Phillip Holt's World

Whilst researching information about the British World War 2 (WWII) fighter aircraft, the Supermarine Spitfire, I became aware that there was little information about the other fighter plane of that time the Hawker Hurricane. It seems that the Spitfire has all the limelight.

I needed to find information about the Spitfire initially, so I purchased and read books, and I visited the old RAF base, now The Imperial War Museum, RAF Duxford, to get a feel of one of the airfields the Hurricane flew from, to see an actual aircraft, to make contact with history.

Even at RAF Duxford, I had the impression that the Spitfire was the number one aircraft of its’ era. Why was the Hurricane in the shadows?

The appetite for facts started to eat at me, so I sought to follow a trail which was virtually non existent. Not much has been written about the Hurricane.

I visited RAF Hendon, the RAF Museum in North London. A free to enter museum, offering the visitor a close-up view of many aircraft flown throughout the history of the RAF, plus the Battle of Britain Exhibition, including aircraft of that time.

I can also recommend the restaurant at RAF Hendon, friendly staff and great food at reasonable prices.

    
            RAF Hendon Wings restaurant                                Good British food, Cotage Pie with Roast Veg.
I had been aware of the importance of the area I now live in, Kingston upon Thames, and the surrounding areas, in the development of aircraft and especially the Hurricane, but now as I delved deeper, more information emerged.

I had read how Hurricanes were built in Kingston and then shipped to a near-by airfield Brooklands, to be assembled, tested and distributed.

Brooklands was the worlds first purpose built motor racing track, plus airfield, now the home of the Brooklands Museum and Mercedes World, and only eight miles (5 km) from Kingston.

A visit was called for, and not for the first time, but this time I had a purpose.

    
The steep curve of Brooklands race track, all that is left of the worlds first purpose built motor racing track.
Brooklands, once the home of motor racing, has now only has a small concrete portion of the banked section of the race track remaining, and a small corner of the original site. This area holds a wonderful collect of history, of old cars, racing cars from the early days, motorbikes, bicycles, original buildings and workshops still in pristine condition, it is as if the mechanics had just popped out to lunch, and within minutes racing would commence upon their return. Then the aircraft museum, including Concorde, all staffed by volunteers, eager to impart information to the visitors.

Brooklands Concorde one of the many static aircraft.
The airfield runway has in the last few years, been ripped up and replaced by a car testing area, showrooms and offices for Mercedes World, pushing the Brooklands exhibits into the cramped area.

I wondered how many people know about what really had happened on this site only a few years previously. Just like the bloom of the cactus, memories of glory and history never fade away, but may be unknown to people who just pass-by.

The death of a beautiful cactus bloom (2c previous)

What was the history of the place. How was Brooklands linked to Kingston, and what happened there?

With the high turn-over of the population of Kingston, especially the influx of foreign nationals, Polish, Koreans, Chinese, Indians, the  students from the growing and popular Kingston University, and the ever increasing new housing, how many know about the history of the area they lived in?

I knew some history, but I needed to know more. Just like the research I did on Norbiton Hall, (click to read), the flats I live in, I will give some history for those interested.

See articles starting with Portrait of a Legend, Spitfire, The Hawker Hurricane.

It is all over. Finished.

After a period of happiness, beauty, things change so quickly.

I shall miss what was, but the memory will be here for me to remember. I will return many times to recall what was.

This afternoon the first bloom closed as quickly as it opened. Yes Jill, in your comment you said things are happening in two’s, and so the bloom lasted two days.

Could it be that I was the cause of death of the bloom, because I pollinated by hand the two blooms? Once the stamen had received the pollen, there was no need for the flower to attract bugs or insects, the aroma and flower had done their job.

The End. The cactus bloom dies.

As I watch, the second bloom is closing, dying off.

Walking down the shopping center of any town center in any country of the world, shops close down, disappear. 

Listening to our favourite CD music come to an end, the last track, as it surely will.

The film finishes.

We read the last word of the last chapter of a good book.

So everything will come to an end.

Just like the cactus blooms, the beauty, the memories will last with us forever.

See It arrived, sorry opened, Just like a bus, Little pieces of beauty and Another bloom coming.

We have a saying in Great Britain,
    

“You wait hours for a bus and then two come at once.“
Oh how true this seems to be, and there is a science which will prove it is true.

One answer as to why two buses come at once is not due to the fact that both buses left the start point or depot together, it is due to us, the passengers.

We do not space our travel time out, in other words, we all want to catch a bus at the same time.

What happens is that the first bus stops on-route at each and every busy bus stop.

Passengers will need to buy a ticket (pay for the fare), and there may be a mother with a pushchair, an old age pensioner, someone asking the driver a question. This delays the bus at the each stop.

