We had been casting about, The Demon Gricer and I, for a "Big Story", for I felt that nothing less would be appropriate for the
blogosphere debut of such a man, and had almost resigned ourselves to lowering our standards and going for a Royal security angle on the "Naked Prince Harry" fiasco, (incidentally, how many twenty-seven year olds know how to play billiards?) when the death
was announced of Neil Armstrong. The Apollo 11 lunar landing was the greatest historical event of my lifetime and arguably the greatest positive historical event of the twentieth century. What's more, Armstrong, unlike Gagarin, was no mere passenger,
but was obliged to use to the full his consumate skill as a pilot to rescue the mission from disaster. Agreeing instantly that a single piece would be inadequate, The Gricer and I propose to examine Neil Armstrong's legacy in a series of articles over the
next few weeks, beginning with some personal reminiscences of my own.
28/8/2012