Weird coincidence

Re my drabble Blue Meanie - I've just seen an ad for a new completely restored / remastered version of the movie in question. Looks a bit pricey though.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

Yup - it's the Jubilee Flypast - didn't get the Red Arrows, but these are some of the shots I got of the slower aircraft from my back window. Picture quality isn't too bad considering it was peeing down with rain.

The really big flypast (I think 48 aircraft) was over Windsor last week, what London got (according to the TV) was a sort of stripped down version - two flights of propeller aircraft then the Red Arrows.

The first wave was a DC3 Dakota (I think) and a couple of other aircraft, which I couldn't identify (but major_clanger tells me are Beech King Air B200s):

( First wave )

The second wave was a Lancaster Bomber, four spitfires, and a hurricane:

( Second wave )

Unfortunately the third wave, the Red Arrows formation aerobatic jets, didn't come this way - they usually continue to the south across London, while the propeller aircraft fly over this way to get them out of the way of the faster planes.

Transit of Venus

A reminder that Venus transits the sun tonight / tomorrow. It'll be most visible from Eastern Europe, Alaska, etc., unfortunately it won't be visible from the UK until about the last hour, from dawn to about 6 AM BST.

I don't expect to be able to see it due to the crap weather etc., fortunately I had a really good view of the 2004 one, where the weather was perfect. I took some pictures using a 500mm lens with a sheet of silver mylar foil (the stuff used for emergency blankets etc.) over the end of the lens, worked pretty well. See icon. Unfortunately I had the camera held a little crooked for the last one, and now can't find the original non-digital photos to fix it.

All sorts of details etc. here

http://venustransit.nasa.gov/2012/transit/index.php
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/transit12.html