DJ360

The evidence shows that actual physical attacks on the elderly are pretty rare. Obviously devastating when they do happen.. but rare especially compared to violent crime against younger people. On the other hand, the elderly are pretty vulnerable to 'scams', fraud etc., so precautions around cards and bank accounts are a wise move.

Certainly used to go to the Sign of Four. Black Hand soap, itching powder, Indoor Fireworks, etc.

'the plane never landed correctly...' I'm reminded of the 'Pilot's Adage' ... 'Take off is optional.. Landing isn't..' I suppose all of us who have tried.. have managed to bend a few quid's worth of model. You do have to admire the guys in the videos above, who have spent many thousands of poonds on their models.

The first 'proper' model aeroplane I was ever close to was on the fields opposite our house on Southglade. As near as I can recall, I was about 6 or 7 which would make it 1955.. ish.. A chap appeared with this thing. It was quite crudely painted but it was all there.. complete with a little diesel motor. I don't recall a battery, so I suppose it was one of the compression-ignition types. As I recall, the fuel was a mix of Castor Oil and Ether. There was a lever operated screw on the top of the cylinder which was something to do with starting, ... or something. This was a 'free flight' model. I.e., it was neither radio controlled, nor flown in circles on the end of a 'control line'. Just set it flying and mostly hope for the best. The chap was using something called 'dethermaliser fuse'. This, as the name suggests, was a slow burning wick which was mostly used with large hand launched, or towline launched model gliders.. to prevent them from flying out of sight in a 'thermal'... hence the name. This chap had some on the tail, designed to adjust the tail fin to bring the plane down after a certain time. After the usual 'faff'.. and bruised/ cut knuckles, he got the motor started and launched the plane. I thought it was amazing.. It flew steadily in wide circles, but was gradually being blown towards the railway embankment of the old Leen Valley line which ran between the field and Hucknall Rd. Finally, it took a dive into the trees along the embankment, on the Hucknall Rd side. Despite much searching by the 'big boys', it wasn't found. As far as I know it never was.. so it could still be there.. though I suppose only the motor and plastic prop would still survive after 60+ years. I was playing about and train spotting next to Bulwell Common Station one evening, at the top end of the Common, opposite where the Gala Bingo now stands. Probably around 1958/9. Two blokes were trying to get a 'control line' Spitfire model up and flying. Control Line planes were flown in circles, attached to the end of two wires. The wires went into the wing and were connected to the 'control surfaces'. By applying more pressure to one or the other, the plane could be made to climb or descend. Even loops and other stunts were possible. The chaps eventually got the model flying and it was pretty impressive (to me..) at maybe 36" wing span. As they continued to fly the model, something clearly wasn't right. It turned out that a part of the propellor which was supposed to lock it, to stop it rotating on its shaft, was worn, so he 'prop' was vibrating in flight. Deciding the prop was useless. the chap handed it to me. I thought it was my birthday!! That 'prop' went straight up on my bedroom wall that night. A proper trophy.. Around about that time, I also used to go down to the railway arch in the Leen Valley embankment where there was farm track. It is now Bestwood Park Drive. In a field on the left, a Model Aero Club used to fly their models. Saturday or Sunday afternoon as I recall. One of the 'classes' of models, were 'Combat'. Not much more than a flying wing on a control line, but they would have streamers at the back and the idea was for a couple of planes to chase each other and score, I think, by 'clipping' the streamers of the other.. with the prop. Another class was 'racing'.. which is pretty self-explanatory. Shortly after, they moved off to another venue and I was very disappointed. In my last year at Henry Whipple Primary, I went with the school on a trip to Wembley, to watch an England v Scotland 'Schoolboy International'. Either in the build up, or maybe at half time.. there was model aircraft flying display. I was , frankly, much more interested in this, and in the steam train ride there and back, than I was in the match... Anyway, there was a control line Lancaster Bomber.. with four engines!!. It came off the lines and dived into the crowd. I can't imagine that even a smallish diesel motor is something you want smacking into you.. but as far as I know, nobody was seriously hurt. Naturally, I could never afford to get into 'proper' model aircraft. My parents had quite enough on supplying me with all the proper kit for High Pavement, so I didn't complain. However, I could afford the odd Jetex engine. They produced a few models but by far the cheapest was the '50 C'. Oddly, I never got around to fitting one to a model plane.. but I did fit them to Dinky toys etc., and watch them shoot down the street. Bulwell Library, in Highbury Road, used to have a 'Jetex' book, full of ideas for models using Jetex motors. I used to go down to the model shop in Pelham St. Was that 'Gee Dee's?, on a Saturday morning. I'd buy a pack of Balsa wood..looking out for one with plenty of thin, flat cuts. Back home, I'd make a simple, hand-launched glider. I worked mostly on the principle that if it looks right, it is right. With a bit of time spent 'trimming' their flight.. most worked.. more or less. My next encounter with a flying model was 1972. I'd not long been married and we were living with the 'in laws' in Liverpool. Back then, if you didn't know anyone.. you struggled to get work. After the regular trips to the Job Centre, then doing the housework etc., and spending hours walking around industrial estates seeking work, I was still bored. I bought as Keil Kraft rubber powered balsa wood model. To pass the time. Amazingly, the Keil Kraft tradition seems to be still going, run by this lot... https://www.vintagemodelcompany.com/keil-kraft.html I spent ages making this kit and once finished, I did a few 'trim' launches in the back garden, before taking it out to a local playing field for 'flight testing'. Things were going well until a couple of Scouse 'scallies' turned up... probs about 11 years old. "Where'd yer get that mate?" " I made it" " Wot?" "I made it" "Why?" "Because it's a challenge" " Coulda bought one".. "Yep..." Sometimes you know you are wasting your time.... I built another similar model in the 80s, to help me through a deep depression. It worked. I decided to visit the local model shop to see what was what.. All changed. Lots of plastic film. All the diesel motors replaced with tiny, beautifully made and allegedly quiet but very expensive four stroke engines. Radio controlled everything and seemingly no skill. Buy a fancy kit, or a ready built model for anything upwards of a hundred quid and away you go.. Not for me... That said.. some of the modellers now, are making amazing stuff. Costs a fortune.. but.. Col Rockets next....

