albert smith
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Posts posted by albert smith
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I didn't get down low enough to see any legs but as it wriggled along the skin pattern looked like small armor plates slotting back & forth, that barb on the back end would be a bit intimidating to a predator. A large moth is probably the best bet but is there a 'rest of the brood' somewhere?
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Thanks Plantfit, just copied the link & Hey Presto!
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Alleyluyaaaaa
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lets see if this works?
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The wife spotted 'this' undulating down the side path before disappearing into the front flower bed. Mmm I;ll bet she doesn't go weeding in there again!
'This' is large 80 mm caterpillar, photoed, printed & copied to library But NO Pbucket!. Copy & Paste? NO, size limit of 51.2kb applies. Photo reduced by 25% but still too big!
Now what?
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Quite right Jill #22, engine crew could claim a '20 minute meal break between the 3rd. & 5th. hours of duty where circumstances permitted?' the railway dray horses were entitled to the same 20 mins to put the nosebags on!.
Re. over priced wines we went last year to a hotel on the sea front at Oban (Queen Alexander?) all the wines were priced @ £10.00 per bottle, £3.00 per glass! by the 3rd. evening the 'chiller' couldn't keep pace with the bottle sales of white & rose' !!
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I think this comes under the heading 'swinging the lamp'
The U.S.S. Constitution (Old Ironsides—even though she was made of oak), as a combat vessel, carried 48,600 gallons of fresh water for her crew of 475 officers and men. This was sufficient to last six months of sustained operations at sea. She carried no evaporators (i.e. fresh water distillers). However, let it be noted that according to her ship's log, "On July 27, 1798, the U.S.S. Constitution sailed from Boston with a full complement of 475 officers and men,48,600 gallons of fresh water,
7,400 cannon shot,
11,600 pounds of black powder and 79,400 gallons of rum."
Her mission: "To destroy and harass English shipping."
Making Jamaica on 6 October, she took on 826 pounds of flour and 68,300 gallons of rum. Then she headed for the Azores , arriving there 12 November.. She provisioned with 550 pounds of beef and 64,300 gallons of Portuguese wine. On 18 November, she set sail for England .In the ensuing days she defeated five British men-of-war ships, and captured and scuttled 12 English merchant ships, salvaging only the rum aboard each.
By 26 January, her powder and shot were exhausted.
Nevertheless, although unarmed she made a night raid up the Firth of Clyde in Scotland . Her landing party captured a whisky distillery and transferred 40,000 gallons of single malt Scotch aboard by dawn. Then she headed home.
The U. S. S. Constitution arrived in Boston on 20 February 1799,
with no cannon shot,
no food,
no powder,
no rum,
no wine,
no whisky,
and 38,600 gallons of water.
GO NAVY!Oh Yeah!-
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A bit late replying but I had an appointment at St. Annes, 2.30 pm. March 18th. 1950. Good job I wasn't late, the girl friend ( & her father) arrived a few minutes later!
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Only just spotted this topic but when Dad was in the Home Guard 1942-5 he used to go to a site he said " at back of Wilford Hill Cemetery" but it wasn't 'ack-ack guns', he didn't talk a lot but did say they were "rockets"? but never mentioned them being fired! I think he did one night per week "on guard" and as no one had porridge for breakfast he used to fill his haversack with the unused quaker oats so we got some benefit from his night out of bed!
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.Mmm as good a place as any for this tit-bit?
Till one day i sat in a quiet pub in Tullamore and i noticed a plaque on the wall that read. THE TREE.
I am your friend, your needs i meet.
I am the floor beneath your feet.
I am the beam that takes the strain.
I am the door againsed the rain.
I am the peg, the post, the tub.
I am the oar the bat, the club.
I am the stick for summer days.
I am the log for winters blaze.
I am the alter of the lord.
I am the sacramental board.
And at the last on earths brown breast.
I hold you in your place of rest.
