A Story of a Love

Trists happen, even in the Tavern. In springtime, as it is now, especially in the Tavern. The gardens are blooming and young folk gather with no idea of the troubles they are going to get into. Love is in the air. Tristesse may follow.

So it was that I left the towel and the main bar in the capable hands of a level headed barmaid, and headed out to the patio for a pipe. There I caught the sounds of a guitar and sort of Spanish melodies. It was a lady due to sing this evening, some ditties from furrin climes.

Now, I cannot recall the last time I had a Spanishy troupe to play for us. There were some Flamenco dancers a while back. We even had some Tango recently. (Not that I dance of course). But this time we had a Mexican. I had not heard of the lady until quite recently.

Guadalupe Pineda came to be known as one of her native Mexico's grassroots musical icons. Performing music from all over the Spanish-speaking world for audiences large and small, Pineda built a reputation and fan base, concert by concert, over the course of a career that spanned decades. 

Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Pineda early on relocated to Mexico City, where she studied sociology and political science before embarking on her career as a vocalist. 

A much better idea than sociology and politics !

She began singing in the local coffee shops and small venues, building her repertoire and reputation while she supported herself selling real estate and teaching guitar lessons. 


Pineda (as she is called) collaborated with a number of local groups, one of them being Sanampay, with whom she recorded three records and got her first chance to tour internationally. In 1980 Pineda recorded an album with Carlos "Caíto" Diaz, launching her career as a solo performer. 

Throughout the early '80s Pineda performed anywhere she was invited, including venues like prisons, mental hospitals offices, and city squares. The less-than-glamorous performance career honed her skills and gained support punctuated by the 1984 release of the song "Yolanda." Her breakthrough hit, also known as "Te Amo," performed as a duet with Pablo Milanés, sold better than a million and a half copies, announcing Pineda as an international star. 

Not that I had heard of her, nor most of my anglophile customers. We can get a tad parochial if we are not careful and do not broaden our minds.

In the years to follow, Pineda would add many successful records to her discography, soon including more than 25 titles, several achieving gold and platinum status. She has appeared before audiences all over Latin America and Europe, performing folk and pop repertoire from all over Latin America.

She seems to be popular with film-makers who 'illustrate' her work, especially the one I was hearing.  

I shall show a few below. I started a count but gave up after a handful and a half.  What I was hearing was her "Historia De Un Amor" - the story of 'lost love'. But as I said before, it has to start somewhere and the Tavern orchards are as good a place as any.

Call me an old romantic but I think that was charming: warm, humourous, mischeivious even. A good start for a young couple. Even the very young girl and boy. 

But the song is actually about lost love ! It brought to my mind a little girl, Mary Moriarty, who was six when I was just five. I was in love for a few days - my first time - and have never forgotten her. 

The song tells of a man's suffering after his love has disappeared. I can understand that, having lost several in m'time.

"Historia de un Amor" (Spanish for "a love story") is a song about a man's old love written by Panamanian songwriter Carlos Eleta Almarán. It was written after the death of his brother's wife. It is also part of the soundtrack of a 1956 Mexican film of the same name starring Libertad Lamarque. 

The words? For those many who do not speak Spanish.

You're by my side no more, my love and in my soul all I've left is loneliness and if I can't see you anymore why did God make me love you just to make me suffer more? 

You were always my reason to exist; to worship you was my religion. In your kisses I could find the warmth you gave to me; the love and passion 

This is a love story there's no other that's the same and it made me understand all that is good, all that is bad. It brought light into my life just to extinguish said light later Alas! 

What a dark life without your love I won't survive: You're by my side no more, my love and in my soul all I've left is loneliness: and if I can't see you anymore why did God make me love you just to make me suffer more? 

Tristesse indeed !

The song was first recorded as a tango by Héctor Varela and his orchestra along with singer Rodolfo Lesica.

This isn't it, but similar....

This song has been sung or played by many artists: Dalida, Irvys Juarez, Mietta, Guadalupe Pineda, Eydie Gormé & Trio Los Panchos, Los Paraguayos, Julio Jaramillo, Nicola Di Bari, Abbe Lane, Julio Iglesias, Angélica María, Nana Mouskouri, George Dalaras, Hrysoula Stefanaki, Perez Prado, Pilita Corrales, Laura Fygi, Iva Zanicchi, Mietta, Dizzy Reece, Pedro Infante, Ana Gabriel, Luis Miguel, Luz Casal, Yasar, Cesaria Evora, Lili Boniche, Los Tres Ases, Dany Brillant, Eartha Kitt, Krystyna Janda, Stanisława Celińska, Sargis Maghakyan Sr., Zaz (singer), Il Volo, Felipe Pirela, Miri Mesika, Diego El Cigala, Margarita Suvorova and Il Divo among others.