Ellisdon's, the joke manufacturers, used to sell the necessary kit for making exploding cigarettes. Basically what looked like a single toy pistol cap, tightly rolled up. You just pushed one into the end of a cigarette and waited for it to explode. Not very powerful thankfully. Much later I came across a different type.. Chinese manufacture I think.. Just a very tiny triangle of cardboard which was also pushed into the end of a cig. There was an outbreak of them when I workerd as a mechanic at Courtauld's weaving mill in Skelmersdale. The one I saw explode was just like the cartoon type, leaving the smoker with a surprised look and a beautifully tattered cig dangling from his mouth. They were very loud and I suppose a bit dangerous. For months after, none of us would let our Cigs out of our sight..

I've been delayed by trying to recall what I actually did for string... The best I can come up with is that I gathered up all the various bits of string I could find, and tied them together. Sometimes I would open up a bit of rope, breaking it down into finer strands... another one that's come to mind is that nylon 'wool' for knitting, was coming in around that time. and was reasonably strong. So somehow I got a bit of string together. Also just remembered that kites needed a 'tail'. This was made by rolling little bits of paper and tying them like little bows to the tail. My kites were never very successful back then. They were the sort where you'd have to run into the wind to get them flying and then hope the wind would keep them up. Mostly it didn't. Also, the kite would constantly dip and dive, or go into a spin. But, when I , or a friend, actually got a kite to fly steadily, in a good breeze.. we'd set out to send 'messages' up the string. Just a bit of paper, with a slot ripped into it so it would hang on the kite string. The wind would take it up the string. Simple pleasures. From those days, I also recall the 'Revojet'. This was a toy often sold at seaside resorts. Essentially a plastic, or maybe celluloid body, like an aeroplane body, with two wings which rotated in the wind and somehow provided lift. It flew like a kite. Another version had circular 'wings'. I know I got one of these, either on my only ever trip to Blackpool.. or maybe on a day trip to Skeggy or somewhere. I hope this link works. https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images1/360/1014/22/palitoy-revojet-plane-1950s-boxed_360_83cc87c6e3191981bc7169f9a8cb134e.jpg Back to kites.. many years later.. probably sometime in the late 80's.. one of my girls wanted a kite. Kids were flying kites on the field at the bottom of the street. We still had no money.. but even we had the odd cane by then. I got a cane and split it. I Sellotaped a green opened out 'bin bag' to the canes and used some twine I'd acquired from somewhere. This kite really flew!!! It was 'epic'!! It stood about 4 feet tall and it was all I could do to hang on to it in the breeze. It easily 'outranked' all the other kites on the field.. but it was a bit of a beast. I was also a bit concerned because our electricity comes via an overhead cable over the fields and my kite was getting a bit close.. The other thing was that despite me fitting a long tail to the kite, it was still 'dipping and diving'. I looked into this and found a very interesting tip I'd not come across before. The thing is that when you tie a kite to its string, you normally use a little 'triangle' created by tying string at two points to the main 'spar' of the kite and then your kite string to that. This determines the 'angle of attack', at which the kite will face the wind. The thing is that as the wind varies, the necessary 'angle of attack' varies.. so this is what causes the kite to 'dip and dive'. The solution is to replace a part of the string 'triangle', with a strong rubber band. This allows the kite to vary it's 'angle of attack', according to the wind strength. You can still add a 'backup' piece of string.. in case your rubber band breaks. Although Drones have overtaken other methods of getting aerial photos,..at almost 70 I'd still like to try getting a kite to carry a camera aloft. It's the little boy in me.. Next up.. I'd like to recount my experiences with model planes... To Be Continued..... ;

