Capt. Lambert in Biplanes

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry # 68: Ho Chi Minh City, VVTS), to Quy Nhon, (VVQN)

 

The next day they headed out of Ho Chi Ming city after lunch, in damp conditions.

Heading Mag 33. they had a wind coming out of mag 18 at 36 kts.

There was rain on and off the whole trip, which was bumpy, & because they had left later then usual, they found themselves attempting a landing at Quy Nhon in the dark, while it rained.

In windy conditions.

Lambert was not pleased with this turn of events and hissed at Mildred, who he blamed for their delayed departure.

"But James, I hadn't had a pedicure for months! Surely you don't begrudge me such a trifling thing?", she replied innocently.

Lambert ground his teeth & addressed them - 

"Tomorrow we go on to Da Nang. We leave at 0900 sharp and if you are in a beauty salon at that time dear, well, hard luck!. You can find your own way to Hong Kong!!"

"I will be ready James, Manwell will see to that!", & Mrs Lambert smiled at Manwell who blushed & busied himself polishing Boris.

Roger twirled his mustache & wondered what on earth was going on between Manwell & Mrs Lambert.

 

 

Leaving Ho Chi Minh city

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Hills off to the East

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Babushka over Vietnamese bush

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Nearing Quy Nhon, at night

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Bit of a dicey approach. Minimal airstrip lighting. Rain

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On the ground at Quy Nhon. Landing in rain into a 24 kts headwind.

Upon coming to a stop, Babushka began to roll backwards until Manwell hit the brakes & held them on while Roger found some wheel chocks

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To be continued

 

Windswept

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry # 69: Qui Nhon, (VVQN),  to Da Nang, (VVDW)

 

In Qui Nhon, Lambert received an urgent telegram from Weedwacker.

"Your diary  is a dogs breakfast, stop", "Many photos have disappeared, stop"

"How can we track you now? stop"

 

Lambert immediately telegram-ed back - "Use your bugs on the crate!"

"Someone is jamming them!", Weedwacker wrote back.

"Not my problem old boy!", Lambert replied.

Half an hour later Lambert got a cryptic telegram from Weedwacker - "False alarm!".

 

As he had promised, Lambert took Babushka out of Qui Nhon early in the morning.

He didn't even bother to check if Mrs Lambert was on board.

"Is the old girl back there?', he called out to Roger, who was in the right seat.
"Monsieur, I do believe so!", he replied. He could  hear 2 voices coming from the direction of Mrs Lambert's bed.

 

In fact, Mrs Lambert was still in bed & Manwell was sitting a respectful distance away on a fold up chair.

They were discussing Mrs Lambert's Romantic Novellas.

 

"You do realize Manwell that "Lady Wanderlust's Last Stand' was in fact a treatise on hay barns?", Mrs Lambert whispered to Manwell.

"Que?", was his reply. This was accompanied by a furrowed brow that Mrs Lambert found very fetching.

"I have written a sequel, Lady Wanderlust & the Bannister!"

Mrs Lambert continued "Lady Wanderlust has eschewed the tawdry world of horse eventing, rolls in the hay & midnight assignations in horse floats!.

Now she is a part time physicist who falls in love with a Biology Lecturer from Birmingham University!"

Manwell frowned, Mrs Lambert paused, smiled at him , patted his hand & continued.

"The Biologist is sent to the Large Hadron Collider to study the impact of their research on a group of field mice living in the collider.

Lady Wanderlust follows him to France and literally throws herself at him"

"Literally?", Manwell was aghast.

"Yes, literally. They  are  independently attending a reception at CERN when she has a few too many  gins & trips on the top stair of a spiral staircase & somehow ends up riding the hand rail backwards to the bottom.

Just as the Biologist  is about to climb  the stairs.

She flies off the hand rail dizzy as a doped dodo, screaming her head off, & pins him by the chest to a flower arrangement full of cactus!"

"Was it love at first sight Mrs Lambert?, Manwell inquired, fascinated.

"Unfortunately, no!. He ended up in hospital up with 3 cracked ribs and many cactus quills embedded in his back, & was too late to save the mice.

They were vaporized in the collider the next day!

He of course blamed Lady Wanderlust, who, despite visiting him every day with flowers & chocolates and back  copies of Hustler magazine, was not able to capture his affections.

So she poisoned him!"

"Mon dieu!", Roger cried out, for he had been eaves dropping.

Manwell nodded silently & wandered off to think about that.

Was Lady Wanderlust in fact Mrs Lambert by another name? A shiver ran down his spine.

 

Meanwhile, Babushka rattled her way to Da Nang, where it was raining.

Lambert pronounced himself pleased with the day's journey & informed them that they would be heading to Meilan the next day.

"Its part of China!", Lambert told  Manwell before Manwell could ask where it was.

 

Departure from Qui Nhon, veer left after lift off & head for the gap in the hills

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Heading mag 40, inland Eastern Vietnam

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View from the right seat

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Weather not the best as they approach Da Nang

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Landed at a wet Da Nang

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To be continued

 

Windswept

 

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #70: Da Nang, (VVDW), to Haikou Meilan, (ZJHK)

 

Lambert cleared his throat & read from Wikipedia -

 

"Hainan is the smallest and southernmost province of China, consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. Hainan Island, separated from Guangdong's Leizhou Peninsula by the Qiongzhou Strait, is the largest island under PRC control (Taiwan, which is slightly larger, is also claimed but not controlled by the PRC), and makes up the majority of the province.

The province has an area of 33,920 square kilometers (13,100 sq mi), with Hainan Island making up 32,900 square kilometers (12,700 sq mi) (97%) and the rest divided among two hundred islands scattered across three archipelagos"

 

He paused & looked around.

Mrs Lambert was knitting, Roger was scratching his ears & Manwell was dozing in the sidecar.

Lambert harrumphed.

"I know its not riveting stuff, but that's where we head in an hours time. Be ready!", he instructed.

 

And so it came to pass that they left Da Nang in misty conditions, with a crosswind on take off making it interesting.

The journey was uneventful once the weather improved.

As they rumbled on to Meilan, Mrs Lambert continued to discuss her Romance Novellas with Manwell.

"In Lady Wanderlust's last Stand, the Lady, she did not get charged with the Biologist's murder??", Manwell inquired, confused by the lack of logic in the plot line.

"Well, no!", Mrs Lambert replied. "They couldn't prove that she did it!"

"How did she do it??", Manwell demanded.

"It was very simple. She injected rat poison into chocolates, then scattered  them throughout the other 4 boxes he had received.

It took him 3 days to get into each box. & as he was cherry picking, it was another 2 days before he fell ill & passed on"

"But surely they would know it was her chocolates that were contaminated?", Roger interceded.

"No. Not necessarily. Plus she knew the head investigator, Lord Patrick Whimsey. Nice chap, but a bit thick.

He threw away the uneaten chocolates before realizing their significance!", Mrs Lambert informed them.

"Mon dieu, that is not how it is done in Belgium!", Roger bristled.

"& he suggested they take a vacation in San Tropez. So, he wasn't interested in her chocolates!", Mrs Lambert continued.

"Mon dieu", Roger muttered, "Fraternization!"

Mrs Lambert smiled. "I mean, how could I write follow up novellas if she got caught??"

Manwell shook his head, confused & irritated. He liked logical endings.

'Don't worry dear, I'll tell you all about 'Jane of Sloterberry farm' next. Now there's an interesting tale!", Mrs Lambert whispered.

 

The weather had cleared when they reached Meilan, a steep descent saw them quickly on the tarmac.

 

As soon as Babushka had rolled to a stop in the hangar, Lambert announced, "I'm off for a massage!", & he was gone.