Yes, I know. I haven't heard of any of them either. Well, OK, Four I have heard of. Which just goes to show !

The song was featured several times in the Colombian telenovela "La Hija del Mariachi", performed by Carolina Ramirez. In the film "Visage" by Tsai Ming-liang, Lebanese singer Mohammed Jamal recorded the song in the 1980s in Arabic under the title "You and Dancing And me". A Turkish cover called "Bütün Dualarım Seninle" ("All My Prayers with You") was performed by Berkant in 1972.

It has also been covered in Chinese, with the lyrics written by Chen Die-Yi 陳蝶衣 (Oct 17, 1907 in Wujin, Jiangsu to Oct 14, 2007 in Hong Kong). The song title in Chinese is 我的心裡没有他 (literally: Inside my heart, there is no him/her).


Il Divo, along with Colombian producer Julio Reyes Copello, recorded the song for the album Amor & Pasión from Il Divo (2015).

So there ! Now you know.

I shall leave you with several other video-film 'illustrations', perhaps the most disturbing 'lost love' being that between Mr and Mrs Smith, the assassins tasked with whacking each other.

And this one. The Nun's story. Torn between the irresistible lure of romance and the life she once knew, the song is used to tell the story of a nun as she navigates love, loss, betrayal, adventure, and ultimately, faith! 

Hey, even the Good have trials, trists and tristesse.

I hazard that Guadalupe's song and arrangement has earned her a very comfortable life. Now't to be sad about really.

Have a drink.

Pax

Men's Voices

Get men together in a pub or a Tavern these days and it is unlikely they will burst into song, unless it is a Karaoke night. We don't have that here but hey, it is something to think about, eh?  And then too one can come across 'garage bands' doing a gig. But we do have a music area here which opens into the resaurant and patio and we do do entertainment. All three were busy today. But it is the bar where men used to sing a lot in an earlier era. And this evening we had not one mob of men but two, competing and cooperating to do the very best for us.

My friend Mary Sternhagen brought them in. "Hey, Sire", she smiled, "look at all the men who follow me around"  I was delighted. After days of dire and dark conversations we were in need of cheer. She had the choirs. The choirs had the best songs, most appropiate for this sort of Tavern.

Cantus is a full-time, professional vocal chamber ensemble, made up of eight men singing in a TTBB (tenor, tenor, baritone, bass), changed male voice arrangement. The artists are self-led, with programming and musical direction coming from within the group itself. The ensemble is known for innovative concert programming, often tying together works of numerous genres to explore a selected narrative, including classical music, orchestral-vocal repertoire, folk music, art song, popular songs, spirituals, and newly commissioned works.

These men of fine voice are....

Jacob Christopher, tenor
Zachary Colby, tenor
Adam Fieldson, tenor
Chris Foss, bass
David Geist, baritone
Matthew Goinz, baritone
Samuel Green, bass
Paul Scholtz, tenor

The vocal group maintains a schedule of around 70 live concert performances and 30-40 education/outreach activities in a given season, both in the United States of America and abroad. 

And the Knight & Drummer Tavern, of course.

Cantus is an active proponent of music education, encouraging people of all ages - especially men - to sing. The ensemble has worked with tens of thousands of singers throughout the country in educational activities ranging from master classes to festivals and collaborations. New members are acquired through annual national auditions.

The ensemble began as a student-run organization at St. Olaf College in 1995. After a successful northeast tour in the summer of 1998, Cantus transitioned into a professional ensemble and non-profit organization by 1999, based out of Minneapolis, MN.

Cantus is the only artist-led full-time vocal ensemble in the United States, and is one of two professional classical male vocal ensembles in the United States that pays its artists full-time salaries, while maintaining a year-round schedule of performances, the other being San Francisco’s Chanticleer.

So let us look at them too. But..... first. let's see and hear the all, by way of introduction to pub singing.

Called “the world’s reigning male chorus,” by the New Yorker magazine, and named 2008 Ensemble of the Year by Musical America, Chanticleer performs more than 100 concerts each year around the globe. These guys are.....

