PUPES - PLEASURES OR PAINS

What makes some people memorable and others not? Why can I picture Monkey May, my maths master, and Miss McDonald who taught us art, but not the catering lady? Apparently, it's to do with emotions. Monkey May frightened the hell out of me, and I was deeply in love with the gorgeous Sally McDonald who glided amongst us budding artists, offering gentle words of encouragement. The catering lady? Nah – no idea who she was.

- Jim Davis

PLANE TALK - JIM DAVIS

AND IT’S THE SAME WITH PUPES – you remember the ones who had some sort of emotional impact on you – the bland goody-goodies drift out of the turnip, while the interesting, or frightening, or fascinating ones are easy to recall.

On page one of a logbook which starts in October 1977 (for those who share the Gleitch’s preference for up to date stories make that October 2017) more than half a dozen names jump out at me. All characters in one way or another. Each one taught me something about instructing, and I hope I taught them something about flying. Here they are:

ANDRIES AND WILLIE

I have told you about these two before, but here they are again. Dries was constructed with spares left over from a stick-insect. He was a skinny farmer who always looked immaculate, but tended to smell slightly of goat.

This was at my little flying school at the old George Airport, next to the famous Fan-court golf course. The sun was setting behind the

mountains and I was putting my 140 Cherokee ZS-EKE to bed, when Dries and ‘Big’ Willie Steyn, an Obelix lookalike, approached with some caution. Willie, also a farmer, was grubbier than his companion, and carried an aroma that was more milking shed than goat.

I was seriously in need of customers so I addressed them with a cheery smile, ‘Hi, guys, can I help you?’ They looked at each other dubiously as if trying to decide whether I seemed like the sort of person who could help them.