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Travelling into Paris Charles DeGaulle last week I had a brief moment of alarm (there is nothing particularly unusual here, travelling to Paris frequently alarms me). The cause of the momentary panic on this occasion however was, during the taxi from the distant runway (and, boy, isn't it distant? Although it is not as bad as the new one at Schiphol which is, I'm sure, actually in Belgium - we had to re-set our watches as it is actually in a different time zone to the airport!) I saw out of the corner of my eye, a semi-airborne plane directly at right-angles to us.
The plane in question was of course an Air France Concorde which, like the BA one at Heathrow, is on display in a semi-airborne pose in the airport's outfield. Which raises the question (no, not THAT question, i.e. why did they retire the most wonderful piece of technology invented in my lifetime) but the question of why display the aircraft there - where no one can really see it, or stop to gaze longingly at it?
They have one at Manchester, and the Mancunians had the great sense and self-awareness to realise that a Concorde out in the open in Manchester would turn into a huge pile of Orange dust in a heart-beat given the 'Excessive Humidity' (in other countries they call it rain) for which Manchester is famous, and so they, very thoughtfully, built a shed around it so it would be indoors.
This is the point though, the Concorde at Manchester can be viewed, up close and personal as the modern magazines like to say. You can gaze lovingly at it (OK, perhaps it's just me), go on it - people even GOT MARRIED on it.
That must have been a strange affair don't you think? A wedding on a grounded Concorde in a shed in Manchester. Do they do the speeches over the tannoy? Do they bring the champagne out in plastic beakers served on a trolley? Do they do a safety briefing beforehand? "In the event of a panic-stricken Bridegroom, Oxygen masks will appear automatically from above your head". Surely it will restrict the dancing? Concorde had famously narrow aisles (not much room for an inebriated Uncle to swing a 6 year old girl around). So, in the interests of scientifuc experiment, if any readers are planning on having their wedding on a Concorde, the present Mrs Guru and I are available (purely in the interests of research you understand) - you just wouldn't feel 'propery married' unless it was on a grounded supersonic airliner in a shed would you?
Mind you, at least it would be indoors and not stuck out in the middle of an airfield rearing up at slightly confused middle-aged executives, and for that, I am most grateful.
The plane in question was of course an Air France Concorde which, like the BA one at Heathrow, is on display in a semi-airborne pose in the airport's outfield. Which raises the question (no, not THAT question, i.e. why did they retire the most wonderful piece of technology invented in my lifetime) but the question of why display the aircraft there - where no one can really see it, or stop to gaze longingly at it?
They have one at Manchester, and the Mancunians had the great sense and self-awareness to realise that a Concorde out in the open in Manchester would turn into a huge pile of Orange dust in a heart-beat given the 'Excessive Humidity' (in other countries they call it rain) for which Manchester is famous, and so they, very thoughtfully, built a shed around it so it would be indoors.
This is the point though, the Concorde at Manchester can be viewed, up close and personal as the modern magazines like to say. You can gaze lovingly at it (OK, perhaps it's just me), go on it - people even GOT MARRIED on it.
That must have been a strange affair don't you think? A wedding on a grounded Concorde in a shed in Manchester. Do they do the speeches over the tannoy? Do they bring the champagne out in plastic beakers served on a trolley? Do they do a safety briefing beforehand? "In the event of a panic-stricken Bridegroom, Oxygen masks will appear automatically from above your head". Surely it will restrict the dancing? Concorde had famously narrow aisles (not much room for an inebriated Uncle to swing a 6 year old girl around). So, in the interests of scientifuc experiment, if any readers are planning on having their wedding on a Concorde, the present Mrs Guru and I are available (purely in the interests of research you understand) - you just wouldn't feel 'propery married' unless it was on a grounded supersonic airliner in a shed would you?
Mind you, at least it would be indoors and not stuck out in the middle of an airfield rearing up at slightly confused middle-aged executives, and for that, I am most grateful.
