26/9/2021 Mosquito Aircraft Museum

Two museum visits in three days - Full PPE for me today.

This museum is outside of London, although not far, and is very different but still (sort of) transport related. It's many years since I've been to the Mosquito Museum - or the de Havilland Aircraft Museum as it is now known. A lot has changed since my last visit, but all for the better. An extra hanger has been built and a lot more aircraft have been added to the collection, but sadly many of them have to be left outside - which isn't good for their long term prospects. However, even sitting outside exposed to the elements is better than having already been scrapped which is what would have almost certainly been their fate otherwise - and although their long term future may be at risk at least people can still see and enjoy them for the time being. The rare Comet jet airliner fuselage has at least now been brought inside and restored in part to it's former glory - it was an empty shell kept outside last time I was here. This groundbreaking aircraft (the world's first jet airliner) was designed and built at the nearby factory in Hatfield. Sadly the historic de Havilland factory and airfield at Hatfield have now been allowed to slip into history. At one point there was a plan to at least open a museum on the site, but that fell through for some reason.

In spite of this museum's change of name, the main attraction of the place is still the famous Mosquito aircraft that were designed here at Salisbury Hall - two of the first three Mosquitos ever built were actually built and made their first flights from here to nearby Hatfield. Last time I was here there were only two Mosquitos on display, with another in pieces with the wings off in the very early stages of restoration. The prototype was already restored and on display in an all yellow paint scheme, but has since been further refurbished and repainted in camouflage. Now there are three complete Mosquitos on show - something you will not find anywhere else in the World. They are all kept safe in a hanger for future generations to enjoy.

There are also some other aircraft kept indoors, including a replica of a 1934 Comet racer - a completely different aircraft to the later jet airliner that shares it's name. There are a few parts of a de Havilland Sea Hornet on show - a wooden twin engined post war carrier based aircraft based on similar technology to the Mosquito, but on a smaller scale. These are the only surviving parts known to exist anywhere. Also on site are two Vampires - a jet fighter designed here at Salisbury Hall and first flown at Hatfield in 1943. Training aircraft are represented by the famous Tiger Moth biplane and it's post-war monoplane replacement the Chipmunk - both of which were built nearby at Hatfield. De Havilland  continued into the jet age with the Venom - developed from the earlier Vampire. A far more advanced jet fighter on display is the mighty Sea Vixen also designed and built at Hatfield, although unfortunately this has to live outside at the mercy of the elements.

I'm afraid I didn't take any pictures of the aircraft indoors as it was late in the day and I was running out of time, but if you click on the links above they will take you to the museum's website where you can find pictures of all the aircraft on site (many more than I have mentioned) and also load of information about them. The museum staff are friendly and very knowledgeable - they are only too pleased to answer any questions you may have about the many and varied exhibits.

I can highly recommend a visit to this museum - there is much more to see than I have mentioned, both inside and out. Not just whole aircraft - some of which you can go inside, but also engines and other associated equipment. There is also an excellent shop on site and free parking.

24/9/2021 London Transport Museum Acton Depot

I was absolutely fascinated by the recent Secrets of the London Underground series on Yesterday TV. Some of it was filmed at London Transport's Acton Depot. I thought this looked a really interesting place - and wouldn't it be great if you could actually go there and have a look around?  Then I found out that actually you can. I put that on my list of places of interest to visit... A while later I discovered that the lovely presenter of the TV series Siddy Holloway was giving a talk at the Depot - so what better time to pay a visit?

It was very easy to get to on the tube - just one train direct from Cockfosters to Acton Town and the Depot is only a few minutes walk from the station. It's actually an outpost of the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden which holds larger items that can't fit in the smaller central London museum as well as storing a load of other stuff - much of which is accessible to the public. There are many buses and trains on display from all eras of public transport in London - some you can see in the process of restoration. But there is much more to be found here.

I loved the Yesterday TV series partly because it was so interesting, but also because it features many places which I have been to in the past - some of them quite regularly. But even the places I have been to many times are shown in a new light and some things are revealed about them that I knew nothing about. Holloway Road tube station is a place I have used countless times over the years and continue to do so. I was particularly fascinated by the first episode in the TV series as it featured Holloway Road station and revealed that the world's first and only spiral escalator was installed here! As far as I was aware there had never been an escalator at this station and access was only by the two lifts and the spiral staircase. I never knew that such a thing as a spiral escalator had ever even existed - let alone at Holloway Road! Sadly there is no trace of it to be seen at the station these days and the shaft that once housed it is now disused. It's story is told in the TV series, and the only surviving pieces of it were salvaged from the bottom of the shaft a few years ago - they can now be seen at the Depot.

