Falconry World

I set off for Salt Lake City from Manchester Airport early on the 28^th May 08. I was up at around five and was sitting chatting away to the boxer Ricky Hatton by 8am whom I’d filmed on the 24^th May in Manchester Cities football stadium beating Juan Lazcano. His swelling had gone down and he was in good spirit and looking forward to his next fight in the states. I had my own battle to contend with. A long haul flight to Chicago. Hang around for four hours in the airport and then another three hour flight to Salt Lake City.

I eventually got to Salt Lake City at 9pm Salt Lake City time or 4am back home. It was a long day and I was relieved to see Robert Bagley and Dave Marshall some 23hours after I’d got out of bed back home. Robert had also just got back from Australia the day before so goodness knows what time his body clock was at. I was stopping with Dave Marshall, who’s house was on the side of mountains that frames the city on nearly all sides. The view from his living room window was fantastic. A million street lights, with black mountains rising into the sky filled with shimmering stars.

It was an amazing sight, but I needed some sleep. I went to bed at 11pm and was up at 7am just like at home.

The view in the morning was even more spectacular. I’d expected a vast desert but as you can see it isn’t. The great thing with the city is that in the day it looks so wooded. Apparently Dave tells me, nearly every tree in the city was planted. From up here for the most part all you can see is trees except for the Central Business District. On the roof of Daves garage was what a Californian quail.

They were all over the city running around in pairs. Just the right size for a sparrow hawk or should I say sharp shin now? Dave took me to a diner and we got the day started with an egg and bacon bagel and a fine cup of tea. Marshall Head Quarters is about 15 minuets from the city in a now industrial area. We go past a large oil refinery, built during the Second World War to prevent the Japanese bombing the fuel supply and pushing up prices….If only they’d have known. Anyway, the HQ is just like the picture on the Marshall web site. However inside are a number of rooms with technicians, working on receivers with microscopes,

Checking the board on the new digital field marshall before testing and “Burning in” for 24hrs

engineers working machines slicing solid blocks of aircraft aluminium into the smallest part from a remote computer.

The noise inside is like a falconers nightmare; Bleeps from every direction yet it is somehow very peaceful with everyone just going about there business. After a quick introduction I was given the guided tour….