Janine and the Tiger

Yesterday morning I saw a Joburg Photowalkers meet up that came through my mail. Although I was buried in work, the mail intrigued me, a tiger moth would be buzzing a steam train on route to Magaliesburg.

The de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth is biplane built in the early 1930s a primary trainer. All the South African aces of the Second World War started their flying careers in a Tiger Moth. These slow biplanes were used by the South Africa Air Force until 1958. ZS-UKW may have started her life in the military but now this elegant old lady sure did give us a stunning display of how a steam train can be buzzed.

Janine, the Class 15F steam locomotive 3046, has been wonderfully restored by the steam fanatics Reefsteamers which are based in Germiston. The Class 15F was designed in South Africa in 1936 as a Mountain type steam engine with a wheel arrangement of 4-8-2. The 15F were built both in Germany and the United Kingdom from 1938. From what I can find out locomotive 3046 was built in Glasgow in 1945. As a post war engine, she had slight design improvements.

Now with the history and lineage of these two old ladies that can be traced way back, it was a pleasure to see both of them race past me.

Biplanes and Washlines

After spending over a week in a villa on the lower south coast where my friends that were with me were calling it heaven, I was thinking that only 2% of the world's population live like this all the time. Yes it was beautiful and yes I am one of those 2% but while the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and I feel helpless to stem the tide even if it is one starfish at a time.

At times like this when my heart gets all heavy, I think of my favourite statistician professor, Dr Hans Rosling, who made an awesome video about the Wash Machine or as I like to call it the Poverty Line, Wash Line and the Air Line. Worth a watch if you don't enjoy sitting in front of the wash machine.

At lunch time, I came across this man who is no doubt living way below the Poverty Line but is turning to his creative side to buy some bread by making biplane models out of board while I just wish I was boarding an aeroplane to fly away to another exotic holiday that only the 2% can afford.

Jet Fuelled Ballet

Forget Stof en Diesel, Mango, one of the South African low cost airlines, pulled the coup of year and presented culture to the 1 litre brandewyn, 2 litre coke and 3 litre Cortina crowds. We were left with whiplash as Mango choreographed one of their Boeing 737-800s with the SA Mzansi Ballet company at the Swartkops Air Show.

Although cold, we were wowed by this standing ovation performance of plane and dancers to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the South African Air Force Museum. Without government funding, these magnificent men and women do a gigantic job of keeping those old birds still in the air. Now back to the dancing, ahh those Cortina crowds sure enjoyed those leggy ballerinas in their short skirts, oh sorry tutus.

The only spoil of the day was his eminence Brian Emminis, who's every fifth word was his sponsor Breitling. Some say that he is a top class announcer but he came across as a self absorbed pompous old man who detracted from the show rather than enhanced it. With all the TV cameras around for the Mango event, Brian and his Breitling crew tried to ambush the dance routine by placing their Breiting branded Bentleys in the way. Such poor taste.

Beside his eminence, I would say the Mango, Mzansi, the SAAf Museum and the flying displays made the flying machines all beautiful again.

DC-6

A 747 over Johannesburg