A couple of years after I'd hung up the helmet I was chatting to a guy down at the harbour who was interested in buying a yacht. He didn't want too expensive a yacht since, as his wife said, his first love was 'aviating' (his words too!). My colleague with whom I was working mentioned that I too had been an 'aviator' and he proceeded to inform me that he knew several RAF pilots really well and I might know them. He dropped a couple of names....I pointed out that I was one of those names (and later recalled that I'd shown him around the A/C once during a refuel at the local airfield). He was memorable because I'd never seen so many badges on a flying suit - not even at Culdrose!
