Dave Hunt

Garages are a sub-set of Terry Pratchett's L-space in that all garages are linked in G-space so that if one is partially emptied and/or tidied, things from other garages will filter through the thin membranes of reality and fill it up again; in the process the contents will be affected by the n-dimensions whirlwinds so that it will become untidy. This process is similar to other sub-sets such as C-space (modellers' cupboards) and the W-space of workshops. Dave

Managed to log in to Avanti trains web site and book tickets with only one hiccup that required starting again (it wouldn't let me use my wrinkly railcard first time of trying for some reason) so not much shouting at the screen. One of us must be improving. And the sciatica is calming down so shed here I come! Dave

Today is 'take a breather' day between granddaughter then dinner guests time and the next influx of visitors and remaining grandchildren so I was planning a day in the shed. Sadly, so far my sciatica has refused to co-operate so I'm reading, hanging round RMW and swallowing industrial quantities of analgesics instead. I'm reading about the North Staffs Railway and have learned that one of the architects who had a hand in Stoke station and surrounds was named Hunt so no wonder I find it an attractive place. I'm now about to look at booking my ticket to London for a do in September so I'm hoping to be able to do it online without too much hassle. A cockeyed optimist? Me? Dave

Does that mean that when you say, "Look at this," and point across the garage that it will take less than half an hour to find it Richard? Dave

I went skiing once and on day 4 broke my ankle. I had just come off the top of the chairlift and was waiting for for my friend when a woman lost control and ran into me. I fell over but the binding on my right ski didn’t give and crack went my ankle. I was casevaced out in a thing like a bathtub on runners with skiers fore and aft and taken to hospital. That was the end of my skiing career. Dave

I can't think of a single thing in the RAF that when privatised didn't go downhill fast in efficiency and effectiveness. Dave

A friend of mine was teaching a class of 15 year olds when one of them started arguing with him and came out threatening to punch him. He made a lunge at my friend who put out a hand to keep him away and contacted him on the chest. On the basis that he had 'struck' the boy, whose scrote-like parents formally complained, he was suspended for weeks until eventually some of the other pupils told the truth and he was reinstated. He said that had none of the other pupils come forward he would probably have been dismissed or worse and as a result took early retirement as soon as he could. Dave

A good friend of mine was kicked out of Loughborough in about 1981 for being found in the same room as some waccy baccy. He did his own studying of computer science, started a software company with two friends, sold his share after it had become very successful, with MoD among others as customers, was head hunted by a company in California and became a millionaire. Being punished by Loughborough unreasonably really hurt him. Dave

Actually our mayor is quite a good bloke and does his best but when up against Shire Hall I don't think that the King would get anything meaningful from them. Dave

North Shropshire used to have customer service centres too that also had registrars in attendance a couple of times a week. These were closed some years ago - doubtless to improve the service. Dave

A major snag with Shropshire council is contacting them. Their web site gives email contact details of the various departments but before using them you have to register; unfortunately the system doesn't recognise either btinternet or gmail addresses and advises you to contact your provider to rectify the issue (!?). Well, why not write to them? Good idea if you can find a postal address as there isn't one on the web site - just email addresses - see previous sentence. I had to ring them and wait twenty minutes for someone to answer and provide it. And yes, I have reported this before. Response to my reporting it? Zero, zilch, zip, nothing. Let's hear it for our caring public body. Rant? Certainly! Dave

My previous post was due to getting into a tangle trying to edit and ending up with a blank page. What I meant to write was that I have just had lotsa fun (?!) trying to renew my senior railcard. When I tried to log in the system wouldn't recognise my email address so I gave in and set about starting from scratch to set up an account. I was a bit nonplussed when it then said that an account was already registered with that email address. I therefore tried logging in but guess what? It didn't recognise the password so I clicked on 'forgot my password' whereupon it asked for my email address. That resulted in it saying that there was no account registered with that email address.😡 Eventually I tried registering for a new railcard rather than trying renewal and it worked, even though the email address was, unsurprisingly, the same as before!! Sometimes I despair of whichever clown designed these systems. Or is 'designed' the wrong word? Dave

Entered in error

What’s the point of a driverless vehicle if someone with a full driving licence has to be fully in charge? Dave

It was developed by Cecil Paget and J. H. Follows. Dave

Today has been declared one of work. There is clearing and tidying after the devastation caused by four days of an eleven year old then preparation for having some friends round for dinner tomorrow evening. It's not actually a royal visit but you would be forgiven for thinking it is. My duties include shopping, preparing the main course and pudding as far as possible ahead and standing by for any emergency tasks. I also have a blood test at the medical centre for a medication review and some admin niffnaff and trivia. Oh, frabjous day! Dave

I would guess Mallaig? Dave

I once won beer for the evening by betting a pub landlord that New York City was further south than Rome. Since it was pre-Google days the bet had to be verified by a visit to the local library. Dave

Whereas Eccles cakes are food of the gods, ambrosia. The finest meal on Earth is a bacon butty followed by an Eccles cake. Dave

Happy birthday to Andyram. I thought it may have been my birthday yesterday as after five months I received an appointment to see a spinal consultant on October 5th. Not only that but the consultant is the one I asked to see. Then today I received a letter for an appointment with a musculoskeletal clinician to assess my needs. Sometimes if you don't laugh you could cry. We've had one of our granddaughters staying with us for a few days and I'm just about to take her to meet my son at Banbury to hand her over for returning to Leatherhead. Dave

After creating a bit of a fuss about the lack of response in five months to my request to see a consultant about my spine, as of yesterday I have an appointment to see the surgeon of my choice on October 5th. Today I received a letter from the Shropshire Musculoskeletal appointments office asking me to see one of their clinicians at my local GP practice on the 29th of this month for an assessment of my condition. Either this is a case of left hand and right hand non-communication or my efforts have somehow shortcut the system and I've managed to bypass a stage. I will, however, keep the appointment if only out of interest to see what they were planning. Dave

I think that our old dog may have been from Mars. He could clear a room in seconds. Dave

A common one in Liverpool was, "A pair of Scammell wheel nuts." Dave

Regarding iD’s comment on Lycra leggings, I once was bought a drink by a chap in Belfast who overheard me comment to a friend outside a pub when a rather generously built young woman in a clinging black dress walked past, “Looks like a litter of puppies fighting in a bin bag full of blancmange.” Dave

I always go to my local tyre & battery man for bulb changes as well, or at least on the one occasion that Jill’s Golf needed one. He’s a really friendly and helpful guy who also checks the tyre pressures for me without charge. He tells me not to go to the local garages and particularly not to supermarket garages to do it because their tyre machines aren’t regularly calibrated and can be very inaccurate. HH is right. I held the dubious title in 2001 of being the oldest operational fighter pilot in NATO (or so my colleagues maintained) at the age of 54. What I lacked in reflexes and youthful speed and dexterity I made up for with experience and low cunning. There is a saying among the fighter jock brethren, though, that there are old pilots and there are bold pilots but there are very few old, bold pilots. Dave