Gerrod Pagenkopf, countertenor; 
Logan S. Shields, countertenor;
Timothy Keeler, countertenor;
Cortez Mitchell, countertenor;
Adam Ward, countertenor;
Alan Reinhardt, countertenor;
Matthew Mazzola, tenor;
Brian Hinman, tenor & road manager;
Andrew Van Allsburg, tenor;
Matthew Knickman, baritone; 
Zachary Burgess, bass-baritone; and
Eric Alatorre, bass

Chanticleer - based in San Francisco - has developed a remarkable reputation for its vivid interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz, and from gospel to venturesome new music. With its seamless blend of twelve male voices, ranging from countertenor to bass, the ensemble has earned international renown as “an orchestra of voices.”

This is Chanticleer.

Since 1994, Chanticleer’s recordings have been made available worldwide by Warner Classics. Most recently Let it Snow, a new collection of Christmas music, was on the BillBoard charts for twelve weeks. Colors of Love won the GRAMMY® Award in 2000 for Best Small Ensemble Performance (with or without Conductor) and the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award for Best Classical Album. The world-premiere recording of Sir John Tavener’s Lamentations and Praises was released in January 2002 to critical acclaim and garnered two GRAMMY® awards for Classical Best Small Ensemble Performance (with or without Conductor) and for Best Classical Contemporary Composition.

Cantus

With the help of individual contributions and foundation and corporate support, the group brings the gift of singing to young people by conducting an extensive education program including in-school clinics and workshops, Chanticleer Youth Choral Festivals™ in the Bay Area and around the country, master classes for university students nationwide, and the Chanticleer in Sonoma summer workshop for adult choral singers. 2008 saw the release of The Singing Life- a documentary about Chanticleer’s 2007 Youth Choral Festival™.

I was reading and watching some American Civil War history the other evening and specifically the Shenandoah Valley campaign. Here is an echo.

Chanticleer’s long-standing commitment to commissioning and performing new works was recognized in 2008 by the inaugural Dale Warland Commissioning Award and the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming for the 2006-07 Season in which the group premiered ten new works. Among the seventy composers commissioned in the group’s history - past commissions include works by Mark Adamo, Régis Campo, Chen Yi, David Conte, Douglas J. Cuomo, Brent Michael Davids, Anthony Davis, Guido López-Gavilán, William Hawley, Jake Heggie, Jackson Hill, Kamran Ince, Jeeyoung Kim, Tania León, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, Michael McGlynn, John Musto, Shulamit Ran, Bernard Rands, Steven Sametz, Carlos Sanchez-Guttierez, Paul Schoenfield, Steven Stucky, John Tavener, Augusta Read Thomas and Janike Vandervelde.

Named for the “clear-singing” rooster in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Chanticleer was founded in 1978 by tenor Louis Botto, who sang with the group until 1989 and served as Artistic Director until his death in 1997. In 1999, Christine Bullin joined Chanticleer as President & General Director. Artistic Advisor Joseph Jennings joined the ensemble as a countertenor in 1983, and shortly thereafter assumed the title of Music Director which he held until 2008. A prolific composer and arranger, Mr. Jennings has provided the group with some of its most popular repertoire, most notably spirituals, gospel music, and jazz standards. In 2008, tenor Matthew Oltman was named Music Director.

By the way, there is a lady choir called Cantus as well, and guess what. They came in too. Enough talk for the moment. Let's see and hear these fine gals.

I had a lot of exercise on the pumps and cork-puller this evening, I can tell you. Throats and vocal chords need lubricating and what better to do that with than the finest ale and wine from my Supplier.

Have a few yourself.

Pax

Cool stuff: Planes and Ladies.

The past few days have been 'serious' in the Tavern and we needed some lightening up. What better then than watching planes and girls. Old planes, fancy planes, playful planes and exotic ones. And ladies that match. 

It is a way to pass a few minutes.

First up the 50's gal. She has style and is well cared-for, good performance and looks darned pretty. 

Curvey is the motif. Sleek? Hmmm. Not overly. Maybe a little fast for some but very presentable. Great in a small group.

Then we have the little tomboy. Dad's favourite? The delightful child that just wants to play.  With the boys. Doing boy stuff.  No fancy dress. No ribbons. 

Or maybe grown up....she can hook you. Especially in the Idaho back country.

She is a bit wild. Loves to touch and go. She reaches parts of your soul few others get to see.

Play can sometimes be competitive, needing agility, flexibility and alacrity. These girls set records and even blow your pants off.

Call that Low?  Hmmm. When only 'unoffical' watchers are about......we go lower and faster. Raise the hair on your arms. Get that blood racing .... but be careful you don't die for her.

