BMPA Newsletters

Newsletters  >  Winter 1998/99

Summer meeting, Dundee, September 1998

This was the Association's first foray north of the border. In view of the plethora of local attractions, another first was to have a three day event, gathering on Thursday evening (3rd September) and departing as usual after Sunday lunch.

At varous times on the Thursday and Friday 11 members essayed a flight to Dundee. 7 actually got there. The rest of us were defeated by the weather which put low level visibility well below our personal minima. However like fishermen the stories this generated were legion and formed the basis of many ice breaking conversations.

Once again we stayed at a newly built Stakis hotel. This one was on the north bank of the Tay with, when the harr lifted, over water views from most guest rooms and our large dining room tables.

The flavour of the hotel and our doings was Scots, as shown by one of our larger older members dousing his breakfast haggis and other local delicacies with a generous libation of the local staple eau de vie.

We divided on Friday morning, half to RAF Leuchars (courtesy of our immediate past president) and the other half to a walking tour of St. Andrews. Leuchars welcomed us with a comprehensive (history, raison de continuing etre, organization and safety) briefing leading to a hands on guided tour of an operational (dripping fuel to prove it) Tornado and a similar tour of their ATC facilities. We left with a better understanding of military flying and especially a reduced fear of their control zones.

[Report on walking tour missing]

Both parties joined up for an excellent lunch and redivided for either a tour of Scotland's now redundant "secret" bunker / regional seat of government, or a tour of the Falkland Palace, Garden and Burgh.

The bunker entrance was through a small "normal" house, down a long fairly gently sloping tunnel into a comprehensive self contained administrative centre and its ancillary support services designed to be self contained for many weeks. It was cramped, bunks in dormitories being occupied for eight hour shifts but probably no worse than life aboard a nuclear submarine. One was left uneasy that a holocaust was seriously anticipated and that so much was done in secret to keep a small scale semblance of normality therafter. There is perhaps an even greater unease that the envisaged forces are now under even less secure ownership.

[Report on Falkland Palace missing]

Dinner that evening was informal and followed by an evening aboard the frigate Unicorn moored in its own dock just down river from the hotel. The ship, wooden and unusually built by two shipwrights, is the oldest Royal Naval vessel still afloat. We were able to explore its entirety. Each shipwright was responsible for his own side, leaving one six inches wider than the other with two similarly placed but very dissimilar doors in the stern cabin. Life aboard was well illustrated and there were knowledgeable guides to answer questions. Once we were well aboard and had broached the bar, music from violin, guitar, piano accordian and keyboard from the covered main deck variously entertained and provoked outbursts of dancing, some conventional and some Scottish. The latter produced feats of athleticism many thought beyond them and demonstrated the satisfactory results of hip prostheses in at least one.

Saturday breakfast gave plenty of time to judge the horizontal visibility by counting the number of Tay Bridge arches visible. There weren't enough, so flying was abandoned and we all took coach for Glamis castle, a favourite watering hole of the Royal Family in general and the Queen Mother in particular. A conducted tour formed the backbone of our visit but there was time for individual explorations as well. The pilot and navigator competitions were handed out to a number of consortia who worked on them throughout the day.

Bob and Janet Pooley of Guide fame, who had been with us on the Unicorn on Friday had invited us to eat our picnic lunch at their castle, derelict for 350 years and reopened after his restoration, on the anniversary of its sacking, on 7th July 1990. Our nose bags were replete, the backdrop and weather incomparable, Janet furnished hard drink, soft drink and coffee and Bob guided us round his valley bijou in three groups. The results were empty nose bags, full stomachs, a feel for the clan skirmishings of the 1500s, an appreciation of the origins and workings of Scottish castles and indebtedness to our hosts.

We eventually dragged ourselves away and coached somnolently (those who weren't taking the competitions seriously) through scenic touristique Glen Isla along Deeside past Balmoral and into the Lochnaggar distillery. Our tour was preceeded by a sample of the product which we then learned how to make in industrial quantities. The coach took us back to Dundee by the scenic route in time for a short AGM.

The Annual Dinner followed our usual pattern of excellent food with wine before, during and after. The Presidents Cup was awarded to Norena McAdam and Andy Sayers for their excellent organization of the meeting, the Guinness Cup to Kevin and Ann Gibbin, the newly inaugurated Pooley Quaich to Jeremy and Sally Radcliffe, individual quaiches to Stephen Gibson & Kenneth Whitely and Kevin Gibbin, David Reader & David Rowe, with copies of Pooleys Guides to non quaiche holding members of the teams.

Sunday's weather was much the same as Saturday's. Metars suggested on top by 3,000ft and clearing all the way south. The more intrepid flight planned after which the meeting walked up to the Discovery to tour the ship and exhibition (one of our guides turned out to be a Scottish pathologist ex member) before returning for lunch and departure.

Andrew Clymo.