Finn
The museum at Tangmere was really interesting.
Philly knows all the volunteers there and they were very helpful.
We went early so it wasn’t too crowded. I really liked the Typhoon simulator, and I managed to land it.
You have to stay very focused. Dad crashed.
Philly bounced but managed to take off again quickly.
‘I’ve lost my touch,’ she said. ‘But still, not bad for an ancient Attagirl.’
There was a Lysander in the museum, but it’s one that was built for a film, not a real one, which is a shame.
I think I’d have liked to have tried going up in one.
There were some displays about some of the Lysander pilots who flew their missions from the airfield, and about the farmhouse at Bignor where Philly helped out with the French agents who came over.
There was a bit about Violette Szabo and her poem code too.
We took a walk up on to the South Downs and there were good views down across the airfield and out to the English Channel.
It was quite windy up there, but I took off my ear defenders when we got to the top because I wanted to listen to Philly’s stories about being there with Ben during the dark moon periods.
Then we went back to her house, and I spent the afternoon laminating the leaflets I picked up at the museum and checking the plans for tomorrow, making sure everything is in place.
Mum and I had organised a Big Surprise because even though I don’t enjoy them, I think Philly does.
And if I’m the one organising the surprise then it isn’t a surprise to me.
At the end of the chapter, Amy Johnson says, ‘ I envy not clothes, jewels and luxuries, but experiences lived through, dangers survived, difficulties overcome. Perhaps some day, when the route is opened to passengers – a day not far-distant – I may see these smiling South Atlantic skies and these flooding sheets of torrential rain in the safety and comfort of a huge flying-boat, but it can never be the same as a lone flight against the elements, with not only nature but the whole world against you crying “Fool!” ’ So it turns out even she must have felt like she was a Mentalist sometimes, which, as Philly says, just goes to show how wrong people can be.
I’ve copied out the section and laminated it so I can keep it as a reminder.
I felt sleepy, so we put the book aside and then I pressed my hand against Mum’s as we did our starfish sign. I really don’t mind the touching feeling anymore, in fact it’s quite reassuring.
‘All set for another big day tomorrow?’ Mum said.
‘Do you think they’ll be able to do the Marmite sandwiches?’ I asked.
She smiled. ‘Well, it’s The Ritz. So I think they can do pretty much anything.’ And then she turned out the light and I went to sleep.