THERE are fewer thrilling sights than a bomber flying past, giving the crowd below a huge engine roar as they gaze skywards. This is a Vulcan bomber appearing at the Battle of Britain Display at RAF Leuchars in Fife in 1965. This was during the Cold War when Vulcans carried nuclear weapons. Seems a lot cheaper than Trident, but what would we know.
The air displays at Leuchars brought crowds of thousands to the Fife coast near St Andrews but they ceased last year when the base was closed as an RAF station, and is now under the charge of the Army who will use it as the headquarters for the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. Close examination shows the crowd at the base is mainly men, but that's always been the case with planes and other military material. The only difference now is that we are no longer as well dressed as these gents, many in suits and smart raincoats for the occasion.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
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