As I came in to land my light aircraft one more time, I realised just how much I would miss this wonderful place. I got such a thrill every time I took off or landed.

I have been a flying instructor for thirty years and enjoyed every moment of it.

 The people I teach are here because they want to be. They are here to learn to fly. But also to have a lot of fun at the same time.

Today I have been putting the new guy through his paces. He Has five years experience as an instructor at a little airfield. But although his reputation there has been very good, I need to make sure he has the experience needed for this place.

We have certain standards to maintain. Our customers need the best training as they have always got here.

Unfortunately he is very good at his job. So really there is no need for me to stay any longer. So it looks like I will be retiring at the end of the month.

 My wife will be glad to have me at home on a regular basis. Also she worries every time I fly and always has. So that’s a lot of worrying over thirty years.

“Only two weeks to go old chap. Then you can put your feet up for good.” Said Charles the new instructor. ” How I envy you. Just think of all the things you can do at home.” He smiled as he said this.

I have a feeling he was enjoying this job as much as I always have. But I had only two weeks left. Yet he had so many wonderful years ahead of him. Lucky guy.

 When we were safely on the ground, I noticed my wife’s car in one of the hangers. This was unusual as she just didn’t come here. “Planes are dangerous. They can crash.” She often said.

After the usual after flight checks etc I went to find her.

The airfield boss was in his office and my wife Lisa was there with him.

 When I entered the office it went very quiet for a few moments. Until Lisa suddenly said. “So that’s Sorted then Barry (The Boss.)

” Yes, Yes,please do that Lisa. I will leave it in your hands.” But he seemed very uncomfortable with himself.

 Lisa said she had some shopping to do as she rushed past me. “See you at home later dear.” Was all I got out of her.

“What was all that about Barry?” I asked politely. He sort of fluffed iffed and butted. Before saying.

“Oh ask Lisa when you get home. You know what these women are like.” And that was it. He wouldn’t or couldn’t say any more to me.

 At home later I asked Lisa what was going on. Once again I felt I was not getting the full or true story. She told me that Barry’s wife was fixing up some do or another and she needed some help with it. That was all she knew at this time. But I was sure there was a lot more to it than this. But why should she be so secretive. I was missing something here.

A week later, just after I had landed my aircraft, I went to the control tower to see Barry. He was doing his stint as we all did when needed. There were many years of experience between us all here. And we always helped out if and when asked. Today was Barry’s turn once again. He had been qualified for many years now. As have I. The morning had been a bit misty. But not too bad for an experienced pilot to fly. Charles had decided to take one of his trainees up for an hours flight.

Barry thought it would be good practice for him. Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worst. The mist started to get very bad. It seemed to be getting like a thick fog. Suddenly the room was filled with a loud message from one of the planes. I have lost one of my engines and I cant see the ground. S.O.S  S.O.S.

Of course I was on to it straight away. I called the plane to try and get some idea of where he was.The pilot told me he lost sight of the ground several minutes ago. But he managed to give me an idea where he was.Fortunately I knew every inch of the local area, so I had a rough idea where he was. He told me his direction etc.

This helped a lot.”O.K. “I shouted. “Let’s get some help here. We need to get the runway lit up big time. And I thing this is a good time to try out the new emergency tail lights on my aircraft. Sure hope they work as well as they did on the trial run last week.” I had invented a set of lights that shone very bright and could be seen during misty and foggy weather. But I have only tested them out once so far. Everyone soon got to their feet and seemed to be rushing everywhere. Fortunately Barry was giving them all orders.

When I was sure they were all doing their jobs, I ran to my aircraft. I wasn’t sure if I could help. But I had to try. I was soon air Bourne and heading to where I thought the other plane would be by now.

Fortunately I flew in the right direction. I stayed as low as I could or dared in the hope of seeing the other plane.

But the mist was so thick that I had no chance at all and of course the other pilot was in the same situation.

I called him over the radio and he answered immediately.

“Loosing height, can’t see the ground. Still got one engine so far. Where are you buddy?” Came his reply.

“I must be very near as I can hear your engine. Sounds a bit ropey, so going to try to get you down as soon as possible.

I will switch on my tail lights and the new headlights. They are all extra bright, so you should be able to see them.

The tail lights are bright red, the headlights are blue. But also very bright. Tell me when you can see them.”

I just hoped this was going to work. Then I flicked both sets on.

He immediately called me. “I can see two blue lights coming towards me from the left. What do you want me to do?”

He called desperately. “I will turn so I am heading towards the airfield. Follow me if you can. Call me if you lose my lights.”

I replied immediately.

Then my plane was heading home with the other one at a safe distance behind.