Mrs Lambert gave Roger The Look, but he wasn't going to make himself scarce just so that she could seduce Manwell.

She sniffed, he sniffed back & they continued to glare at each other with Manwell blissfully unaware he was an object of desire.

 

Taking off from Da Nang  in misty rain & a cross wind

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More mist & Da Nang

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Hainan Island

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Dropping down to Haikou Meilan International Airport

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On Chinese soil at Haikou Meilan airport

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To be continued

 

Windswept

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #71: Jane of Sloterberry Farm

 

Mrs Lambert lit a cigar & kicked off her slippers.

"Jane was an interesting character!", she began, turning to make sure Manwell was listening.

"She inherited a small land holding in Cheshire when her Grandfather died. 

Originally a bee keeper in Bromwich, she moved to Sloterberry Farm and determined to turn it into an organic boutique cheese making operation.

She purchased 4 cows, Daisy, Hazy, Lazy & Maisy. 

She hand milked them every morning, unaware that one particular morning, her world would be turned upside down.

Mrs Lambert paused for dramatic effect & gently fluttered her false eyelashes at Manwell.

He, in turn, wondered if she had a sty, or some other visual affliction.

 

To be continued

 

Windswept

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #72: Meilan, (ZJHK),  to Hong Kong, (VHHX)

 

Before Mrs Lambert could continue with the tale of Jane of Sloterberry farm, Lambert returned at haste.

 

"Bed time all, early start. Lights out!"

Mrs Lambert appraised him disdainfully.

"Why are you wearing a Kimono James?"

"Blend in with the locals old girl. Headed for Japan via Hong Kong, must dress appropriately!"

He could see she was not convinced.

He whispered to her, "Circulation dear, I need air circulation!", & he pointed to his nether regions.

"Oh!", she nodded knowingly.

 

Manwell fell asleep dreaming of dairy cows.

Mrs Lambert dreamed of running sans rainements through mountain meadows full of buttercups, chased by a mountain lion that Manwell, rising from behind a large rock, smote mightily with a pipe wrench as it passed by.

"My hero!!", she muttered in her sleep. Loud enough to wake Roger, who was a light sleeper. But there were no more utterances from Mrs Lambert & Roger fell asleep again.

While Lambert dreamed of riding in the Grand National.

 

In the morning preparations were brisk and they were soon on their way out of Meilan, headed for Kai Tak, the old Hong Kong airport.

It was not great weather when they left, but better when they arrived at Kai Tak.

 

Mrs Lambert slept most of the way as Lambert headed up to Hong Kong, flying just off the coast of China.

 

When they reached Hong Kong & had Babushka tucked in a hangar, Lambert pulled Mildred aside & fixing her with a sad gaze said

"I'm afraid I have some bad news old girl!"

 

 

Picking up the flight plan after leaving Meilan in damp conditions

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Coastal China, on the way to Hong Kong

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Nearing Hong Kong

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Part of Hong Kong city, the tip of Kai Tak runway off to the left

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Kai Tak, (VHHX)

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To be continued

 

Windswept

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #73: News

 

Mildred was thrown off balance by Lambert's intimation that he had some bad news for her.

Had the cat died?, possibilities raced through her head.

He continued, wrapping a solicitous long bony arm around her shoulders.

An action that sent a shiver down her spine. Affection had never been Lambert's strong point.

He looked her in the eyes again & murmured quietly,  "I'm going to have to replace you with a bladder!".

"What!", she responded. "Speak up, I can't hear you James!"

"I'm going to have to replace you with a bladder!", Lambert shouted in frustration. He had advocated for years that she get her ears tested, but stubbornness ran in her family.

Roger turned, as did Manwell, & stared. Lambert ignored them.

Mildred looked thunderstruck.

"A bladder? What sort, Why?"

"It's one of those portable fuel tank things. I need to put it where your bed is.

The bed & your good self will have to go! I'll run you to the BOAC counter at the new airport."

'Not quite so fast James!", Mildred replied, as she slowly comprehended what he was saying.

"So you are ditching me for a fuel cell?

'Essentially, yes!", he acknowledged. 

"Why James, why??, I so wanted to go on to Japan!"

"Sorry old girl, can't be done.

After Japan we have to work our way up the side of Russia then cut across the Bering Sea & head across Alaska & down the PNW coast.

There are several legs where Babushka's tanks won't have enough fuel, so we have to carry temporary fuel storage.

Where your bed is now!" Sorry!", he added.

"Well, I'l be damned!", Mrs Lambert pronounced & she flounced back to her bedroom.

"Come Manwell, get Boris, you can run me to the airport. I'll tell you more about Jane of Sloterberry Farm, on the way"

She turned to Lambert & fixing him with an icy gaze & told him, "I will" be consulting my Lawyers when I return to England!"

She sniffed loudly, gathered her belongings in a large duffel bag & hopped in the sidecar.

Manwell paused. "Mister Lambert, this is what you want, si?"

"Manwell old chap, I bear you no ill will. Take Mrs Lambert to the airport & make sure she gets the first plane out to England. God speed!", & Lambert saluted.

Which Roger thought somewhat odd.

In a flash & a cloud of smoke, Boris was gone. Roger was sure he saw an up stretched middle finger waved by Mrs Lambert at Lambert, but he had turned away.

 

"Mrs Lambert, Mrs Lambert, this is terrible!", Manwell wailed over the roar of Boris's engine.

"Oh poppycock Manwell, I was leaving anyway. Take me to The Ritz-Carlton, I have meetings arranged!"

"Si Mrs Lambert. What about Jane?"

"Jane?"

"Jane of Sloth Farm?", Manwell replied.

"Sloterberry Farm!", Mrs Lambert corrected him.

"Where were we?"

"I think Jane was milking cows. Lazy, Hazy, Daisy & Maisy?", Manwell suggested.

"Ah yes!!"

 

To Be continued

 

Windswept
 

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #74: Jane

 

"Pull over at that park Manwell, I can't tell this story over the engine noise. Boris is a noisy  b-stard, what?"

Manwell did as instructed, declined the cigar Mildred offered him & listened with rapt attention as she continued with Jane's tale while they sat together on a bench.

 

"It was a raw Autumn morning. Mist lay heavy on the ground, like off-white eiderdowns, or the fallen feathers of geese shedding in flight as they passed over Sloterberry farm, headed out of Greenland

Jane's cows graze in a paddock on the opposite side of the road to her milking & cheese making shed.

It was 8.15 am, Jane remembered it well, for the next 5 minutes would change her life.

She was quietly tugging on one of Maisy's teats when she heard a fearful racket up the country lane upon which her small boutique cheese making farm was situated.

Jane instantly recognized the scream of a 1954 Norton Manx wound out at full throttle.

"What a dick", she thought

"Racing the thing in this weather!"

 

As Brain surgeon & Lawrence of Arabia re-en-actor Harold Blunt-fingers approached the long right hand corner that bisected Sloterberry farm, he failed to notice that Lazy, Hazy, Maisy & Daisy had all evacuated their bowels whilst traversing the road,  on the way from grazing paddock to milking shed.

A time honored morning routine.

So at 75 mph the front wheel of his prized & much loved 1954 Norton Manx hit a cow pat & slid sideways in a thrice.

As Harold could feel himself about to meet the tarmac, the bike caught the curb on the left hand side of the corner, popped up  with vigor & hurled Harold over a box thorn hedge.

Harold entered Jane's  front lawn at a height of  20 feet, travelling face up & backwards, parallel to the ground, at about 50 mph.

When he hit the ground he slid another 30 yards, straight through the milking shed doors and stopped, wedged under Maisy's back legs.