It's probably of zero interest to almost everyone, but I was absolutely fascinated by this - it's my favourite thing that I saw on my visit!

Apparently although it did actually work it wasn't considered safe enough to be used by the general public so it was never put into service and eventually cut up for scrap - apart from this small part which was discovered at the bottom of the shaft many years later. You can find the full story in the TV series, but I loved being able to examine a piece of the actual thing and figure out how it worked.

I also enjoyed discovering other items from places that I know like this machine from the signal box at the now disused York Road Station on the Piccadilly Line.

I only know York Road Station from above ground and seeing the darkened disused platforms between Caledonian Road and Kings Cross as I pass through on the tube, but this station is also featured in the TV series. As well as the programme featuring Holloway Road, I also found the one about the disused Highgate Station particularly interesting.

There are many old station signs on display - some from stations I know well.

Something I found fascinating are some old signs showing the Underground network as it used to be many years ago.

It's very interesting to contrast these old Underground maps with the network as it is now.

I wasn't really bothered about all the old buses, although the chassis of an old petrol-electric bus was interesting - I didn't know such a thing ever existed. Much more of interest to me were all the old tube trains. There is also some passenger and goods rolling stock from the days of steam power. There is an old red train of the pre-war 1938 Stock which has been restored to working order and sometimes ventures out onto the modern tube network for special trips. I remember travelling in the 1938 stock on the Piccadilly and Northern lines towards the end of it's time in service. Also I found part of a set of 1930's Q Stock cars from the District Line under restoration. Two guys working on them were inviting people in to look around and see the work that was being carried out - I even got to go in the driver's cab for a look round! The guys were only too happy to explain about the work they were doing. I noticed that it seemed to be to a very high standard and some of the electric and pneumatic equipment looked like new - it turned out that some new items were being installed or upgraded, because this train is being restored to full working order and will be run on the current Underground network on special trips like the 1938 Stock has been.

There really is a great deal to see at the Depot on it's open weekends, and it's shop is very good too. However, there was another reason for my visit. I was only made aware of the Depot by the excellent Yesterday TV series Secrets of the London Underground. The series became a big hit on the station in 2021 - partly because of it's engaging and knowledgeable presenters Tim Dunn and Siddy Holloway - one of whom is giving a talk at the Depot this afternoon. Actually Siddy Holloway is giving two talks as this has proved very popular and the room they are being held in only holds 60 people. Seeing there is a huge queue for the limited capacity room an hour before the first talk is due I decide to explore the Depot instead as it looks likely I would queue for an hour and still not get in before the room was full. After enjoying looking round the Depot I manage to get in for Siddy's second talk without much trouble and luck into getting a seat in the second row from the front. The talk is aimed at fans of the TV series and tells much of the background about how it was made. We learn many things that weren't on TV, and how and why certain things could or couldn't be done. The illustrated talk is very good and it's speaker is engaging, informative, and very knowledgable with huge enthusiasm for her work. There is a Q&A session after the talk - Siddy answers most of our questions before we can even ask them. Of course the one question on everybody's lips is "Will there be another series?" Siddy certainly hopes so, and reveals that discussions with the TV company have already taken place due to the huge success of the programme. Nothing has been decided yet, and although Siddy can't confirm anything she says she thinks it is currently highly likely that there will be a second series.

It's great to end on such a positive note! I celebrate by going to a pub up the road - where I find some highly suitable ale before the long tube journey home.

A nice end to a really interesting day out - I will have to pay another visit to the Acton Depot at some point.

18/9/2021 Battle of Britain Air Display @ Duxford

So I'm back on the bike for my second ride up to Duxford this summer, and my third air display in Cambridgeshire this year - this is the sort of thing I really want a motorcycle for. Although it's pretty good for travelling to work as well when the weather is OK. This is one of the big air displays of the year - unlike the much smaller more informal event I attended at the beginning of August. So of course there are a lot more aircraft flying -  unfortunately not including the world's only airworthy Bristol Blenheim pictured here - a very rare aircraft in it's own right.

Going back further in time is this First World War SE5A.

Foward to 1940 and the Battle of France with this Curtis Warhawk.

However, the theme of today's display is the Battle of Britain - an event which this airfield played an important part in. This early Mk 1 Spitfire is particularly significant today for two reasons: The first RAF Squadron to ever be equipped with Spitfires was based here at Duxford, and this actual aircraft took part in the Battle of Britain. 

Naturally the Spitfire and Hurricane feature heavily in today's display.

Only a few years ago to see four airworthy Hurricanes lined up together would have been unbelievable.

Germany is also represented.

There is a wide variety of Spitfires present from the Mk 1...

...to the Mk V...

