Sorry for my abscence again people, i have just been so busy once more, and using the laptop for editing, and for flickr, which leads to the headaches if i am not too careful, so 360 just has to take a backseat.

As for the blog title, well, it really was a crazy weekend of weather! AGAIN!

My wife and i, went down to Bournemouth on the south coast of England, early on saturday morning, for their first ever full airshow.

The weather forecast was for early cloud, clearing to leave blue skies.

Well the cloud was non-existent, and we ended up getting slightly burned by the sun on the end of the pier, especialy as the wind was cooling off the English channel.

Apparently it was 28C on the beach, which i know isnt mega-hot, but was certainly a hot day to a nation that has been drowning in water all summer!

After a good airshow, with the aircraft flying dirrectly over our heads as we were on the end of the pier, we headed to Portsmouth, where we stayed for the night, as it is halfway between bournemouth and Shoreham, which was our destination for a sunday airshow.

Again the weather was pleasant in portsmouth, as was the mexican meal, but not the loudmouthed 'mockneys' (wannabe loud mouth cockneys) who destroyed their hotel room and the hotel hallway at 3am!!

On leaving portsmouth, i could see clear skies and a few fluffy white clouds in the rear view mirror, but just jet black clouds and lightning in front!!!

After driving through fairly heavy rain, the odd spark of lightning, and day that looked like night, we got to the airshow, sat under umbrellas for about an hour, and then watched a full airshow with pretty good weather, and even sunshine for a while, but the people at the show, told us that they had hail stones, lightning, thick fog, and flooding overnight.

(The show was good though, with a big spitfire/hurrican/ME-109 dogfight)

We left the airshow in dry, but slightly dark conditions, but heading north, the skies looked more like 10pm than 5pm!!!

As we reached Gatwick airport, just south of London, the heavy rain started, and didnt stop for 5hours+!!!!!!

After crawling along the M25 motorway for two hours, (the M25 is a circular motorway that surrounds London, and is Europes busiest road) i decided enough was enough, and that the rain that was so heavy the wipers on full speed all the time, must be causing all six lanes to stand still, that i would leave at the next exit, and use a combo of the sat nav and mapbook to find my way through the country lanes, and meet up with the M1 motorway about 30miles to the north.

What actualy trancspired, was a mad zig-zagging for 50miles, as i drove through water that actualy came through the bottom of the doors, along roads that were completley flooded at every slight dip, manhole covers with fountains a foot high as the force of water from above caused them to pop off the drains, and roads completley closed by the police as the water was over 5feet deep in the dips.

The radio announced that the two main motorways north were closed where they left the M25, due to flooding, and the fire service were trying to pump the water off the roads, but were losing.

Every route i tried to take, the floods forced a change, and on one road, we saw all of the people from the higher up right hand side, running over with buckets/pans/boxes ect to the left hand side, to help people bail out the water from their houses!!!!!!

(So there is still a community spirit in the UK!!!!)

We also passed through a very large and deep puddle on a road, where i had to put two wheels up on the grass bank, to stop us being swamped, and saw a family standing in the pouring rain, with water flowing out of their front door like a waterfall!!!!!

(They were in the middle of nowhere, so no neigbours to help).

Eventualy, i managed to join the M1 motorway further north, and drove on through the still pouring rain on a near desserted northbound side of the motorway, as everyone else was still stuck on the flooded M25!!!!! (the soutbound lanes were at a standtill for 40miles though!!!)

I have experienced a flash downpour in Miami, where the plane coming to collect us was diverted, and the airport closed, as the runway was a river, but that only lasted for an hour.

I once had to sit on the M6 motorway, as the rain was so heavy i couldnt see out of the windscreen, as the wipers couldnt clear the water fast enough to even see the other side, but that only lasted about 20minutes, this rain lasted for over 5hours, and just seemed to sit over the area causing more and more flooding.

I now know how people that live in monsoon areas feel, and will remember those sights for a very long time, especialy the water flowing down roads like rivers, people rushing to help neigbours bale out their houses, and manhole covers spouting water like fountains!!!

