We went on a great day out yesterday to Manchester Airport’s viewing platform. We took binoculars and Mandy took her camera with high zoom lens but we couldn’t compete with the hard core plane spotters. The guy next to us on the large viewing platform had all of that, plus a radio tuned into the (what I presumed to be) the chatter from air traffic control. It’s strange the hobbies we find ourselves falling into. I don’t suppose his passion for plane spotting is any different than mine for a certain 50 year old TV show about a man flying around in a police telephone box. Although I’d still wager that society would label him slightly below me on the ‘normal’ scale. Those of course who can recite every fixture in their football team’s history are considered perfectly ‘normal’. <where did that digression come from>
A surprise highlight came when we approached the restaurant on site. In a large covered hanger adjacent to the restaurant, Concorde’s distinctive shape peered out at us behind a wall of glass. You can pay to have a tour of Concorde but with the two kids in tow, we thought it might not be the best time to do this. Even behind the glass, Concorde evoked strong feelings of British pride, and a strong sense of pathos. Such a distinctive powerful piece of engineering, retired and left as a museum piece. I don’t understand all the reasoning behind its retirement but it seems tragic that we don’t have anything comparable to replace it with.
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