The Bottle Of Britain

No!  That's Not A Typo
You ought to know your humble (pedantic hair-splitting grammar Nazi) scribe better than that.  I type what I mean, and in this case I do indeed mean "bottle".
     No, not the sort that gin comes in.  Horrid stuff, gin; good for cleaning silverware but I wouldn't ever drink it for fun.  "Bottle" as in the sense of "courage" or lack of it, arcane British idiom that you are now educated about, and you're welcome.  Art?

What I mean

     I was re-watching the film last night, with the Commentary turned on, and very interesting it was, too, for all sorts of technical reasons that aren't immediately apparent, because the film crew did a good job.  That picture above illustrates a point: these were real aircraft being flown in close proximity, frequently trailing smoke to mimic being damaged, and at closing speeds of possibly three hundred miles per hour.  It was dangerous work!  It needed not only technical ability but also plenty of bottle, hence our title.
     Let me introduce you to a plane that was never seen, yet which was instrumental in the film's making.  Art?

Behold the beast!

     This was - O the irony! - a South Canadian B25 bomber, converted into a camera bus: you can see the added extra windows in the hull.  It had the peculiar paint scheme shown so that other aircraft were able to easily spot it, and avoid embarrassment by, y'know, flying into it.
     We shall probably come back to this, as it has legs.  Meanwhile, let us strap the motley into a wheeled office chair and push it down a steep hill!

Calliope
I came across this word again recently, and wondered what exactly a 'calliope' is or was?  It's mentioned in Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded By The Light", viz. "The calliope crashed to the ground" and in Warren Zevon's "Tule's Blues" "Like a slightly out-of-tune calliope".
     A musical instument, then?  Well, yes, except that it doesn't fly in the sky, so I don't know how it would come crashing down to earth.  Art?

A calliope or steam organ

     Mind you, if one of those fell on you, you'd notice.  It is alternatively known as a 'steam organ' and is known for being EXTREMELY LOUD, which was a big thing back in the day before electric amplification.
     Calliope was also one of the principal Greek muses, Chief of the Muses.  Muses being the arts.  

Speaking Of Which -
You may recall your modest artisan's gloasting about picking up a great big hardback Doctor Who book for only £7 instead of £35 - there I go, gloasting again - and being impressed by the artwork, yet not being altogether clear who was responsible.

     This is because the credits were at the back, because having them in the normal place is boring, apparently.  Anyway, the artist in question is one Alex Fort, who has provided digital art for the dramamentary, as well as other, fictional, productions.  His work has brio*, despite, or perhaps, it being quite sketchy.  I can get Art to show you some art -

Thus

     Pretty obviously a skirmish-line of Cybermen, and in this case the pepperpots have definitely got the worst of the exchange.  Herein the link:

https://alexfort.carbonmade.com/about

     Worth checking out if you liked that work above.

But Sharks Are Our Friends!
Don't forget, the 'Sharknado' films are fiction.  I see from the Beeb website that tiger sharks have a preference for waters where the temperature is at 220C, which means if global warming affects ocean temperatures, they may move to stay in their comfort zone.  Such a move might take them into waters where they are presently either unknown or very rare, meaning also that they may encounter delicious juicy tasty fleshy morsels called humans, and accidentally - er - there's no easy way to put this - eat them.

Inquisitive shark.
(for the photographer's sake, let's hope it isn't also hungry)

     This is usually an accident, with the shark mistaking the person for a swimming dinner like a turtle or fish.  Before you quiver in fear and swear off any paddling in seawater deeper than ankle height, there are only about 80 shark attacks on people annually across the globe, and none at all ever in Switzerland.




*  There's a funny story about this.  I may tell it one day.