Just to the north of Wolverhampton is the site of the former Featherstone Royal Ordnance factory that produced munitions for the UK's armed forces from 1940 until the late 80s.

It has been thoroughly stripped when it was sold off , but there were still plenty of interesting features left. It is in the process of being cleared to make way for redevelopment so my visit was a last chance to see what's left.

Sadly , the shower and decontamination blocks had been demolished before I got there , and as this was a couple of weeks ago there will be even less left.

This link has the full set of photos

And this link has details of what's to be built on the site.

Yesterday I went to the air show at RAF Cosford - something I've never done before.
Last time I went to the (excellent and free) Cold War museum at Cosford I picked up a leaflet for the air show and decided to give it a go , and I'm glad I did.

It was £20 a ticket which at first glance might sound pricey , but for what you get it's good value for money. The show proper started at 12 noon with displays pretty much continuously until 5.30. The highlights were the Red Arrows doing a full display , a very nice selection of WWII aircraft including a Mark 1 Spitfire and Mark 1 Hurricane in the air at the same time , the Battle of Britain memorial flight , and a demonstration by the RAF - essentially a half hour action show demonstrating a combined operation with ground and air forces.


Unfortunately the weather wasn't great so photography was difficult and many of the displays stayed flat to keep below the cloud cover , but it didn't rain and was warm enough.

While I'm writing this , here's a couple of bits of advice for anyone considering going in future.

Traffic! Access for cars on and off the site was excellently marshalled and managed but due to the sheer volume of cars there were some horrific queues. The tailback on the M54 heading in at 11am was 6 miles long which was going to be well over an hour to get through. Fortunately I'd gone on my bike so I just nipped down the middle and probably annoyed thousands of people. I'd strongly recommend going by train or setting off early.
Secondly, if you do go by car , take the opportunity to stock up and bring everything you need. Food and drink were very expensive - nearly a fiver for a jacket potato , and almost six quid for a roast beef sandwich!

On the way home from the BTCC I stopped Here

Just as the sun was setting.....

And very nice it was too :0)

The photo across the top of the page is taken on the banks of Lake Tekapo in New Zealand , which is where I was this time last year. I had a three week holiday stopping in New York for a few nights before heading on to New Zealand for a fortnight , and then a few nights in San Francisco on the way back. NZ is a stunningly beautiful place with very friendly and welcoming locals , and my long term plan is to emigrate there when funds and job allow. Unlike the UK , they still have common sense and a way of life that encourages respect and decency and it was such a refreshing change to go there , and a shock to the system to return.

Highlights of the trip included a day out in Akaroa - a small town about an hour's drive from Christchurch on the South island. It reminds me a lot of the south of France, having been founded by French colonists, but also has boat trips out to the sea with seals and dolphins for company.



...and another trip from Queenstown with a helicopter flight to the fjords at Milford Sound , stopping for photos on top of a glacier , then a boat trip and a small plane back to Queenstown. Helicopters I can get on with , but a tiny plane being chucked round in turbulence isn't much fun.



The full set of my pictures is HERE if anyone is interested