Slow Life Blog from the Lake District
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Contact Me

The Lakes Waterbird

17/5/2012

0 Comments

 
When Waterbird’s replica takes flight on Lake Windermere it will be an astonishing sight. Its flight will commemorate the first ever flight by a seaplane, which took place here 100 years ago, piloted by Captain Edward Wakefield of Kendal. The flight will, without any doubt, attract the attention of the world’s TV and newspapers and, because it can only take place when the weather is clear and calm, it will show off the Lake District at its best.
This is something which the guardians of the Lakes, the National Park Authority, dearly wish to happen. There is however one snag, which is that in order to become airborne the craft will need to reach a speed of 35mph, which will break the 10mph speed limit which the Authority imposed against massive opposition several years ago. It takes only one minute for the plane to reach the required speed, so the Authority needs to grant an exemption for just one minute. If they grant the exemption they will be roundly condemned by some of their biggest supporters, people who would prefer the Lakes to be tranquil for ever and not receive any visitors at all. It will require quite a lot of courage for the Authority to grant the exemption. Which is about 100th of the courage required of that lone aviator 100 years ago.
​
The photo shows me with Ian Gee, who is organising the Waterbird flight, to whom I was pleased to be able to donate £1,000 from my Chairman’s charity at the Lakes Hospitality Association.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    ​About Slow Life

    The idea of Slow Life is to take the principles of Slow Food, which are “good, clean and fair”, and extend them to life in general.

    Here in the Lake District, the air is clean, the pace is slow and the atmosphere is calm. If we don’t grow food ourselves, we can buy it in friendly small shops, where you know the quality is going to be the best.

    This blog is a celebration of the Slow Life, with forays into the world of design, music, the arts, gardens, and my particular weakness, Japan.

    Archives

    June 2017
    December 2016
    August 2015
    May 2015
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009

    RSS Feed

Home   |   About Me   |   Contact Me

Jonathan Denby's Slow Life blog from the Lake District

© Copyright Slow Life 2020. All rights reserved   |   cookie policy    |   Site by Treble3
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Contact Me