Joey and his sounds

Merry Christmas

The boys helped decorate the Christmas tree this weekend. Note the lack of ornaments down low -- the culprit is Joey, not Millie.

Two things, answer

1. Joey wearing size 12 slippers
2. Jill holding Millie's ears while she (the dog) eats.

Two things

There are two silly things going on in this picture. Can you find them?

Planes 2

Yesterday we went to see the most anticipated movie of the year.. Planes Fire and Rescue! Dusty Crophopper's biggest fan was there at the Aviano base theater, decked out in his Planes gear, to see the flying hero make his triumphant return.

The Eagle pub, Cambridge

While TDY to RAF Lakenheath some colleagues and I had the chance to spend some time in Cambridge. One of the things we did was join the F-15 bros for a D-day commemoration dinner at a pub that's well-known for its pilot heritage. Among other graffiti, there's the signature of Robin Olds, perhaps the most famous fighter pilot in recent memory, on the wall. Oh, and it's also known as the place where the discovery of DNA was announced..

Also in Cambridge, one can punt! On a sunny Sunday in East Anglia I and some fellow pilots (and WSOs, let's be fair) went punting on the river Cam. It's not easy. You use a pole to push off the river bed and steer. It's better to be a passenger I learned. Cambridge, punting, drinking Pimms. It was all quite lovely. ;)

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eagle_(pub)
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimm's

Grafton-Underwood, cont.

After visiting the church in Grafton-Underwood, I stopped at a cafe for breakfast and got to talking with the waiter. I told him why I was there and he suggested that I drive to the Vane Arms, a pub in the nearby village of Sudborough, because it has a connection to the aircrew who flew from Grafton-Underwood. The mantelpiece in the pub is something of a historical artifact.

The waiter and the bartender at the Vane Arms told the same story. As they told me, aircrew would frequent the pub and if they were flying a mission the next day, they would tap a penny into the mantelpiece before they left. Upon safely returning from their missions, they would visit the pub and take their penny to the bar for a pint. If they didn't return, their friends would hammer the coin into the wood to be left as a remembrance of their lost comrade. The bartender said these coins have been there ever since (although sadly some of them have been "nicked" over the years).

Seeing that mantle and hearing the story that goes with it was an unexpected bonus to my trip. After chatting with the bartender I had a pint and reflected a bit about the sacrifices those men made who left their coins at the pub. It was a good way to spend the Saturday after D-day.