Everyone gets on, no-one is left behind, the bus stop is empty.

The bus may be delayed at each bus stop for an extra minute or two.

The following bus leaves the start point or depot, and arrives at the first bus stop, no-one is there because the first bus has picked-up all the passengers. The bus arrives at the second bus stop, again there is no-one to pick up, and no-one to drop off, unlike the first bus, which is picking up and dropping off.

Therefore, the second bus does not stop gaining many minutes on the timetable, catching up on the first bus.

The first bus is packed to the gunnel’s, whilst the second bus is empty, and the bus diver thinking “it must be August, everyone has gone on holiday“, or “no-body loves me”.

And so it is with the cactus on the window ledge.

All year the cactus plants just sat there, slowly growing, well I think they do, then they flower. See the previous articles, Little pieces of beauty and Another bloom coming.

For a couple of days another cactus plant has been growing two stems from its’ bulbous body. Then yesterday, the tip began to open.

Within an hour the picture changed as the flower opened up, emitting quite to me a pungent smell, but to others a quite good perfume.

Cactus possibly Echinocactus grusonii

Perhaps the bloom will only last for a few hours or days, but the joy, the beauty it brings should be savoured, and held in the memory, to be remembered when times get hard.

I am still waiting for the second bloom to open. Perhaps it is not like a bus, I had to wait so far two days.

At the moment we have the 2008 Beijing Olympics taking place.

Beijing 2008 Olympics Logo
It is a time when politics, religion, beliefs, cultures are put to one side, and that we get together in the name of sport to compete with each other on an even footing, the same field, and in friendship.
It reminds me of the film Cool Runnings staring John Candy. It is a story, based on fact (nearly), about some Jamaican sprinters, who get together to form a bobsled team. They had never seen snow before, nor been in a cold climate. A very funny film, but one that gave the spirit of the Olympics, to compete, to do ones best.

Eddie the Eagle, a British ski jumper, the only ski jumper from Great Britain. Eddie’s real name Michael Edwards decided he wanted to become an Olympian, and entered to represent his country, to compete in the Winter Olympics in Calgary in 1988.

Two years earlier he started to learn to ski, and with borrowed skis, no sponsor, Eddie the Eagle with no trainer, and no snow, learned to ski jump, mostly over buses.

                      Eddie the Eagle

His glasses were thick, bespectacled like bottle tops, he was getting thin on top, loosing his hair, a non sports man, over weight, and as was said to be a buffoon. Yet Eddie captured the hearts of the British nation and the world. He became a celebrity, a hero, an ordinary man wanting to represent his country.

The IOC said Eddie the Eagle was a comedian and made a mockery of the Games. Fellow competitors said that he was making a joke of their sport. But he became the center of attention, people tuned in from all over the world to see Eddie fly. He did not kill himself. He did not win, in fact he came 98th out of 98 competitors. But he competed.

In the Sydney Olympics 2000, Eric Moussambani, a swimmer from the central African nation of Equatorial Guinea, entered the 100 meters race.

                  Eric Moussambani

Eric Moussambani became known as Eric the Eel, and, he won,and he captured the hearts of the world.

He had only learned to swim nine months earlier, never having swam in a 50 meter pool. He was twice as slow as any other competitor in the competition. In his heat, the two other competitors were disqualified for false starts, so he swam alone, being cheered on by the crowds.

In the same Olympics, a fellow compatriot Paula Barila Bolopa, to become known as Paula the Crawler competed in the women’s 50 metres freestyle, and recorded the slowest time ever recorded for the event. In an interview after the race she said, “It’s the first time I’ve swum 50 metres. It was further than I thought. I was very tired.”

                  Paula Barila Bolopa

Philip Kimely Boit, entered the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Boit was from Kenya, a middle distance runner, and with no previous experience, and no snow in Kenya, entered the 10-kilometer classic ski race. He came 92nd out of 92 competitors, and was so slow, the medal ceremony was delayed for him to finish. 

                  Philip Kimely Boit

These competitors show the true meanings of the Olympics, to compete, to do ones best, be courageous, not to cheat.

I thought that the Olympics were an amateur sport, for non professionals. But then there are the David Beckham’s (football), the Roger Federer’s (tennis), why are these competing?. Should the Olympics be for the ordinary athletes? The stars mentioned above.

Then I read about the background of the athletes, and they are true professionals. They earn their living by the sports. They work from 9 – 5 as any factory or office worker, practicing, exercising, and they have a whole industry behind them, doctors, psychologists, physiotherapists, trainers, agents.

It is because they are becoming professionals that records are being broken, they are winning, sport is a money making machine.

Pity really.