And we must never overlook the exotic; the high flyers. The High Maintenance 'empowered' girl. 

You have to prepare yourself!  Few can manage her. 

I am ready for a stiff drink !

Pax

Taverna a Tango

Sensuous dance is not generally in an old Knight's repertoire, but after the fancy hand-work of the other evening (Yuja Wang's) suddenly we were awash with semi-clad ladies and stern looking gentlemen from South America doing some fancy foot-work. I was as happy as I usually am when Flamenco dancers visit ( an art-form I can serve fine ales to all night).  And they brought along some unusual folk that one might not expect to move quite so well. All apart from an ex-President to whom I would not normally give the time of day but who needs all the Grace he can get.

Yes, the Tango. I cannot do it. Short, rotund chaps clanking around the floor in armour clutching lightly attired ladies is not the best sight, no matter how appealing it might be to an off-duty warrior. Outdoors, even in the sunshine, a lady might wear a bit more. On the Tavern's patio, they didn't.

Tango is a partner dance that originated in the 1880s along the River Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay, and soon spread to the rest of the world.

The British bit of the Anglophine ( anglophine?? Anglophile. Thanks Moira m'dear) world used to get along very well with the Argentinians and it is a shame on both that we fought over some cold and windy islands.  Some Englishmen do a fine Tango.

Early tango was known as tango criollo (Creole tango). Today, there are many forms of tango extant. Popularly and among tango dancing circles, the authentic tango is considered to be the one closest to the form originally danced in Argentina and Uruguay.

Tango is a dance that has influences from African and European culture. 

Nowadays it is a popular element in flims that wish to attract gentlefolk to whom a harrowing tale may need some lightening. Take this, for instance, where Colin Firth did with Jessica Biel what Mr Darcy never did with Elizabeth Bennett.

Dances from the candombe ceremonies of former slave peoples helped shape the modern day Tango. 

Mr Darcy as a slave-dancer, eh? 

The dance originated in lower-class districts of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The music derived from the fusion of various forms of music from Europe. 

He did a far more competent job than Obama did when persuaded onto the floor by Mora Godoy (a ballerina) that I can say with some confidence, despite my not being a dancer at all. I know good from bad.

Rarely do I find some commiseration for him, but I would not wish that embarassment on even m'self. A blind man could do better.

So let us see what a blind man can do. Al Pacino's brilliant performance is worthy of any expert. OK, he practiced, and he did not even gaze into Gabrielle Anwar's eyes as anyone else would have been drawn to do. What an actor. And didn't she do her part so well, too.

She gave every display of a young woman managing to be swept off her feet while remaining wholesome. Months afterward she was still blushing and gushing.

The word "tango" and "tambo" around the River Plate basin were initially used to refer to musical gatherings of slaves, with written records of colonial authorities attempting to ban such gatherings as early as 1789
Initially, it was just one of the many dances, but it soon became popular throughout society, as theatres and street barrel organs spread it from the suburbs to the working-class slums, which were packed with hundreds of thousands of European immigrants.

In the early years of the 20th century, dancers and orchestras from Buenos Aires travelled to Europe, and the first European tango craze took place in Paris, soon followed by London, Berlin, and other capitals. Towards the end of 1913 it hit New York City in the US, and Finland. 

In the US, around 1911, the word "tango" was often applied to dances in a 2/4 or 4/4 rhythm such as the one-step. The term was fashionable and did not indicate that tango steps would be used in the dance, although they might be. 

Tango music was sometimes played, but at a rather fast tempo. Instructors of the period would sometimes refer to this as a "North American tango", versus the so-called "Argentine Tango". 

By 1914, more authentic tango stylings were soon developed, along with some variations like Albert Newman's "Minuet" tango.

It helps to have a handsome man and a beautiful woman for displays of such sensual dance.  Better still if they get along quite well to start with. I doubt it would work quite so well with a sour-faced and overweight feminist being 'handled' by an unwashed chap just up from his parent's basement. And even with a few days beard growth Antonio Banderas can fit the bill especially with Katya Virshilas. In 'Take the Lead' which in fact was based on a real story of a dance teacher who believed in the talent of a group of problem kids, he had their eyeballs popping with this exhibition. Or rather she did. 

In Argentina, the onset in 1929 of the Great Depression, and restrictions introduced after the overthrow of the Hipólito Yrigoyen government in 1930, caused tango to decline. 

Its fortunes were reversed as tango became widely fashionable and a matter of national pride under the government of Juan Perón. 

