Alpha Foxtrot

On November 26, 2003 an aircraft called Alpha Foxtrot, made its final journey to Fliton aerodrome, located five miles north of Bristol. Alpha Foxtrot, also known as Concorde 216, was the last Concorde to remain flying and the last to fly supersonically. During its flying career, Concorde 216 flew 18,257 hours, made 5,639 supersonic flights and completed 6,045 landings.


Filton was an appropriate resting place. It was here that a dozen Concordes were assembled between 1969 and 1979. Concorde 216 was the last Concorde to roll off Filton’s production line, taking to the air for the first time on 20 April 1979. It eventually entered service with British Airways on 13 June 1980.

Garry and I recently had an opportunity to tour Concorde 216 while on holiday in Bristol. We joined a small group of 26 in a tour of the Filton production site, before being taken on board Concorde 216 itself. Our tour guides included former Concorde production staff who told plenty of fascinating stories about their involvement with this aircraft.


It was an awe inspiring experience to be taken on a walking tour of this aircraft. We were free to walk under the tail and wings of this majestic aircraft, before being taken on board to visit the cockpit and sit in the same leather seats once graced by royalty and celebrity alike.


Like all good tourists took our photo in every conceivable position, including the famous Mach 2.0 speed indicator. The indicator was an important addition to the cabin interior as there was no perceivable change in the aircraft’s motion while passing through the sound barrier.

We also learnt that Concorde grew incredibly hot while travelling at supersonic speed. As the metal heated and expanded the aircraft literally grew as much as a foot in length. This turn opened up a special expansion gap on the flight deck between the flight engineer’s console and the cabin bulkhead. Today, on Concorde 216, you see a flight engineer’s hat trapped in this gap where it was placed during the final flight.


The aircraft itself was surprisingly spacious. I’d been told it was incredibly cramped. However, the leg room and width of the cabin was more than I’d expected. The luxurious leather seats were also incredibly comfortable. I think I’d have been perfectly happy to fly at supersonic speed.


Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the cabin is the size of the aircraft's windows. Concorde typically flew above 50,000 feet. At this attitude the air density is very low so that a loss of cabin pressure would have been incredibly dangerous. Concorde, therefore, was equipped with smaller windows to reduce the rate of air loss in the event of a breach. Its windows are at least one third the size of a regular commercial aircraft. While very apparent outside, this smaller aperture isn't immediately obvious inside thanks to a clever window frame design.

Bristol

Isambard Kingdom Brunel was one of Victorian England’s greatest engineers. His legacy can be found all across the south of England, nowhere more so than in the city of Bristol. First, the Great Western Railway from London carries you into town. Brunel had the foresight to anticipate a future in which trains would travel faster than those of his time. In response to this vision he built a more level track, with gentle curves, that would enable higher speed travel. The result is a rail service that covers greater distances in less time than similar length journeys elsewhere in Britain.


Upon arrival in Bristol, Brunel’s next masterpiece comes into view; a grand and soaring train shed, now a museum. As you continue through the city, more and more of Brunel’s work is revealed. Garry and I managed to see much these engineering feats during our time in Bristol. Perhaps the most dramatic of these is the Floating Harbour which celebrates its bicentenary this year. This is nothing more than a dammed section of the Avon River, accessed by a series of locks. The creation of this harbour eliminated centuries of tidal extremes that left commercial shipping high and dry in the mud twice daily.


Today, the wharves are no longer active. In their place a process of gentrification is taking place, progressively converting the water front into a new residential, retail and leisure zone akin to that of Darling Harbour in Sydney. Even here you can find Brunel’s work. We had dinner one evening at the Severnshed , one of his original harbourside warehouses. The meal was superb and the view across the habour was magic by night.


The following day we visited yet another spectacular Brunel legacy, the Clifton Suspension Bridge. This graceful bridge is the city’s icon, spanning the entrance of the Avon Gorge, soaring 76 metres above river below. We drove across the bridge and parked so that we could walk back across its span and up to the parkland overlooking the gorge. The scene was truly spectacular. It's one of those rare postcard scene that really does hold up in real life.


Our final Brunel sight in Bristol was the SS Great Britain. For more on this magnificent ship, read this blog post. However, one of the most indelible memories of I’ve taken away from Bristol has a far more humble origin; a tram rail. Let me explain.


