When I was young I would take the bus from the village up the hill to school. In my early school years the school had kids from the village and kids from the RAF camp. I do not know if it was this RAF connection or simply a young boy thing but on the rainy lunchtime the dinner lady did a great line in drawing princesses for the girls and phantom jets for the boys for us to colour in with our little tins of wax crayons. That is my earliest memory of wanting to fly.
Nothing ever came of my dream, I never thought it was a possibility. This was an idea reinforced by the RAF recruitment officer that told me, I was unlikely to be a pilot, I might have a chance of being a flight engineer but it was not my fault it was all decided before I was born.
That was all a longtime ago, but now I am back, not on the bus going up the hill but 1000 feet above it in a glider, flying. Flying and looking down at that little school half way up the hill, the little school where friends came and went, where I played centre forward for the school football team. High above the playground where the school dentist and I would do battle. A 1000 feet above and 50 years on those early dreams are coming true.
Nothing ever came of my dream, I never thought it was a possibility. This was an idea reinforced by the RAF recruitment officer that told me, I was unlikely to be a pilot, I might have a chance of being a flight engineer but it was not my fault it was all decided before I was born.
That was all a longtime ago, but now I am back, not on the bus going up the hill but 1000 feet above it in a glider, flying. Flying and looking down at that little school half way up the hill, the little school where friends came and went, where I played centre forward for the school football team. High above the playground where the school dentist and I would do battle. A 1000 feet above and 50 years on those early dreams are coming true.
