Chulla

This is the first posting of the cards in the pre-war Players set of motor cars. Not every member is a car buff, so I will be interspersing cards of different subjects to try and please others. The info text on the cards is in a fairly feint type, so you might have to enlarge screen to read.

Now that the Ben motoring cards have finished, if the petrol-heads among you would like me to post cigarette cards showing pre-war cars, I will. An example is above, showing a page of three. I have two Players albums, each with fifty cards.

All good things come to an end, and so has this series of Christmas cards by the BEN motor charity. It has promoted interest and no doubt reminded some of the older members of times past, and vehicles that were common when they were younger. Ben card 24: No details but the car in the foreground is an Aston Martin. At the pumps is an Alvis sports car. The little saloon I cannot identify, and motorbike, although having fishtail exhaust is not a Velo. The lorry loos like it might be an AEC.

What made me laugh out loud was that they asked someone who lived in Minge Lane for his opinion.

Regret beyond recall For some time there had been ill-feeling in the house. The daughter and the mother were not on speaking terms; only shouting terms. 'Can't you two bury the hatchet?' said the father to the wife. 'Never!' came the retort, 'not after what she said'. 'She didn't mean it', he said. 'Oh yes she did, and she has never apologized'. No matter how he tried to bring peace into the household, the stubbornness of the two parties ensured that the status remained quo. The quarrel had upset the father, who had always doted on his daughter, their only child, remembering fondly

Ben card 23. The last of the Bentley-in-the-snow pictures. (Note, the Bentley has a Rootes blower). There is another in the series, but I do not have it. It s a very nice picture, but I think that the aircraft should have reflected the car's period a little closer and been a 1930s biplane fighter, like the Hawker Fury or the Gloster Gladiator.

Loppy and Jill. Is this the piece you both mentioned. Nowt wrong with it, better than a lot of his other stuff. To be honest, I more enjoy seeing the piece played than just listening to it. What it needs is a banjo accompaniment .

Sure was, CT. Just testing!

No doubt to Tchaikovsky's Danse Macabre. Let me know when that happens, Jill. That I have got to see!

I recently saw a book of poems by D H Lawrence. I did not know that he wrote poetry. Skimming through the poems I did not reckon much to them, except for one, written in his local dialect. Here it is. The Collier's Wife Somebody's knockin' at th' door, Mother, come down an' see! I's think it's nobbut a beggar, Say I'm busy. It's not a beggar, mother, hark, How 'ard 'e knocks! Eh, tha'rt a mard-arsed kid, E'll gie thee socks. Shout an' ax what 'e wants, I canna come down. 'E says, is it Arthur

Here's a nice piece of music to go with the missus' pearls. Beats your Bach - he never wrote a toe-tapper.

Ben card 22. A Rolls-Royce 40/50 Landaulette. behind which is a Zenith-JAP V-twin motorcycle. The butcher's van in the background is a Ford Model T.

Have you not got a scanner, PP? Just too easy if you have. Scan into a file (eg, Documents). Go into Postimage (first register with them - only the once) and then follow instructions posted in this forum.

PP. Your turn next, then, to post your card. The cards are not numbered. They are my numbers so that I can refer to them again, if necessary. I wondered why the crossing-gate was not closed, but then realised that the engine has stopped to allow it to be. There again, most crossing gates I remember closed over the lines. Personally, I was never struck on the design of the MGA. Now, the MGB, that's a different matter.

Ben card 21. A Bedford lorry, a Lambretta scooter and an MGA sports car. The railway engine is an ex-LNER 0-6-0, Class J38, number 65901. I checked my stockbook - I hadn't seen it.

Waste of money, carni. Come and live at my place - Shangri-la, and you will live to be over 200.

Hmmm, WW. You might be right about the lorry, but I'm sticking with a Morris for the little green car.

Thank you, Trogg. I appreciate your acknowledgement. Sad to say there will only be four more cards. The chap who sent them to me died last year. You can find out more about them by Googling Ben charity and see some that I do not have. They are not cheap - I think £1.85 is the lower price for each.

Ben card 20. The car is a 1938 2-litre Triumph Vitesse (one seen in an earlier card) and a de Havilland Dragon Rapide airliner of Scottish Airways in its early wartime camouflage. The airline had five Dragon Rapides, all of which were soon to be impressed into the RAF.

Not on subject, I know, but it always makes me smile at the American habit, when writing a large a financial number, to add the cents, even if there are none.

Ben card 19. No info but vehicles are identifiable. The registration identifies the red car as a Jaguar XK120. Behind it is a Sunbeam-Talbot (note the trademark wind horns). Behind that is a Riley, as seen in an earlier card. The head-on car is a Morris 8 Tourer, as seen in card 3, and the lorry looks like a Commer. The Triumph motorbike is an early post-war model, before they introduced that awful sprung-hub rear suspension. The registration looks late for that model.

Thanks for that, Margie. Actually, I haven't yet seen it end-to-end. I looked at sections and what with the complementary comments about it I could see that it was a nice film. Info: The old lady who played Madam Tanya was Maria Ouspenskaya. A Russian lady who appeared in many Hollywood films when they wanted an accented old lady. The actor who played George in the film was Harry Carey, who made hundreds of films. He had a natural habit of having his right hand hold his left arm (across his chest). He was a great friend of John Wayne - appeared in his films. If you ever

Gem, The thought of a dog missing his dead master came from this Landseer painting The old shepherd's chief mourner.

So pleased you liked it, carni, But shush, don't tell everybody or they might begin taking notice of my film recommendations.

Just found this on YouTube. A Christmas fantasy tear-jerker. It's got ghosts and a vision of heaven, and even has God talking, so should interest certain members. Picture quality is not so good, but quite viewable.