haiti, Dassault Mirage IIIC, Dassault, 51-7545, hardpoints, armour protection, radio gear
add a comment
North American T-28S Fennec
In the late 1950s, with war raging in Algeria, French forces needed a close-support aircraft urgently. Their light strike aircraft being used in North Africa (in what would now be called a COIN role) included large numbers of the T-6G Texan. This aircraft had been upgraded, fitted with underwing gun pods and thrown into the fray. Standard French operating procedure was to use a pilot and an observer in the Texan on missions. This left the aircraft slow, underarmed and very vulnerable.
Two North American Nomads (civilianized versions of the T-28A) were purchased by the French for test purposes, quickly followed by 146 ex-USAF T-28A Trojans. These primary trainers were handed over to Sud Aviation at St. Nazaire, who oversaw the rebuilding of the machines; this included fitting standard French radio gear, armour protection for the engine and crew, and additional underwing hardpoints. The aircraft lost their 800hp R-1300 Cyclone engines, and were upgraded with a Wright R-1820-76B putting out 1425hp (these were sourced through Pac-Aero, who had produced the Nomad conversions). The aircraft was named Fennec, after the swift, cunning desert fox of North Africa, and the designation changed to T-28S; first flight took place on 10 March 1960, with each aircraft conversion taking approximately two months.
The war in Algeria was being fought over rugged mountain terrain, as well as in urban settings, and the Fennec suited the task. As well as being faster, more powerful, with extra armour protecting the engine and crew, the armament fit included a mix of .50 calibre Browning machine pods, SNEB rocket packs, 87mm rockets, napalm containers and ‘iron’ bombs.
The Fennec seen here is based at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, and is one of only two T-28 aircraft in the country. It was originally built by North American in 1951 (51-7545) as a T-28A, but was converted as the 119th Fennec. It carries the markings of one of the French light strike units (Escadrilles d’Aviation Legere d’Appui) EALA 7/72 ‘Fennec’ of the Armee de L’Air. Eventually, this example was disposed of to the Haitian Air Force, where it served until 1978. After a time on the US civil register, it was bought by Radial Revelation Inc, of Wilmington Delaware, and shipped to the UK, under management of The Aircraft Restoration Company.
This aircraft carries nose art, as ‘Little Rascal’, and the badge of 7/72, appropriately a fennec under the moon, under the cockpit. This feisty fox has been described as ‘a poor man’s Hurricane’; indeed, when the Fennecs were withdrawn to Metropolitan France after the Algerian War was over in 1962, they were issued to training and secondline defence units, and it is a matter of record that a Fennec claimed a ‘kill’ on an ‘opposing’ Dassault Mirage IIIC during air exercise ‘Carte Blanche’ in 1963!
‘Little Rascal’ is a fine performer on the European air show scene, and is shown here parked in the warbirds section at the GVFWE, Hullavington. A splendid conversion of an already successful type.
Romanesque font, Avebury March 23, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in British Isles, England, Wiltshire, World Heritage Site.Tags: 12 century, 9th century, aisles, Avebury, bishop, carving, church, crosier, dragons, font, font cover, mythical beast, nave, Norman, Romanesque, Saxon, St James, stone circles, tub font, village, Wessex, Wiltshire, World War Two, WW2, wyvern, wyverns
add a comment
Romanesque font, Avebury
The church of St James, Avebury, Wiltshire, is an old one, with a nave that is part Saxon. It dates from around 1000AD and has had Norman aisles added to the original struture (there are still two Saxon windows high up in the nave). You could say that Christianity was the minor religion of this tiny village at the time the church was founded, as it is likely that veneration of the nearby massive stone circles continued for some time.
In the church is a splendid example of a tub font, which would have originally been plain, but has been carved in the Romanesque style. There is great debate on the dating of this font, with some authorities giving an estimate of the 12th century, and others a date of 880-890. I think that the carving may have been added during the 12th century, to the much earlier plain font. The carved wooden font cover is very pleasing, and is dates from 1941, the very darkest period of World War Two.
The design appears to be composed of flowing elements, including the figure of a bishop; he is carrying a crosier, and is either being attacked by two wyverns, or is treading on their heads! Some say that the animals are dragons, but the use of wyverns would be most appropriate, as that mythical beast is the symbol often used for Wessex, in which this church stands. It could be that this represents the church’s triumph over the primitive religion of the stone circles, which are very close at hand.
