. . . . hesitation or incorrect timing could put you in big trouble, confront you with the most dangerous paragliding circumstance. I’ve never done this manoeuvre myself, but I know how it works.

‘Many of us function quite satisfactorily with no personal picture that we’re aware of, and many will have binned their write-ups instantly. I salute them. Their motto is ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it,’ and my 200,000 mile Golf has prospered similarly.’

Was there really an aeroplane out there? Do the past and future exist? Perhaps the present is the only reality, suggesting that cat-shots are, for most of the time, creations of the fevered imagination. What a surreal way to take off. Fantastic.

Think, damn you! Think!!” I told myself. My first decision was to climb as high as possible until the collector tank ran out, so as to give myself the full eight minutes of life that I had left.”

“They don’t need a trainer”, suggested my assistant Randy Reinhardt, “more like a corner man with a bucket and sponge”.

“If I was going to land in the lion’s enclosure I would want four afterburning Olympus engines to get me out of there.”

“I don’t know why the British judge cries” he said. “I spoke with all the judges. Sometimes, when it is necessary, I criticise them, but I do it within the rules.”

The Swiss Air Force are proud of their reliable marksmanship. Every year there’s a live air-to-ground shooting show in front of the public - close to them too. I went - it was fantastic.