We stayed in a hotel in Redcliffe, across the road from the spectacular gothic church of St Mary Redcliffe. In the church grounds can be found a rusting iron tram rail embedded in the turf. This rail is a relic from the Second World War. On April 11, 1941, a German bombing raid blasted this rail over a set of neighbouring houses and into the church grounds. It still catches me by surprise to recall that this nation, and much of Europe, was once at war.

"Atlantis, you are go for launch"

Space Shuttle Atlantis successfully lifted off at precisely 2:01 p.m. local time today. I should know. I was there! The shuttle's crew of seven astronauts are heading to the Hubble Space Telescope orbiting more than 560 kms above the earth. After 19 years of active duty, Hubble is in urgent need of maintenance. Four previous shuttles have visited the 13-ton observatory on servicing and repair missions. However this final mission is the most ambitious yet. Five spacewalks are planned in an effect to extend its life until at least 2014 before it's finally deorbited some time after 2020.

Several months of planning, a last minute flight change and an early pre-dawn start saw me spend just a few short minutes watching this fiery craft rise into the Florida sky. It all happens so quickly. In fact, I didn't realise until some time later I'd even caught the shuttle on camera as it cleared the launch tower (above). The noise is awesome. The rocket's glare is brighter than you can ever imagine. You're left in no doubt that this machine is burning fuel at a furious pace.


I almost didn't make it to Florida. The shuttle was originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday this week. In anticipation of this date, I took advantage of a business trip to New York and organised a day off. My original plan saw me flying into New York on Sunday evening, then flying down to Florida on Monday evening after a day in the office. However, NASA brought the launch forward by a day to secure an additional launch window this week.

This new date created a last-minute dilemma. My ticket from London to New York was fix-dated and couldn't be changed. Furthermore, the last flight on Sunday evening from New York to Orlando, Florida departed less than 80 minutes after I was scheduled to land. On previous occasions it’s taken at least this long to simply pass through customs and immigration in New York, let alone transfer to another terminal. A domestic transfer to Orlando clearly wasn't practical.

I was left with only one cost-effective option; cancel my Orlando flight on Monday and rebook on a later flight Sunday evening to Tampa, hire a car and drive for almost two hours through the night to Orlando. With luck I'd reach my hotel shortly before 3am. My tour bus was then scheduled to depart for the Kennedy Space Centre four hours later.

However, lady luck was smiling upon me. My flight into New York arrived early, the immigration queue was short and my bags appeared within minutes. I made a quick dash to the JetBlue airline terminal and was able to transfer back onto the last Orlando flight ten minutes before it closed. The flight itself was susequently delayed 20 minutes, all but guaranteeing that both myself and my luggage would make it to Florida. JetBlue must love me after handing over two sizeable rebooking fees.


Witnessing the launch made for a long day. My tour bus arrived shortly after 6.30am. It was one of four departing from the hotel. A crazy queue system in the hotel carpark then kept us waiting until 7.45pm. Waiting and queuing was quickly becoming the order of the day. Eventually everyone was seated and we were on our way to join more than 30,000 people watching today's launch from the Kennedy Space Centre. By 8.45am we were at the gates of the Centre and left to endure the day's second slow-moving queue through security. A third queue several hours later finally took us to a causeway located less than 10 kilometres from the shuttle itself.


The Centre had a giant outdoor screen erected in its Rocket Park. Here we watched and listened to Mission Control making final launch preparation. Sitting in the shadow of rockets from the early days of manned spaceflight simply added to the experience. I watched long enough to see the astronauts catch their transfer bus and witnessed the first of them board the shuttle. It was then time for me to board my own transfer bus. We joined dozens of buses driving in convey out to the NASA Causeway, located across a broad lagoon from Launch Pad 39A. Garry and I were briefly here last year as part of a regular Kennedy Space Centre tour.

Today we had an incredible view, midway along the causeway. I could clearly see the shuttle in the distance, gleaming white in the roasting Florida sun. Mission Control audio was broadcasting continually from a string of poles nearby as we waited for lift-off. The sky was hazy with humidity high and the temperature soon climbed above 30C.

After waiting two hours in the baking heat the crowd suddenly fell silent as the countdown reached its final minute. The shuttle really was going to launch. You know it's real when you see the final supporting arm retracts from the shuttle's giant external tank. The entire launch stack is now sitting free of any restraint. Shortly after the countdown ends.


The initial moment of liftoff is an oddly disappointing experience. At first all that can be seen is a small, silent white cloud of steam bellowing on the horizon. The shuttle swiftly vanishes from sight. After an agonising couple of seconds the white cloud transforms into white hot light as the shuttle slowly rises into view. Its glow is an awe inspiring sight. As the shuttle rises it quickly gathers speed. The first sound waves wash over you shortly afterwards.


