For me , it was finding that these still exist.

I absolutely loved these as a kid so when I saw them on sale today I had to buy three. One for my Girlfriend's son to play with and two for me to keep.

They are almost as I remember them except a bit more colourful than the RAF and Luftwaffe would have liked.

Only 50p each as well which seems cheap as I remember them being about 20p 25 years ago.

So , what's made you smile today?

We stopped here on the way home.

On a clear day the view from the top all the way to Wales is stunning and well worth the 4 quid entry.

Oh , and there's an ROC post in the field nearby , though it's not a good example.

Final day out of the week was a trip to Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds on my bike.



I'm sure it was the hottest day of the year so far which wasn't a problem on the move but a nightmare in leathers when you come to a halt or try and walk anywhere.

It's well worth a visit with plenty of pubs , cafes and other food shops to tempt you and it's *very* pretty.

There's also a good motor museum in the town with some very nice classic cars.


It's deceptively large inside and pretty good value for money if you like that sort of thing.

Best bit?

Rum and Raisin ice cream by the river.

Next day out was to the London Motorshow at Excelin the Docklands area.
A decent enough day out but there were a few no-shows from the big manufacturers which was a shame , and the days of getting decent freebies have long gone. There was a big emphasis on fuel economy and emissions as you might expect , and some very desperate manufacturers unveiling new 4x4s. The projects had obviously been started a couple of years back and now they find themselves with cars they can barely shift so any time you went near them they were so eager to talk to you that it was a bit sad really.





Show highlight?

The Top Gear police cars.

I've had a week off work so got in a few day trips , the first of which was to Lake Bala in Wales.

It's a lovely spot for sailing , canoeing or just lounging around in the sun followed by fish and chips sat by the lake.

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!