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 thomo the lost posted this in  China, Hong Kong, Korea, Mongolia, Singapore, Taiwan on  January 21st, 2012It’s Lunar New Year with the New Year’s Eve tomorrow night. So, to my Korean friends – 새해 복 많이 받으세요. And to my Chinese friends – 新年快樂 or for those who are Cantonese, 恭喜發財 (did I get that right Pauline?). Prosperity, peace and happiness for all in the year of the Dragon.  So, not only will New Zealand remain tethered to Australia, but they will take 91 years to decide where to lay their cable!
30 minutes spent online trying to sort a flight itinerary out to attend a mate’s wedding in Scotland in April. Worked (finally) all the connections and which day Etihad flew to Birmingham or Aberdeen etc. Finally got an itinerary sorted, pressed the button that takes you through to actually booking and paying for the flight and the result? A Bug in their software. Sigh – maybe I should check Emirates instead! Mal Wright is working on a book to be published in the future. The book is about probably the most vexing of World War 2 Naval wargamer’s conundrums, namely, ship’s camouflage during the war. Mal is attempting to cover the camouflage and paint schemes used by all the major combatants in the Second World War with examples. As a taster, here are
It’s still January and I was thinking about what I wanted to achieve in 2012 from a wargaming point of view (I know what I want from a professional and personal point of view so wargaming was the last one left to think about). I will admit that this was partly brought on by posts of some of those I read regularly setting out their plans for 2012. So, what is plan A?
I guess there is enough there to keep me busy for a few months this year There was an article in the Australian Business Traveller reporting on Tony Webber, an ex-Qantas economist who was suggesting in the Sydney Morning Herald that Qantas should levy an extra charge on passengers who, shall we say, are more fulsome of figure … OK, fat folks!
Right! Well, it seems that Qantas (and indeed Virgin) rejected this idea today in an article, Airlines reject fat levy. Want to know what one of the problems is with Qantas? Today I asked our traveller coordinator to book my next return flights, Singapore to Sydney. I asked her to check Singapore Airlines and Qantas for comparable fares on comparable flights. The flights?
So – flights at roughly the same time of day. The result?
OK, so those prices are in Singapore dollars and represent travel on Airbus A380 or Boeing 777 aircraft. Qantas is S$424.20 more expensive (AU $318.00). Now, given Singapore Airlines Service levels, why would I pay $318.00 more to fly Qantas when I am never sure whether they are going to cancel flights at the drop of a hat? Seems a simple equation to me really.
You should be able to see the “extra” service. Seems it is a visa with a happy ending. Thanks Scott for pointing that one out.
This book contains 17 short stories concerning Biggles life in 266 squadron and whilst we think of Biggles as a “Boy’s Own” kind of book, some of what is written there is quite adult in its content. I will admit that the reason I looked for a Biggles book was partly because I want to do something aeroplane-ish in 2012, wargame wise. I have plans … and I will publish them here shortly.  Tags: aeroplane, bi-plane, biggles, camel, fokker, sopwith, WW1 | 
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I think I would rate the works burger about 6/10 … But I was hungry. Next. Trip, the Caltex servo in Buladelah.
The story basically goes something like this. Biggles is asked by Air Commodore Raymond to travel to the middle of Asia to rescue some missionaries from the evil Communist China. Biggles takes Algy, Ginger and Bertie with him in his unmarked Halifax bomber. Also travelling with the tram is a Chinese man by the name of Feng-tao (who speaks virtually no English). Biggles flies the Halifax from Pakistan to the Gobi desert. The missionaries are supposedly hidden in a cave but there is nowhere suitable to land within miles (well duh, it is the middle of the desert and as I recall, Halifax bombers were not really designed for off roading). Algy, Ginger and Feng-tao parachute down whilst Biggles flies back to Pakistan. The plan is for Algy and Ginger to build a runway. However, they find that the missionaries have been attacked and that only four out of eleven remain. One had already died, two were killed in the raid and four have been captured and taken prisoner. Facing constant threat from Chinese soldiers, lead by the evil Ma Chang – known as ‘the tiger’, Algy and Ginger have to hold out. Ginger organises a rescue attempt using the fierce Kirghiz tribesmen and manages to free the four captured missionaries. Biggles and Bertie have had problems of their own, however, having hit an eagle with the Halifax (see the illustration below – the dust jacket). This accident with the bird has forced them to land to repair the plane (and this is the plane they expected to land in rough desert, grounded by an eagle). Biggles is able to return, after shooting down a MiG jet (right – Halifax bomber versus MiG jet and MiG loses – yep, can see that). When he arrives back the final battle is in full swing at the caves. He is able to rescue everybody, get them away and save the day. Yay! OK, I was young at the time and I enjoyed Biggles. Tempted to look for some of the tales again, if only for period feel.
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