The noise of launch is everything you’d imagine it to be. As the shuttle rises higher and higher the sound grows louder and lounder. Sonic booms split the air as it passes through Mach One. The crowd cheers and claps in response. The noise isn't a steady sound. Instead the shuttle's thundering roar is punctuated by a distinct "popping" sound. This crackling is the sound of its solid rocket boosters burning at a slightly uneven pace.


Within minutes the shuttle is nothing more than a tiny glowing dot in the sky. Moments later it vanished behind a heavy cloud and my launch experience was over. A bellowing pillar of cloud slowing disapating from the launch site is all that's left to remind the crowd that a launch really happened. It's almost an anti-climax after so many hours of queuing and waiting.

Within half an hour we were back on our bus and heading home. A chronic traffic jam then engulfs the entire area as thousands head for home. It took us more than three hours to reach my hotel, a mere 43 miles away - the day's final long and agonising wait.

I know the phrase is getting cliche but that's one more childhood dream finally realised. I guess I had an active imagination as kid. Tick that box. Hooray! Atlantis has left the planet.

PS: Did I mention David Milibrand, the UK's Foreign Secretary, was on my flight to New York? I dare not admit it took almost the entire seven hour journey to finally work out who he was. Don't you hate it when someone looks vaguely familiar and you can't think why?

Ultravox

As a teenager one of my favourite bands was a British electronic pop band called Ultravox. The band was most popular between 1979 and 1985; a period that later came to be known as the Classic line-up. I bought every album during this period and enthusiastically played them at full volume for weeks on end.

The band had several hits including Vienna, which peaked at No.2 on the UK and New Zealand singles chart in 1980; and Dancing with Tears In My Eyes, which reached No.3 in the UK in 1984. It's lead singer, Midge Ure, also co-wrote the 1985 famine fundraiser, "Do they know it's Christmas?" which became the UK's fastest selling single of all time. It sold a million in the first week and stayed at No.1 for five weeks. More than three million copies were eventually sold.

Living in distant New Zealand, I naturally assumed I'd never see them play live; that is until tonight. Six months ago Ultravox announced plans for a reunion tour of the UK and Ireland. To date 19 concerts have been scheduled including one at Camden's Roundhouse venue, a short walk from Swiss Cottage. After a brief internal debate I soon had a ticket ordered and on its way.


This evening I dragged Garry down the road to see Ultravox live, fulfilling a teenage dream. For 90 minutes 25 years disappeared as the band performed my favourite tracks. I suspect I wasn't the only one in the room taking a trip down memory lane. The average age of the crowd had to be at least 40, with plenty of pot-bellies and receding hairlines in view.

However, for a brief moment, we all rediscovered our long lost youth while chanting the lyrics of their greatest hits. I never thought I'd find myself with thousands of others singing Hymn at the top of my lungs. It's moments like that make our time in the UK so unique. Ultravox live in concert? Never in New Zealand. 15-minutes from Swiss Cottage? Absolutely!

When pigs fly (around the world)

Swine flu is the headline de jour this week. It’s been the leading story in print and broadcast since the weekend. I must admit that it all sounds like hype. The tone and urgency of each report reminds me of the Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) crisis in Asia. Between November 2002 and July 2003, 8,096 known infected cases were reported in 37 countries, resulting in 774 deaths (a case-fatality rate of 9.6%).

At the time I was managing my company’s Asia Pacific network. For months headlines across Asia screamed “panic”, with some reports claiming a 20% death rate among those infected. Business activity stalled for at least a quarter before the crisis was over. As the hype died away, it became clear the disease wasn’t highly infectious and hasn’t reappeared since.

Tonight the World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised its pandemic alert level to five, one notch short of a full-blown global pandemic. A phase five alert means human-to-human transmission is occurring in at least two countries. News reports claim at least 150 people have died in Mexico. One toddler has died in Texas, the first such case beyond Mexico. However, it’s difficult to determine from current reports if this death rate is higher than the average flu virus.

The only factor that currently seems different is that the young (aged 20-50) rather than the elderly are at greatest risk. It also clear that unlike SARS, the virus is easily passed between humans. In scene that resembled Asia in 2003, Mexican authorities have shut down bars, cafes, gyms, cinemas and tourist sites; including the world-famous Mayan pyramids that Garry and I visited last Summer.