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As promised 9 ex -BWC members attended the Eastwood Wine Circle festival on Saturday evening & a good trip it turned out, 5 Firsts & 6 placings between us and, as expected, a very good social 'meet up'! Thanks Eastwood, here's to the next time. Cheers!
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part 3
10 days at home then recall, we were on the move again firstly to Aldershot, coincideny to the same barracks where I had been to get my ‘ Xed swords badge’ as a army cadet PTI 3 years before, for 2 weeks with the Army Physical training unit to get us fit for the parachuting! (the commando course didn’t count?) Then on into another ‘Nissan’ hut camp at Middleton Stoney Manor House, 3 miles down the road from the RAF parachute school at Upper Heyford, a nice walk to get you warmed up for the very thorough RAF instructors who soon had us rolling about the floor, jumping out of simulated aircraft doors etc. until, after a week or so we came to the “fan”, We had heard this ZZzzz noise now it was our turn to create it, climb the 60ft. ladder into the hanger roof, make your way into these cubicles & be fastened into the harness which is connected to a very small fan by a very thin wire, on the command “GO” you step out onto a mat on the hanger floor 60ft. below! NO hesitation is permitted either now or in the proper aircraft later on. RTU (return to unit is immediate!) Oh yes, the fan does support you, just like the real parachute which has no ‘rip cord’ to pull as you are hooked up to the aircraft by a static line which extends pulling the parachute out of its bag as soon as you are clear of the ‘plane. It’s difficult to describe your feelings as you wait your turn in the ’plane, approaching the dropping zone the pilot eases the throttle to raise the tailplane as a safety measure & switches on a red light over the door, the dispatcher gives the command “Red on stand in the door”, the first man has only a few seconds to enjoy the view (Oxford in the distance!) then “Green on Go”, No.1 already has his left hand on the door frame & his left foot on the sill and goes, whatever the sequence the rest follow are as near as possible out of the door. The sequence is much faster than reading even, as the lines unfold & the canopy is pulled from its bag & mushrooms above you to give you a comforting ‘thump’ as it takes your weight. The euphoria as you float down is fantastic and all to soon the ground is coming up, no worry, feet & knees tightly together, feet turned to one side, hit the ground rolling over the hips & shoulders back onto your feet, easy! Unbuckle & walk away on ‘cloud 9’! The 8 jumps for the course came shortly after but spread out due to the weather, any wind over 15mph.stopping all jumps and like the commando course you started with the easy one, singly from a cabin suspended beneath a captive barrage balloon,
This was raised to 900ft by a winch, it’s not natural to step out of a door at that height but the training down in the hanger was so thorough you just did it & it was fantastic despite this metallic voice shouting instructions at you from the ground. Into the WW2 workhorse Dakota aircraft now 20 at a time each jump getting more difficult starting 2+2 exiting the craft, then 4, then 10 as fast & close together as possible, now 10 carrying a bren gun in a padded holdall lowered on a 10ft. strap when airborne, 10 with a 60lb. kitbag strapped to your leg to be lowered beneath you as was the bren gun. I didn’t ‘kick’ the bag out far enough on the exit and slid down the side of the ‘plane & remember the tail wheel passing over my head! No. 7 was a night jump made more frightening when the pilot eased the throttle over the dropping zone the engine backfired a jet of flame past the door, not seen in daylight and we’re stood in the door awaitng the “GO” command with a nylon parachute on your back! The 8th. & last was a ‘fast stick of 20’, all 20 out of the ‘plane in under 10 seconds, close enough together to talk, laugh & shout at each other on the descent, absolutely brilliant ! And then ‘it’s over! We’re now fully trained commando paratroopers & our first disappointment, the 2/6 extra per day was for the course only but it was a fantastic experience, a further upset was NO green beret whilst we were in the UK? (1945 rules!) So back to Wales to kick our heels for a week or two then embarkation leave & off to Malta to join up with 3 Cdo. Brigade, on ‘stand by’ to assist with a problem in Palestine, now Israel! The time we had to enjoy the sunshine & beach at Mellieha Bay was spoilt by the ‘crowd control’ training which changed to ‘riot control’ when plastic shields were handed out so no-one was looking forward to assisting with that problem! As things turned out my 2 years came to an end and whilst 3 Cdo.brigade went east into Palestine I came back to the UK was given a new suit, a travel warrant back to Nottingham & 3 weeks leave to find a job! The End !
