Trombone and parachute

I am continually delighted by the random nature of connections generated by the internet. A visitor to this blog was sufficiently interested to make his own very wonderful contribution (above) - click on the image to see it large enough to read.

Hugh also says "My old school song - in Birmingham - ended with "die of service not of rust", so I'm sticking to it. I've a friend in Chile who ferried hundreds of aircraft with the ATA in WWII. She did her first parachute jump at 65. Then another at 75. Then another, at 85, from 13,000 ft. Yes we can, to borrow a phrase."

Thank you, Hugh. May we all be jumping out of aeroplanes, literally or figuratively, at the age of 85; and never be afraid to blow our own trombone.

The oldest surviving Tommy

My husband has a worrying enthusiasm for films and books about wars and death - the amount of information we have on our shelves about Hitler & co. has to be seen to be believed. However, he has just suggested a worthy addition to this list: Henry Allingham.

Henry is the oldest surviving veteran of World War I, and all being well will celebrate his 111th birthday on June 6th. He has recently been in the news for his visit to a school to talk about his experiences: as one student put it, "he's lived in three centuries". Allingham credits "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women — and a good sense of humour" for his longevity.

He'll turn up all over the internet if you search, but here he is to start with:

• Wikipedia
• BBC News: visit to Staffordshire school