Paul last last saw the Gulfstream V about 18 months ago. He comes down to Glasgow airport's planespotters' club most days. He had not seen the plane before so he marked the serial number down in his book.
At the time, he did not think there was anything unusual about the Gulfstream being ushered to a stand away from public view, one that could not be seen from the airport terminal or the club's prime view.
But that flight this week was at the center of a transatlantic row that saw the British prime minister being put on the spot on the floor of the House of Commons in London and the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, forced on the defensive during a visit to Europe.
The Gulfstream V has been identified as having been used by the CIA for "extraordinary renditions" -- abducting terror suspects and taking them to secret prisons around the world where they may be tortured.
The recording of flights by spotters such as Paul from places as far afield as Bournemouth on the English south coast and Karachi has unintentionally played a significant role in helping journalists and human rights groups expose the scale of the CIA's renditions system.
But his impact on such global intrigue largely passes Paul by.
"It's not the CIA bit that interests us. You don't even know who owns the plane when you take down the serial number," he said. "You keep accurate logs, for your own records."
At the door of the shabby end terrace which houses the Glasgow Airport Aviation Enthusiasts Club, Paul is considering how his hobby got him tangled in such a web.
"We know now that these planes are run by the CIA, but it's not something we set out to know," he said.
"I have seen the planes land in daytime and I've seen them land at nighttime. You never see anyone get off them. Most of the time they are just coming in to refuel, but the ones coming in at night you would expect to see people getting off. But you don't -- at least, I never have," he said.
Broadly, planespotters fall into three categories: those who like to take serial numbers, those who like to take photographs, and those who indulge in both.
About 64km away, on a mound exposed to wind and rain near the freight terminals of Prestwick airport, Stephen, lugging a lens more commonly used by paparazzi lurking in the undergrowth, is setting up a tripod waiting to see what will land today.
He knows it won't be as exciting as July, when the planes of G8 leaders and their secret service entourages landed at Prestwick, but he's hoping for a good day.
"It's my day off, so I've come over to Prestwick, but I'll go to Glasgow and Edinburgh as well," he said.
"I do it mostly for myself -- it's been a passion since I was child -- but I'll post good photographs on Web sites too," he said.
Stephen clicks the shutter. He doesn't think this one will make airliners.net, his favorite planespotting Web site. But he'll add it to the collection of hundreds of other plane photographs.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in