.The 2 years National Service has been praised & criticized but having volunteered in the first place I have no complaints, to me it will always be a well remembered part of my life!
I was PLY/x 116075 Marine A.E.Smith
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Part 2(of 3)
Field training was entirely different, if we weren’t taking Bren Guns, grenades mortars etc. to pieces we were marched up on to Woodbury common crawling about in the heather & gorse learning to live (& fight?) in the open. Also on the range firing every type of infantry weapon used during the war from Browning pistols to a PIAT anti tank weapon that really needed a firm hold when fired! I achieved ‘Marksman’ with the rifle and followed it up several years later being in the County small bore rifle team nearly 200 times. Exercise got rid of the extra calories we were being fed with 2 ‘assault’ courses, one in the bottom field (as seen on TV) & another on the common are well remembered. One day’s training was in a truck onto Dartmoor then ½ the squad, in 2-3’s map read your way across 20 odd miles of the moor, cook your meal & return in the dark. The other ½ to do the same in the opposite direction. Ha Ha ! Dartmoor in the dark! the last order we were given was “Don’t get caught on the roads”! so ‘our’1/2. squad regrouped 2 miles down the road , ‘didn’t get caught on the road’ (we may have been in the pub in Widdicombe when his jeep drove by!) and got back to the start point. The other ½ missed the pick-up & spent the night on the moor, quite an experience! Live ammunition was also used on restricted areas of the ‘Moor’ staying for several days “in the field” with an open air toilet, a trench dug in the ground with a tree branch fixed over it, wash/shave was in a stream as it tumbled down the hillside. We did at least get some ‘sleep’ in the old bell tents, 10 to a tent laying like ‘sardines’ for warmth at the start of what was one of the coldest winters on record.(1946-7) Not recommended! Back to camp just in time to get home for 14 days Christmas leave, my brother was also home from the Royal Navy so a very enjoyable tale telling time was had. New Year at home then back to a parting of the ways for the squad as we were now ‘trained soldiers’, some went shore based, some to serve on ships but 16 of us elected to carry on and do the Commando course at a recently set up camp in Mid Wales. The original Commando training camp near Fort William in Scotland had closed when the Army Commando’s had been controversially disbanded at the end of the war, the Marines decided to keep, & still do, the tradition alive. The course had been cut down to 4 weeks but the content was about the same with the emphasis on knowing & reaching your physical limits. The extra poundage we had put on over Christmas was removed in the first week with quite short marches of 6-10 miles & ‘speed marches’ (running/walking) of 5-8 miles @ under 10 mins. per mile together with parts of the ‘assault’ course. Increasing on a daily basis so that by the 4th.week we were up to a 30 mile march & a 15 mile ‘speed march’ done as a squad, the ‘full’ 1 mile assault course in 21 mins, now with a 50yd.mud bath to wade through, carry/being carried by your oppo for 100yds. and finishing with a 100yd. climb up a hillside to a disused quarry & fire 5 rounds at a ’man sized’ target 50 yds away (2 hits needed, repeat the hill climb until you do!) Also as ‘individuals’ was the final “must pass” test the 40 miler in 10 hours! By truck to what is now the car park in Dolgelly, looming over the town is the second highest mountain in Wales, Cader Idris and on this day wearing a very deep cap of snow so we had 2 instructors leading in front & 2 behind to make sure we all got off the mountain. No way were we going over the top as planned so around the side we went, at least 2 extra miles but no extra time? It was rough going and we were well separated by the time we got back onto the road to be met with a very welcome mug of hot tea & a corned beef sandwich. A lady came out of a farmhouse to wave up past & called "you must be mad to be on the mountain in this weather, even the sheep have more sense", it was said with a lovely Welsh lilt. 4 of us had stayed together and once warmed up set off running & walking as we were used to, soon picking up 4 more to get some sort of a rhythm going to make it back within the 10 hours when we found that anyone who made it back without assistance was OK ! Quite a euphoric atmosphere when we had hobbled into the NAAFI to celebrate that evening, ”We were now Commando’s!!!” but still not finished as a ‘specialty’ course had to be done. The choice was cliff climbing & small boat handling. field engineering(?), but parachuting @ half a crown per day extra was the winner for 15 of us. But there was a snag, due to the bad weather the course’s had backed up so the camp closed down at an hour’s notice! Travel warrants were hastily handed out & some 200 of us descended onto Towyn station and packed into the 2pm, 3 coach train. Such were the travel conditions that it was nearly 8am when I got my parents out of bed to let me in to a very warm welcome, after that very basic camp in Mid Wales Nottingham itself was a whole lot warmer!
