If I were showing off, I’d say I had a blinding flash of inspiration that summer’s day in 1994 when I was bimbling around the skies over the Cotswolds in my then R22 and spotted something intriguing 1,500 feet below me.

I’d tell an amazing but quite untrue story that when I looked down on the series of deserted, overgrown lakes below, I decided on the spot that I would turn it into a globally recognised nature reserve housing an idyllic upmarket vacation village studded discreetly with some of the world’s leading modernist architecture.

But no. Actually, I landed for a sandwich, a bit of a snooze and a swim.

And it was the flying, which is fantastic in this part of the country,  that in many senses was the tail that wagged the dog which would, as the years passed, slowly morph into Lower Mill Estate.

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EU ETS Phase 2, UK NAP Phase 1, the UNFCCC, and – of course – GRETA. Meaningless to most of us, and meaningless to me until earlier this year, when I began to take an interest in off-setting the CO2 I emit from flying, and the emissions which the UK’s 30,000 GA (general aviation) pilots make. (The initials all relate to elements/arrangements in Emissions Trading policy).
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We had the meeting yesterday regarding aviation off-setting, and I’ll post some news tomorrow. Meanwhile, here’s a photograph of a Mosquito. Why not?

Now there’s an idea - something that I’ve been interested in for a long time.  I’ll be speaking to someone called Philippe about this in a couple of weeks.  Expect some developments in mid-August.