Just as Jane was on a down stroke on Maisy's left hind teat.

The product of  the down stroke shot into Harold's wide open traumatized mouth & probably save him.

Jane screamed.

Harold choked & spat out a small bird he had somehow inhaled in flight

Maisy began to kick the bej-sus out of Harold, & Lazy, Hazy & Daisy bolted from the holding yard.

Luckily for Harold he was wearing racing leather's & a helmet.

It was a full 5 minutes before order was restored.

Once Jane had untied Maisy & she had rushed from the milking pen muttering furiously, Harold was able to 

get up, dust himself off & go in search of his Norton Manx. Affectionately named Larry.

Jane found him 10 minutes later pulling bits of Larry out of the box thorn hedge.

"Here, hold this!", he said to Jane as he passed her the mangled front suspension.

For Jane, it was love at first sight.

As he passed Larry's front end to her, she noticed he had the hands of a blacksmith. Big, broad & strong.

Hands that made Jane's mouth go dry with anticipation.

"Would you  like a cup of tea?",  she inquired.

Harold turned to appraise her.

Normal frontal lobe. Skull not unattractive.

"Don't mind if I do", Harold replied.

 

To be continued

 

Windswept

 

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #75: More  Jane

 

After tea & tiny cakes, Jane offered to show Harold the Brain Surgeon around her quaint country cottage.

Harold Blunt-fingers expressed mild interest, although he had a thumper of a headache.

They wended their way through the kitchen & dining room, tastefully decorated in blue & white with cream colored counters & cupboards.

Then she led him up some narrow stairs to the upper floor.

"This is my bedroom!", she announced, flinging open a solid oak door.

Inside was a 4 poster king size bed, complete with canopy & wrought iron head & tail boards.

"Could tie a horse to those!", Harold commented.

Jane smiled demurely & sat on the edge of the bed.

"This is my bed!", she said with a come hither look, patting the bed next to her.

"Join me!", she added breathlessly.

Harold hesitated. "I'm terribly sorry, but I have this frightful headache!"

 

"Mrs Lambert, something is wrong!", Manwell protested.

'Wrong?, whatever do you mean?", Mrs Lambert replied.

"I have read Jane of Sloterberry Farm!, this is not the Jane of Sloterberry  Farm that I read!!"

"Oh, silly me, did I not tell you that this is Jane of Sloterberry Farm, Part II?  As yet unpublished?.

Oh dear me,. no wonder you are confused!!" Mrs Lambert confided, placing a solicitous hand on his forearm

Manwell nodded.

"You remember then from Part 1 how Jane fell madly in love with Gilbert, the tractor driver from  Chumash Estate, but 10 miles from Sloterberry Farm?", Manwell nodded.

"And that Gilbert was a mad keen triathlete?"

,Again Manwell nodded.

"And how one day, while leading the pack in the bike ride leg of the local Triathlon, Gilbert was accosted by Jane as she zoomed up alongside of him on an electric bike, proposing marriage at 25 mph?'

"Si!, I remember!", Manwell smiled.

"And how, when they came to a crossroads 30' ahead, Gilbert was so unnerved by Jane's protestations of undying love & lust & offer of marriage  that he turned right instead of left & took the entire leading group 10 miles the wrong way before they realized their mistake!"

Manwell nodded.

"And by then it was too late, when Gilbert got back to the crossroads, the main bunch had turned left and were long gone!"

"Si!", Manwell replied

"Well!", Mrs Gilbert paused, for she sensed something was not quite right.

A shadowy figure in a trench coat & a trilby hat with a pulled down brim had sat down next to Mrs Gilbert.

"Don't eat the yogurt", the stranger whispered to Mrs Lambert.

A sudden change came over her.

She stood up quickly and shook Manwell's hand.

"Must go. Here, take this spare copy of the unpublished manuscript of Jane of Sloterberry Farm, Part II.

Read it in your spare time. Think of me in those long lonely hours over the Bering Sea!"

& Mrs Lambert hurried purposefully over to a Black saloon parked nearby.

The trilby hatted stranger followed close behind and did not glance back.

 

Manwell was very distraught, but threw thew manuscript into the sidecar & rode Boris back to the airport at a brisk clip.

Lambert was waiting.

"See the old girl off?", he asked perfunctorily.

"Si, si!", Manwell replied, averting his eyes, but ending up staring into Roger's black rabbit eyes.

& Roger knew.

& Manwell knew he knew.

 

To be continued

 

Windswept

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #76: Hong Kong, (VHHX), to Taipei, (RCTP)

 

While the ancillary fuel cell crew fitted the cell where Mildred's bed had been, Lambert set fire to the bed at the back of Babushka's hangar.

This prompted a 3 alarm turn out by the airport fire crew & a written warning from Airport management.

"Purging, I was purging!", Lambert explained to Roger. "These people have no sense of history!"
 

The fuel cell took 2 hours to fit & Lambert wanted it half filled for their next leg, Kai Tak to Taipei.

A run of about 420 miles. he was going to switch over to the cell en route to check it was functioning correctly.

 

"After Taipei we go to Shanghai, then Kagoshima in Japan, Kagoshima to Osaka,& Osaka to Yokohama.

We're already a day behind so lets crack on gents!", Lambert announced as he set Babushka up for the Taipei leg.

Soon after he had fiddled with the fuel controls he fired her up & off they trundled, veering left over Hong Kong hi-rise apartments & heading up the coast of China on the way to Taiwan.

 

It was a quiet trip. Manwell missed Mildred & couldn't yet bring himself to read Jane of Sloterberry Farm, part II.

Roger had ear ache & Lambert had another dose of prostatitis.

Which necessitated him after an hour into the flight,  lie down in the back of Babushka while Manwell took the left seat.

"Monsieur, may I suggest that igniting the bed was perhaps, premature?", Roger commented to Lambert.

"Couldn't have got the ruddy fuel cell in if we hadn't got rid of the bed!", Lambert harrumphed.

"If you say so monsieur!", Roger replied, deciding not to tell Lambert that the fuel cell would have fitted in sideways, behind the bed.

 

Manwell made a smooth landing at Taipei & Lambert left he & Roger in charge, while he sought out an acupuncturist and herbal doctor.

"What does he do to get this affliction?', Manwell asked Roger.

Roger shrugged. His earache had his attention, Lambert's prostate was of no interest to him.

He was further put off when Lambert returned with several potions and a snake skin that he advised them he was going to have to rub on his nethers twice a day.

& they were not to be alarmed.

 

Meanwhile, back in Hong Kong, Mildred had locked herself in a room at the Ritz-Carlton with a tub of ice cream & was waiting for a visitor.

There was a series of knocks on her door. Tap Tap.

Tap Tap Tap.

Tap Tap.

"Who is it?", she called out.

 

Heading out of Kai Tak

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Over some  islands that surround Hong Kong

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Cloudy conditions on the way to Taipei

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Distant hills on Taiwan

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Lined up for RCTP, (formerly Chiang Kai-Shek International airport)

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Some activity at RCTP

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To be continued

 

Windswept

 

[Windswept 77]

Diary entry #77: Taipei, (RCTP), to Shanghai, (ZSSS)

 

A series of taps on the door of her room in the Hong Kong Ritz-Carlton had Mildred call out, "Who is it?"

There was no reply.

Pulling out the pearl handled Colt 45 from its holster, strapped to her left inner calf, she eased open the door.

Nobody. Or was that a caped shadow dashing down the hallway, to vanish at a corner?

"How odd!", she thought, returning to the tub of ice cream.

There were no more taps that night.

Her visitor never showed up.

Something was amiss!

 

Up in Taipei the next morning, Lambert had Babushka ready for the flight to Shanghai.

