View From Above

Sitting here admiring the daffodils beside me brightening my world.  The clouds disperse for a moment to allow tantalising glimpses of blue sky, then continue northwards at pace.  Sometimes I wish I could float along with them, head north, fly over the land observing the world like a bird, though preferably without being blown off route.   

The world is a different place from up high.  Those early pioneers who risked their lives to fly in the first balloons or the early flying machines could benefit from being the first to view their world from a height.  How lucky they were.  Of course, the fact that many died in doing this does make it less enjoyable.

Since the end of the Great War photography from the air has had many benefits. Those internet maps for one, archaeology greatly helped by air observation, and governments keeping an eye on one another's defence capabilities most of all.  

Sometimes however, it can be useful to us as individuals.  Away back in the early 1960's my brother joined the RAF as a photographer.  Here he learned the strict standards that were required, and also observed pictures taken at high altitude by RAF planes engaged in secret missions.  One such secret mission, no longer secret, was Bob asking a pilot heading up to Leuchers airport in Fife to take a couple of pictures of our home as he passed.  I have found two, a third, much clearer shot, has disappeared into my files somewhere.  At the top of this picture a main road crosses  right to left at an angle, from it a small, narrow road heads north.  Opposite this wee road lies the block in which I spent many years developing into the idiot I became.  I was probably at school when this occurred.  Such aircraft often flew over us, most of which have long since been scrapped or lie in some aircraft museum somewhere.

Observation from the air is difficult.  I can recognise my area from this picture, but would I if flying over it?   Flying over regions known to the flyer does not mean recognition comes easily.  The land below is hard to define, and only obvious places can be identified, coastlines, castles, or towns like Milton Keynes which stand out like a sore thumb below.  Landing at Edinburgh these days we fly in over the Forth of Forth, even from that I can recognise the various docks but too a long time to find our abode. 

Sadly,  today I remain on the ground. 

December Begins

You could tell it was December by the chill under the blankets, the struggles of the heating to work properly and the thick, dull mist lying over the town.  Eight O' Clock saw me wander past the many heading into town, few walking but countless others in cars clearing the mist one hand by their movement and adding diesel and petrol fumes to it on the other.  I had to giggle as I saw them moving quickly into work while knowing that later today a long line of similar people will be slowly trundling back out again, grumbling against the hardship of busy roads.  "Catch a bus?" say I to nasty glares and the question "What bus?"  "The bus that would run if you had not all bought cars you canny afford!  Vote Tory, lose buses, increase car ownership, increase pollution and the need for car ownership as there are no buses.

Watching the Heart of Midlothian take the grubby Rangers apart last night I was not in the least surprised to notice the Glasgow press ignoring the famous victory and instead playing this down, emphasising a disallowed (rightly) goal and wallowing in tears that their team had been beat.  A more objective journalist would say the Rangers club ought to have died when it had the chance, the directors are failures and the chairman bogus, the manager out of his depth, his expensive players flops and injured at that, the rest inexperienced and out of their depth and the whole club urgently requires a make over. 
They will not say this directly of course.
However the Heart of Midlothian will carry on as that sort of reporting has gone on since 1890 and before, nothing changes under the Scottish football scene.  This team looked quite good last night however I felt a four goal win was what we required, just winning by two goals to nil was not enough in the circumstances.  Hopefully we can do the same again in a weeks time.

You can tell nothing else happened today.  
I wandered up to the shops for pillowcases, pillowcases of all things, red ones and black ones, that will brighten the odourous  west wing.  Then I sauntered the other way to upset the smiling girl at the Post Office as I posted my last parcel (have you done yours yet...?)  and wandered back home testing my knees with a new exercise, walking too much!

 
The walk back reveals the weather in these parts.  Cloudy yesterday, misty this morning, now as I hobbled round the pretty way far from traffic the sun shone brightly in a blue sky!  Tomorrow we appear to be back to gray clouds!

The sun shining through the trees is a wonder.  It is just a pity there is nothing new or exciting for it to shine upon!  Most of this little town has been photographed from all angles and there is little new to find sadly.

The sun shining on the disused and now some form of accommodation water towers I thought would be a good shot but it was not quite as I saw it.

High above the housing a plane from Stansted airport heads into the sky above us.  At that time of night it may be too early for those heading for the sun therefore I wonder if it is the commuter plane for Edinburgh, Glasgow or Belfast.  It may be heading to Frankfurt or Warsaw, or some distant unheard of airport where it is cheaper for the airline to land.  Once only the rich could fly and now almost everyone has done so at least once.
I would fly to Edinburgh if I could avoid the delays at the airport.  On occasion I have been there early and there has been a delay as a window has cracked on the flight we should take.  The replacement was held up by fog this morning in Glasgow and was on its way to us but held up by air traffic control.  Over three hours extra we waited - patiently - and eventually made it there.  
On another occasion we were also very late in taking off and on arrival at Edinburgh the plane dropped t 700 feet and rose again as the landing indicators on the ground were off and we were again in fog!  We landed from the other end as the passengers decided if we had to continue on to Aberdeen!
The flight is off no more than an hours duration so the waiting on the ground makes the journey seem long.  The view is good mind, usually I find I fly in bright sunshine watching the land below for anything interesting.  I love the view as everything is very different from the air.  There again I am easily pleased.