Tango declined again in the 1950s, as a result of economic depression and the banning of public gatherings by the military dictatorships; male-only Tango practice—the custom at the time—was considered "public gathering". 

That, indirectly, boosted the popularity of rock and roll because, unlike Tango, it did not require such gatherings.


In 2009, the tango was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.

The 'real' as opposed to filmic examples of the dance, in many different locales, indoor, outside, in the street and with orchestras are easily found on You Tube, so go and have a look.

Meanwhile the Flamenco (which I must show more of sometime) is easily integrated with the Tango. As so.....

I have pints to pull. Cooling ones to cool hot blood.

A final point one might note. If such a sensuous, classy dance-art form can originate in the slums of Montevideo, how is it that our poor, young people in western Sydney, Yarraville, Luton and Boise Idaho can only manage to look like they have a serious neurological condition?

Pax

Wood and Sail

This is for a friend who loves boats. I am an 'Air' man m'self, tho' spending far too much time as a landlubber. Such is what comes with age and knackerdom. But I am blessed in this spot where my cave looks out over the waters. I can sit and watch sights that others have to pay a shilling or three to see. As I did today.

At the weekend, starting today, as Tasmanian weekends are oft' like to do, we have our annual Regatta in Hobart on the magnificent Derwent. And the Harbour hosts the Wooden Boat Festival. We are famous here for building boats the traditional way from fine woods like the Huon Pine, as well as building the fastest modern passenger boats in the world.  Our big Cats. We show off the wooodies every year and thousands flock to the quaysides to poke and gloat.

I just might go there the few kilometres up the road and have a coffee and a squint. Then again..... the view I had today could easily sate the thirst of any armchair sailor, especially one who would probably prefer to be sailing the skies.

But for you, and my friend James, here are some of the snaps I took from my poop deck. I am not more than 500 yards from the beach and 200 ft up on the hillside, so my view is fine.  I was alerted to the start of the 'Parade' forming up by the helicopter trying to get the same view as I get and from the same position !! 

First up, some big ones ( and not all wood !!), then the smaller.  At one point there were well over 120 small and large sailing craft laid out before me in a light breeze.

The landlubbers will mix with the salties and with luck the weather will be fine for the swimming  and small boat races, the air displays (hehehe) and the kiddies' scarey play-on machines.

And for those who want to get out of the mid-day sun (or showers) there will be plenty to see and do indoors too.

So, James, 'tis a pity you are stuck in the gloom of a UK winter instead of being here. Maybe next year, eh?

I shall have copious amounts of fine ale for you.

Pax

The Second Five

The discussion of  the elegant and beautiful of the other evening continued well into the next day and is still being chewed over. I had to agree that naming just five aircraft that fitted the description (in this Tavern Keeper's humble view) was a hard task and others have put their oars in the waters and hoisted sails to rush their choices to the score board. Frankly It has been more fun than the Olympics. More people watch the skies than the track.

Avalon 2105 See if you can spot the Tavern Keeper 

So it means I have to show and tell the next five to make it a 'Top Ten'. These are my particular choices and may well say something about my unique mind.

Coming in at #6, one of the most elegant of modern times. 

The Bone.  

Even the most jaundiced eye can see that this is a Lady. A very fast lady at that, but with superb manners. The Lancer B1b. 

Built as a supersonic bomber for delivering a nuclear boom, fast, it has never been deployed in that role. But it has been successfully adapted to a fast, low-level conventional role.

Originally it was intended to replace the very ungainly and definitely ugly sister the B52, but you know how things go with military aircraft. The situation changes; strategic imperatives change; the darn things crash; a new interfering directive comes down from on high. And so adaptations to role occur. But the sheer beauty remains.

And talking of Ugly. No-one ever pretended that (this interlude before #7) my most beloved steed was pretty. Lipstick would not help. But as anyone who is anyone has said, the only replacement for a Bucc is another Bucc.

The moment you take the 'weight' off the undercarriage, it goes up.

But I digress. 

#7 The Victor. There will never, ever be a more Unique design.  All who have seen a Vic fly by, take off, land, or even just sit there, look with an open mouth. The Handley Page Victor is (was) a British jet-powered strategic bomber, developed and produced by the Handley Page Aircraft Company, which served during the Cold War. 

Fearsomely Beautiful

It was the third and final of the V-bombers operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the other two V-bombers being the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant. The Victor had been developed to perform as part of the United Kingdom’s airborne nuclear deterrent. In 1968, the type was retired from the nuclear mission as the nuclear deterrence mission was given to the Royal Navy's submarine-launched Polaris missiles.

