In later life I found myself at Heathrow as a Customs Officer in the 60s boarding British Eagle trooping flights or clearing their passengers and baggage. The flights were always packed with military personnel and/or their families, usually loaded down with 'duty-free' booty of all sorts which they gamely tried to smuggle in. Often we had to tell them that their cheap cameras and watches were fakes, and that their snazzy silk suits would not survive in the rain. On one occasion I went down the back end of a Britannia to deal with the liquor and tobacco stores and found a group of Gurkhas sat on tbe floor in a circle making tea over a portable gas stove. Nobody seemed bothered so I assumed it was common practice and turned a Nelson's eye on their activities. I remember what a spacious aircraft the old Brit was from cockpit to tail compared to the very cramped Comet, but my favourite was and still is the BOAC Super VC10. A real beauty from top to bottom.