I've heard that a local airfield is set to close - developers have their eye on it - despite the council including it in their plans for the town's amenities.

It prompted me to wander down the lane and inspect the airstrip and hangar I used to rent on the farm - it's needs some work. It struck me that there may be a shortage of hangar space in the area. We're quite well served for farm strips, but another won't hurt. I plan to submit a proposal to my landlord to reinstate the 800m strip if there's enough interest.

Talking of aircraft, I've made a start on the Bi-Fly which I should be able to finish in time for an autumn fly-up on the field.

This last week has been mostly taken up with making two pairs of bookends destined for a rather smart golf club on the Suffolk coast. Rather than the traditional material, oak or mahogany, I persuaded them that aluminium would be just the thing, providing a perfect contrast to the old clubs I was given to mount.

The fun bit was casting the weights that sat in a machined recess in the base. The Great Collector dug out a suitable ladle and a couple of lumps of lead.

I whizzed up a mold in aluminium and with a roofer's torch, it took only twenty minutes to produce the four lead discs.

Mounting the chopped down heads was a bit of a fiddle - getting the screw holes in the right place; always a challenge - and then finishing with a couple of coats of decent lacquer to stop greasy fingerprints was a day's work on its own.

A chum rang to tell me of a Sunday morning VSCC gathering at the Pakenham water mill. As the mill was only down the road, I popped along for a gander. An excellent turn-out, many of which were new to me.

This Arrow-bodied Morris Minor for instance. Rileys were well represented....

... and this wonderful Darracq.

Most interesting was this Bayliss Thomas Speedster which I remembered from my Bayliss days. Built in Australia to a very high standard and imported to the UK, I suspect that Suffolk might have the highest incidence of BT's per square mile in the world. I know there's two here - possibly three.

Back on the Special, I faced up to my first bit of bodywork - making the detachable panels for the bottom of the scuttle. The offside hatch will give me access to the handbrake mechanism and I haven't quite decided what to put in the nearside compartment, but it will be a handy space for something.

The nearside was better than the offside after I'd got used again to what the wheeling machine can do - all too quickly if you're not paying attention. Close and consistent tracking is the key.