[Bob Williams]

Sorry I didn’t respond sooner to this Ryan: been up to Beverley Hospital to see the consultant who operated on my cancers exactly a year ago on Thursday. It was the second 6-month appointment and he said he was not expecting to see me so well. He actually admitted that he thought at the time that my age and former Op’s, might be against a good recovery. He said how pleased he was, so I gave him a “Bob Look” as my missus calls them, and said that I was probably more pleased than he was. ?? Anyway, another All Clear after last scans and blood tests. One more to go, after the last prostate scan and tests.

Back to that V8 model, thanks for the link: what a great piece of kit and what a perfect instruction tool for young kids, to explain the workings of an ICE! Bit of genius working that out and assembling it from such ordinary items. Plus, it’s a hoot! Going to show it to my youngest gdaughter, a very non-girly girl at 13, likes to help dad with his car repairs. You would never know she is a Grammar school A* student, always in the garden with mum or doing something practical with dad.

I think I once talked here about the Revell plastic kit that I built as a kid. Well, it’s still on sale, looks the same:

http://tinyurl.com/y44e5eeq

There are others on Amazon, but the one above is the one I recall building, amazed it’s still available, guess some things stand the test of time! Another model:

http://tinyurl.com/y3es6x3r

That model, and working with my brother, first on his motorbikes, then his cars, gave me a fascination for engines that lasted. It’s why I became an Airframes & Engines AAC technician, later a motor engineer. I have always loved machinery, especially precision stuff: even the works and operation of various weapons in the Army led me to a Small Arms course. I could not handle any of it now, my hands have lost grip and my left arm shakes from spinal nerve damage. But I can still advise my son with his Stationary Engine projects. Knowledge from experience is something I hope never to lose.

A great find Ryan, thank you!

 

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

That’s a contrast to my German mate Rolf, BL. He went to the UK with his missus for a month of touring in his camper, around 1970. I gave him all the places to visit, which took him around the country. By the time he came back, he loved fish and chips in newspaper and had developed a passion for pickled everything: onions, eggs, gherkins, you name it. He went up at my nehew’s place near Aberdeen. Nephew and my big bro his dad took him on a Distillery tour around the Western Isles, thus giving him a passion for obscure (= expensive) Scotch. He tried everything including Haggis! Rolf still buys the obscure Scotch and has introduced others to them in Germany. As he was a very successful businessman, he could afford it, as could all his mates except one – me. He hit a period of very little rain and always said “Why do you British complain about your weather?” He also liked Scarborough very much and his missus liked it more, which is why they went back there for holidays just in Scarborough and North Yorks. He laughed about Yorkshire pud: in Yorks he had it as a sweet with jam, and most other places as part of a dinner with gravy, meat and veg. He watched cricket at Lords and was totally confused by the experience. That’s OK I said, I have never understood it either! But he liked sitting in the sun in a deckchair, having a pint. I can hear him now: “Bob, your English beer is VARM! KALT, it must be!”

Even my foreign mates are characters.

Richard, you would have loved my old mam’s gravy. Dad used to say as he passed the gravy boat bucket, “One slice of gravy, or two lad?” Murderous looks from mam. Brussels I love, all veg in fact but brussels steamed as my missus does them not boiled, crisp and crunchy, are my favourite. Parsnips are another, just had a big roasted one with Cauliflower, Brussels and mash to pork chops. Feeling no pain atm!

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

BL yes, proper Pie & mash with liquor if you want it, gravy if not. The cafe is tiny, up a small side street and the Proprietor sounds like he was born somewhere in E7, also never stops talking, lol. Parsley sauce I like in restaurants with Plaice, or Salmon, but only if it is anywhere as good as my gran used to make, with her own Parsley.

Dave those biscuits sound good, look a bit like the Fig biccies my mam loved. And yep, we love gravy on our chips up here, preferably accompanied by a local steak & kidney pie, or Lincolnshire sausages. Which make Cumberland sausages taste like gravy on sawdust in comparison!

Steve I never let chippies put S & V on my fish and chips, I put a little on myself. Some chippies lather it on, possibly to disguise something about the F & C.

Richard I love all kinds of seafood, favourite is between Sea Bass and Grimsby Cod, which is always fresh here, due to Grimsby being just up the road.

Tea is almost ready and I have worked up an appetite with this Topic! Pork chops!