“I can see your rear lights and am following them the best I can. Don’t go any faster or I will lose you.” He pleaded.

Very soon I saw the lights from the airfield. The emergency lights on the runway stood out. The staff there had done a good job.

“I can see the airfield.” The pilot shouted down the radio. “But can’t judge the ground from this height. Can you help me somehow.”

I told him to get as close to me as was possible. I slowed as much as I dare. Didn’t want him to hit me.

Charles (The pilot of the damaged plane.) seemed to be doing very well so far. But landing would be the most dangerous part

and I wasn’t sure how he was going to cope with this.

“O.K. Charles, we are going in to land. Get your speed as near to mine as you possibly can. I will tell you when I am going to touch down.

When you do so just stop as you always do. I will go a bit further to give you room.

I may need to go up again if I get too near the end of the runway. So don’t worry about me.Understood Buddy.”

Charles told me he would do as I asked.

 Then bump, I touched down five seconds after I called Charles. I could see his lights. They were a bit bumpy but steady.

I watched as he stopped, but then realised I may not be able to as I was very close to the boundary.

All systems stop please, I thought as I applied all of the brakes steadily but firmly. I wasn’t sure if the fence would stop me or I would

miss it altogether. The only other option was to take off again and hope I could get up in time to miss it.

Too late to take off so keep those brakes on. I was saying under my breath. Then suddenly I realised I had come to a stop just feet away from

that fence.

 There was an awful lot of commotion all around both planes. Sirens, lights and lots of other noises.

I was soon out of the pilots seat and firmly on the ground. Such a wonderful feeling. I ran to the other plane to find Charles and his pupil

walking towards me. Then we hugged as he thanked me. His pupil was too shaken to speak. I am not surprised

 We all went to the cafeteria for a cup of tea and a debriefing. Apparently the plane had been serviced the day before. So it should

have been in very good condition. So there would have to be an investigation.

Barry was very impressed when he realised my special lights helped guide the other plane to safety. He would be looking at ways to

fit and improve these on all of our planes. With my permission of course as it was my idea.

Soon everything was sorted out and we went home. It had been a very exciting but dangerous day.

 A couple of days later we had a phone call from Barry. “Can you come over to the airfield at about four today?” He asked in a matter of fact

sort of way. “Oh, best bring the wife along.” He said as an afterthought.

“What’s it for?” I asked.

He replied very casually and said, “We just want to have a few drinks and some food to thank you for all your help the other day.

Nothing formal of course.”

 So at three o’clock we showered and were getting ready to go, when Lisa made a comment on what I was putting on.

“You can’t wear jeans and a tee shirt. For goodness sake smarten yourself up a bit. I don’t want you to show me up.”

I then noticed Lisa was dressing rather smart for a beer and bit of food.

No point arguing, I thought to myself. So I opted for a smart shirt and decent trousers. Then to be posh I put on a blazer.

Now I felt I would not let Lisa down. Yes she gave me the thumbs up. Brilliant!

 Off we went to the airfield as asked. On the approach I could see lots of cars parked by the main hanger.

“How many people are expected? “I asked. “There seems an awful lot of cars here today”.

Lisa just looked at me and smiled. So I thought it best to stay quiet. I knew something was going on. But just couldn’t figure out

just what.

 We parked up and went into the main hanger. And to my amazement, the place was full of people.

Barry came over to us and said he had to come clean. This was a celebration, partially for saving the day and secondly as a special leaving present

for me.

There was a silence when Barry rang the bell and then he gave an amazing speech. My eyes were full of water, but I managed to control my emotions

but only just.

 Then it was my turn to speak. How I hate this. I am no speaker, but it had to be done.

I told them all that I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay around, to be part of this wonderful place that had been so much of my life.

Then a chap that I didn’t know stood up and said. “Well old chap, you can’t leave completely as we need you to carry on with you’r work here.

You have so many ideas that can possibly work to help that we want you to have your own workshop and help us all. How does that sound to you.

 I couldn’t believe my luck. At least I could stay here and be useful. So now it was time for fun and relaxation. We went and followed our noses.

The cooking food smelled so brilliant that I was drawn to it. Apparently Barry had organised The Hog Roast Catering company to do all of the food as well as the bar and the

music. I can only praise this company so much as the food was out of this world. Also the whole evening was wonderful. The music was the best we could ask for.

The food was so good that I am going to have them for my daughters wedding next year. I will also hire a marquee from them just in case of bad weather.

Their prices are very reasonable and the services are fantastic.

 Have a lovely life. Be happy and help those that need you.

God bless.

Michael Penman.

