captain Stable;
Thanks for educating the colonial peasant on the subtleties of British geopolitics. I will add though that my mother considered herself a "Scot" and not british and I always refer to her heritage in that manner, even though she passed away a few years ago.
Now if you can only explain the mysteries of Lucas auto electrics and why you serve beer warm then I really would have a well rounded education.
Now the most bizarre bird strike I had was over 10 years ago landing a DC-8 in Prestwick, during the flare a pair of Skylarks flew down the inlet for the left air conditioning pack - a small 4 x 6 inch opening. The net result was dispacthing with one pack inoperative to LHR. The captain accused me of deliberately hitting the birds!
Richard