Hadrian’s Wall – on the edge of Empire March 19, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in British Isles, England, Great Britain, Museums, Scotland, World Heritage Site.Tags: Rudyard Kipling, World Heritage Site, Hadrian's Wall, Romans, English Heritage, Norse, Museums, museum, UNESCO, Danish, British, Roman, tourist, linear fortress, border marker, provincial boundary, quarry, battleground, ancient monument, tourist destination, Rosemary Sutcliffe, 'Eagle of the Ninth', 'On the Wall', fort, Segedunum, Wallsend, Bowness, Solway Firth, decree, Emperor, Emperor Hadrian, Britannia, Pictish, 'a-viking', longboat, rubble core, faced stone blocks, Antonine Wall, Roman Legion, engineers, Legions, North Sea, Oceanus Germanicus, Irish Sea, Roman mile, 'mile castle', watchtower, siege engines, ballista, fortifications, military road, deep ditch, Housesteads, bathhouse, Roman occupation, forts, Picts, infantry, cavalry, Romanized, British tribes, Rome, levies, basaltic, Vercovicum, farmers, quarried stone
add a comment
Hadrian's Wall - looking west
Hadrian’s Wall has been many things in its long life – linear fortress, border marker, provincial boundary, casual quarry, battleground, ancient monument, tourist destination and the setting for many tales (Rosemary Sutcliffe’s ‘Eagle of the Ninth’, and Rudyard Kipling’s ‘On the Wall’ spring to mind). It runs from the Roman fort of Segedunum (Wallsend) to Bowness on the Solway Firth, and is just over 73 miles long.
Brought into being by decree of the Emperor Hadrian, during his tour of Britain in 120AD, the main purpose of the wall was to prevent the northern areas of the Roman province of Britannia being over-run by Pictish tribes from the north, and also spasmodic sea-borne attacks by Danish and Norse raiding parties, who went ‘a-viking’ when the spring brought better sea conditions for their longboats. The best known of the three wall-like fortifications built across the province of Britannia, Hadrian’s Wall had (for the most part) a rubble core and faced stone blocks to a height of some 12 feet, in places. The more northern Antonine Wall, (built c. 142AD) at the shortest distance between the east and west coasts, was a constructed of mostly earth and timber. It is a little known fact that each Roman Legion carried its own engineers, and these were quite capable of undertaking major building works, such as Hadrian’s Wall, using local stone; three Legions undertook to build the wall, and traces of their handiwork can be identified to this day. When completed, the wall stretched from the North Sea (Oceanus Germanicus) to the Irish Sea. It was fortified each Roman mile, with so-called ‘mile castles’, strong watchtowers, which could hold a detachment of fighting men, and siege engines, including ballistas, capable of firing heavy dart-like spears at any attacking force. There was a deep ditch immediately in front of the Wall, which was strewn with thorn bushes and jagged rocks to make any approach from the northern side difficult. There were also some fortifications to the south, in parts, to prevent attacks from the rear, as well as a military road behind the wall running parallel to the fortifications.
As well as the mile castles, there were major forts immediately behind the wall, like the one at Housesteads, which has been preserved (especially the bathhouses), and which has a delightful museum about the Roman occupation. A number of outlying forts, north of the wall, were intended to subdue and control the Picts, locally.
The grip of the Romans on this area waxed and waned over the centuries, and the commanders had to rely on British auxiliaries to man Hadrian’s Wall. These auxiliary units would have included both infantry and cavalry, and would have been recruited, in the main, from local Romanized British tribes. When Rome finally withdrew the last of the Legions in 410AD, the Wall ceased to have a great deal of meaning – although some historians suggest that local ‘levies’ still manned some of the forts for a time.
This view, from just north of the wall and looking west, shows the natural, basaltic outcropping, which the Legions used as the basis for their structure, wherever possible (the western half did not have easily available stone). The remains – close to the fort of Vercovicum (Housesteads) – are still impressive, despite the ravages of time, and the depredations of local farmers through the centuries, and 18th century road-builders, who regarded the wall as a great source of quarried stone. Hadrian’s Wall is, of course, a UNESCO World Heritage Site – it attained that status in 1987, and is managed by English Heritage.
