Breakfast-Norfolk

[Mr Gazza]

Sorry for the eleventh-hour notice for this, but I have been struggling to get info from the folks organising the Canberra displays.
To be fair to them, they have had to re-schedule twice and also fit in an alternative display at short notice. I understand that Ben, the owner of XH135 cockpit is very busy working somewhere in the Middle East, in another time zone, so communication is not straightforward!

So, I plan to meet at the Fakenham Garden centre coffee shop (Hempton) at 10am for banter and eats, then ride over to former RAF West Raynham to find some vintage jets on display. Hopefully I will have confirmed when the show starts by then. It looks like mid-day at the moment.

Fakenham Garden Centre Coffee Shop Mill Road, HEMPTON, Fakenham, NR21 7LH.
10am Saturday 24th September.

[Grumpy]

Well done Gary for staying in point with the proposed meet.
Count me in on Saturday. :biggrin:

[DaveR]

Gary, thanks for sorting this out. I'll see you tomorrow in Fakenham

[Mr Gazza]

I'm glad this hasn't been a waste of time. Looking forward to catching up with you chaps.
The road from Hempton to Raynham looks good. :biggrin:

[Mr Gazza]

Well, it was a good start to the day with Moco calling round at breakfast time to say hello, on his Norfolk Mini-break.
Having surveyed the radar and observed a finger of rain coming in from the North Sea in the direction of Fakenham, I set off in waterproofs to splash though the overnight puddles.
Sure enough, it was starting to rain as I approached Hempton. Dave had come from the opposite direction and also run into the rain having had a dry ride up from Colchester up until then.
As we were tucking into Cake, Grumpy arrived somewhat wetter than both of us, having hit the rain just after passing Castle Acre.
It was good to catch up with Dave and Grumpy. After grub and banter we headed for West Raynham in the wake of the water delivery.

Having lived within earshot of RAF West Raynham for most of my life this was my first visit, It turned out to be an interesting and atmospheric place. One of the first sights is a restored early Hunter which saw service at the base. (Story here https://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/hunter/survivor.php?id=21)
I noted the absence of Sabrinas and sawtooth wing leading edge. Needless to say we saw it as a photo opportunity.

https://i.ibb.co/4Snds2m/DSCF8685.jpg (https://ibb.co/5jgFYkM)

The control tower itself is privately owned and is being converted by a couple for accommodation and a museum, a nice project.

It was good to meet Ken, a prolific aviation author and co-owner of XH135 cockpit, one of the last flying Canberra's. Ken was a navigator and flew in the nose. I was allowed to sit in the navigator's seat, which was a bit of a tick off the old list and a privilege. I had a sit in the driver's seat too, which had only slightly more visibility out of the aircraft!

https://i.ibb.co/47XQvdw/DSCF8686.jpg (https://ibb.co/56S7pFX)

https://i.ibb.co/tpXQK5x/DSCF8689.jpg (https://ibb.co/VYmJ98Q)

One thing I can't photograph is the smell of the inside of a Canberra, quite unique.
What a fascinating day, and mostly dry too.. Looking forward to the Marham event even more now.

[Grumpy]

The day, from my ride, was a mix of several seasons in one!
We headed out of Peterborough in a sunny late summer day. Tank full of fuel, with several of my favourite roads in the region en route.
About three quarters of the way to our meet spot in Fakenham, the sun disappeared behind a cloud and the heavens opened. Luckily, I choose to wear all weather gear!
Gary and Dave were already drinking coffee when I arrived.
The usual banter insued, including catching up on Gary's progress with his Norton re-build.
The weather lifted as we left for West Raynham, with the roads drying.
Whist the event was low key, the museum in the control tower, along with the Canberra display made for a lovely day.
Once the obligatory photos were take, I headed off.
The run back was dry, with fly splatter in the visor!!

Till next time guys, thanks for an enjoyable day.

[Moco1961]

Glad you guys had a good catch up, despite the changeable weather yesterday. Great to meet up again Mr G, we had a good bimble around after leaving you, on the way to Wroxham I spotted the unmistakable profile of a Vulcan ! You kept that quiet didn’t you :chuckle:none other than XM612 at the city of Norwich aircraft museum…… ever visited ?

[Mr Gazza]

Well as it happens, I went to school and later worked with the curator, Kelvin.
Yes, I've been to the museum several times and arranged visits for various clubs, including UKMOC.
I've been in the Vulcan and sat in the pilot's seat, had a guided tour inside and out of the Nimrod MR2 by an ex-crewman and met the owner of the Lightning who let me climb up and sit in it. An adventure playground for earthbound misfits. :mand:
Come to think of it we're probably due another one, I haven't visited since the big road chopped the corner off it!

[DaveR]

It was good to catch up with you both on Saturday for a very interesting trip and learn a bit about the Canberra looking forward to Marham in a couple of weeks.
I had a fairly uneventful trip home, stopping at the Desert Rats memorial just before Munford to put on my waterproofs. There's a 3 mile walking trail there through the forest, another idea for the more agile amongst us!
See you soon
Dave

[the lodger]

Complete thread hijack but if you like Vulcans I can highly recommend the book "Vulcan 607". A great boys book read !

[Mr Gazza]

Agreed. A great story. There's a copy doing the rounds in the club, I think DaveR was the last to have it?

[Moco1961]

I will search that one out Nige, thanks

[DaveR]

I did have it but lent it to my son, so it's either in Cyprus or in a box waiting for them to return to the UK.