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

The Duke wrote:

I’m amazed the old Skoda lost it to The old Defender. The old Skoda was built out of angle iron . Also the Defender I love, but have zero fond memories over. Twice I almost drowned in the rear of a 90, surrounded by rat packs and ammo! They was very unpredictable. Though I’d love one today. Well apart from the clutch! Oh and shoulder room! And probably reliability, also the rust. OK they are cool, but crap lol.

Steve, my boss and I completely rebuilt that SII Land Rover between us, from the ground up, when we setup the garage in 1982. This is just an example, ours was heavier and only looked beat up! We rebuilt, repaired and strengthened the chassis, waxoyled everywhere and the bullbars were directly welded to the chassis. Front & rear winches, bought, rebuilt and fitted a 2250 cc engine to replace the knackered 2.0 lump. It was a workhorse and my old boss still has it up at his farm, although he is too knackered to use it now, his youngest son and grandsons love it. When I last saw it, it had IIRC 190,000 miles on that engine. Always maintained religiously, dents and bumps knocked out regularly, hand painted every 2 or 3 years. The Skoda did not stand a chance!

We loved that old bus almost as much as we loved the garage runabout that we built out of a Cortina estate:

Taken maybe 1984/5. Fitted with a 2.0 ltr engine, twin Weber carb’s, beefed up suspension.

Incidentally, in I think 1964 or 65, two squaddies from REME Bordon off their faces nicked a LR from the MTO, drove into Guildford and hit a Mercedes, carrying two officers, head on. The officers were killed outright, both squaddies recovered in time to be jailed. The Merc was a write off, the LR was repaired at Base Workshops and RTU’d.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Some of those ScamSpams are a laugh, Steve. I don’t open any of course, but I can Block before I look and the delete forever.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Never, ever, thought I would agree with this hyphenated upper class pillock:

http://tinyurl.com/yyr8dsgk

Watch the AfD video, this woman is correct:

https://www.facebook.com/ABroadImage/videos/597526424097479/?t=5

And she represents the main Opposition within the Bundestag. Her political base is strong and growing. Knowing the Germans, I would hazard a guess that they will hold the reins over there soon. Naturally, many left wing German and EU voices are insisting upon equating the AfD with the Nazis of 1933 to 1945. That is garbage and most German people see through it. Already I have had ‘advice’ from a supposedly Christian English lady, long married to a German. I was at school with the lady, who advises me not to listen to Afd: “They are not good.” I told her that in Britain and in Germany, free speech should mean that I can listen to whomever I like.

I really wish that the German people would allow themselves to stop feeling guilty and apologising for WWII. At least 3 generations now have been born since 1945: “lass es dabei bewenden!”  –  “Let it go at that!”

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

EEEEEEVOLVED, Dave. Those primates are more intelligent than the usual crowd!

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

This is the essential truth: we were originally asked by *Major’s government to vote to join the EEC, not the EU. A Common Market, not a European Union. However, IMO the worst mistake our politicians made, was wrecking the democratic process. The British people have been misled, conned, deceived and overruled by successive British governments and by the unelected bureaucrats in Brussels.

Once asked to vote, we should have given a resounding NO! But once in, we should not, IMO, have voted to Leave.

*Even in his advancing years, he will still not admit he was wrong.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

I got this via Gmail Scambox today:

” Greetings from Mabel, I want you to read my letter with one mind and assist an orphan like me to make my dreams comes through in your country where I will invest my inheritance money and live there for the rest of my life. My father was a very wealthy cocoa merchant in Abidjan , the economic capital of Ivory coast, my father was poisoned to death by his business associates on one of their outings on a business trip . My mother died when I was a baby and since then my father took me so special. Before the death of my father on November 2015 in a private hospital here in Abidjan he secretly called me on his bed side and told me that he has the sum of 9,000,000 dollars left in one of the prime bank in Abidjan and he used my name as his only Daughter for the next of Kin in depositing of the money. He also explained to me that it was because of this wealth that he was poisoned by his business associates. That I should seek for a foreign partner in a country of my choice where i will transfer this money and use it for investment purpose such as real estate management or hotel management Sir, I am honourably seeking your assistance in the following ways. 1) To assist me to receive the money in the bank where my late father deposited the money. 2) To serve as a guardian of this fund since I am only 18 years old. 3) To make arrangement for me to come over to your country to further my education and to secure a resident permit in your country. Moreover, sir I am willing to give you 25 percent as compensation for your effort/ you indicate your option towards assisting me as I believe that this transaction would be concluded within seven (7) days you signify interest to assist me. Anticipating to hear from you soon. I am happy to have somebody like you as a gaurdian. Please reply back to me on my private email address for more details to receive my inheritance money for your investment. XXX@gmail.com Thanks and bless. Best regards, Mabel Manaku ”

Do you think I should help this poor orphaned young lady and make her dreams comes through by becoming her gaurdian?