Leopoldoff Colibri – romantic, obscure, and very French (or is that, Russian?) March 16, 2009
Posted by shortfinals in Aviation, British Isles, England, France, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, Second World War, aircraft.Tags: Abingdon, aircraft, Aviation, Aviation Federation of Morocco, biplane, Bolshevik Revolution, British, British register, coelcanthe, Continental Motors Corporation A65-8S engine, D'Arcy Aviation, diamond, Dr Saugnes, drawings, E.T.S.Leopoldoff, emigres, England, F-PCZX, First World War, fishermen, France, French, French register, G-AYKS, General Juin, genus, German, gold, Great Vintage Flying Weekend, hummingbird, Imperial Court, Imperial Russia, interplane struts, L'Amicale Jean Baptiste Salis, L.3, L.7 Colibri, La Ferte-Alais, Latimeria chalumnae, Leopoldoff, lower wing, M.J. Rousseau, Malagasy, Morocco, navigation instruments, nets, Paris, post-war, Prince Moulay Hassan, prototype, Rabat, Resident General de la France au Maroc, Russian, Russian aristocracy, salesmen, Salmson, Salmson 9Adb radial engine, Second World War, Sensenich W72CK, sesquiplane, shopkeepers, Societe des Avions Leopoldoff, Societe des Constructions Aeronautiques du Maroc, taxi driver, upper wing, William Cooper, wing dihedral, wooden propeller, WW1 markings
1 comment so far
- Leopoldoff L.7 Colibri
Sometimes you find something that surprises you – immensely. It is rather like panning for gold, and coming up with a huge, rough diamond. At Abingdon, during an early phase of the GVFWE event, I came across this pretty aircraft; it was rather like some Malagasy fishermen hauling up their nets and finding a coelcanthe (Latimeria chalumnae).
The genesis of the Leopoldoff is shrouded in the mists of the Bolshevik Revolution. It is said that the plans of the original aircraft were drawn up prior to 1917 by E.T.S. Leopoldoff, who, when the Imperial Russian regime fell, hurriedly left the country. Like many other Russian emigres, he ended up in Paris (French had been the preferred language of the Imperial Court, and most of the Russian aristocracy). There, the Russian community scratched out a living as best they could; some were shopkeepers, some salesmen, and some, as in Leopoldoff’s case, became taxi drivers. He finally persuaded a French company to build a prototype to his drawings, which flew in September, 1933. Progress was slow, with the first production machine appearing in 1937. Minor variations gave rise to changes in designation, with the main version being the L.3. Leopoldoff had formed his own company by now (Societe des Avions Leopoldoff), which undertook to build this pretty aircraft as a two seater for club or touring purposes. Just over 30 aircraft were produced before the Second World War broke out.
The L.7 Colibri (named after a genus of hummingbird) is a post-war modification of an L.3. The original aircraft would have been fitted with a Salmson 9Adb radial engine of 45hp, leaving it rather underpowered. Instead, the L.7 now has the ubiquitous Continental Motors Corporation A65-8S engine, of 65hp, driving a wooden Sensenich W72CK propeller – a much better proposition. You can just make out that the L.7 is a sesquiplane (or unequal span biplane). Some Leopoldoff aircraft were ‘normal’ biplanes, and you can see that this has given rise to an odd appearance. The attachment points for the interplane struts on the upper wing have stayed the same, which means the struts now make an acute angle with the shorter, lower wing. Note the pronounced wing dihedral. There are echoes of WW1 aircraft in this design; indeed, one of the few examples still extant (in the collection of L’Amicale Jean-Baptiste Salis, at La Ferte-Alais in France) is painted in German WW1 markings.
Post-war, six more aircraft were built in Morocco by Societe des Constructions Aeronautiques du Maroc, and one of these made a noteworthy flight on the 3rd July 1948, when it successfully completed a 600km course as part of an aviation rally organised by the Aviation Federation of Morocco. The Leopoldoff (powered by a Salmson radial) landed safely back at Rabat, where the crew of Dr Saugnes and M J Rousseau were greeted by the Resident General de la France au Maroc, General Juin and Prince Moulay Hassan. It was the smallest aircraft in the rally, and had no special navigation instruments!
This L.7 is the only one on the British register, and was owned by D’Arcy Aviation in the 1970s (it had been on the French register, at one stage, as F-PCZX). It is now in the capable hands of Mr William Cooper. Long may she grace British skies.
