The Magic of Concorde By Mike

People in London never tired of it. Men and women always stopped working and children stopped playing. They used to look up and point "Concorde!" they marvelled.

They didn't ever say anymore. They didn't need to say anymore, because it explained everything. It explained breathtaking beauty, supreme elegance, supersonic speed, awesome power, technological achievement, and British-ness. It also explained that noise from the four Olympus engines that we were supposed to hate but we all grew to love. As a young boy, I remember the first flights shown live on television and so it seemed fitting that my children should witness one of the last flights. My kids didn't know what the fuss was about. They couldn't understand the point of going to an airport without actually flying anywhere, just to see a plane landing! But I took them anyway.

We joined all the others on the temporary grandstand - plane spotters, grandmothers, grandfathers, mums, dads and kids. I overheard a conversation whilst watching the planes landing. "How will I know which one is Concorde" asked a curious boy.

"You will, because it's the most beautiful plane you will ever see " came the reply. And as out anticipation grew, we saw one fly overhead and then two Concordes land simultaneously on the north and south runways.

And as one slowly taxied passed us on the north runway, Alex and Anna were transfixed. She still looked beautiful after all those years. It struck me for the first time that as I studied her from the side, with her nose down and with her long legged landing gear on such a slender body, it reminded me of a racehorse still in her prime. She had just flown in from New York at supersonic speed and she wasn't even out of breath! Two days later, Alex and Anna are Concorde mad. It is only now that I fully understand the magic of Concorde. Quite simply, it is love at first sight. Mike 24 October 2003

Photographs copyright  ©2003, and courtesy of Tony.

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