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We all know April 23rd. is St Georges Day (or should do!) but I have another reason to remember this date. Going back to the autumn of 1945 I had been virtually made redundant for the best of reasons, servicemen returning after the war wanted their jobs back! I was one of the victims and with no trade training another job was hardly an option with 2 years compulsory National Service coming up. So being a keen Army Cadet I decided to try the Army for a career so on my 17th. birthday, a Monday, I called at the recruiting office at London Rd. School @ 5.05.pm. to find it closed 25 minutes Early! & again on the TuesdayWednesdayThursday & Friday. Those two little letters IF come to mind because the Officer i/c the Navy/Royal Marines office was standing in his doorway having seen me on the previous 5 nights. “He doesn’t seem to want you, my boy, why don’t you try the Marines instead?” he called in the dulcet tones of a super salesman. I fell for it but when he kept pushing this form across his desk with “22 years” at the top I thought ‘that’s a life-time’ No Thanks! But I did sign on “for the period of the present emergency” (I could still be in!) which turned out to be the same as Nat. Service, 2 years.A medical exam 2 weeks later and then April 23rd. 1946 saw me walk through the ‘Victorian’ gates of the Marine barracks at Deal in Kent, not to come out again until we had learned to salute any officer we might meet! !st. stop was the quartermaster stores where we had 2 of every item of clothing from the skin out chucked at us & last of all a kitbag to put them in!, then on to the next store to have a strange assortment of webbing straps & haversacks added to the pile and for which we were now responsible! 2nd. stop was the “barbers” nuff said! 3 volunteers, like myself, & 37 NS conscripts made up the 40 strong squad and for the next 18 weeks we ‘bashed’ up & down the parade ground, sometimes for 8 hours a day, we had just about learned to do these movement together when, in the 4th.week, they complicated matters by giving us rifles to add to more movements! Around the 10th week and feeling quite good with ourselves, particularly when marching past new recruits, we were introduced to the ‘Ceremonial’ duties, for which the Marines are noted, by mounting the “Guard” with the Band in full gear playing the ‘regimental march’ leading us round to a mini parade ground at the barrack entrance for the ‘old guard’ change over just like at “Buck. House”. That was the ‘posh’ bit, the 2hours on 4hours off standing ‘guard’ at different points around the barracks was a right pain in the U no where but it was all in the training manual which allowed 20 weeks to absorb a ’helluva’ lot in a seemingly very short time sooo. soon it’s......... September, Hurray, we’re off to ‘Glorious Devon’, now the Commando Training Unit @ Lympstone, right on the banks of the River Exe but to us after the Victorian regime at Deal it was like arriving at ‘Butlins’. NO fatigue duties, NO standing guard, No church parade, NO Mess duties, here the food 100% better then Deal & more of it, was served ‘cafeteria’ style & NO washing up after! As if this wasn’t enough ‘goodies’ on the Saturday morning we had to parade with our No.2 uniforms under our arms, mystified we fell in and were marched off to the Quarter-Masters store where we exchanged the tatty,cheapo British uniform for a brand new uniform left behind by the Canadians when they had returned to Canada. See the difference? ‘Dads Army’ fans will, Capt. Mainwaring must have been to the same store!
