Neil  Armstrong.

I remember staying up late, ( or was it very early!) and watching him on television as he stepped down onto the surface. Drinking Drambuie to toast him. My father writing a record of the time and date in the family bible. A grainy image on the small tv in the corner of the lounge, hardly visible, but I was thrilled. We kept the newspapers with their full front page accounts, watched and listened and also prayed that they would get back safely. It was the most exciting event of my childhood. It was the future.  Fantastic possibilities,. reaching the stars,  All those sci-fi stories coming true.

It never happened. The Apollo missions were cancelled,  we stayed here on Earth. Oh there was Mir, and ISS and the Shuttle, but those wonderful dreams of Moonbases and men on Mars faded.

And, like the Apollo missions, UFO faded away. Too early, and without achieving its potential. I was (and still am) a sci-fi fanatic. Hard sci-fi, not  the soft stuff that became so popular in the 80s.  I loved the early works of many sci-fi authors, Heinlein, Asimov, Blish, James White  even Clarke.

Red Planet.   Space Cadet.  Tunnel in the Sky.   The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.  Time for the Stars. 2001.  Have Space Suit, Will Travel. Galactic Gourmet. Too many dammed good stories. And too many of them no longer appreciated or read or remembered.

I never ever thought that one day I might end up  writing UFO, or building  this site to help keep memories alive.

Neil Armstrong. Thank you. I will always remember you.

There was no way I was going to pass up the chance to create these!!:  Continue reading →