First encounter of the third kind.

Search Amazon.com for Richard of YorkRichard would be the first of many eccentric characters we would encounter throughout the project. the first and one of the most memorable.

During the previous evening David had kindly offered his Transit van to pick up the chassis from Sheffield in addition to all the other missing parts that we may or may not procure. We travelled over the county boundary to Yorkshire using a typically over detailed route planner, the consequence of which was that we found ourselves lost in the centre of Sheffield. Chris reacted swiftly by quickly lifting the drawbridge to conceal his discomfort. Appalled by the geometric jumble of 60’s glass and steel, intermingled with Victorian Civic pride the centre exemplified the usual hotch-potch of compromise. Town planners notoriously rarely hit the mark when it came to inner city re-development. Transport infrastructure issues were hardly considered which meant that every form of travel had to fight vigorously for its own corner. The trams, buses, taxis, bikes, pedestrians all would have their turn to scrap for the right of way. A compatible, worthy, proud  mixture of post modern shoulder to shoulder with traditional will always be a difficult deed to achieve, even more so in South Yorkshire. 

We finally found the Hilton Hotel, this landmark being the marker for the ‘Spitfire Graveyard’. We had weaved through the city streets descending cautiously toward the old railway viaduct. Just as every traveller in the world has ever done, we parked up to I ask directions from a one of the businesses located in the arches. Coincidently, this happened to be directly next door to former premises of the ‘Graveyard’. It also had the directions to the new place painted on the wall so that new visitors couldn’t fail but to notice it. There was no need for an exchange of words as the fag smoking, greasy engineer pointed to the sign simultaneously scratching his head ponderously. Three hundred metres down the street we eventually found Richard’s place.