Grimsthorpe resident Dave Unwin looks forward to this year’s Malle Mile…
It’s always good to have something going on in one’s back garden, and although we do have some great events at Grimsthorpe, my favourite event is always The Malle Mile.
Last year’s was epic for, with more than a thousand riders competing and no one expected to win, the 8th Malle Mile most definitely did not disappoint. Great bands, good food, wonderful machines and – best of all – lots of friendly, smiley people having fun in the sun. Indeed, the Sun shone down on glorious Grimsthorpe for all four days and the weather mirrored the mood. Hot at times yet always cool with the mellow vibe that every festival aspires to but only the best have. Be it the local traction engine competing in the sprint to tumultuous applause, the incredible Demon Drome Wall of Death riders, Public Service Broadcasting’s dancing cosmonaut during ‘Sputnik’ or a hundred other wonderful sights, it was just epic.
Where else could you see a man wearing a monkey suit riding a monkey bike, or see a fabulous Spitfire display with PSB’s ‘Spitfire’ played over the PA? From the option of a wild swim in the lake at 0800 to the Mile After Party at midnight it was just flawless. And I’ve got a feeling this year’s will be even better – and I can’t wait. Roll on the 20th July, and the following three days too.
Dave Unwin is a multi-media personality who is often seen on TV, appearing in Emmy-nominated shows such as ‘Engineering Disasters’ and ‘Plane Crash Recreated’, occasionally heard on The Sean Moncrief Show (Ireland’s most eclectic multi-award-winning radio show) or appearing live at obscure book festivals. Author of the best-selling ‘Sky Stories’ series, he is currently the Editor of GASCo Flight Safety Magazine and Pilot magazine’s Flight Test Editor, he has also written for many other titles, including FlyPast, Air International, Aviation News, Airliner World, Wingspan, Flyer, Sailplane & Gliding, Avion Revue, Przglad Lotniczy, Aviao Revue, SA Flyer, Avion y Piloto, Air Forces Monthly, Maxim, Powered Sport Flying, Soaring International, Australian Aviation, Plane & Pilot, Flying China, Sunday Times, Financial Times, Maxim, Aero Kurier, Microlight Flying, PC Pilot and Klassiker der Luftahrt.
Dave Unwin
Formerly the editor of Today’s Pilot magazine, Dave is Lusso’s Flight Test Editor. He has been flying for 28 years, and has around 5,000 hours in about 300 different types, ranging from antique gliders and vintage biplanes to modern turboprops and jet fighters. He currently owns the Jodel D9 ‘Buzz’ and also flies the Buckminster GC’s Robin Remorquer and the Black Mountains GC’s Piper Pawnee. Dave first wrote for Lusso in 2004, and has also written for, amongst others, Pilot, Air Forces Monthly, American Plane & Pilot, Aviation News, Maxim, The Sunday Times and The Financial Times. Dave has worked as a deckhand on a trawler off the coast of Alaska, an exploration driller in France and a gold prospector in Australia.