Er...is it me, or am I witnessing the most comprehensive thread slippage in the history of...er, threads? Ah, no. Archimedes...must be on the right track.

I was going to beg the question: ARE YOU ALL QUITE, QUITE MAD?

I mean talking about Greek fighter planes. Do you have some hidden desire to be carted off in chains and locked in a jail where the only worthwhile pastime would be to learn Greek?

Talking of Tony, I have a feeling that if it were not for him, some gentle souls would still be fighting for their freedom, having had the temerity to photograph some obsolete kit parked in an obsolete airfield. These people were plane spotters, and I am predisposed to like people that like planes, wether they fly them or not.

I am also predisposed not to forget the bizarre treatment of these people by a country who's desire is to be part of a group of free nations.

I didn't know Ukraine wanted Typhoon.

Well, they are in need of some new fighters...

Just to keep Loose Rivets happy, I've heard murmurings that the Greek AF still want the Typhoon but have re-opened the competition in a bid to get a lower price from Eurofighter GMbH.

Now whether Seb Coe will be forced to buy Tranche 3 out of his own pocket should we have funding difficulties after hosting the Olympics is another matter. Perhaps he could do a sponsored run to raise funds?

"Talking of Tony, I have a feeling that if it were not for him, some gentle souls would still be fighting for their freedom, having had the temerity to photograph some obsolete kit parked in an obsolete airfield. These people were plane spotters, and I am predisposed to like people that like planes, wether they fly them or not."

The track record of one of the key people involved in the spotter's tour in question, insofar as other enthusiasts tell me, suggests that he may not quite be an ordinary, law-abiding spotter. It was suggested to me that he was someone whose cavalier disregard of fences, security regulations and basic common sense was bound to lead to problems. If the grapevine is correct, than doing what he supposedly did in Greece was provocative and stupid.

Rivet:

A bit fanciful to say that Greece's new F-16s are obsolete, mate.

Perhaps my views are skewed because of my day job, but the day I go on a spotting holiday is the day I find all my worldly goods on the lawn and the locks changed - and quite rightly so!

Mmmm...probably better not to try to mix humor with subject matter that one feels strongly about, especially after a few jars. However I was at home in the UK while the plane spotter incident was running on the BEEB, the pictures that I recall were of the type of kit that you would not expect to arouse much interest.

Of course there is always one pain in the butt in any group, that will make things difficult for the others, but I feel reasonably confident that most of these folk were what they purported to be. It was the use of the proverbial sledgehammer that got my goat. As is so often the case, huge flexing of mussels is aimed at innocent if perhaps unwise people, while the real dangers are not tackled.

Anyway, what was I saying about thread slippage?