James Salter

Trafalgar 200

I’ve just finished watching the BBC’s streaming of this evening’s Son et Lumi�re in Portsmouth (News 24’s coverage was awful, but BBC News Online was streaming the BBC’s pictures with the audio track being played to the crowd).

The firework display was just one part of a day of events marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. This afternoon, the Queen reviewed the fleet, although they weren’t strickly all our ships. The 167 ships parked in the Solent came from 36 countries. Earlier this evening, a mock battle took place between, not the British versus the French and Spanish fleets, but between the red and blue team. Political correctness gone mad.

However, that didn’t tarnish the rest of the event, which culminated in one of the most spectacular firework displays I’ve seen in Britain - take note for New Year, Mr Mayor.

All in all a superb tribute to Nelson, a true British hero who’s story still stirs the nation two hundred years after he died.

S&S: Stuck & Stranded

Look what I found on my lunchtime trawl of the web:

Sequioa Adventure managed to strand its riders hanging over a vertical drop for nearly 2 hours (see the photos in the second post).

First Slammer leaves riders suspended upside down, now SA - albeit a totally different type of ride - does something similar. S&S aren’t having a good year. It seems their rides just love to get stuck, and when they get stuck they love to get stuck upside down.

Can we still say all these problems with new S&S rides this year are just a coincidence?

The first time I saw the Slammer & Rush plans, I immediately wanted to ride. The first time I saw a picture of a Screamin’ Squirrel, same thing. S&S have fantastic ride concepts, but - certainly this year - are failing to deliver them on time and in a reliable working state.