He let Roger take her out and they were soon settled at 8,000' making steady progress, despite a 23 kt cross wind.

Their course would take them up the edge of the coast of China.

Manwell pulled out the manuscript of Jane of Sloterberry Farm, Part II, but didn't have the desire to delve further into it at this time.

 

Lambert took the left seat 1 hour out from Hongqiao International airport & brought Babushka in without incident.

"Very long flight tomorrow chaps. Shanghai to Kagoshima, which is at the South West tip of Japan. Manwell, we'll need your tuning magic again, plus we'll have some juice in the fuel cell"

& with that he bade them all good night & went out looking for Peking Duck.

 

Roger guides Babushka out of  Taipei

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Over China, on the way to Shanghai

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Sea & coastal China

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Descending towards (ZSSS), Hongqiao International airport

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About to touch down at (ZSSS)

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To be continued

 

Windswept

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #78: Shanghai, (ZSSS), to Kagoshima, (RJFK) in Japan

 

Kagoshima lies in the South Western corner of Japan, on the island of Kyushu. It is quite a hilly rural region.

The flight from Shanghai is a long haul for a biplane, about 481 miles.

Lambert would be using the ancillary fuel cell for this one.

He had Manwell check the lines & fuel flow, reviewed the weather forecast, which was very good compared to what was happening in Northern Japan, & they departed.

 

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, Mildred was in bed with her headphones on bopping along to the Beastie Boys & didn't hear the door of her hotel room  click open.

A hand smothered her mouth & she felt a cold wipe on her arm, followed by a pin prick.

After that she felt nothing until she awoke in a location that was not known to her.

She could hear farm animals & a tractor in the distance.

Her hands were tied in front of her & a blindfold covered her eyes. The Colt 45 & holster had been removed.

She could sense she was not alone.

A man and 2 women were speaking in Bulgarian, a language she was not conversant in.

 

And the monotony of the flight out over the sea between China & Japan prompted Manwell to dig out the manuscript for Jane of Sloterberry Farm, Part II.

After a few minutes he found where Mildred had got to while reading it to him.

'Jane smiled demurely & sat on the edge of the bed.

"This is my bed!", she said with a come hither look, patting the bed next to her.

"Join me!", she added breathlessly.

Harold hesitated. "I'm terribly sorry, but I have this frightful headache!"

Jane hesitated, then began to unbutton her blouse.

Harold fainted on the bed.

Just as Jane was contemplating whether this was advantageous or not, he opened one eye & begged for some Disprin.

Jane went to fetch it.

Whilst in the kitchen she heard a thump & looking out the window saw that Harold had climbed out her bedroom window & jumped into a convenient trailer of hay.

"G-ddam", Jane muttered, "what do I have to do? Handcuff them to the bed post?"

In addition to feeling somewhat insulted by Harold's reluctance to interact with her within the confines of her bed, Jane was aghast to see that he was escaping on her electric bike!!
"Hey!!", she yelled after him, as peddling furiously he headed off down the lane,unaware he was on an electric bike.

But Jane knew she had a trump card up her sleeve.

She had the pieces of his treasured 1954 Norton Manx  motor cycle.

"He'll be back", she muttered as she went about collecting what she could find of the Norton Manx.

 

Lambert fell asleep over the sea on the way to Kagoshima & Manwell competently took over.

He & Roger admired the volcanoes & distant hills they could see in South West Japan & agreed the scenery would be more interesting than in some of the countries they had flown over.

 

When they reached Kagoshima, Lambert again abandoned ship & rushed into the city for some kimono fittings & antibiotics.

He still could not sit comfortably.

 

 

Leaving Shanghai in good conditions

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Closer look at Babushka climbing out from Shanghai

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Right seat view of Shanghai metropolis

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Over the sea between China & Japan

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Rural South West Japan with volcano in the background

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On the way down to Kagoshima

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Kagoshima, with distant mountains

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To be continued

 

Windswept

 

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #79: Kagoshima, (RJFK),  to Osaka International, (RJOO)

 

Mildred's captors had released her in a small room in what appeared to be an old stone farmhouse in a rural part of Eastern Europe.

They always wore balaclavas when in her presence & didn't speak, although she could hear a few snatches of words when they were in another room.

She had been fitted with a tracking bracelet attached to her right ankle.

The food was passable & the coffee very black.

They appeared to be waiting for someone or something as occasionally one of them would walk across a field & scan the horizon with binoculars.

2 days later she heard the sound of hooves & cart wheels & peering through a window that had been welded shut, saw a horse & cart approaching, with only one person on it.

They appeared to be dressed in rough peasant garb.

The cart stopped in front of the farm house & the driver handed over some papers.

There was more discussion, then the door to her room was opened and while one person held her, another gave her a shot in the arm.

When she awoke, she was aware that she was in a box shaped roughly like a coffin & by the amount of jostling going on, it had been placed on the cart & she was being driven away from the farmhouse.

 

Meanwhile, it was 3 am at Sloterberry Farm and a full moon hung over the fields.

Jane was restless. She kept  dreaming about Harold the Brain Surgeon chasing her cows around their paddock on his 1954 Norton Manx.

Twirling a lasso. So vivid was the dream that she woke to find herself  hurling abuse at him & being thankful her nearest neighbors were out of earshot.

She had not been able to sleep after that and was watching Humphrey Bogart re-runs on her TV when she heard a dog bark nearby.

She didn't own a dog, so something was out there.

Grabbing a torch & slippers, she slipped into the courtyard.

It was an uncommonly warm evening for this time of the year & her sleepwear could at best be described as diaphanous.

Moonlight threw her silhouette against the barn door, like a child's stick figure drawn with chalk on a grey pavement.

She froze. One of the 2 doors into the barn was open. And she could hear noises inside.

She went back to her kitchen to get  the Holland and Holland Royal Over - And - Under shotgun that she had found at a jumble sale in Devon.

Whoever was out there was going to get a surprise.

 

It was dawn at Kagoshima and Lambert  suddenly appeared inside Babushka with fried chicken & a new, bright red, kimono.

Startlingly red. Sufficient to cause Roger to reach for his Ray Bans.

'I went for something muted!", Lambert explained. "How do I look?"

"Monsieur, should you venture into the jungle, they will find you!", Roger offered.

"Manwell?", Lambert turned to Manwell asleep in the sidecar.

"Si!", he muttered.

"Si, si what?", Lambert demanded.

"Is very fetching Mr Lambert!", Manwell replied, not sure if he was going blind.

"Good!", Lambert replied. "On to Osaka today. No time to lose!"

& while Roger & Manwell scoffed their fried chicken he readied Babushka for take off.

 

The flight was good.

Lambert had to work getting out of Kagoshima as a row of hills was dead ahead & he realized he couldn't track straight out over, what was, the highest peak.

So he maneuvered around the side & after that Babushka rumbled along, the air was calm and they made good time.

At Osaka, Lambert went off to find maps.

"When we leave Japan & head North, it gets very interesting chaps. Have to figure out where to cross the Bering Sea. Research to be done. 

Tomorrow we go on to Yokohama. Early night chaps!"

 

 

Coming out of Kagoshima, Lambert had to get Babushka up & over some hills that were close to the city

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Some mist & cloud on the way to Osaka

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Coastline to the South East of their route

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Nearing Osaka. Quite a few small islands linked by bridges in the area

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Lining up for Osaka International, (RJOO)

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On the ground at Osaka

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To be continued

 

Windswept

 

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #80: Osaka, (RJOO) to Tokyo International, (Haneda)

 

The day of departure for Yokohama.

Lambert was confused because the closest airport he could find to Yokohama was Tokyo International, (Haneda).