One of the Boowul lot is a mate of mine from around 1966. Spotted in him there a couple of years ago., first time I'd seen him for 50 years. He always looks jaundiced to me, though he seems to take his time.. as well he might at 9:00 am. I've no idea whether he's there everyday. I only go in for breakfast or coffee, and normally wouldn't thank you for a drink before 10 p.m. I often wonder if the 9:00 a.m. lot stay there all day, or do they have a couple then wander off home and doze in front of daytime TV. or what? I can deal with a shandy at lunch time, but any more for me constitutes a session and rules out pretty much all else for the rest of the day.

The Peveril in Boowul is OK early and the morning 'regulars' seem pretty civilised on the whole. My mate Picko and his mates go in for coffee before 9 and leave when the 9 a.m. boozers arrive. Always good to see our Benjamin in there on my far too rare trips to Nottm.

My prices were just 'illustrative'. I pay much more in Liverpool or Manchester. I tend to drink cheap lager when out for a 'session', because I can't be bothered trying to find a decent real bitter or whatever in a strange pub. Too many bad pints I'm afraid. If I know a pub is good at keeping and serving 'real' ale, I'll risk it. Otherwise I have no fixed 'tipple' and tend to drink whatever I fancy in any particular pub. At home I drink decent bottled lagers mostly, or sometimes Erdinger or similar. Partial to a decent brandy and a drop of red wine too..

My local here in the Grand Duchy. Cheap lager and Tetley Bitter. £2.00 Guinness £2.40. Double Jameson's and Double Courvoisier.. £5.60.

Score draw on that one I think Col You mentioned 'referendum' first.. I mentioned the 'B' word first... And i'm not upset. Just a bit bemused.

Oz. The problem here is that there was no definition of what 'leave' meant. Some people thought we could just tear up our membership and walk away Even if we leave the EU, we will still have some sort of relationship with those countries. What is at issue is ..'What sort of relationship?' Personally, I don't think we should ever have got to this situation. It stems from Cameron's ineptitude and inability to lead his own party. What we are witnessing, is a bit of Tory infighting, being imposed upon the whole of the UK and Europe. It really is quite pathetic... But very damaging.

You have a point Brew. To be honest ... given that even the governing party is tearing itself apart over this whole issue.. I'm in favour of what might in computer terms be called a 'hard reset', or 'setting a restore point'. In other words. we go back to a time when something resembling sanity reigned.. From there.. if we still want a referendum.. we at least frame it properly and define what we do with either outcome.

We live in a 'Representative Democracy'. This means that we elect Politicians to represent our views to Parliament and ultimately to Government. This ^^^^ is how it works... If we do not like the Politicians who we elect to represent our views to Parliament and ultmately to Government.. there is nothing preventing us from standing for election ourselves..... Feel free.. As the old saying goes.. 'If you think you can do better...' Those of us who have done so.. That would be me... and.... ???? .. know how hard it is to keep faith with our own views and those who elect us. Try it... Or maybe think twice before criticising.

I think you've proved my point Colin. This is exactly what I find so sad about this site. Do you not see this? It was you who introduced the subject of the Referendum to this thread. I merely responded. It was you who used derogatory terms such as 'luvvies' and 'remoaners'. I have not used any of the equally derogative terms which could be applied to the 'leave' camp. The 'Leave' campaign have been proven to have lied about the so-called 'Brexit Dividend'. We could probably allow that as 'spin', but deliberately breaking the election funding rules is not spin.... It is Electoral Fraud and it ought, in my view, to negate the referendum result. The 'Remain' campaign have not been accused of law breaking.. much less proven to have done so, so your argument falls. You are of course entitled to your view on Leave/Remain.. but you do your argument no favours by abusing those who disagree with you. Col