Answers on the back of a £9 note please.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

I got this via Gmail Scambox today:

” Greetings from Mabel,

I want you to read my letter with one mind and assist an orphan like me to make my dreams comes through in your country where I will invest my inheritance money and live there for the rest of my life.

My father was a very wealthy cocoa merchant in Abidjan , the economic capital of Ivory coast, my father was poisoned to death by his business associates on one of their outings on a business trip .

My mother died when I was a baby and since then my father took me so special. Before the death of my father on November 2015 in a private hospital here in Abidjan he secretly called me on his bed side and told me that he has the sum of 9,000,000 dollars left in one of the prime bank in Abidjan and he used my name as his only Daughter for the next of Kin in depositing of the money.

He also explained to me that it was because of this wealth that he was poisoned by his business associates. That I should seek for a foreign partner in a country of my choice where i will transfer this money and use it for investment purpose such as real estate management or hotel management Sir, I am honourably seeking your assistance in the following ways.

1) To assist me to receive the money in the bank where my late father deposited the money.

2) To serve as a guardian of this fund since I am only 18 years old.

3) To make arrangement for me to come over to your country to further my education and to secure a resident permit in your country.

Moreover, sir I am willing to give you 25 percent as compensation for your effort/ you indicate your option towards assisting me as I believe that this transaction would be concluded within seven (7) days you signify interest to assist me. Anticipating to hear from you soon. I am happy to have somebody like you as a gaurdian.

Please reply back to me on my private email address for more details to receive my inheritance money for your investment. mabelmanakuuu@gmail.com

Thanks and bless.

Best regards,

Mabel Manaku ”

Do you think I should help this poor orphaned young lady and make her dreams comes through by becoming her gaurdian?

Answers on the back of a £9 note please.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Wheels-Of-Fire wrote:

And today is my birthday too. Never had a clock change on my birthday before, 2 Easters but never a clock change. Maybe its a sign

You are now in a different Time Zone to the rest of us, Graham!

Let us know when you’re back… ??

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Whilst working as a grease monkey, I once borrowed the workshop Landrover, a battered but well maintained Series II with bull bars*, to go see a sick relative in my dinner hour. It was during the Miners’ Strike and I was coming down a steep hill in a tight street with parked cars either side, when an old Skoda came towards me. The driver had not recognised me, but I knew him as one of 3 strikers who had threatened my (working) brother. He waved his hand to that I should reverse and I just put the LR in Low and nosed up to the Skoda. He revved the engine of his crapmobile, I laughed and kept going. Eventually I pushed him onto the kerb when a space presented itself. He jumped out, I jumped out, he ran off when he recognised me at last. I looked at his car: tax disc out of date, probably no insurance, Skoda of course a crushed write-off. I drove back to the garage and that evening I entertained half my (working) miner relatives with the story. That became a good story at work for them and bad news for the Skoda driver when he eventually went back to work.

*They were still legal then. They certainly worked ? and were already well scratched.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Wetherspoons places we have found to be different from location to location. The nearest one to me is in Louth and I have to be very hungry, with every other cafe/restaurant closed, to eat there. Last year on holiday in Suffolk, we ate at a much larger one in Woodbridge which was absolutely awful. I sent the food back once, second was no better, left refusing to pay. Eventually found an old-fashioned place recommended by a local. We have eaten at other Weatherspoons which were fine. The one in Louth used to be the only place open on Sunday evenings and every time I chose the Chicken breast, they had run out. Every. Single. Time.

