What Jobs Are We Doing In The Garden Today 2020

Well, a lot of mine, lucius, are still pushing out of the ground! You're only 100 miles, (I thought it was around 60 miles as the Crow flies), by road away from me and more to the West but it just shows how much it effects plants seasonal growth. I've visited Anglesey literally hundreds of times over the years and my Wife and I loved it. I was also detached to RAF Valley for once a year with No.III Squadron to practice at the Missile Practice Camp so I had time to wander around the beautiful countryside.

 

Well, on Operational Units, to which I mostly always posted (with a 2nd class stamp), we were a bit looser with rank recognition where Pilots needed their aircraft serviced by people they trusted so, unless there were "strangers" around then we operated on first names, unlike the Armywhere every sentence seemed to finish with the superior rank of the person they were talking to.
During my service in the RAF I never went on Parades , or wore Boots again after I finished my Apprenticeship. Also, because we were operational units, standing in the blasts of twin engined jet aircraft like the English Electric Lighting, we couldn't/didn't wear hats. although we never needed an excuse to not to salute an Officer if he was a member of the Squadron.
I confess I was a typical scruffy Technician always dressed in oil stained overalls, unpolished shoes due to hydraulic fluid seeing off polish, and "slightly" longer hair than Army or RAF regulations permitted. I think the RAF taught me to be a free thinker, to think an order through and politely query it if needed as it could mean the difference of a Pilot and aircraft taking off and landing safely or not. We also worked until the job was done or when operational requirements needed to, so 14-16 hours working days were common as well as sleeping on camp beds next to the aircraft.

I never knew or held a paint brush until I left the rif raf and bought my own House and had to paint the room walls.

 

I, Kristen, am listed in the Book of National Antiquities and, as we have met twice in person and you know of my Village Idiot like appearance, thank you for the compliment.

There were two Lightning Squadrons at Wattisham at that time, (No.III Squadron and No.56 Squadron) and, no doubt, I must have been eating a curled up sandwich and drinking a mug of stewed tea standing by/in the No.III Squadron Hangar at the time. No.III Squadron was also known as the Black Arrows as they were the RAF Aerobatic Squadron for many years, first using all black Hawker Hunters and the only Squadron to perform a 22 aircraft loop, of which the record still stands. But I was, I confess, the youngest, (the Baby), member of the Squadron at the time (officially 18 years old but since I had lied about my age I was actually 17 years old).
No.56 Squadron took RAF Aerobatic duties over a year before I moved on but when practising formation flying while we watching two of their aircraft touched wings right over our heads and we saw the Pilot eject while the aircraft wandered on to dive into a Pea Field a couple of miles away. The Pilot, unfortunately, suffered a broken back on that ejection, and I along with other members of both Squadrons was rushed over to the crash site, which missed an isolated Cottage by yards, as an emergency guard. I spent a miserable cold night in that Pea field until we were relieved properly.

 

Unfortunately, Kristen, it is now added to the pages of History.

He had obviously been doing less than 1,000mph and taking his time.

Also known as "Trouble One" and "Trembling First".......Great Britain had no reason to tremble with us guarding it

We were an independent operational Squadron with no actual ties to the Wattisham Station and our "Boss" Squadron Leader Wirdnam was "God" so we answered to him and he didn't answer to the Station Commander or any Group Captain of Maintenance.
In those days the Station Warrant Officer, (SWO) was, many considered, more powerful and feared than the Station Commander. One day he wandered down to the Hangars and spotted a Corporal Technician,(Technicians like me wore their stripes upside down to denote that they were Technicians) who was taking a break. The SWO nearly had a heart attack seeing an airman standing there in oily/mucky overalls and long hair. He immediately ordered the airman to get a hair cut, change his clothes and report to him in his Office when he had done so. The airman had to report the incident to our CO, (the Boss), who told him to get on servicing the aircraft and leave the SWO to him. So the Boss phoned the SWO and informed him that the Squadron didn't fall into his regime and that No.III Squadron was out of bounds to the SWO as were the members of the Squadron........the rumour was that the CO used a lot a four letter words to get his point across, but we all loved and revered him for it.

 

Another parcel from Farmer Gracy appeared on the doorstep today with

3 Black Satin Bearded Iris
4 Ferraria Crispa
3 Habenaria Radiata

So I made another bucket of Compost, Sand, and Grit and spent some time potting them up. I've never grown Ferraria Crispa and Habenaria Radiata before so another new experience. If anyone has grown them before I would be sincerely grateful for any growing advice.

I also ordered another 10 x 5 litre pots and 10 x 3 litre pots as I'm getting a bit low on them. I also had to phone Farmer Gracy as I'd had no e-mail confirmation of a second order of

Bearded Iris "Red Zinger and "Batik"
Day Lily "Pandoras Box"
Kniphofia "Lavaria Grandiflora
Astilbe "Fanal"

I had to leave a message but they rang me back within the hour so they assured that the second order was on the way