Eight days, and counting

In eight days time I'll be facing John Humphrys across a darkened Mastermind studio and spouting my knowledge - or lack of it - about Soviet rocket engineer Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.

It's getting close now and the gaps in my knowledge appear to be widening not shrinking.

I operate best as a storyteller and can spin the yarn of the Chief Designer's life and achievements until the cows have probably circled the earth many more times than Yuri Gagarin (...well ok, he only went round once, and didn't actually complete a full orbit). Where it all goes hazy is on two fronts: dates and science...a bit of a handicap methinks.

If I'm asked questions about the key facts and personalities around SP's life, about Sputnik, Vostok, the R7, Voskhod and the N1, fine. If it's stuff around the chemical formula in the mix of Gluschko's rocket engines, or the precise apogee of Sputnik 5, there'll be a fair few passes.

I'm under no illusions about my Mastermind appearance: my delight (and slight terror) is just making it to the show. When I did the Weakest Link, I felt I could win and most certainly wanted to. I will be VERY VERY fortunate to get beyond my Mastermind heat, and could very easily finish a distant fourth.

A tad underwhelmed

My passion for 20th century history can occasionally turn a profit, so I was looking forward to a trip to the National Cold War Exhibition at RAF Cosford in Shropshire to put together a piece for an American web publication.

The 8000 square metre 21st century take on an aircraft hangar looks impressive from the outside, and certainly shows up the rest of the museum, which is now looking rather tired. But I'm not sure the designers and curators have grabbed the opportunity presented to them - I certainly came away underwhelmed, and am going to have to pick my words very carefully when writing up the site review.

First impressions? The planes don't add enough to the story. Is this a Cold War exhibition or is it a new way to store historic aircraft? At the moment, it seems to fall between two stools, and falls short of the standards set by the likes of the American Air Museum at Duxford or the Air & Space museum in Washington DC.

Clearly it's early days for the RAF Museum's newest exhibit, but I think it needs more content, more interactivity (all the touch screens lead to the same content!) and more human linkage between the aircraft and the history to really bring it to life.