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The Night Mail


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1 minute ago, Happy Hippo said:

What before was a weed infested field, with the attendant problems of seeds blowing into our garden, is now becoming his back lawn with an immediate increase in maintenance.

 

By which you mean that since you no longer have the excuse of next door's weeds, you're being forced to maintain your lawn to a higher standard?

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21 minutes ago, Happy Hippo said:

 We call the local law enforcement West Merciless Police

One of my ex bosses went on to be an Assistant Chief at Hindlip Hall, their force HQ. I had to visit on business and as I visited a lot of Force HQ's on that job, I classified the hall as a Stately home plus Carbuncle.  There were several other similar ones.  However the hall did have a slightly redeeming feature. In the foyer was a nameplate from some sort of copper capped machine with some well written explanatory notes beside it.  I did refrain from writing, 'it would gave looked better in red" in the visitors book.  

 

Jamie

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4 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

4934

Some bean counter has probably sold it off by now like my old school got rid of it's Giggleswick plate that used to be a ove the entrance to the dining hall. However maybe they thought that a 'copper' cap was quite appropriate.

 

Jamie

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Best wishes to Mrs ID, @AndyID

 

The day has become much gloomier and wetter outside, just had to put a light on in the lounge.   Pah.

 

Washer going full pelt, covid booster jab booked (Friday) we're up to level 4 here for them now (vulnerable-ish or over 60 - I'm both) really getting through them.

 

Almost launched into politics as we have a new government here after a general election, but all I will say is that after looking at the local forums, the population of this rock are a bunch of thankless.......people. I'd better leave it at that, funny how the detractors never put themselves up for office isn't it!

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1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

Almost launched into politics as we have a new government here after a general election, but all I will say is that after looking at the local forums, the population of this rock are a bunch of thankless.......people. I'd better leave it at that, funny how the detractors never put themselves up for office isn't it!

Now your retired how about putting yourself up as a candidate. :jester:

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1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

One of my ex bosses went on to be an Assistant Chief at Hindlip Hall, their force HQ. I had to visit on business and as I visited a lot of Force HQ's on that job, I classified the hall as a Stately home plus Carbuncle.  There were several other similar ones.  However the hall did have a slightly redeeming feature. In the foyer was a nameplate from some sort of copper capped machine with some well written explanatory notes beside it.  I did refrain from writing, 'it would gave looked better in red" in the visitors book.  

 

Jamie

On the black painted Ex GWR locos the red painted number and name plates did look rather smart.

 

 

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4 hours ago, polybear said:

Has Sqn. Ldr. Hunt ever chased - or been chased - by one of these?

 

IMG_0576.JPG.ff2c943290284c6ea0e9b47505714942.JPG

 

 

 Not one of those but I spent a nervous hour or so one night wandering up and down the East German border whilst some MiG 21s did the same thing on their side and various SAM radars kept looking at us. It was all caused by a defector in a MiG 19 who had flown into the West then ejected when he reached the Hawk SAM belt. When he entered the buffer zone we were launched on Battle Flight and the pair of MiG 21s that had been chasing him turned away to parallel the border. The situation escalated somewhat until there were four or five aircraft from our side and half a dozen or so from sausage side having a stand-off but eventually it all calmed down and we went home. A bit nail biting for a while, though, as we in the air didn't really know what was happening and it looked nastier than it actually was (thank God).

 

I've also flown against MiGs of various types on combat instrumentation ranges, particularly after the wall came down and lots of them fell into NATO hands.

 

Dave

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4 hours ago, AndyID said:

Apologies for going even more off the wall than usual. MrsID has been diagnosed with some form of breast cancer.

 

You and the Mrs. have my sympathies Andy. However, we have a friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer some years ago and is still with us following treatment so I hope that things will turn out the same for you.

 

Dave

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If Dave wishes to sit in a ADV cockpit again then there is one at the Radar Museum on RAF Neatishead, sadly for the radar museum it's without the wizzos half of the cockpit.

 

I think the farmer would like me to keep my jungle under control more,, to stop the weed seeds blowing into his field...

 

 

 

 

 

 

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14 minutes ago, Dave Hunt said:

I've also flown against MiGs of various types on combat instrumentation ranges, particularly after the wall came down and lots of them fell into NATO hands.

 

Dave

 

Bear recalls reading (IIRC) Time Magazine whilst Freddie the Fiesta was being serviced many moons ago - it was not that long after the wall came down and they were discussing the various aspects of the MiG21; ISTR that The West were somewhat impressed (and a little worried) about just how good various systems on the aircraft were (including a button on the joystick to recover the aircraft automatically should the pilot become disorientated (?) and also the gun/weapon aiming system based on where the pilot is looking - the latter done with a few quid's worth of bits available from the Ruskie equivalent of RS Components; the West had spent god knows how many £M on developing a similar system).

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5 hours ago, Dave Hunt said:

When he entered the buffer zone

Although I hadn’t been even near the former East German border I had for much of my life read spy/thriller novels about those who did. So when driving into (in 2010 I think) what had been the DDR it did seem odd. 

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5 minutes ago, Tony_S said:

Although I hadn’t been even near the former East German border I had for much of my life read spy/thriller novels about those who did. So when driving into (in 2010 I think) what had been the DDR it did seem odd. 

Yes, those of us of a certain age found it quite odd to be in the former East Germany. Having my car parked on the site of the former dividing fence, now minus minefields, one hoped, in the Harz mountains was quite surreal. 

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1 hour ago, Oldddudders said:

Yes, those of us of a certain age found it quite odd to be in the former East Germany. Having my car parked on the site of the former dividing fence, now minus minefields, one hoped, in the Harz mountains was quite surreal. 

 

Bear has never been near East Germany, though has down an underground tunnel and peered thru' a VERY strong door into North Korea. 

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I have missed the going past our house of a certain Flying Scotsman at around 4pm oh well.

 

I have seen you tube videos of the Berlin Underground which crossed the Iron Curtain West Berliners were not allowed to alight in the east

 

When i went to Germany the wall had already come down but i did go to some places no doubt visited by @Dave Hunt such as Bruggen and Gutersloh and Rhiendalen

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1 hour ago, Oldddudders said:

Yes, those of us of a certain age found it quite odd to be in the former East Germany. Having my car parked on the site of the former dividing fence, now minus minefields, one hoped, in the Harz mountains was quite surreal. 

We found the same in Croatia having seen the place as a war zone on the tv in the 90s although we were warned not to stray in certain woods just in case there were uncleared minefields/munitions.

 

But it was a fantastic holiday and I would reccomend the Istrian Riviera to anyone its stunning 

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Even now it is obvious where the old border was as apart from the large parking area and large watch tower looking building on the A2, there is a quite marked deterioration of the road surface as one travels east. 

 

Andy 

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My only connection with the former DDR was the summer after the wall came down. We spent a night on a campsite in sothern Paris. By some strange councidence it was near Villeneuve  St George.  Anyway around us were many young East German couples with their Trabbies or Eastern Bloc motorbikes. Almost without exception  the young women were pregnant. Freedom had obviously been celebrated.

 

Jamie

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