SLOPING OFF...
...the Newsletter of Christchurch and District Model Flying Club for September 2021
DAYS LIKE THESE*
by Frank Bayes
I thought I would go slope soaring today for the first time for some weeks, and with a good 15-20mph breeze forecast from the South West I thought Death Valley (a WSA site) or Bulbarrow would be ideal for a couple of hours before the rain came in.
I arrived at Death Valley with a terrific strong South Westerly breeze, perfect for a challenge, bright sunshine and no other cars were there. I climbed over the stile after cutting back the sharp brambles; obviously no one had been there for a time. Perfect conditions, and then I spied a large black bull exactly on the flight line and in the landing area.
Sometimes there are cattle in the valley but it has never been a problem on the slope. This chap was all on his own, and he looked up and snorted at me. I saw the whites of his eyes from 200 yards...... I am OK with some animals, but on my own with El Torro, that looked like the grandson of the bull that finished off El Cordobes, I decided to retreat to the car and head for Bulbarrow, where as the name would not suggest, was hopefully bereft of bulls.
As I crested the hill in the car overlooking Bulbarrow, I was treated to the sight of a large RAF transport plane, BELOW my eye level, skimming over the old fort. This plane then disappeared into a terrific rainstorm to the North (Tsk - camera not at the ready - Ed).
The South West sky looked promising for an hour at least with Sunshine blue sky and scudding clouds. I got a model ready and as I opened the gate a giant rain drop hit my nose. I looked up and a narrow grey twister of rain was coming down in my direction. I got in the car as it then bucketed down for about half an hour.
The road was awash so I had my lunch. There was some more rain on the way, but way behind it a beautiful vista of blue sky. I decided to head back to Death Valley as the bull obviously would have gone back to its shed to hide from the rain.
I arrived in bright sunshine, no rain, white clouds, blue sky and a very strong breeze. Two magnificent red kites were soaring and seemingly dancing with each other only about 30ft above the slope. I looked over the stile, no bull to be seen! I got my boots on as everything was very wet, prepared the model, radio gear, batteries and my camera.
I stepped over the stile and took a few steps towards the slope, hearing a noise behind me I looked round and saw the bull, a few feet from me which had been lying in wait under the hedge a few feet from the stile. He lifted his head high and breathed out loudly. With great presence of mind, in the face of great danger, (David Attenborough has nothing on me) I took a quick snap of the creature. I decided again that I was a namby pamby at heart and retreated to the safety of the car.
On a positive note I had a most enjoyable drive in the beautiful Dorset countryside, explored some new to me tiny side roads on the way home, saw some beautiful houses and had a nice day.
I never knew model flying could be such fun.
Frank
“On days like these when skies are blue and fields are green
I look around and think about what might have been”
Song by Matt Monroe, music by Quincy Jones, lyrics by Don Black