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The wine circle may have finished but 15 of us have just had a nice social evening at the 'Magpie', Stapleford 'playing' long alley skittles (more like king size marbles!) followed by an excellent meal off the '2 for a tenner' menu. Long may friendships continue!
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I thought this was a " Bulwell" topic Fly2 but I hope you feel better now! Yes Lizzie the the council is spending/wasting more cash on so called improvements to the town centre, Two obvious ones are the removal of the taxi rank near the bogs, thats really wee-weed Central Cars off!,& the removing of the red brick wall on the market being replaced with a blue brick one to reduce the size of the market! WHY?
Having always being a PAYE person I'm not into Costa's, anywhere else put me down, be nice to see you again Melissa.
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Thanks nonnaB it would be a great trip 'if only', unfortunately our passports expired years ago and the cost for travel insurance at our age would probably exceed the travel & hotel costs! We'll have to look out for a Barbera wine and think of what we've missed. To any other 'NEW Seniors reading this topic take note of that word 'missed' don't wait, DO IT.
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Sorry about the errors last night, 2 shots of 'chivas regal' didn't help! any way here's pt.3 & the sad bit
Social contacts weren’t confined to the monthly meetings as we were soon invited to BBQs & suppers where 10-12 depending on the lounge size & chairs available would meet up then send out for an Indian, Chinese, Pizzas or even ‘’fishnchips’ and, of course, wine talk & a glass or 2. A social life so crowded sometimes, our children would phone for an appointment to come and visit! These memories are, of course, spread over the past 20 or so years and with no younger people joining the hobby, age has taken its toll with first one circle and then another cancelling the annual festival and ceasing to function. Even the ‘Biggie’, the W & W has had to move to a hotel leisure complex with restrictions on where & when you can enjoy your own wine so that’s Xed off as well. Last June after the presentation of the trophies at the Bramcote Festival the winners were told they need not return them as it was the final Bramcote Festival . The cries of “NO,Nooo” at this announcement could be taken as a compliment to what has always been one of the best events in the social calendar but a few weeks ago Bramcote Wine Circle held its last monthly meeting 9 months short of its 50th. anniversary. Not a total shut down on all these friendships as we intend supporting the last surviving wine circle festival in May at Eastwood & also the 4 Bramcote Saturday night dances, Valentine, Festival (but NO comp.), Halloween & the very popular Christmas Dance I sincerely hope that the friendly contacts we’ve made in the past will be continued at these dances but if not, well, we have a box full of photos to remind us. So it’s a BIG Thank You to Audrey Raven & Jack Elliot , the couple behind us at that sequence dance all those years ago and Thanks for the memories to all those ‘fellow wino’s’ who’ve made our retirement so enjoyable.
Here's Barbara & myself enjoying a quiet moment with our friends, Jack & Audrey. Long may Friendships continue!
PS The "Valentine Dance" was a reasonable success with over 50 friends braving a very cold, damp Saturday evening to come-shake hands-hugs & share dancing to "CJ Sound", Colin & Joy who've played the music so many time for us they are friends too!
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Back home, ‘Home brewed wines & beers’ was the hobby and we were soon persuaded to have the demijohns bubbling away on the kitchen worktop, ‘experts’ were on hand to correct early mistakes so that within a year or so we were able to hold our own in annual competitions at other circles where we took our entries in on a Saturday morning, had them judged during the afternoon & then returned in the evening for the results at a very pleasant social dance.
