Just to show that real life is stranger than fiction, we thought we would share this with you.
Regular readers of the column will remember that two issues back in the interests of Air Traffic Control we ran a ‘nonsense-contest’ asking readers to identify a 1950’s airport from a tiny old sepia photo and a bunch of misleading clues. An impossible task we thought and one that kept the editorial team here chuckling for days.
Well the laugh is on us because someone did get it right and from Belize in Central America, which is about as far away from our mystery airport as you can get. So, true to our word, a bottle of Moet’s finest is winging its way to the lucky winner and we still can’t work out which is the most bizarre – somebody recognising the photo or that our newsletter is read in Belize.
Here is the letter we received;
To the Editor
Sir,
I believe the airport in your photograph is Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport in Holland. My father Leopold Balderamos joined the RAF in 1942 and flew Stirling bombers with 196 Squadron. After the war he transferred to civil aviation and spent considerable time with the CAA visiting many airports both in the UK and Europe before returning to Belize. There is a picture in his photo album taken at that time which could almost be the double of the one in your article.
Yours faithfully,
Philip Balderamos
Belmopan, Belize, Central America
Mr. Balderamos, you are absolutely correct and we are delighted that you responded to our article turning the joke back on to us – well done sir!