Video

Bucket List Update…

Moli

About this time last year I wrote about my bucket list.  All the things I want to do before I either get too old, too poor or die.  Some of them were easier than others to fulfill but I felt that they were realistic.

1: Do a Job I love.
2: Get paid to take pictures or for a picture I’ve taken.
3: Drive a racing car.
4: Fly a helicopter.
5: Lose 3 stone in weight and get fit.
6: Get Married and Have a family of my own.
7: Buy a house with a garden and have a big kitchen table.
8: Get my missing tooth replaced.
9: Drive from West to East America in a Muscle car.
10: Drink beer at Oktoberfest in Munich.
11: Learn to play a Piano with some degree of skill.
12: Write My Will.
13: Play the tables in Vegas.
14: Write a book / Script and see it in print.
15: Go to Thorpe Park with other people that want to go and have fun on the rides.
16: Fast for 48 hours and give the money I would have spent to charity.
17: Visit the North Pole or Antartica.
18: Fire a gun.
19: Spend the day dressed as Doctor Who.
20: Go on a Whisky tasting.
21: Visit Japan.
22: Spend a day cuddling a Wombat.
23: Hire a Caterham Super 7 for the weekend.
24: Spend a week in a cottage at Portmerion, ideally getting their in item 23.

I’m sure that I could add to the list but so far I’m happy with the goals I set out and last weekend I managed to cross off number 4, fly a helicopter.

Helicopter Flying Lesson-2

The whole experience was better than I imagined and more difficult.  The stick was very sensitive to my touch, with every little movement creating massive and sometimes scary results.  I was lucky to have a great tutor by the name of Phil who put me at ease and frankly did most of the work.  However, I did take control for a short time.  I didn’t think it was going to go ahead as the weather conditions were poor with heavy showers.  However, we did go up and we did fly through some rain that was just amazing.

Helicopter Flying Lesson - I have control

IMAG0514-1

Helicopter Flying Lesson-6

The flight school was at Thurston Helicopters which is based at Headcorn Aerodrome in Kent.  I flew over Leeds Castle and the beautiful English countryside.

Helicopter Flying Lesson - Leeds Castle

Helicopter Flying Lesson - Leeds Castle-2

Helicopter Flying Lesson-8

Helicopter Flying Lesson-9

One of the extras we paid for was a video recording of me looking scared, trying not to crash and generally making a fool of myself.  If you fancy watching 22 minutes of this I’ve attached it below.

Anyway, that something crossed off my bucket list.

4: Fly a helicopter.

What shall I do next?

M

New order…

Moli

On Saturday night I had the chance to see New Order live at The Troxy in East London.

Having been a fan of their music for some time I was happy that Fleur managed to get tickets at the last minute. They cost a small fortune for two small booth seats in the upper circle of a venue thats not changed that much in 40 years. Or so it would seem. The cost of a small bottle of beer was extremely expensive at £3.50 and the food was limited to a semi cold cheese and ham Panini. It was clear early on that I wasn’t going to get drunk or free hunger that night and my focus was on the support act of Jake Evens and New Order of course.

New Order at The Troxy

I felt that the sound heard was more volume over quality with the words and music overpowering each other to the point of just being a very loud noise. Blue Monday and True Faith were supported by their music video images and a really impressive light show. Hearing these tracks live was a great experience and the crowd went wild. However, the poor sound was just too much for me to really enjoy it fully. This didn’t seem to dampen the crowds enthusiasm for the nights entertainment and maybe I’m just a boring old man? Fleur loved it and for me thats all the really matters. Now where are my slippers and pipe???

M

Doctor Who episode found…

Moli

Two classic episodes of Doctor Who – thought to be missing forever – have been returned to the BBC archive. Episode 3 of Galaxy 4 (starring William Hartnell) and Episode 2 of The Underwater Menace (starring Patrick Troughton) were purchased by film collector Terry Burnett at a village fete near Southampton in the early 80s.

Over 100 episodes of Doctor Who from the 1960s still remain missing. The tapes were routinely wiped once the rights to repeat them had expired. It seems unfathomable to us today, but before the advent of DVDs and iPlayer, grainy black and white material was thought to no longer be of interest to the television audience. However, many film prints sold overseas have since been returned. These latest discoveries are the first complete episodes to have been located since 2004.
None of the four episodes of the 1965 adventure “Galaxy 4” were known to have survived, although a short extract had been retained.

Research has shown that the returned episodes originated from the ABC channel in Australia. In fact, the copy of The Underwater Menace is still missing a few short sections which were removed by the Australian censors upon its original transmission Down Under. Fresh scans of the missing material have been made by the National Archives of Australia and will be incorporated into the restored episodes ahead of a DVD release.

With thanks to the BBC.