Even better, of course, was to be placed in the top 4 and get a ‘mention’ or the trophy for a ‘First’, much later on two occasions we actually made “Wine of the Show”, honour indeed! Spring ‘Bank holiday’ weekend was the “Biggie”, the Wales & West where a holiday camp was taken over for some 400 wine/beer makers with about 3000 entries in over 40 different classes ranging from ‘Loaves to Liqueurs’. Sand Bay Camp near Weston-Super-Mare was the favoured venue for several years and the photo’s show the much stiffer competition in the bottle classes- Barbara showing off her well earned 3rd. X 61 entries- the Sunday lunch time ‘fuddle’and then the evening meal with our own wines on the table before taking them into the ballroom for the dancing & entertainment. A very generous concession by the management which was very much appreciated by everyone and making for a very convivial weekend!
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I’ve recently been reminded that it’s nearly 25 years since we retired (a bit early in my case) and were faced with the usual problem of what to do in the empty days & evenings ahead to maintain a degree of fitness, both physical & mental! Basford Hall Further Education provided the first answer, Dance lessons, Sequence dancing as it turned out and very social as we tried various groups to practice what we had learned. At one group the couple usually behind us in the sequence circle were missing one week and a friendly enquiry “Did you enjoy your holiday”? gave the unexpected answer “Very much, we took a coach party wine tasting in France”. Oh, what social doors were opened by that innocent enquiry as the next evening we joined the Bramcote Wine circle & the Nottingham Wine circle the following week and for the next 10 years enjoyed an annual coach trip to numerous vineyards in France & Germany, absolutely brilliant! The pattern was already established with a 6am start to catch the noon ferry, Dover –Calais, time for a meal & a visit to the ‘duty free’. Back on the coach time for a siesta until 3.30ish when, still with an hour or two of travel to wherever we going, towards the front (posh) end a flask would be opened and ready made ‘G & Ts’ would be on offer, further back bottles from the duty free would be ‘popped’ whilst on the back seat the whisky bottle would be shared with a ‘dry ginger mixer’ if wanted (Shweppes, of course!) Personal glasses in the ‘on board hand luggage was obligatory and, of course, ‘Elfn’safety’ hadn’t arrived yet so the socializing on our coach was a very enjoyable experience and not to be confused with a “booze” cruise. We were just a coach load of friends enjoying each other’s company & a glass or two of wine! The photo’s show the hotel we used on 3 of the trips we made to Germany at Andernach, nice and central for the 6 pre-booked visits to vinyards in the Rhine & Mosel wine growing areas. Ample time was left around midday for sight seeing in the nearby towns ,Boppard, Cochem etc. Very clean too! Shewn is a very picturesque “Weinhaus” – tasting the wines on offer ( No Plonk as we had 4 wine judges in our party!)- buying (of course)-and enjoying the warm July evening & the local beers in the town centre, just a short walk from the hotel. Alken on the Mosel was also worth the 3 visits we made and then for a finale on the last afternoon a boat trip back down the Mosel & Rhine almost to the door of the hotel has truly left us with a boatload of memories!
2 B Cont.
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and a 'new' bit of Bulwell going up! The site of the Lord Nelson has been cleared once again with 17 bungalows planned for Nottm City Council?
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Ssshhh. I was on the roof of Boots Print, Station St. Practica 35mm, not v. good, turned towards the 'castle' and the shutter stuck commercial D & P.
Boots shut down shortly after & when Capitol One took over the arches soon came down for extra car parking!
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Another bit of Bulwell closing down, Yorkshire bank goes in early June! My Wifes account is being moved to Smithy Row, Nottingham , she,s always said how friendly the Bulwell Staff are but then that's Bulwell, innit!
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90 ?
in Owt' Abaaht Nowt !
Posted
At our weekly sequence dance it's usual to provide a glass of sherry or a cake on your birthday. Last Wednesday was a bit special as the lady was 90 years young and she provided a very nice buffet but we hadn't realized just how 'special' until the E.Post reporter arrived to take a photo of not just the 'birthday girl' but also the 10 other 90 year old ladies who grace the dance floor each week. 11 out of a membership of 45 approx. ain't bad so as Bruce would say"Keep Dancing"! The EP man was a bit officious so this is the best I could do:-