Ghosts of WW2 airmen

At first I thought Gail just wanted to see the wind turbines close up, on the old WW2 aerodrome at Boyndie, on Sunday afternoon after we'd taken leave of our friends in nearby Macduff.

But then she led me down an overgrown track, following signs which took us to a derelict building.

It was only when we entered the building (me with some trepidation) that Gail explained.

"See Bertie, this is the old operations block, from where the RAF pilots of the Banff Strike Wing set out on their missions to attack German shipping in the fjords of Norway, during the closing stages of the war."

And Gail reminded me that her late father, my Human Grandad, had been one of those pilots, flying his balsa and plywood Mosquito across the North Sea and into the range of the German ships' anti-aircraft weaponry all those years ago.

We both paused for a moment, and quietly pondered what might have been going through mind of a young airman as he checked out from the operation block, walked across the runway and climbed into the cockpit.

It's not something HGD ever really talked about, but if you click and enlarge the picture below you can read more about the Banff Strike Wing operations.

Overconfidence - a trait shared with HGD?

You know how I told you a few days ago that I was sure I had won the agility competition, and found it hard to understand why the judges decided otherwise?

Well Gail is saying that my problem is "over-confidence".

What's more, she claims that this trait has been evident from the start. For example when I was a wee pup I would go up to big and aggressive looking dogs and bounce all over them, confident that they would want to be my friends, even when their body language indicated just the opposite.

So I was thrilled to learn that Human Grandad has also long been seen as over-confident. Recently, when Gail was trying to dissuade him from attempting to walk further than his aged muscles would permit, he replied, in a rare moment of verbal fluency, by telling her how, when he was training to be an RAF pilot in Oklahoma, his flying instructor would tick him off for failing to recognise the limits of his ability and for attempting manoeuvres that were unwise and even dangerous.

I am so proud and happy to have HGD as a role model!

Or should that be roll model?

Burns the Harrier Jump Dog

I have the solution for Britain's cash strapped armed forces!

Cutbacks in spending have compelled the RAF and Navy to decommission their fleet of Harrier 'jump jets'.

Well anyone can see that it's useful for the military to have at their disposal something that can spring vertically into the air from a standing start and attack.

Let me introduce you to 'Burns', an American rat terrier and fellow trainee at Deeside Dog Agility Club.

This alert little fellow, despite legs shorter than my own, can leap several times his own height with no run up at all!  And although he has always been friendly to Gail and me, I can see that he has a fine set of gnashers, which could prove handy in combat mode.

Now I am no economist, but I am pretty sure that a Burns would be cheaper to run than a Harrier jet.

Just a suggestion Mr Cameron, to save a few £££££s and keep the country safe ...