Well let’s start with how we get the work. We spend lots of time on the internet writing about Hog Roasts and hog roast hire. It can get a bit boring writing the same old thing every day, Hog Roast, Pig Roast, Hog Roast Hire but someone has to do it and that’s me. I am waiting for the wife to tell me that when I am a sleep I am saying Hog Roast, Hog Roast Hire, Hog Roast Surrey. It hasn’t happened yet thank god but it does feel like that in my head sometimes.

Anyway that’s the first step, the next step is to take the bookings of the customers. Most of the time its by email and again all your doing is talking about Hog Roasts and Hog Roast Hire and how many people they are going to have at their event. Whether it’s in Surrey London, Buckinghamshire and south east of England. Once they are happy we take all there address details and payment information, and then send them a conformation email that there Hog Roast Hire Is Booked in the dairy.

Then you have to cook the Hog Roast AKA the Pig and that’s Roberts job our head chef. He picks up the Pigs in the morning from our local butchers and cooks them nice and slow 7 hours. In fact it keeps the juices in the pig and keeps the meat nice and moist. After the hog roast has been cooking for about 7 hours he turns the burners right up on full to make the crackling which all our customers love.

Then all the staff arrive to get ready to bring you your hog roast. They have to load the van up with the hog roast the apple sauce and last but not least the crusty fresh rolls. Then you have all the equipment to load up , that they will need to serve you  the hog roast, marquee serving tables and carving knives.  

That’s it their ready to bring you your hog roast they type your address in to their sat nav and make their way there. They arrive in plenty of time, they then introduce themselves to you and ask you where you would like your hog roast set up. They get all the equipment out of the van and set everything up in the place you have designated; now they’re ready for guests.

The chef will carve your hog Roast and the waitress will serve it to your guests, your guests will always ask for loads of crackling and there will never be enough  hay ho that’s life  .

Then they will clear all of the left over hog roast hire away and make their way back to the hog roast office.

Off we went again for our usual few days in our caravan. Mum and Dad were even more excited this time as it was exactly 25 years since they first bought a caravan. they couldn’t afford one of these Spanish holidays at the time. So they decided to invest in a small caravan. We went all over this beautiful country of ours many times and had loads of fun with lots of wonderful people.

Only this was a special time for them both. They wanted to celebrate 25 years in a wonderful way. They had invited so many old friends to meet us at one of the many sites we had visited.

 Some of the fields we went too were no more than a mud bath. But we still enjoyed ourselves as children because the adults laid on so much for us to do.We played some wonderful but silly games. One that always sticks in my mind is the egg and spoon race. Sounds easy…but not so easy if you are a child wearing extra large boots and the course is a muddy field. But it was good fun.

 This time was going to be different. My sister and myself were young adults now. So we went along to please Mum and Dad.

When we arrived Dad was supposed to book in with the Steward first. But Dad being Dad, he drove straight through and parked the van, set up the awning and then booked in. But that’s Dad and always will be.

One of the regulars came up to me and said he needed to have a word in private. So I went over to his van to see what the problem was. He said that we needed to stop my Dad from setting up the barby later. Now my Dad was a wonder with the barby. He was renowned for his cooked food. Every one would come around and try his superb food. But for some reason they did not want him to do his usual thing this time.

I asked why not. But was just told that I would have to trust them and see what happened.

Very soon we were asked to help set up some games for the younger children. We were only too happy to join in.

They soon got restless on these trips away, as we did a few years ago.. So it didn’t take long to organise all sorts of games.

My favourite had always been the egg and spoon race. So this time it was my job to get things going.

One special boy was always there. He was disabled and therefore needed some help. His name was Peter and he was a fantastic loving boy. I will never forget him as long as I live. He always gave out so much love. And all he needed was love given to him.

 So when it came to the egg and spoon race I decided to give him a little advantage. Now what they had to do was to run 50 yards with an egg on a spoon. Not a hard boiled egg. But a fresh one. The first past the line with the egg on the spoon was the winner. Poor Peter would have no chance whatsoever without some help.He would try his best, but just needed a little bit extra. Which I provided.

I supplied his egg and spoon and was there to start the race.

Off they went, as did Peter. A few that were in front suddenly had a problem. Someone let a dog loose and he ran across the field. Oops..some of the contenders dropped their eggs. They could have picked up and carried on. But of course their egg broke. End of the race for them. Now Peter was doing well but was quite a way behind the others.

Time for a little extra help I thought. So I ran up behind him, picked him up and carried him over the winning line. No rules against that I thought.

I am pleased to say that the judges awarded the prize to Peter. The fact that the egg was glued to the spoon wasn’t noticed. So we got away with that.

 Now the evening was approaching and Dad was getting his Barbecue Catering out ready for the evening.

 Will let you know what happens later.