Wednesday, November 03 2004 @ 07:31 AM Contributed by: webbos At the end of September Alisma and I attended an excellent Iberian Section meeting at Santerem – 60 miles to the north of Lisbon. The event was well supported by local members together with a good representation from the UK and German- Austrian Sections. The hospitality was of the highest order throughout the full programme – an official greeting by the local council, a city guided walk, a wine tasting and lunch in a Rotarian’s vineyard and a meeting with local Rotarians. We also met up again with the President of the Portuguese Aero Club who proved such strength in the wake of the Sintra tragedy two years ago. Some of us took the opportunity to visit the memorial to the four friends we lost where fresh flowers were left. Thanks go to Richard Goldscmidt for all his hard work. The following weekend we attended the final UK Section meeting of the year at Bristol. If ever an organiser had reason to tear his hair out Geoff Watkins certainly did that weekend. The weather was forecast to be unsuitable for a return trip so we drove and one of the weekend’s principal visits that to a Concorde had to be called off as the site was closed. Bristol was where the British Concordes were built and it was also where a ship, which was equally revolutionary in the 19th Century as Concorde, was in the 20th was constructed. This was the SS Great Britain, the first ship built of iron, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. We also visited another of Brunel’s engineering masterpieces - the Clifton Suspension Bridge. I said that Geoff had every reason to become hairless – in the event he needn’t have worried. By common consent the fellowship experienced during the weekend was some of the best of the year. Later in the month some 5000 miles away the Americas Section held their AGM at the AOPA Expo in Long Beach. From the reports I have had back Americas Vice-President Phil Livingstone ran a strong meeting and has fired the Section with new enthusiasm. 2005 is going be a busy year for them with the Chicago Convention and the Flyaround that follows. We are looking forward to it. Tail winds Angus Clark