Despite these precautions, in an era of regular, discounted air travel the virus is spreading rapidly. The UK now has five confirmed cases, Austria has one and the USA has 91. Most are linked to travellers returning from Mexico. The UK's first two confirmed cases were a honeymoon couple leaving Cancun, while the latest patient is a 12-year old girl travelling on their return flight.

The UK Government claims it’s prepared for the worst. Enhanced airport checks have been introduced, anti-viral stocks expanded from 35 million to 50 million within four weeks, extra face masks ordered and an information leaflet printed for every household. We can expect to receive our copy of the Swine Flu leaflet within days. I guess a global pandemic is a welcome change from months of global financial crisis doom and gloom.

Spring No.4

Another sunny day in London. Our fourth Spring in London is off to a great start. Garry and I spent the afternoon in Hackney with friends. Brian, Chris and Heath recently moved into new apartments within walking distance of each other. This was our first chance to see their new homes. Chris and Heath moved into a new complex, two doors apart, while Brian has moved into a 30s brick complex complete with a broad daisy-strewn lawn.

The afternoon started with a roast lunch at Brian's place which Garry and I reached via a pleasant 30-minute walk along Regents Canal. We joined the canal as its exits Islington Tunnel. At 886 metres it's the longest tunnel on the waterway and has been in continuous operation since 1818. Today we saw few active barges, but plenty of people out enjoying the Spring sunshine.

It was also time for the London Marathon today. More than 35,000 people participated this year including a friend from Australia. Allan reports that he finished in one piece, running the entire 26.2 mile course in an impresive 4 hours 19 minutes.

Would you like the good news first?

We’ve enjoyed another week of warm weather – warm that is by UK standards. On Wednesday the temperature hit 21°C, almost 7°C above the average. The Met Office says we’re on track to experience the nation’s warmest April for at least a decade. The final few days of the month are predicted to be cooler, but the sunshine will continue. Hooray!

It seems the weather was only good news on Wednesday. The UK Government presented its annual budget the same day. The numbers were dire. The chancellor announced that the UK economy will shrink by 3.5% in 2009, before returning to positive territory in 2010 with growth of 1.25%. However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its own estimates the following day, predicting that GDP would fall by 4.1% this year, and continue contracting by 0.4% next year. This is the economy's worst performance for more than 60 years.


The annual budget deficit will rise sharply to a staggering £175bn for the next two years. By 2013, government borrowing will hit 79% of GDP, twice the level of 2008. The budget won’t be balanced until 2018 at the earliest. To pay for all of this taxes are on the way up. A new 50% marginal tax rate for earnings over £150,000 comes into effect next April, while numerous tax free allowances for high income earners will end. Taxes on fuel, tobacco and alcohol will also rise, while public sector spending will fall £13 billion. Quite simply, the UK’s economy is a mess.

Most commentators expect the UK’s rate of growth to fall behind most developed nations for the next four years. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says government must close a £90bn hole to bring the budget into balance. This represents additional taxes of £2,840 for every family annually in 2017, or the equivalent in public spending cuts.

The numbers are so depressing it’s increasingly unlikely Garry and I will bother extending our work permits beyond 2010. We’re probably better off in Australia. At least we’re both fully employed, unlike 2.1 million others in the UK. Garry’s contract was renewed for another three months last week. With a little luck, it will continue to roll over at three-month intervals for the foreseeable future. Happy ANZAC Day!

Adventures in Andalucia

We're back from our Easter vacation in Andalucia. We've enjoyed six days of sunshine, noisy Catholic festivity and postcard-perfect whitewashed villages. In the days ahead I'll post highlights such as:

• Colourful Semana Santa processions
• Alhambra Palace in Granada
• Pueblos blancos (white villages) dotting the hills
• The world's oldest bullfighting ring
• Souless Costa del Sol

Naturally, there are plenty of photos to share. Check this post again for fresh links as I progressively activate them. Happy Easter!

Pollen blitz

Regular readers will recall my annual battle with hayfever as every plant in England simultaneously erupts in a cloud of pollen. However, with Spring well underway, I've yet to start sneezing my way through town this year. It still amazes me that almost everything here seems to burst into flower, trees included. Flowers were never such a dramatic feature of Spring in Australia, certainly not on trees.


Tree pollen seems to the main enemy. I read this week that the worst offending tree is the birch. April is its peak pollen period. Three years ago an enormous yellow dust cloud swept across the country at this time. Satellite images confirmed it as a vast expanse of birch pollen from Denmark. Favourable winds had blown across the North Sea as Nordics trees to shed their pollen during perfect, warm weather conditions.


