Dave Hunt

Last night a group of us ex-schoolmates and spouses, fourteen in all, had a Zoom gin tasting and quiz evening. One of the quiz rounds was on the Beatles so given that all contestants were Liverpudlians and the men had attended the same school as Harrison and McCartney the scores should have been quite high. The winning score? 3/10. Dave

Have you cancelled your subscription yet? Dave

HALF INCH OF SNOW - BRITAIN SHUT DOWN 70 DEGREE HEATWAVE - BRITAIN MELTS MORE TRAINS SEEN WITH WRONG HEADCODES 😊 Dave

Happy birthday Erichill16 and many more to come. Dave

I was recently given a two CD collection that claims to be the greatest hits of the 60s - ever. Whoever collated it, I don't think that they were alive in the 60s or, if they were, they didn't listen to the same music that I did. Dave

The met office can forecast accurately as long as the exact starting conditions are available. That's the problem as a very slight change in the starting conditions can have a fairly big impact on the future and even with satellites and all the other technology available there are sufficient areas where the met conditions are not really accurately recorded, hence the forecast can be adrift. It is also the case that local conditions can be affected by local topography and other factors such as the location of built-up areas, factories, bodies of water etc. so that the general forecast of an area can be quite good whereas looking out of your window might reveal differences that can be quite marked. As an aside, when I was stationed in Singapore in the late '60s there were so few reliable weather monitoring stations in the far East that the forecast each morning was simply the average of the weather that particular day for the last twenty years. It was amazingly accurate! Dave

When we lived in Lincolnshire one of the local farmers had something like 5 tons of chicken s**t delivered and piled up on the corner of a field next to the village. He left it to 'rot down into good compost' which didn't go down too well with the other inhabitants and eventually with the help of the council we got him to have it moved further away. Even so, when the wind was in the wrong direction the pong was bad for quite some time. Dave

That’s why I never watch the Parliament channel. Dave PS I see that jjb1970 beat me to it.

I’ve never watched Love Island so I will defer to your expert knowledge🥴 Dave

As a dyed in the wool scratch builder I should probably be in the oak and brass corner but in fact I have to agree that 3D printing is an excellent tool for some applications and that the skill sets required to produce good prints are as worthy of recognition as being modelling as are some of those demonstrated by my ilk. In my own layout there are now some instances of laser cut and 3D printed items that, although I could have made them by traditional means would have taken an inordinate amount of time for relatively little reward, time that I can more profitably use for my preferred modelling of locomotives and rolling stock. Having said that, though, after seeing some of Marc D's offerings of 3D printed wagons I could well be tempted by them should any of them be on my wish list. Dave

I have managed to come up with something that starts 'All B....' but I'm Left with a spare H. Dave

An interesting point Bill but something I’ve never heard of in connection with the Midland, which doesn’t of course mean it didn’t happen. Dave

We’ve had the sandy rain too so Jill’s car and the patio furniture are filthy. Pah! Dave

I was told many years ago by a friend who worked for Eon that the only real reason the government and the energy companies want everyone to have a smart meter is so that they can charge by the minute, increasing the price at peak times and reducing it when demand is low. Dave

I was under the impression that since Skyflash was developed from the Sparrow all the initial testing was at China Lake. The film also appeared a bit early for Skyflash as I was involved in some of the early firings at Aberporth and that wasn’t until the ‘80s. Dave

We've got a spider living in the conservatory that is either black or dark brown and about 2 inches span with a bulbous body. I've tried to establish where it hides out but so far to no avail and there don't seem to be any webs so maybe it's one of the huntsman types. Since it moved in I'm sure that there are fewer insects in there so it's welcome to stay. Dave

When it was responsible for all RAF infrastructure it was often referred to as the Ministry of Prats, Bodgers and Wan**ers. Dave

A quote from Bob Monkhouse, "When I go I'd like it to be peacefully in my sleep like my father..... .... and not wide awake and screaming like his passengers." Dave

I’m surprised you say that as I’ve got some Slaters Methfix transfers that are at least 30 years old and they are OK providing a stronger meths solution is used. Since I hate varnishing models once the dreaded painting is finished I don’t usually cover the Methfix transfers once they are applied and in over 40 years I haven’t had any problems apart from some wear where the models are handled. Dave

A good point. We frequently get bees flying into our conservatory when the outside door is open but they never come into the main part of the house. I wonder if it is the light levels that govern their behaviour? I sometimes find them on the floor or window shelf in the conservatory having run out of fuel and have to put down some slightly diluted honey or syrup for them to recover. Dave

When the Tornado was designed, some genius decided that when the engines were running , zero volts to the control units would result in the fuel supply going to maximum and hence an uncontained acceleration. Therefore, when shutting down, electrical power had to be maintained until the engines were below self sustaining RPM, which was about 15%. I witnessed the result when someone turned off the electrical master switch whilst an engine was still at about 40% - lots of bits where there was once an RB299. Dave

We had a Briggs & Stratton engined mower for many years but when we moved I was persuaded to get rid of it and get an electric Flymo - useless piece of junk that was soon replaced with a Hayter petrol job. Dave

A few years ago there was a Midland Railway Society weekend tour based in Gloucester and we visited Tewkesbury. I remember thinking what a lovely basis it would provide for a small layout and it seems I’m not the only one. I agree that Richard should finish his project and enter it next year; if it’s up to his usual standard it should top the bill. Dave

A prime example of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ Dave

Ten years ago we went to visit a friend in Spain who said, "I didn't know you'd been to Australia again." We told her that we hadn't since our last time there three years before. "Oh," she said, "Only I got a postcard from you last week that was sent in Australia." The mind boggles as to where it had been for three years. Dave