Impossible to Resist

Hello,

My regular readers will know that I have an interest in old military aircraft.

Today I came across a type of which I had previously been unaware, the fastest ever, production, piston-engined British fighter, capable of 472mph (even faster than the super Napier-engined Hawker Tempest and also the Hawker Sea Fury. Mind you the Third Reich's Dornier DO 335 "push-pull" fighter was better at 474mph!)

It was called the de Havilland Hornet; like many advanced piston-engined types it came too late as jets were already flying.

The photograph in the Wikipedia article though, was absolutely irresistable for obvious reasons:

The hi-fi club?

Tailpiece: regarding the wonderful Dorner DO335 I mentioned above, the story goes that at the end of the Second World War, when the Americans were gathering as much advanced German technology as they could under "Operation Paperclip" a captured DO335 was flown from Germany to Cherbourg for onward shipping to the US. It was escorted by a pair of P51 Mustangs (no slowcoaches these). They didn't stand a chance: the DO335 arrived 45 minutes before them!

Modern: The exciting Dornier DO335

Source

A bientôt

Evian les Bains

Last April I mentioned that I would soon be working in a garage at Evian les Bains, and so I am!

Evian is a very attractive town situated on the shore of Lac Léman (Lake Geneva for the English) and a very popular holiday destination, given the lake, the proximity of Switzerland (16km up the road) the excellent surrounding countryside - Le Chablais - and I mustn't omit to mention the superb cheese from Abondance which is not far from Evian.

Anyway, to get to the point, I am here at the garage ready to welcome Fulvia owners and offer a wide range of mechanical services. I rather hope that if you are a new or newish visitor to this blog, that you will take a little time to read my numerous articles here which should show you that my 28 years spent in the company of Lancias, and mostly Fulvias, have not been entirely spent in vain.

I must add that here we are also knowledgeable and capable on Morgans (which we offer for sale) and Land Rovers too.


A bientôt (j'éspère!)

News from the Land of the Free

Or in particular, the state of Arizona.

A report in the Daily Telegraph reveals that in Arizona, the citizens of the state are upholding fine American Republican Principles.

They are refusing to accept the installation and use of fixed speed cameras, which they have declared to be "unconstitutional".

I agree, they should be "unconstitutional in England too - and in France!

As far as I am aware, the speed camera was the second instance of a penalty being imposed without the right to plead mitigation (the parking ticket was, I suppose, the first).

A company called Redflex, which has installed the cameras, is apparently "under financial pressure" owing to widespread refusal to pay the fines. Good, I hope they go bankrupt in the biggest possible way - and soon!

A bientôt