While being clearly 'the best of times' from the point of view of the very sunny Pentecote holiday weekend and a near-capacity crowd of circa 40,000, La Ferte-Alais' 2023 airshow was also 'the worst of times' due to the loss of Bernard Chabbert, the long-term commentator/'animateur' there for so many years, who had died suddenly in late 2022. His presentation always combined a fine and poetic command of the French language that flowed over the spectators like warm bath water, painting historical pictures that would roll out as the days progressed. As if that wasn't saddening enough, news came through the week afterwards that lean Salis had passed away on 2 June, aged 86, after a lengthy illness. It was he who had invested so much of his and his family's skills, energy and time in making the show such a success year after year. Doubtless the Amicale Jean-Baptiste Salis organising team will come up with a suitable memorial farewell to 'Jeannot' at the 2024 event.
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