Spring is currently making itself known in our back yard. The lawn has burst into patches of lively purple flowers while the trees above are smothered in blossoms. I've also been active in our front yard reconstructing the gateway flower garden. Last year I built a simple wooden border around one of our gateway garden. It's weathered well.


A recent sale at the local hardware store inspired me to upgrade the opposing garden. I spent an afternoon digging up a crude border of old broken concrete lumps and carting it off to the local refuse centre, before planting a few drought resistant plants. Once again our entrance looks smart and welcoming.

We've also been enjoying the return of warmer weather. A couple of weekends back we enjoyed a lesiurely, sunny lunch at St Catherine's Wharf, a stone's throw from Tower Bridge. It was a joy to be outdoors, walking along the bank of the Thames and across the famous bridge itself. London's not so bad in the sunshine.

Happy Birthday Adam!

Happy Birthday Adam!

Lots of love from Garry and Andrew in London.

Granada

Mention Granada and everyone will ask about the Alhambra and the Generalife. The Alhambra is a collection of elegant palaces, squares and gardens contained in one large complex that sits on a prominent hill, overlooking today’s modern city. The Generalife is a series of landscaped gardens sitting opposite the Alhambra on a neighbouring hillside. Alhambra has three prominent venues; Alcazaba, the remains of Moor’s fort; Palacios Nazaríes, a series of Moor palace buildings constructed in classic Islamic forms; and finally a series of Catholic era sites including a church and the 17th Century Carlos V Palace.


So much of Andalucía’s colourful history is tied up in this attraction. The Moors (Muslium invaders from North Africa) concentrated their power in Granada, before finally making their last stand here in 1491. The Moors most famous emirate, the Nasrid, ruled from the buildings of the Alhambra for 250 years. Many of the site’s most widely reproduced images depict buildings from this era.


The Catholic conquerors who swept the Moors from power then set up court within Alhambra. Today, Isabel and Fernando, are commonly known as the Royal Catholics, or Catholic Monarchs. Within months of retaking Granada for the Christian world, Isabel agreed to fund Christopher Columbus and his search for a new trade route to India. Within a generation, Spain was the centre one of the largest and wealthiest empires the world had ever seen.


Garry and I spent most of Saturday afternoon touring the Alhambra and Generalife. The buildings were genuinely fascinating, with enduring visual moments coming thick and fast each time we rounded another corner. However, given that we’d seen the grand palaces and mosques of the Ottoman’s in Istanbul, some of the ‘wow’ factor was ultimately lost on us. Without this comparison I’m sure the overall impression would have been far more overwhelming. Our tour was also handicapped by intermittent cloud. The buildings really did seem to come alive every time the sun appeared, as did the many impressive gardens.


Beyond the Alhambra, Garry and I also took time to visit Granada’s others popular attractions. We locked in the three main ‘venues’ including a leisurely wander through the city’s old quarters, or Albayzin; the city’s truly astonishing Cathedral and the Capilla Real, which is essentially a mausoleum for Isabel, Fernando and their extended family.


I loved the morning we spent in the Albayzin where our steady hill climbing was eventually rewarded with a stunning view of the Alhambra from Mirador San Nicolas, a bustling cobblestone viewing platform. We also stopped for a beer and tapas, that cost us the grand total of four euros. Real bargains can still be found in Europe! We later finished our tour of the area with a leisurely lunch in a traditional Arabian tea house we discovered in a narrow laneway.


The Capilla Real and neighbouring Cathedral were truly grand buildings. The scale alone is awe-inspiring, while the decoration and architecture are classic Catholic grandeur made large. We were also spoilt by the rare opportunity to see the city’s Semana Santa pasos floats on display in the Cathedral’s cavernous interior. As for the Capilla Real, the main altar is a towering masterpiece of sculpture, gold paint and ornamentation. The wealth of the Spanish empire is clearly on display.


Finally, I cannot talk about our time in Granada without mentioning our hotel. We splashed out and booked ourselves into the Alhambra Palace Hotel. This mock Moor venue is painted in a terracotta shade and sits on the edge of prominent hill. It offers an unobstructed view across the city and on toward the snow-capped Sierra Nevada. We were given a large room with a balcony overlooking all of these highlights. Every morning I woke and marveled at view and our luck in securing this room. Without a doubt the entire stay was pure luxury and made for a truly memorable experience.