A number of Victors had received modifications to undertake the strategic reconnaissance role, employing a combination of radar, cameras, and other sensors.  Sniffer too.

During the Falklands War, Victor tankers were notably used in the airborne logistics operation to repeatedly refuel Vulcan bombers on their way to and from the Black Buck raids.

The huge distinctive flying Tail. 

The Victor was the last of the V-bombers to be retired, the final aircraft being removed from service on 15 October 1993. In its refuelling role, the type had been replaced by the Vickers VC10 and the Lockheed Tristar.

# 8 Which brings us conveniently to just that VC10. 

But first...

hahahahaha.

Yes, the VC10. Originally a civilian plane, I think the VC10 is a magnificent design that deserves some attention and accolade. 

As with so many fine aircraft from British stables, she was designed in that mid-20C phase, and its rear powerplants / high tail combination has been copied and adapted to many medium haul passenger planes. It is a very quiet and stable configuration. 

During it's service with BOAC the VC10 BOAC advertising gained a lot of passenger appeal and BOAC responded to this by using these appealing features such as it's quietness and smooth ride in their campaigns. 

At some point someone coined the phrase 'a little VC10derness' and it appeared in some of BOAC's commercials from that point on to describe the 'special treatment' you got when flying on a VC10.

The RAF took it and used it for passenger and troop transport (remember flying backwards?) and later as a tanker. But regardless of role it is a simply beautiful shape. The High tail sets it up for admiring looks and many a camera. It is a powerful machine too. Four engines. Its copies in the medium-haul world get by with two.

#9. All aircraft start as a dream. Sometimes it is an 'official' requirement that relies upon some dreamer to it turn to reality. My next is not unique anymore since a hundred clones and copies swiftly followed its inception, the Learjet remains an elegant design and solution to the needs and the desires of business, and the Dream of Bill Lear.  

As the founder of Motorola, Bill Lear had amassed a fortune in the consumer electronics industry in the first half of his life. With the dawn of the jet age, what he longed to do was create a personal jet. 

When the Lear Jet 23, born from a Swiss military trainer jet, first flew on October 7, 1963, 

nothing on the civilian market could come close to its performance. 

The Lear 24 and 25 models that followed offered even better performance and more room inside, though all were tiny. With Clay Lacy and Danny Kaye showing off those early Lear Jets to Hollywood’s elite — and famously, members of the Rat Pack, including Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin — the popularity of the diminutive private jets exploded.

Fifty years ago, on Aug. 12, 1966, the Lear Jet 25 made its maiden flight in Wichita, Kansas. It was the last model to fly before Bill Lear, the inventor of ADF, the 8-track cassette and 150 other things, sold the company in the midst of a crushing recession to the Gates Rubber Co. Many Learjet models would follow through the years, including the iconic Lear 35 and 55, as the Learjet brand became a household name in the 1970s and 1980s 

Much of the credit for the success of Lear Jet belongs directly to the gentlemen in this iconic photo, playfully trying out the mockup for the never-built Lear Liner Model 40 in 1965. Bill Lear, of course, is in the middle. On the left is Clay Lacy, the legendary Southern California pilot and businessman; on the right is Hollywood actor Danny Kaye, a pilot and early Lear Jet advocate who threw his star power behind the brand and even served as the company’s vice president of marketing.

Prior to Bill's dream there were no luxury civilian personal jet aircraft. He found a niche that few knew was there and waiting. In the Tavern Keeper's HV, it is a beautiful craft and today, made by Bombardier, customers have a hand in every stage of the fit-out, from instruments to luxury seating and accoutrements.


#10. So we arrive at an unusual choice and to me quite personal. This is a workhorse, so old it should be out to pasture but still soldiers on. The sun has threatened to go down on it but there it is every morning 

The Grumman Goose.

Well, it had to be a sea-plane, didn't it?

I can say little about it that many others have not said before.  If it only had bay windows it might have made it into the top five.

The Goose will do your bidding with grace and even some charm. But even staid older ladies need some careful handling. 

The Goose laid golden eggs for many, many remote and not so remote communities. Other planes came along. The goose was almost 'cooked'. But there has been a resurgence.

But at least one customer here will appreciate that it is not only with bicycles that pretty girls like to pose.

I shall serve a round to all who sit and admire my choices. 

And what would you choose?

Oh, by the way, did I mention 'crash'? The Lancer.

No-one was injured.

Pax. Over and out.