The Amy Johnson Collection of Essays

Top Flight - RAF Lakenheath It is autumn of 2015 and there are cozier places to be than the cockpit of a US F/A-18 Hornet fighter Jet. But for the US Air force pilot who has first taken off from RAF Lakenheath, for a test flight, over the North Sea near Scotland, before returning back to the RAF base in Suffolk. If all checks are normal, Major Thom will be heading back to the US to his home with his unit and squadron. His flight plan is simple, the fuel tank full and after a few flight checks as required prior to all long haul flights, and he would, be back at the Officers Mess, in time for a drink with his squadron pilots. But then he suffers cockpit failures and loses radio contact. He resorts to his beacon responder, and sends out a pan call. He waits patiently as the North Sea fog closes in, signaling to him extreme danger and even certain death, as the fuel gauge begins to drop with passing time. This then is the story of a brave pilot awaiting rescue, back to Lossiemouth or Leuchers the RAF Bases in Scotland. Garvochleah - Angus Major Douglas Phillips - handsome, wealthy and decorated for his bravery in Afghanistan, is recognized by London society as an eligible bachelor. Yet despite his success, he flounders at the age of twenty nine to find a soul mate. Beautiful Ambrose, the daughter of a diplomat rejects his proposal for a richer suitor and while still remaining good friends, leaves him somewhat heartbroken. However, optimistically he returns to Garvochleah with his two horses Equss and Chestnut. Once in Scotland he meets Morag, who lives in impoverished gentility in the Scottish countryside, the global oil recession having had a serious impact on the stable keepers of the North East. Untouched by fashion and trends of Scottish oil and city life, she devotes her time to the upkeep of her stables and her horses. Major Phillips finds in her a gem of a rare quality. Her perfect landscape once he learns had a history of wealth and he soon discovers that without money coming in from fresh sources, she stands to lose everything. This chance meeting makes them join forces, and Douglas invites her to a London society ball attended by the Duke of Cambridge. Delighted she accepts and both believe they can be seen as a powerhouse of a team with great potential. As they plot and plan to taken London by storm, little do they both realize that their plans would create a game and spin a web from which neither of them may make a safe exit.