"Very strange", he mused. "I guess that is where we head to!"

 

"Bit of a rush today chaps, last day for the leg. No time for other stuff!"

And Babushka was soon in the air & on the way.

The flight went smoothly at 10,500', [volcano avoidance height], and they landed at Haneda without incident.

Lambert left to get more navigation charts & another kimono.

 

Meanwhile, in Eastern Europe, Mildred was still bouncing along in the back of a horse drawn cart, entombed in a, [thankfully], padded coffin like box, which she had figured out had air vents, hence she was not deceased.

Yet.

& at Sloterberry Farm, Jane had just pressed the cold end of her Holland and Holland Under-and-Over shotgun against the back of the neck of a person crouched over shiny bike parts.

 

 

Heading out of Osaka, from the right seat

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Outskirts of Osaka, headed North East

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On the way to Yokohama

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Passing a partially snow covered volcano South West of Yokohama.

Hard to see it as the PTA white balance/ cloud interaction is out of kilter

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Tokyo International, (RJTT), off to the left.

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Leg completed. On the ground near Yokohama. (At RJIT)

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To be continued

 

Windswept

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #81: Yokohama, (Tokyo Haneda, RJTT), to Akita, (RJSK)

 

The next morning Lambert appeared at breakfast in an Olympic swimmer's skin suit under his new  cobalt blue  kimono.

"Warmth!", was all he said when he saw Roger staring at him askance.

"Big day today chaps!", he announced.

"Next leg, a very long one. From here to San Francisco!!

I've figured out the first part - today we head to Akita, then Sapporo. From Sapporo our destination is Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in Russia, that's a long haul!

The next flight is even longer & the ancillary tank will be full, plus we'll carry some Gerry cans of gas. .

So its YS to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy. G-d these Russian names are nearly as bad as the Welsh!!", Lambert complained.

Then its on to Shemya, Adak Island, Atka, Unalaska, False Pass & Chignik as we island hop across the Bering Sea!"

"Holie cr-p!", Roger muttered.

"Fearsome task, but I'm sure we're up to it men!", he announced.

"We go in an hour. Update your Wills!"

 

As Manwell turned white & Roger looked for a brown paper bag, Lambert strode off whistling.

 

The flight to Akita occurred under a brown tinge as Lambert got his Envshade setting wrong.

But he pressed on & managed to land safely  at Akita  in a cross wind.

 

In Sloterberry Farm Jane continued to hold the cold end of her Holland & Holland  Royal Over - And - Under shotgun against the back of the  barn interlopers neck. Her hand was beginning to shake.

"Jane", a male voice commanded in an irritated manner, "Put that thing down, can't you see I'm trying to connect a brake cable!!"

"Harold!, what are you doing here!", Jane shouted.

The person turned around slowly.

It was not Harold.

 

Meanwhile, in Eastern Europe, Mildred realized the horse & cart had stopped. She could hear running water. Perhaps they were near a river?

The bottom half of the lid of  the coffin like box  in which she was imprisoned  opened & a hand reached in & with a deft flick of  a wrist, a knife removed her tracking bracelet.

Then the lid closed with a bang that startled her.. It was night, she saw no one.

Then she heard a splash & decided the bracelet had been thrown in a river.

The cart did not move. She could hear voices, then the sound of a helicopter.

Suddenly the cart moved off & she heard a gate open & it felt as if she was being transported across a field.

The horses hooves had gone quiet.

The helicopter got louder & soon its down-wash was buffeting the cart.

It landed, the pilot cut the motor & Mildred heard the rotor blades slowly wind down.

There were muffled footsteps & several voices.

Then the top half of Mildred's coffin like box was flung open & a face peered in.

"Mother!!", Mildred exclaimed.

 

 

Leaving Haneda in overcast conditions

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On the way to Akita

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Rain, with squalls in the distance

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Dropping down into rain cloud & fog  near Akita

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Under the rain cloud  with Akita off to the Left

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Cross wind landing in rain at Akita

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To be comtinued

 

Windswept

 

 

 

 

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #82" Akita, (RJSK), to Chitose, Sapporo, (RJCJ)

 

Mildred stared out of the box in which she had been conveyed part way across Europe. A flashlight shone in her face, causing her to simultaneously blink & wince.

"That is you isn't it Mother?", she called out.

"Of course you silly girl. Who else would come & rescue you? I told you that marring that Lambert chap was a big mistake!"

Augustine, the 14th Duchess of Rochester peered into the box & surveyed her daughter. "G-d, you've put on weight again. You are a mess!"

At that moment a figure whispered in the Duchess's ear & she turned to Mildred & told her to hurry up. "We may soon have company!"

Mildred was assisted from the box & on wobbly legs, staggered across to the deep olive helicopter.
"Special ops, The Firm borrowed for the night!", Augustine advised her as she was strapped into a seat & given a cigarette & a Mars bar.

 

"Thank you Weedwacker!", Augustine called out to a figure receding into the gloom. He gave a desultory wave & mounted the horse & cart & trundled off.

"What's he doing here!?", Mildred demanded.

"Keeping an eye on you!", Augustine replied.

Although only 5' 2", she carried herself as if 6'.

Wrapped in a fur coat  & with a Russian rabbit fur bomber helmet hat on her head, she looked a bit like a brown Panda.

But her manner was imperious.

 

They flew on in silence for 2 hours. Headed West.

Suddenly Augustine spoke again.

"Saw your father at Ascot recently!", she advised Mildred.

"How is Daddy?", Mildred asked. 
"Don't know. He had some slip of a girl on his arm.

I think it was a new one. Anorexic horsey looking thing.

He's probably still trying to procreate. At his age its a bit dicey!", Augustine pronounced.

"Well, I guess at some stage you & he did!", Mildred sniffed.

"What?"

"Procreate!"

Augustine burst out laughing. "Good lord no, wouldn't let him within 50'. Messy blighter, always drunk!"

"Then how did I arrive!", Mildred demanded.

"Oh, you're adopted!", Augustine replied surprised. "Did we not tell you!

I'm sure I asked Randolph to let you know when you were 10!"

There was a long silence. Then Mildred replied icily. "He must have overlooked it!"

"Well, that's Randolph!", Augustine replied brightly.

Mildred withdrew despite Augustine's attempts at conversation & admonishment for 'sulking'.

The only thing that caught Mildred's attention was when Augustine casually mentioned that her cousin Rupert had gone into rehab for the 3rd time. "Heroin I think dear. Can't leave it alone!"

 

Meanwhile, Lambert had Babushka ready to push on to Sapporo.

"Dreadful weather up that way last couple of weeks, there's a bit of a break & we are going through chaps. Make the best of it. Could be more snow on the way.

 Manwell you can take her out, My swim suit is tight, I need to adjust it."

They left Akita in good conditions.

It was a shortish hop of 200 miles and all was well until about 20 miles from Sapporo the weather closed in & they found themselves in fog down to ground level.

While Roger screamed into his brown paper bag & Manwell fainted, Lambert managed to spot the airport approach lights at about 50' above the ground & turned hard left to drop Babushka onto the runway.

"Off to the dry cleaners!", Lambert announced as he left Babushka with some urgency.

 

Manwell doing a good job of getting Babushka out of Akita, having had  to climb out at 700 fpm to clear some hills on the flight path

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Roger has taken over & is traversing some hilly terrain in reasonable conditions

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Starting to cloud up as they get nearer to Sapporo

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At this point, about 5 miles from the airport,  the fog was down to the ground & Lambert had nearly put them into the deck looking for Chitose

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Lambert got Babushka down in difficult conditions

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To be continued

 

Windswept

 

 

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #83: Harold & Roger

 

Back at Sloterberry Farm Jane continued to hold the cold end of her Holland & Holland  Royal Over - And - Under shotgun against the back of the  barn interlopers neck. Her hand was beginning to shake.

