Lee J. Russell

A Visit to East Midlands AeroPark – 19/5/24…

At the start of a short holiday break, I enjoyed a visit to the “East Midlands AeroPark” at Castle Donington, located right next to East Midlands Airport. They have a small but good collection of (often later-mark) Cold War era jets, mostly in reasonably good condition despite being kept outdoors. I had not previously seenContinue reading “A Visit to East Midlands AeroPark – 19/5/24…”

“The Queen’s Joust” – Leeds Castle, Maidstone – 27/5/24…

I became interested in the technology behind medieval armour during Covid-19 lockdown (who didn’t pick up a new hobby?) and the opportunity to see reproduction armour in use during a joust was too good to miss. Over the May ’24 bank holiday weekend, Leeds Castle at Maidstone hosted 3 days of jousting, and I managedContinue reading ““The Queen’s Joust” – Leeds Castle, Maidstone – 27/5/24…”

“Extinction Event” by Bryant Benson – short story on 365 tomorrows

I’m an irregular reader of the short fiction on 365 tomorrows. Time is precious and life is short, so a story needs a really compelling theme to draw me in. It feels odd over the Christmas holidays to say that I ‘enjoyed’ this tale by Benson. In 8 paragraphs it steps us through the lastContinue reading ““Extinction Event” by Bryant Benson – short story on 365 tomorrows”

A visit to IWM Duxford…

Completing my tour of the “big ticket” UK aircraft museums, I visited the Imperial War Museum’s (IWM) display at Duxford this weekend. The site presents both flying aircraft and static exhibits (mostly in hangars). It has a strong sense of being focussed on WW2 aircraft, although there are some Cold War military and passenger jetsContinue reading “A visit to IWM Duxford…”

I’ve Just Published 3 New Paperbacks…

Life in my day job is very demanding, but over the past week I have just found the physical & emotional energy needed to publish 3 paperbacks with Cold War / New Cold War themes: “Cold War – How The Cold War Nuclear Arms Race Affected The World” collects together a series of non-fiction articlesContinue reading “I’ve Just Published 3 New Paperbacks…”

Cold War – How The Cold War Nuclear Arms Race Affected The World

It has been a while since I posted on my blog. In the background I’ve been working on my ‘Lissa Blackwood’ action-thriller series, preparing these articles about the Cold War for publication and considering how I want my website to look in 2023. I hope you like the new-look banner! As time passes we areContinue reading “Cold War – How The Cold War Nuclear Arms Race Affected The World”

Two Jubilee Cold War visits…

This Jubilee weekend I ticked off two small entries on my UK Cold War bucket list. First up was a visit to the National Cold War Museum at RAF Cosford, just north of Birmingham. I had been itching to see this exhibition ever since I’d visited the RAF Museum at Hendon in 2019. Hendon isContinue reading “Two Jubilee Cold War visits…”

Peace Camps on standby – it is in nobody’s interest for the UK to allow American nukes on its soil again…

As reported on TheDrive.com, once again the possibility of American nukes being stored on UK soil rears it ugly head. Their article can be found here: Nuclear Bombs May Be Headed Back To The United Kingdom. Nobody has anything to gain through a proliferating deployment of nuclear weapons. Allowing US nukes to be stored inContinue reading “Peace Camps on standby – it is in nobody’s interest for the UK to allow American nukes on its soil again…”

Irresponsible nuclear propaganda from London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan…

On 28/2/22, the online news service “MyLondon” reported that a spokesperson for the London mayor had told them that “… London is well prepared in the “remote” event of Russia launching a nuclear strike on the capital…” — I nearly fell off my chair when I read that. It is the latest iteration of continuousContinue reading “Irresponsible nuclear propaganda from London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan…”

Visiting the first 3 Martian landing sites in H. G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds”…

While I was recently out on a road trip for another reason, I took the opportunity to visit the first three fictional landing sites for the Martian’s cylinders in H. G. Wells’ novel “The War of the Worlds” (serialised in 1897, first hardcover published in 1898). Unlike many ‘classic’ science fiction stories, this tale hasContinue reading “Visiting the first 3 Martian landing sites in H. G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds”…”