IF YOU WERE LUCKY enough to be near the Derwent resevoir yesterday, you might have heard the spine-tingling, iconic sound of the Merlin engines that powered the greatest aircraft of the Second World War. Sixty-five years after 19 RAF Lancaster bombers flew off for the famous raid on the Ruhr Valley dams, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster flew along the training route for that mission in commemoration of those who took part in the daring “Dambusters” raid. Want to know what makes a Lancaster tick? Turn to page 11.

I wasn't there, alas - but I did speak to Squadron Leader Al Pinner, a former Harrier pilot who now has the job of running the BBMF, based at RAF Conigsby. He flies Spitfires, lucky man, not the Lancaster, as his training was in single-seater fighters; it's hard not to be moved when he describes the joy of flying one of these noble craft. “It's a delight to fly. The sound of the most beautiful engine ever built, the smell of the fuel, the spirits of the thousands of pilots who went before you sitting on your shoulder.” Most of all there's the provenance of the craft - it's possible, now to assemble a Spitfire from salvaged parts, the planes of the BBMF are wholly original - “you can see where the bullet holes have been repaired”. To see where and when they'll be flying again, see the website below.

Speaking of provenance, are you surprised to learn that the sometimes odd-looking Bond covers on our own cover are those of the first editions? Hard to believe, I thought - since Casino Royale looks like a Barbara Cartland novel and you wouldn't say that the jacket of You Only Live Twice exudes glamour. But should you wish to acquire a copy of this Casino Royale, be warned that it will set you back rather more than its original price. The splendid Ed Maggs, our mole in the arcane world of antiquarian bookselling, reports that it could set you back $75,000 - even with a weak dollar that's still a strong price.

The price of a book is also often affected by the inscription inside; Fleming was, apparently, an indefatigable and inventive signer of his own books, and an interesting inscription (ie, to T. S. Eliot's flatmate, a book collector: “This pre-natal first edition of the collected works of Balzache”) will make a valuable book more valuable still. Happy hunting.

www.bbmf.co.uk

www.maggs.com

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