NewBasfordlad

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Posts posted by NewBasfordlad

  1. A Reliant Robin Tale.

     

    Back in the late 60s went for a caving weekend in South Wales a variety of vehicles were there from Land Rover to Austin Champs amongst them a Robin, I had hired a new Cortina as I had the wife to be with me, we were camped down in a steep sided valley with only a muddy track for access.

     

    Returning from the pub on Saturday night, we had a bonfire party and went to bed. During the night it threw it down, that bad the lady and I retired to the front seats of the Cortina. Sunday morning it was still siling it down and as the cave could be affected by water a decision was made to abandon the cave and get the motors out of the valley.

     

    Several of us with non 4 wheel drive were struggling, I even had two mates bouncing up and down in the boot to maintain traction and was still having real problems. I called the Austin Champ for a tow and ignominy of ignominies as I fasten the rope to the front of the Cortina up came the Robin drove straight round us and of he went up the track, never even skidded all the way to the top.

     

    To make matters worse it took me two hours to clean the hire car before I dare take it back.....

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  2. Centurion Mk 3 I believe, Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry based in Carlton although we had a couple of Mk 5s as well. Well before my time but I know the gunner with the sun glasses on, by the time I joined he had made Sgt and I was posted to his troop. It would be on a CFT (commanders fitness test) because of the deployment status they had to be proved roadworthy every 3 months or so.

     

    By the time I joined they had gone due to complaints about road damage, our role changed to reconnaissance so we were equipped with the Saladin, Ferrets and Saracens all were wheeled so we could get out and about more.

     

    Centurion was a good tank for its time, originally developed to take on the German Tiger it arrived to late for that war but served many countries over many years in many other wars.

     

    One major fault though was the brakes, I was in Germany 72 doing road control for a Danish regiment conducting a night move and had parked the Saladin on a traffic island where two major roads met. The Danes had to come out of a forest, down an hill to the intersection and turn right onto the main road, all was well until I was told "bloody reverse NOW" or words to that effect. Wag the commander (the guy above) had noticed that one of the descending tanks had lost its brakes and was now a runaway. We reversed out of its way and watched it come straight over the island, through an hedge, across a field and into a barn, that stopped it. As Wag said "No bloody brakes means no bloody steering either. Another job for the BOAR damage commission.

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  3. Unfortunately they are both dead now. Both born before the first world war so an entirely mind set to today.

     

    Dad was a gentleman, trilby hat, belted gabardine coat and of course leather gloves. He was also a 6ft 1" 16 stone 'no fat' miner who had served in the Grenadier Guards where they taught him to box. He was a gentle and courteous man to one and all until you crossed him, in Arnold where he came from he was known as a 'one hitter', no one would insult a lady if he was in the room.

     

    Mother was an entirely different kettle of fish. She lost her father in WW1 and had a particularly hard early life and it showed. Generous to a fault but as hard as nag nails if you crossed her, the next time I get a dinner plate broken over my head for saying "bogger" would not be the first and at over 80 she beat a distraction burglar with her walking stick and had him on the floor when the police arrived.

     

    Having survived two world wars and the 1930s depression they were a different breed. Mums first thing was to put food on the table and clothes on your back, everything else came second.

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  4. The Clinton was one of mum & dads regulars back in the 50s sometimes I would go with them and sit in that small back yard with a packet of Walkers and a Portello, I think it was called.

     

    Had a right dust up in there one night, a bloke spilt his ale over one of the older lady regulars and refused to apologise, dad took him outside and wupped him and when his wife joined in mum did for her. Mum was very upset she had snapped the handle of her best big handbag.

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  5. ^^^^Yep every day at work I like hard copy then folk can't deny it was said. Like you say phones are great for something's, they can take photos on site and send them to me to help explain a situation or to help with pricing and sometimes they are kept for evidential purposes.

    But I write their work load into their personal Filofax.

    • Like 1
  6. Col as your such an expert on UK gun control maybe you can answer a couple of questions.

     

    Fully automatic guns were banned in 1936 so how come there was a machine gun attack only the other day?

     

    In 1996 Mr Blair spent millions yes millions of your taxpayer pounds to effectively ban hand guns by buying them all from their owners. How come there are shootings almost everyday in this country and of course we still get the occasional mass shooting.

     

    Gun control in my opinion does not and will never work they just import them from where they are legal for criminal purposes in this country. Nip over to eastern Europe and see how east it is to get your hands on small arms and then of course there are no or few barriers to get it back to this country.

     

    As to America can you imagine how much it would cost the government to buy in all those firearms even if they managed to stay in power long enough to carry it through.

     

    One final point you infer that firearms are only available and accessible in the USA I hate to tell you this but that is utter rubbish

     

    Millions of pounds wasted............................

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  7. Well things have changed somewhat, when I started to really get into it I was reminded of the small scale and that 1/2mm equals about 3" in real life and loco's do not jump up 3" steps. Having had a good look I decided to take it to bits, save what I could and start again, if it's going to happen it may as well be right.

     

    This is the new layout a facsimile of a plan for Falmouth dock station and a proposed container depot. The plans were drawn up in the 80s I believe but never brought to fruition so there is some lee way.

     

    And not a 3" step anywhere.

     

    Train_1.jpg

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  8. Fathers day started in 1909 by a woman who wanted to honour her father after listening to a church sermon on mothers day, then taken over by the 'tat' manufacturers.

     

    Knowing I don't like 'tat' I usually get a bottle of either good malt or fine portsmile2

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  9. ^^^^^^^^^ yes the Americans used airships, navy I believe for reconnaissance, there is the mystery of the two officers that vanished from one on a 1942 anti submarine flight over the sea from the San Francisco bay area, do believe it crashed landed in a small town somewhere in California.

     

    As you say not big for an airship with a crew of two.

  10. Ian, standard equipment at one time was long socks to tuck the bottoms of your overalls in, flea powder to sprinkle round said socks and a naphthalene moth hawk on string to hang round your neck to kill the smell and of course your flask. I have actually stood on my back door step and stripped to my shreadies when I got home to ensure I took nothing in my house.

     

    Those days have long gone now, the places are still there but the guys just walk away and rightly so....

    • Like 3