"Jane", a male voice commanded in an irritated manner, "Put that thing down, can't you see I'm trying to connect a brake cable!!"

"Harold!, what are you doing here!", Jane shouted.

The person turned around slowly.

It was not Harold.

"Who the hell are you!", Jane demanded, the shotgun barrel now pressed against the stranger's forehead.

"How did you know my name?"

"I'm Robert! I'm Harold's Anesthetist! Harold told me he met this strange woman who hand milked cows.

Do put that down please!"

Robert pushed the barrel aside which was a mistake.

Diaphanous clad Jane was beginning to shake from cold & fright.

Just as Roger pushed the barrel aside her trigger finger tightened & 1 barrel went off with a loud boom & the shot took out a milking pail hanging on the barn wall.

It also nearly burst Roger's right eardrum & he staggered outside cursing loudly, hands clapped over his ears.

"What on earth is going on??", Harold bellowed as he appeared in the barn doorway clutching a dented petrol tank from a 1954 Norton Manx.

"Accident!", Jane yelled at him. "Why are you creeping around my barn?", she demanded.

"Trying to fix the Manx!", Harold replied, as if it was the most natural thing to be doing at 2 am in the morning.

"We were on our way to your local hospital to do a couple of operations in the morning & thought we would drop in & try & get the bike fixed"

"Oh!", Jane replied, suddenly aware she was not well garmented for the temperature.

"Would you like to come & watch?", Harold asked her as he handed her a horse blanket to wrap  around her goose pimpled sylph like figure.

"Really? I could? It's allowed?", she asked.

"Oh yes, people drop by all the time. Medical reps, trainee Doctors. That's right isn't it Roger?", Harold  turned & addressed the figure standing in the doorway. Roger sniffed & scowled.

"Get some clothes on, grab your bag & I think we can all squeeze into the Bentley!", Harold advised her.

Jane hesitated, but Harold seemed so earnest that she agreed.

But as she was heading back to the house she was sure she heard Roger hiss, "He's mine!", as she passed him in the barn doorway.

"What?", she asked as she stopped & turned to Roger. "Histamine, have you got any Histamine?', he replied. "Need some for the ops, left ours in Bristol!"

Harold rolled his eyes & went to check the 1930 Bentley Mulliner Speed Six Drophead Coupe that  he had been left by his Aunt Prudence. She had raced it several times but it had fallen into disrepair when she died. 

Harold & Roger were restoring it.

 

To be continued

 

Windswept

 

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #84: Robert or Roger?

 

"Harold, your Anaesthetist colleague, is he Roger or Robert?", Jane demanded, totally confused.

Harold frowned. "His full name is Robert Roger Asquith-Ramsbottom. He's interchangeable. Goes by Roger or Robert"

"Sh-t!", Jane muttered. "Something odd here!"

 

To be continued

 

Windswept

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #85: Sapporo, (RJCJ), to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, (UHSS). {Y-S}, Khomutovo

 

Lambert was agitated.

He had wanted to get going early, but Manwell had persuaded him to hold off while he checked a potential oil leak from Babushka's bottom seal..

They were leaving Japan for Russia, something that was upsetting Lambert, but Roger could not find out why.

"Its nothing!", Lambert replied brusquely when Roger asked if he was okay. "Big place, easy to get lost. Gulags & so on!", Lambert added.

He tried another tack.

"Monsieur, where are we going?", he inquired politely.

Lambert frowned & handed him an extract from Wikipedia.

"Read this!", he replied grumpily.

Things were not going well.

 

Roger read it out loud to Manwell, who had paused from burying himself in Babushka's engine.

 

"Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk began as a small Russian settlement called Vladimirovka, founded by convicts in 1882.

The Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905, which brought an end to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, awarded the southern half of the Sakhalin Island to Japan.

Vladimirovka was renamed Toyohara (meaning "bountiful plain"), and was the prefect capital of the Japanese Karafuto Prefecture.

After the end of World War II, the Japanese portion of Sakhalin island was occupied by Soviet troops.

Ownership of the city was transferred to the Soviet Union and it was renamed Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk ("Southern Sakhalin"). Town status was granted to it in 1946"

 

"Si!", Manwell nodded, & went back to Babushka.

Roger thought the history was interesting, but could see Manwell was busy & Lambert was fretting.

"We'll run out of daylight if we leave too late!", he yelled at Manwell.

10 minutes later, Manwell gave the thumbs up & they went out midday and at 7,500' it was -11C.

Lambert instructed Roger to keep an eye out for icing.

 

They noticed once they were off the coast of Sakhalin Island that there was a lot of snow on the ground.

Lambert was forced to wear track pants under his kimono. "I may ditch this, we're out of  Japan now!", he announced mid flight as his kimono was replaced by a sweatshirt & hoodie. 

"Too cold for it now!", he added.

They made good time to Khomutovo and Lambert took her in as the runway looked as if it could be iced up.

Certainly the surrounding trees were heavily iced.

 

Meanwhile, Jane, Roger & Harold had piled into the Drop-head Bentley & were roaring off in the early dawn to Jane's local hospital to undertake 2 brain surgeries.

The Bentley sounded like a wounded elephant, but Jane found the shaking & vibration strangely exhilarating.

Harold smoked a pipe, Roger did roll your owns & Jane sipped coffee from a tiny silver flask.

Their trajectory through the lanes was marked by a smoke trail that hung in the frigid dawn air. If viewed from above it would have resembled a white tape worm surrounded by green fields.

 

& in Surrey, Augustine had Mildred ensconced in a Safe House & had had a quiet  word with the Manger before she departed in her Mk II AC Cobra.

"No gin!", she had whispered & Squires had nodded sagely. He had seen it all before.

Augustine drove off with a screech of tires, headed to her racing stables on the other side of Surrey.

Mildred gazed out the window & rang for room service.

 

 

Manwell in the left seat as they head out of Sapporo

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Cloudy conditions on the way to Y-S

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First sighting of Russia, off to the left

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Y-S, (UHSS), Khomutovo airport up ahead

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Tower view of Babushka coming into (UHSS)

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On the ground at Khoutovo, bleeding off speed to get the tail down.

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[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #86: Y-S to P-K (Part 1 of 2)

 

Roger had a sense of foreboding.

Lambert wanted to fly from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Khomutovo airport, (UHSS), where they waited resting, to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Yelizovo airport, (UHPP), in one hop.

P-K was on the volcanic Kamchatka peninsula, one of the most spectacular wilderness areas in the world.

It was a trip of 712 miles. It would take all of the ancillary tank plus Jerry cans of gas to make it.

Lambert hadn't told them yet, but they would have to land short of Yelizovo to refuel with the cans because the tanks & ancillary bladder wouldn't get them there.

Lambert  was not at the airport, he was out looking for a bigger inflatable life raft!. "In case we end in the drink!", he had confided to Manwell, who had promptly started praying under his breath.

"Epic journey lads!", Lambert had advised them when he returned from town.

"Life raft is on the way!", he added.

But it was 1 pm when it turned up & 2 pm when they took off, for a journey that could take 6 or 7 hours.

Roger protested vociferously. "Merde, merde!", he shouted, "Monsieur, this is, how you say, nuts!!"

"Poppycock!", Lambert replied. "I have the night vision of an owl, we'll be fine!"

Manwell looked pale.

"We have no choice chaps. Last week they had terrible weather. We are in a window of opportunity weather wise. Must take it or we could be stuck here for a week!!"

