Imperial War Museum Duxford

Avro Lancaster and other British classics

Duxford is only a short 1 hour drive from Cranfield, so during the year studying for my MSc, I visited the museum a couple of times. On my second visit, I saw an aviation legend land, the rare B17 Flying Fortress.

Vickers VC10 panorama

The museum mainly features displays of UK and US aviation legends, although there are a number aircraft from other countries and also non-aviation themed exhibits.

Lockheed SR71 Blackbird

Although difficult to choose a highlight, the visit to the American Air Museum (enclosed in a Norman Foster designed hangar) was particularly memorable. The SR71 Blackbird (capable of speeds in excess of Mach 3) and the US Navy F4 Phantom gained a lot of my attention.

Spoils of war - captured Argentinian Pucara

Duxford is well worth a visit. There are a plethora of different aircraft on display, and if you are lucky enough, you will see some of them flying. Highly recommended!

Year of the Sheep

OK, I know it is February, but I'm assigning this to January to provide an update on my December trip to Japan and Christmas and New Year in Scotland.

Today also just happens to be Chinese New Year (19th February) - so Happy New Year! 2015 is the Year of the Sheep.

My favourite football team, Aberdeen FC, are colloquially known as The Sheep. It just so happens that they are being really successful at the moment and are currently, near the top of the league. Hence the picture of the sheep on fire.

Dinner with Cla

My visit to Japan was great - I managed to see Clara everyday as well as a lot of my friends. The day I arrived, Clara and I had dinner in an Italian restaurant we used to frequent. Nothing had changed - she's working hard at school, still likes her manga, and plays a lot of computer games.

Later in the evenings, I mostly went to Elwood's Bar, my old haunt. In the early hours, I visited the local ramen bar with a few of my friends. On one occasion, I went into central Tokyo to meet a Scottish friend for dinner. A wonderful time seeing Clara, although it would have been nice to stay a bit longer. Perhaps I can visit sometime in the summer?

Ramen

After arriving back at Heathrow, I drove up to Stoke on Christmas Eve and then finished the drive to Inverness on Christmas Day. Christmas and New Year were pretty quiet. I managed to have a few ales in town and enjoyed some home cooking.

Mount Fuji

Apologies for the slow updates. Things have been too busy over the last couple of months but I will provide more updates soon.