Ok, i am off again, hope you are all well, (if anyone is left on 360 these days!!!!!!! lol) and will catch up when and IF i get chance!

CYA PEEPS!!

Hi all, i am still alive, and still in a kind of limbo as far as 360 goes.

I do occasionaly check whats going on here, but right now i am still not in the right frame of mind to get back into the cyberworld.

Currently, i am pysichaly a little better, and the new diet does seem to help me combat the worst of the fatigue spells, but i do still get heavily fatigued from any excersise, and especialy should i happen to eat the wrong food.

I have been getting out a little more, and seeing a few airshows with the Blades, who are even being kind enough to allow me to travel to shows with them. (well their lovely PR officer Kat anyway)

Well, i just wanted to let you all know i havent forgotten you, and that hopefully i will reach a point mentally, that allows me to return properly here, and obviously, a point where i am pysichaly back to normal. (that is the normal from before i was ill)

Anyway, i hope you are all well, thankyou for the messages of concern ect, they mean a lot to me.

Take care my friends, and i shall see you anon.

Well i am still here, sort of.

I am in a strange kind of funk right now, with my health taking quite a dip of late, with headaches, dizzyness, kidney pains, nausea, stomach pain (not aches) and all the usual fatigue and other CFS/M.E symptoms.

The main problem though, is the return of a strange brain-ache that i had a while back when i had to take a break from 360.

It is like my skull is shrinking around my brain, and i just cant think of more than one thing at a time, so blogging/networking on 360 has had to be shelved.

This has all happened at a time when my association with the Blades has been improving, to the point where i am really getting great access to the aviation world, but my health threatens my being able to fully emerse myself in it all.

Last week saw the Blades host what is probably their biggest corporate event, with the addition of a Spitfire and Mustang display , Swift glider display, and they were due to have a display by the armies 'Blue Eagles' helicopter display team until the weather forced them to cancel.

All that was on top of the usual flights with the Blades, flights in Tigermoth biplanes, flights in other planes and helicopters, and Stearman and 1930's 'dragon-rapide' biplane airliner, as well as the usual amazing Blades aerobatics display.

I actualy got to chat quite a bit with the Spitfires owner and pilot, Peter Teichman, who also owns the Mustang, a P-40 Warhawk, and recently purchased a Hurricane.

Thats him below, with the 'Spitfire grin' of a pilot that just displayed in a Spitfire!!!

And below, is a camera-phone shot of me helping to guide the Spitfire into the Hanger! (Thats me far right, on the wingtip, making sure it cleared the gate and hanger doorway).

Well i promise i wont forget you all, as long as you dont forget me!

Just have patients and when i am upto it, i shall return.

Take care all, and have a good rest of the month.

Two years ago today, i posted my 1st blog, and as it seems no one (except for a couple of good friends) can be bothered with them anymore, this one is likely to be my last.

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(I wont disapear, but flickr is now my priority as people there bother to comment)

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The links are to slideshows of my recent airshow photographs.

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Thanks to Lia and Karly for the Birthday wishes, and birthday wishes back at Karly, who shares my birthday.

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Ok, hope you all have a good sunday, take care all.

Cosford 1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psbellamy/sets/72157605618866614/show/

Cosford 2

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psbellamy/sets/72157605624814501/show/

Cosford 3

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psbellamy/sets/72157605618835318/show/

Cosford 4

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psbellamy/sets/72157605624798627/show/

Biggin Hill 1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psbellamy/sets/72157605624791057/show/

Biggin Hill 2

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psbellamy/sets/72157605624782257/show/

Biggin Hill 3

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psbellamy/sets/72157605618798908/show/

Biggin Hill 4

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psbellamy/sets/72157605618790578/show/

Biggin Hill 5

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psbellamy/sets/72157605618713950/show/

Biggin Hill 6

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psbellamy/sets/72157605624659291/show/

Biggin Hill 7

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psbellamy/sets/72157605624641115/show/

Biggin Hill 8

Biggin hill 8

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psbellamy/sets/72157605625306981/show/