Later the addition of a twin stage supercharger produced the faster Mk IX...

...and this rather special 'Russian' Mk IX

I've been wanting to see this interesting and recently restored Spitfire. It's colour scheme is unusual but  authentic. This actual aircraft was supplied to the Russians during WW2, and naturally they painted over the RAF markings with red stars. It crashed on the Eastern Front and it's wreck remained there virtually undisturbed until recent years. It was recovered and brought back to the UK to be restored, and has only recently taken to the air again. Click here for more information and much better pictures of this rather special Spitfire.

Now the most famous Spitfire in the UK is this Mk X reconnaissance version - also known as 'The NHS Spitfire' and seen many times all over the country paying tribute to our health service as they have fought their own battle against Covid-19 - sometimes paying with their own lives. Thank you NHS.

The Mk X Spitfire was the fastest of the Merlin engined variants and is capable of well over 400 MPH.

The Spitfire was further developed when the larger Rolls Royce Griffon engine replaced the Merlin - giving the Spitfire over twice the power that the early marks had. Seen here in a Mk XIV.

This was the fastest wartime fighter variant, but was 

quite a handful both in the air and on the ground!

There are some atmospheric sights to be seen on the ground that hark back to the dark days of WW2, but aircraft in museums or parked on airfields can only convey so much...

It's when these aircraft are fired up that emotions really start to stir. Nothing matches the excitement of these machines being brought to life.

Individual aircraft, pairs, and small formations of aircraft including vintage helicopters perform displays throughout the afternoon, but the highlight of the big shows at Duxford tends to be the finale 'Balbo' formation. Normally I don't attempt any photography of anything actually flying with my tiny camera - who want's to see pictures of little dots in a big sky? But I did make an effort for this.

11 Spitfires and 4 Hurricanes flying together in formation isn't something you are likely to get a chance to see anywhere in the World.

After that unique formation things wind down for the day, but there are still things to see on the ground and in the museum hangers while waiting the the crowd to disperse and the ensuing exit traffic jams to die down. There were actually plenty more aircraft flying that I didn't feature here, like the vintage helicopters, and the B-17 and some other aircraft they I only saw from a distance as I was arriving - it wasn't all Spitfires and Hurricanes - they just happened to the the things which interested me most.

You can even take a pleasure flight over the airfield if you are feeling flush.

Although maybe not in the B17.

Or Catalina.

But you can get to see some of the aircraft that took part in the display from much closer as they are wheeled back from the flightline through the crowd area to their home in the hangers.

All in all a great day out, and the weather was almost perfect. A nice motorcycle ride home as the sun sets is a great way to end the day.

It's about time I got my shit together and started trying to catch up here. I've had some technical problems with getting my PC and software up to date which has made it difficult getting anything done, although with lockdown etc there hasn't been much going on until the last couple of months or so. But since then I've played two gigs on two different instruments with two different bands as well as starting to go to a few gigs as a punter. And some pubs... 

Now I have a new up to date computer and some website things that had stopped working now work again. Unfortunately my own web domain is a bit of a mess and my website at www.darklordofbarnet.gb.net is a bit of a mess not having survived it's migration to a new web server very well. More  blog stuff appearing on here from now on though - watch this space...

PS: I might be catching up posting backdated stuff about gigs from the last couple of years before I get round to posting about any recent goings on - of which there have been a few now things are starting to open up again and get back to something approaching 'normal'.

PPS: I've posted a few new things backdated to 2019 and and now trying to work my way back up to date. It's a bit of a struggle trying to remember stuff from over two years ago and writing about it, but if I can find some pictures I took at the time that helps refresh my memory. I think it's inevitable that some things will slip through the net though.... Keep checking back and scrolling down to find new (backdated) stuff as I post it and try to catch up....

PPPS: Only 4 months behind now...

9/9/2021 The Wildhearts @ The Electric Ballroom

It's a long time since The WiLDHEARTS played in Camden but the Electric Ballroom seems exactly the right place to be seeing them.

The band really have been on a roll for the last couple of years;  After getting bassist Danny McCormack back in the band - something many fans thought would never happen, in 2019 they put out one of the best ever albums with 'Renaissance Men'. The band have been in top form with their live shows since then, and now they have followed up with their new '21st Century Love Songs' album - which like it's predecessor has some absolutely banging songs.

The band remain on top form tonight, and despite Covid there is an excellent turnout. And as usual at a Wildhearts show the atmosphere is terrific. There are a good few new and nearly new songs in the set to keep things fresh, and some old favourites that have been played at nearly every gig for years are being rested to avoid them getting stale. It's a great night, and one of those gigs that (nearly) everyone is at. Just as it should be.