Friday, May 13, 2011

Sepia Saturday 74 : Up, Up And Away

It looks like Blogger is back, but for how long - who knows? So before it has chance to fly away, here is my contribution to Sepia Saturday 74


This picture has the look of a posed newspaper picture about it - and that is because it is. The photograph shows my father, me in his arms, and my brother Roger. It must have been taken in 1950 or 1951 and I was told that it appeared in the Yorkshire Post which is our regional newspaper here in Yorkshire. It was taken at Yeadon Airfield which, many decades later, reinvented itself as Leeds Bradford International Airport. There will (hopefully) be people out there who can tell me what kind of plane we are inspecting : some World War II fighter plane no doubt.

The photo is in keeping with the Sepia Theme this week which is, possibly, air travel. It could also be newspapers, contraptions, madness, silly hats or bits of cardboard held together with pieces of string - Sepia Themes are like that. But those early planes managed to fly considerable distances with surprising success, even if they looked so flimsy and accident prone. Let us hope that the same can be said of good old Blogger.

If Blogger is still working when you read this, you can find other contributors to Sepia Saturday 74 by flying on over to the Sepia Saturday Blog.

34 comments:

  1. According to my husband the aircraft appears to be a Chipmunk. It’s a wonderful picture anyway. I wonder how many of us appear in newspapers at some point in our lives.

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  2. Cool! It has a sort of looking-bravely-into-the-future look to it.

    Yeah, I, too grabbed the window of opportunity to post the May flower macros I shot yesterday.

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  3. Thank you Nell. Yet again you demonstrate the great delight of Blogging - somewhere, out there, someone knows the answer to your questions.

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  4. Great picture. Roger is really a star in this picture. He's got classic wholesome good looks and an expression full of youthful enthusiasm.

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  5. Christine : Let's hope he doesn't read this - his head is far too big as it is.

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  6. Nice photo. that must have been exciting for you and your brother.

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  7. What a great photo! Classic! You and your dad have similar profiles. cool.

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  8. Quite a treasure! I was in a newspaper once, mainly because my dad put a funny note on our dog's collar to stop him bludging food from neighbours and he Daily Mail got hold of it. Hehehe . .

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  9. Yeah hopefully blogger won't fail
    Making most wail
    Very nice photo and write up
    To those in the know I tip my cup
    As I could never have named the plane
    Heck can't even name a train

    P.S. I played your postcard game
    And I made sure to keep it tame..lol

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  10. blogger seems to be back, minus all the comments made before it went down. did you get to go up and ride in the plane too?

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  11. This would have been a great shot if it were "only" a newspaper photo. But to be able to say "See that little boy? I know him!" adds a great deal to it. What a prize shot!

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  12. Yes, a 'Chipmunk'. As a young RAF Apprentice in 1963 I had an 'air experience' flight in one - my pilot was the padre, so quite safe.

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  13. It would so interesting to know what the caption was for this shot. I imagine your folks got lots of nice comments such as "Your boys look so wonderful in the paper." And you were too young to enjoy all of it.

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  14. Roger already seems to be viewing this with an engineer's/artist's eye. Great picture, Alan. Father and sons, and a real airplane. Doesn't get much better.

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  15. Blogger was certainly flying on a wing and a prayer this week! LOL

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  16. It reminds me of when we had air shows across the river at Chatham/Miramichi in the '50's. We got to see many older type planes as well as the "modern" ones of the day. Good photo Alan, handsome little fellas...

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  17. Anonymous7:25 PM

    How exciting for the two of you. My nephews never tire of visiting the Museum of Flight at East Fortune and climbing into the planes :-) Jo

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  18. That's a great shot! I must wander over to Roger's and tell him he has a cheeky grin!

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  19. This has such an air of "anything is possible" vibe. The photographer did a great job capturing the moment ... even if it was posed! :)

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  20. We flew out of Yeadon, sorry Leeds/Bradford this week. There were no planes like yours on view but my wife was not keen on those propellor things on our Dash 8.

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  21. Christine, it's nice to find someone with good taste.

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  22. What a treat -- to have that "newsworthy" photo in your collection!

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  23. How great to have that photo after all this time. I am sure you have appreciated it for more reasons than one. great post.
    QMM

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  24. There is no better wonder than the youthful desire to fly. I hope the thrill will still be with you after traveling on 21st century aircraft.

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  25. This is a wonderful photograph. What a cute little toddler Alan!

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  26. Rosie may have a point about a show. When did you get your first chance to fly?

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  27. What a very awesome photo to have, and printed in the paper as well! A fine looking family you are, and such a handsome father, very eager at inspecting this plane...and to me it almost appears like you are all up in the air! Thanks for sharing it!

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  28. so young to have your 15 minutes of fame...
    :)~

    we seem to all have survived blogger's blackout...
    not without some consequences...
    :/~

    HUGZ

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  29. Nice one Alan, but did you get to fly in it?

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  30. Anonymous4:14 PM

    I really like this photograph, Alan. Lots of reminders in it.

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  31. What a wonderful shot and keepsake. The plane reminds me a bit of the one at the end of a movie I viewed just last night: Flight of the Phoenix. It was one of those films I didn't expect to like, or to watch for long, but that held my attention and fed my fancy!

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  32. fabulous memory and photo - here's to striking a pose!

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  33. That is a wonderful photograph. It must have been exciting for them to be next to the plane and maybe they got to ride on it too.

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  34. It is almost as if Roger is looking to the future. It's a great photograph that speaks so clearly of the time period in which it was taken.

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