 

Roger refused to go & Lambert handcuffed him to the sidecar. "Need you old chap, sorry!:

& shortly thereafter he had them headed out of town, threading between high hills lying to the North East of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

After an hour he released Roger who promptly informed him that dusk was approaching & they were doomed.

Lambert ignored him, but then headwinds picked up  he knew they were in trouble.

 

Gas was down to 20% left in the ancillary bladder, they were out over the ocean in pitch black conditions & rising crosswinds..

He gave Manwell & Roger binoculars & told them to scan the horizon.

Lambert was about to tell them to ready the lifeboat when Roger cried out he could see a light off to the right.

Lambert consulted his charts.

"No lighthouses around here, what silly b-gger would live there?", he mused. "There are some small islands though!", he added

"Monsieur!", Roger yelled at Lambert, "Silly b-gger or not, it is our only hope, steer for the light, I entreat you!"

Lambert hesitated then turned hard right & they bucked up & down as Babushka clawed her way to what appeared to be a small promontory between 2 islands.

 

As they got closer they could see there were at least 2 lit dwellings there.

Lambert headed for what he hoped was a clear spot to the right of them & as they floated in low over pounding surf, he managed to get Babushka on the ground without ripping the undercarriage off.

But as soon as he eased back on the throttles, Babushka began to roll backwards.

He gunned the engine , stood on the brakes & called for Roger & Manwell to jump out & put chocks behind the tires.

Although buffeted about badly in the wind, they managed this.

Just as Roger was climbing back in he noticed 3 men with rifles trained on them approaching from one of the houses.

"Sh-t", muttered Lambert. "Looks like a welcoming committee!"

 

Meanwhile, at Berkshire County General Hospital, Jane watched stunned as Roger & Harold prepared to operate.

She was gowned up & had a face mask, & a skull cap that had VISITOR printed in bold letters. She would much rather have had one of the more decorative ones she had seen in TV medical dramas.

Roger had Magnolias on his skull cap & Harold had a pink brain.

The patient was in pre-op. Roger had expertly fitted them with a line & attached a bag of fluid to it & very quickly they were somewhere in Bora Bora windsurfing.

In their mind.

Lucy & Lucille, the 2 theater nurses went about their work quietly & efficiently, occasionally glancing at Jane & exchanging 'looks'.

 

Jane was mystified why Roger had carried to large briefcases into the theater.

One was labelled "O", the other "OP"

Out of the "OP" briefcase he pulled a small brass Buddha, joss sticks & a Bonsai consisting of a small rectangular wooden tray with pebbles & a Bonsai red maple  tree that had been trained to reach back over the pebbles.

Jane found it fascinating.

He set them up on a cart in the corner of the room  & lit the joss sticks.

Then he pulled out a set of portable speakers, plugged in his phone & soon had Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon pulsing through the theater.

He noticed Jane's incredulous stare.

"Helps his rhythm when he operates!", he whispered to her.

 

& in the Safe House, Mildred had been locked in her room after verbally abusing the staff when her request for a Gin & Tonic had been turned down.

Augustine was on her way back.

She was not pleased.

 

 

Lambert guides Babushka out of Khomutovo airport, threading between hills

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Darkening clouds did nothing to help Roger's sense of foreboding

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Nightfall & still airborne over the sea. Roger was beside himself

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Desperately looking for land, Roger spots a light and they head for it

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Landing into a 40 kt headwind on a small island

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Lambert holds the throttle 3/4  open to stop Babushka from being blown backwards, while Manwell & Roger get some chocks  behind her wheels

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To be continued

 

Windswept

 

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #87: The Op.

 

As Dark Side of the Moon pulsed through the operating theater, Jane had the awful feeling that this was only the beginning of something weird.

She was not wrong.

A red light over the theater door flashed twice.

Immediately Roger called out '15 minutes', & Harold, Roger, Lucy & Lucinda quickly formed a huddle  next to the operating table.

Harold lead them in The Lord's Prayer, followed by 3 rousing renditions of Kumbaya.

After that came a brisk conga dance around the room to 'Who's Your Daddy Now', by King Creole & The Coconuts.

Stunned, Jane pressed herself back into the far corner of the theater.

She had not been invited to join the conga & was feeling slightly miffed.

The conga was followed by some break dancing from Roger, to 'Let Your Body Move', by Break Machine, & just as Roger finished his last move, a green light came on over the theater door & Harold held up his right hand.

After a series of high fives, they took their stations.

The doors opened & the patient was wheeled in & hooked up to monitors.

Lucy checked vitals, Roger prepared his witches brew to keep the patient under, then got into the other briefcase & pulled out a video camera & laptop.

By the time Jane realized what was happening, the operation was underway & Roger was carefully monitoring the patient & the laptop image.

Harold was the epitome of cool efficiency, working to the rhythm of  Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb, never missing a beat, quietly nodding his head in time to the music. 

Occasionally he would pause & address the camera with technical terms that Jane could not comprehend.

Words like Ependymoma & Medulloblastoma, & kango hammer. Then he would pick up the beat again.

"What's happening?", Jane hissed to Roger when he was near her.

"Harold is transmitting the operation via his Vlog. It's being watched in teaching universities all around the world!", Roger whispered breathlessly. "Stunning eh?'

"Really!", Jane replied. 'Wish you had warned me, I would have put on makeup!!"

Roger looked bemused & returned to monitoring the patient.

"And that's a wrap!", Harold announced as he put down his scalpel & turned to the camera & gave a slight bow.

Roger, Lucy & Lucille clapped politely. Jane did not know what to do, & the patient was wheeled out.

Roger got into a briefcase again & brought out a bottle of champagne.

"Mouthwash!", he declared as 4 glasses were produced.

Again Jane felt left out & was leaving the theater when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

 

Meanwhile, at the Safe House, Mildred was trying to order via Amazon, the equipment & materials to make her own Gin. But she found her account had been closed.

"B-gger you Mother!", she cursed, just as Augustine entered her room.

"Did you call for me dear?", she asked as she threw herself onto a chaise longue.

"Now what this I hear about you being a pain in the ass?', Augustine demanded.

 

& on a remote Island West of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Lambert was trying to communicate with 3 armed men, in sign language, on what he would later learn was the island of Simushir. Part of the Sakhalin Oblast of The Russian Federation.

They were getting nowhere, then Roger stepped in.

 

To be continued

 

Windswept

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #88: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, (UHPP), Yelizovo Airport, (Part 2 of 2)

 

"I will translate!", Roger told Lambert, who looked stunned.

"You can understand them?", Lambert asked

Roger nodded. "They guard the remnants of a secret submarine base. They are suspicious about our presence here. As they put it, no one in their right mind would come here!", & Roger glared at Lambert.

Lambert shrugged his shoulders. "I know nothing about a submarine base!"

Roger spoke briefly to the men.

"They want to know if we have any cigarettes?", Roger reported.

Lambert shook his head.

Roger spoke to the 3 men.

They smiled & began jabbering excitedly.

"They will be happy to have your cigars & we are free to go", Roger advised Lambert.

Lambert went puce but realized he had been outmaneuvered.

Reluctantly & with bad grace he handed a box of Cuban cigars to Roger, who handed it to  the men.

They walked back to their barracks,  leaving Lambert, Roger & Manwell to fend for themselves in the fierce weather.

Babushka rocked, creaked  & moaned all night as she was buffeted by the unrelenting winds.

It was not restful, & in the morning a sleep deprived Lambert couldn't get out of there quick enough.

He roused Manwell & Roger & after a breakfast of Saltine Biscuits & fruit juice, had them pouring the Jerry cans of gas into Babushka's ancillary fuel pod.

