A Drink with Walt

THERE are few better places to have a drink than at the Chalke Valley History Festival, and who better to share a pint with than one of the stalwarts of the festival, Paul Bavill? Anybody who has been to Chalke Valley will recognise Paul, as he is a mainstay of the living history element of the festival.Yes, Paul is one of those reenactor fellows, and every time you see him, he is wearing something quite different – whether it’s a paratrooper’s uniform from the Second World War, the garb of a bodysnatcher, or the dandy togs of a gentleman duellist.Paul, who along with his mates Kyle and Rory, is part of the Foreign Field Living History Group, and I wanted to ask him what drew him to reenactment. I must confess that when I was first encountered reenactors, I found the whole practice a little odd – surely spending your weekends dressing up as a Tommy in the trenches was not something for grown-ups? However, as you will hear, Paul has convinced me otherwise, not least because the process of reenactment teaches us a LOT about the past.Paul and I were drinking Goram IPA supplied by the excellent Gardner and Beedle, who are running one hell of a drinks tent on the site. Listen out for cameo appearances by a certain James Holland and the best lensman in town, Martin Cook…(NB, I’m aware that there is a slight glitch near the beginning of the recording. Apologies.) Get full access to Walt's World at guywalters.substack.com/subscribe

WHEN we think of iconic aircraft, we tend to think of machines such as the Spitfire and the Hurricane.Yeah, yeah. Whatever.Because for my money, the Apache attack helicopter is right up there.Unlike those old WW2 aircraft, the Apache has been around for ages and it’s STILL going strong – very strong indeed. It’s been around for forty years, has served in numerous wars, and is – in all its beautiful ugliness – a design classic.Imagine if Spitfires served in the Second World War AND the Falklands, and you begin to get my point.There is literally nobody better in the world to talk about the Apache than my friend Nick Wharmby, because he has flown this aircraft for over twenty years.His CV is ludicrously impressive.He is – so he tells me – an Experimental Class 1 test pilot. He’s also an A1 Central Flying School helicopter instructor. He’s a weapons instructor and an air combat tactic instructor. And (yawn) he’s an instrument rating examiner, a European Aviation Safety Agency instructor and examiner, and flew the Apache on and off from 1998 to 2019, in, amongst other roles, as the UK Ministry of Defence project test pilot. He not only taught people how to fly the Apache, but he also taught the people who teach the people how to fly the Apache. And he did a lot of this while he was a civilian. And he’s got an MBE.Nick and I had our drink at The Queen’s Head in Broad Chalke. We drank Gritchie – as always. (Perhaps I should see if my fellow Guy is around for a future podcast…) Anyway, enjoy. Get full access to Walt's World at guywalters.substack.com/subscribe

Hamish and I had our drink at the excellent Royal Oak in Swallowcliffe in Wiltshire, which attracts a lot of petrol heads because it is partly owned by James May. Although Hamish did have a pint of Peroni, he switched to white wine because he was about to go onto Channel 4 News. I stuck to English Lore from Gritchie. The noises in the background are people playing pétanque – my favourite sport! – which I’m delighted to see is getting more popular in Britain. Get full access to Walt's World at guywalters.substack.com/subscribe