Peter Rhodes on axing finches, a bun controversy and the folly of cutting corners on defence
The Palace announces that King Charles may be able to attend Trooping the Colour in June, but he may appear not riding but in the state coach. Or will he? Will it be the real coach and the real monarch or a deepfake hologram projected into Horse Guards Parade? We live in uncertain times. Get your conspiracy theory in early.
It now emerges that the RAF plane carrying Defence Secretary Grant Shapps a few days ago was a “basic model,” without the hi-tech kit needed to protect its systems from the Russian jamming which knocked out its GPS system. This rang a bell.
When the first RAF Hercules broke the siege of Sarajevo Airport in 1992, it landed perfectly but had difficulty leaving; the engines wouldn't start. From the front of the plane, a young RAF technician moved quickly rearward, reaching over our heads to pull the plastic covers off the wiring loom and inserting short lengths of cable tipped with crocodile clips. He said he was by-passing some circuits to get enough power to start the motor and explained: “ The American version of this aircraft has a full toolkit for this sort of thing.”
