SPITFIRE OR BLUEBIRDS

It was Spitfire Friday on July 10th 2020 and the great war weapon was celebrated on the media and elsewhere, so well done Vera Lynn! Vera, The Iconic Forces "Sweetheart", caused such excitement but it was the famous war weapon that meant so much to the soldiers, sailors, airmen and the rest. "There will be Bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover...... ". Vera sung the famous and reassuring song at the time and indeed there were "Supermarine" Spitfires flying over the Channel guarding our skies.

So, we now celebrate Vera and the Spitfire, which had its origins in manufacturing at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham and at Eastleigh near Southampton. The first flight was from Eastleigh Aerodrome, now Southampton Airport. The Spitfire flew to honour Dame Vera's funeral.

https://twitter.com/RoyalAirForce/status/1281572586510573570?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Designed by Reginald J.Mitchell, it had its first flight in March 1936 and the first pilot to test the plane was Joseph "Mutt" Summers, who flew it for 8 minutes!!! The nickname reputedly after his habit of having a "wee" on the wheel of his plane before take off (like a dog)....yes, before he got in the "cock pit".

Over 20,000 planes were manufactured and named after the manufacturer Chairman; Sir Robert McLean's daughter Ann, whom he called the "Little Spitfire".
The design has another story:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-53352233/battle-of-britain-the-schoolgirl-who-helped-design-spitfire  There is some good maths in here!

Typically, the local football club Eastleigh FC, is nicknamed "The Spitfires" and indeed had a mascot called Sammy Spitfire, a dog, until 2015, when the club decided to honour Derik Brooks, who founded the club in 1946, so they came up,  obviously, with Brooksy the Bear. ????

The club was originally known as Swaythling Athletic and played in the Hampshire League (county standard). The named changed to Eastleigh FC, when the club joined the Wessex League in 1986, then the Southern League in 2003, promoting to Conference South and then the Conference Premier in 2014, leading to the National League since 2016, Step 5. Crowds at their Silverlake Stadium (originally known as Ten Acres) top 1000 per game and reached over 5,000 when they met Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup 3rd Round in January 2016. They drew 1-1 at home and lost 3-2 away.

Spitfire Ale is brewed by Shepherd Neame in Faversham, Kent (reputedly Britain's oldest brewer) and celebrated the 50 years since the Battle of Britain in 1940, with this:

Get on the Spitfire Ale website and go to images, if you need cheering up.