Fortunately, in the last couple of years, the number and variety of eating establishments in Louth have mushroomed. (No pun!) We have Italian, Indian, Spanish, Morrocan, a Pie & Mash place, Tapas Bar and 3 Tea Rooms, 5 chippies, a couple of ‘upper crust’ restaurants and a cafe on the Cornmarket that does good trade all week, packed out on the 3 Market days. Our favourite is Cooplands in Louth, a chain which has restaurants all across Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. It is only accessible by stairs, which we both struggle with, but the food is worth it. The restaurant is above the shop and bakery, the place is clean and food is fresh and well cooked. The sticky buns and cakes are lovely!

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

She doesn’t do forums, mate.

Thankfully: I would have to go back through Forumite history for a week, deleting at least 50% of my posts!????

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

That’s an interesting take on it, VFM!

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Clocks: I love, house is full of them, including genuine Schwarzwald cuckoo clock which ticks like an unexploded bomb.* All are within 3 minutes of each other. Watches: I cannot wear a Quartz watch, they stop within days on my wrist. Not a one-off – I have had 4 over the years from cheap to expensive and it always happens. 2 will never go again, doesn’t matter who wears them, t’others I sold. The best watch I ever had was an Omega Seamaster, an automatic: closest I can find to it is this below and the price now blew my mind! (£5,500.) I paid £1,500 in 1968 after a great Poker win. That fell out of a 3rd floor barracks window in Germany, hit a bedford RL cab, then the tarmac. Beyond repair, all 3 internal cases split. I got a bit back for it in parts from a dealer.

Broke my heart to lose this:

*It keeps better time than our 3 Quartz wall clocks. I recently found (after many years, lol!) that I could turn up the ‘tick tock’ and am currently driving SWMBO crazy with it. “That clock is too loud, what have you done to it?!” I told her that her hearing aids are rubbish, as I have a fancy new pair. I am not looking forward to confessing the real reason…. but the cuckoo is now doing my head in, neighbours can hear it!

Life is never boring at Bullstuff Towers…

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Strange to think that I am just a year older than the dictatorial Old Git in that link! I can see the need for some of those rules, but in his quest to “clean up” his pubs, he must have forgotten that pubs are very different places today. They serve a wide variety of people, although they are still mainly the bolt hole and escape hatch for what were once called the working class. He also needs to realise that the ‘Pub’ name is short for ‘Public House’, not private club. Some of those rules may be legally unenforceable. Imagine what certain media outlets would make of a customer being ejected for using a mobile phone!

I believe that some swearing may be aimed at his back as he leaves one of his establishments, after checking his rules are obeyed. Directed by the staff, I imagine…

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Ed I recall the daily trepidation of checking the work done by my crews when an AAC tech crew chief, and later as a workshop foreman, checking the work of my mechanics. Always hoping that (a) my checks were thorough enough and (b) that their work was 100%. I had no problems in the AAC that were not fixed before flight,* but a few potential nightmares in garage work. There was one that could have caused a really bad ending: a Leyland van had a new steering rack fitted and steering alignment carried out. Both ends of the rack, track rod ball joints left insecure, not torqued down. Further inspection found the adjustment nuts also not secured. For the offender, a new employee, a second example of dangerous work in a week: he had carried out work to a Volvo saloon rear axle and left off the anti-tramp stabilising bar. I sacked him in writing.

*We used the same F700 books as the RAF, triple check systems. No such systems in garage work, more’s the pity! There were times when I woke in the night thinking “Did I check this was done –.”

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

Nolan, my garden is my missus’ domain. I just do what I am told there! The only things I had a choice in placing, were the birthday gifts from my senior granddaughter: a clock/thermometer/barometer and a crystal ball solar lamp. I put the clock exactly in the centre of the wall space between the bathroom and master bedroom and I used a spirit level to place it exactly level. Then I placed the solar lamp exactly in the space between two shaped slabs of a rotunda around the Sundial. Not doing it all that way would have really offended me. Bonus was knowing that SWMBO was watching and fuming because I took so long to do it and it was not where she wanted it all.?

Now I have to keep an eye on her whenever she goes into the garden…??

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Bob Williams]

PlaneMan wrote:

Steve, you’re right, I’d be a mess in that situation.

Me too. I could not bear to think of tyres being different makes on same axle: different sizes between front and rear would do my head in until I changed them. Funny thing is, our son is like that with his motor, parts and tools whilst his garden and house is a mess. I’m OCD about all of that.

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[Author]

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