"That should get us to P-K!", Lambert announced. Roger was not so confident & Manwell had given up hope of seeing the main land again.

 

The take off was tricky, being slightly uphill, but a stiff headwind & full flaps & full throttle effected a helicopter like  rise off the ground.

Akin to slope soaring.

Easing the flaps up allowed Babushka to gain forward momentum & they were soon up to flying speed.

Thereafter Lambert kept Babushka moving along, not wanting to get caught out in the dark again.

Conditions were good until Yelzovo airport, (UHPP), where light snow was falling, but Lambert got her down okay in the cross wind that was blowing.

Without being asked, Lambert handed Roger a Wikipedia extract about P-K.

 

"The city is situated on high hills and surrounded by volcanoes. The surrounding terrain is mountainous enough that the horizon cannot be seen clearly from any point in town. Across Avacha Bay from the city in Vilyuchinsk is Russia's largest submarine base, the Rybachiy Nuclear Submarine Base, established during the Soviet period and still used by the Russian Navy. The city is located 6,766 kilometers (4,204 mi) from Moscow and about 2,220 kilometers (1,380 mi) from Vladivostok."

"Navy town monsieur", Roger mused as he handed the extract back to Lambert.

Lambert grunted & went off to find a store that sold chocolate eclairs. His sweet tooth was in overdrive.

Manwell went to buy gloves & Roger stood guard.

Tomorrow they would head to Shemya, a western outpost of Alaska & begin their island hopping to Anchorage.

 

Lambert dragging Babushka off the deck on the remote island that saved their bacon

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A volcano on the way to Yelizovo

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Above the cloud

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Heading into Yelizovo

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About to touch down at Yelizovo in light snow

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On the ground at Yelizovo, bit of a wind blowing

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To be continued.

 

Windswept

 

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #89

 

At the Surrey Safe House you could cut the atmosphere in Mildred's room with a bread knife.

Augustine & Mildred had never got on.

Ever since Mildred had eloped with a Vacuum Cleaner salesman when she was 16, Augustine had had difficulty treating her civilly.

Unbeknown to Mildred, Augustine had eloped with an Italian painter when she was 15.

That lasted 3 months, & Augustine returned to finishing school in Geneva.

In later years she was a fixture on the social circuit at Cannes.

 

Suddenly Augustine turned to Mildred.

"I need a favor dear, I have a steeplechaser running at Cheltenham tomorrow. 'Skylark Dance'.

7 year old grey mare by 'Rumpy Pumpy' out of 'Quick & Loose'.

Good blood lines. Should win. Regular Jockey's got food poisoning. What do you say?"

Mildred stared at Augustine as if she were mad.

"Good g-d mother, I last rode when I was 14. Jumping ponies over sticks is hardly steeplechase experience!", she complained.

"It's a horse, it's a fence, what's the difference?", Augustine sniffed. "No backbone!", she added.

"Why don't you ride her Mother?", Mildred hissed.

"Because horses frighten me. Big brutes!"

"Please darling, just for me!", she added saccharine sweetly. A crate of Gordon's if you win!!"

Mildred's ears pricked up.

 

Meanwhile, in Cheshire, Jane was leaving the County General Hospital operating theater when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She turned.

It was Lucy.

She gazed into Jane's eyes & whispered. "Don't fall for him, he's trouble!"

"Who?", Jane replied.

"Harold!. Some very odd habits involving needles, if you get my drift", she tapped the side of her nose.

"& watch out for Roger. He's not what he seems!"

Jane was confused. "I must get back to my farm. The cows need milking."

"I'll run you if you like. I've finished my shift"

Jane hesitated, but she knew the cows udders would be near bursting.

"Ok, thanks!", she agreed.

Lucy drove her Lotus Cortina quickly through the country lanes & dropped Jane back at the farm.

Jane thanked her & hurried inside. She had the feeling Lucy wanted to come in too.

 

To be continued

 

Windswept

 

 

[Windswept 77]

Diary Entry #90: From Russia to  Shemya, (PASY), Alaska (aka Eareckson Air Station)

 

As Lambert, Roger & Manwell huddled in  the back of Babushka, Lambert read another extract from Wikipedia.

"Next stop gentlemen is Shemya, which is about as far West in Alaska that you can go. This is what Wikipedia says about it -"

 

'Shemya or Simiya (Aleut: Samiyax̂^[ is a small island in the Near Islands group of the Semichi Islands chain in the Aleutian Islands archipelago southwest of Alaska, at 52°43′27″N 174°07′08″ECoordinates: 52°43′27″N 174°07′08″E. It has a land area of 5.903 sq mi (15.289 km²), and is about 1,200 miles (1,900 km) southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. It is 4.39 kilometres (2.73 mi) wide and 6.95 kilometres (4.32 mi) long.

A United States Air Force radar, surveillance, and weather station and aircraft refueling station, including a 10,000 ft (3 km) long runway, opened on Shemya in 1943 and is still in operation. The station, originally Shemya Air Force Base or Shemya Station, had 1,500 workers at its peak in the 1960s. Observations from Shemya were normally the first radar reports of new Russian satellite launches from Tyuratam (Baikonur) in the early days of satellite tracking.

In 1956, Northwest Airlines leased Shemya Island from the U.S. government to use as a refueling station on their North Pacific route. According to Northwest's website, that made them "the first airline to operate its own airport.'

The station was renamed the Eareckson Air Station in 1993 to honor USAF Colonel William O. Eareckson, who had commanded bomber operations during the Aleutian Campaign of World War II.

 

"Military!", Roger mused.

Lambert did not know why Roger thought that was significant & ignored the comment.

He continued, "We will be island hopping across the Aleutian Islands archipelago towards Anchorage & at all times will try & keep land in sight!"

"Thank g-d for that!", Manwell muttered.

Lambert let that go too as he was not thrilled about the out-landing on the way to Yelizovo. Plus he was short one box of Cuban cigars as a result, which displeased him immensely.

 

Feeling fatigued Lambert gave Manwell the left seat for the whole trip & retired to the back to catch some sleep.

Roger acted as lookout & Manwell flew a flawless leg, dealing alternately with headwinds then crosswinds as the weather bounced around.

He was pleased to land Babushka at Shemya before dusk.

Lambert came too as they were taxiing to a hangar & even congratulated Manwell on a job well done.

Manwell was dumb founded.

Praise? Something was wrong with Lambert!!

"If the weather holds we push on to Adak Island tomorrow!", he advised Roger & Manwell. "I suggest an early night!"

 

Getting ready to leave  Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, (UHPP), Yelizovo Airport

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Manwell took Babushka a bit close to the control tower on departure

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Some of the hills that surround Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky,

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A lot of open water on the way to Shemya, (PASY)

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Passing an island West of Shemya

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On the way down to Shemya in deteriorating weather

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Made it into Shemya before dusk

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To be continued

 

Windswept

 

[DaveLTB 48]

21 hours ago, Windswept said:

Lucy drove her Lotus Cortina quickly through the country lanes & dropped Jane back at the farm.

 

ROFL

 

A Lotus Cortina, forsooth...

 

Windswept, you have just  got to post a pic of that.... (...Tears of mirth)

 

Dave Britzius

(Cape Town)

[Windswept 77]

1 hour ago, DaveLTB said:

 

ROFL

 

A Lotus Cortina, forsooth...

 

Windswept, you have just  got to post a pic of that.... (...Tears of mirth)

 

Dave Britzius

(Cape Town)

 

Next you will want the bl-dy Bentley & Mini Cooper!

Geez

Used to watch the Lotus Cortinas, Mini Coopers & homegrown "Breadvan"  Anglias race at Levin many decades ago.

Better than Nascar.

 

Windswept

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