Dave Hunt

Among the many foodstuffs I have never tried, the standard kebab shop offering is high on the list. Apart from anything else, I find the idea of eating something that has been kept warm for possibly hours on end less than appealing and having seen how the stuff is handled in some establishments I am disinclined to risk it. Dave

I can possibly equal that, although it was an unofficial record. When I was on my first Squadron in Singapore in 1968 - 1970 we had twenty Hunters and four Single Pioneers, which were large radial piston engined high wing monoplanes that we used for Forward Air Control. The SP Flight Commander claimed that he could fly the aircraft at just about 25 knots straight and level for a short time by getting the nose up to some amazing angle with the wing slats and flaps fully extended and the Leonides engine on full power. One Friday afternoon during our regular pilots' meeting (AKA the shareholders') one of the guys said to the SP Flight Commander, "Les, it's (the wind) over 25 knots straight down the strip, does that mean you could do a vertical landing?" The SPFC said yes, probably and much to everyone's surprise the Boss said, "OK, let's see then." A Single Pioneer was wheeled out and the SPFC proceeded to take off, climb to about 50 feet then do the nose high full power bit until the aircraft was almost stationary then gradually descend and land tail wheel first. I don't know how far the rollout was but it was certainly less than an aircraft length and gained the pilot a round of applause when he came back in. Dave

ADVERTISEMENT If you join the Midland Railway Society you will be able to see the full picture. Dave

One of the miscreants in the first great train robbery, or the great gold robbery as it was known, on the SER in 1855 was an ancestor of a mate of mine. He worked in the SER traffic department and enabled some of the impressions of keys to be made as well as providing other information and ensuring that the guard on the train was also in the pay of the robbers. Dave

Me too, which was potentially dangerous because my TV licence is actually due at the end of this month. It makes me wonder whether the scrotes have access to some records that they shouldn't or was it just coincidence? Dave

When I was in the RAF, donk was a common slang term for an engine of any sort. Dave

I think I may have posted this before but if so, apologies. When I lived in Anglesey in the early '70s a mate and I went into a pub in Holyhead where there were a few people at the bar all speaking English. As soon as we ordered drinks they pointedly switched to Welsh, whereupon we started talking in German. They got the message and everyone went back to English. After they had left the barman congratulated us, saying that such behaviour p!ssed him off as much as it did us. Dave

Another example of a master modeller’s art. Morning Ian - thanks for the information on which books to buy on the Sou’West. Dave

One of the other signs of a classic shed (round here anyway) is hosts of wood lice. The little bu**ers breed like wildfire and die in similar numbers so every time something on the floor is moved there are drifts of them. When the shed is cleaned and tidied (well, it was once) it amazes me how many of them are removed and I sometimes wonder how they still manage to appear. Their attrition rate is unbelievable. Dave

My mate Crimson Rambler has to suffer the vicissitudes of TfW when he travels from Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury to stay with us or go to Derby for MRS meetings and he is, shall we say, less than complimentary about them. Dave

That’s a serious set of golf clubs if it needs 60% of the rear sets folded down. Just how many clubs do you have? Dave

Ah, yes, a lovely model by a great modeller. Please give Eddie my best Jamie. Dave

I also like the County Donegal, which ran through the west of Irelan...... Oh, dear Dave

Well, I'm also interested in the West Highland Rai.......... Oops Dave

I have just ordered a book about green locomotives. Right, now that HH has fainted I will reveal that it does not contain pornographic pictures of panniers but is David L. Smith's tome on locomotives of the Glasgow & South Western Railway. The G&SW was, after all, the Midland's ally in Scotland so my interest in it is not all that surprising. I have recently been obtaining books on the G&SWR and this is the third one. Dave

“So, Mr. Bond, it is time for you to start talking.” ”And what makes you think I would talk to you?” ”I could sit on you.” ”Ah, in that case...........” Dave

Since the emanations from a hippo have been used in place of a thermic lance, I don’t think they would have any effect other than ending up in the same state as a whelk in a blast furnace. Dave

Things haven’t been the same since the daguerreotype went out of fashion. Dave

Thinks: wonder what happened to my application to be the next James Bond? Dave

We had a cloudburst here yesterday evening so heavy that to use the descriptor torrential would be understating things. It was literally not possible to see the shed clearly from our conservatory, a distance of only fifteen yards or so, and the noise from the conservatory roof made conversation impossible so we hastily retired into the house. As I wrote recently, I don’t think I’ve seen rain like this since we lived in Singapore. The water was cascading down the path towards the shed entrance so heavily that I began to fear that the drain would be overwhelmed and the shed may have been flooded so I ventured down there. All was OK, however, as my recent efforts to keep it clear have obviously paid off but I nearly drowned in the process. Climate change? What climate change? Dave

Did he then go on to try decorating the lounge with vegetable oil? Dave

Early in the development of the compression ignition engine Rudolf Diesel tried using powdered coal as fuel but although it was partially successful, controlling the exact quantity of the fuel injected was difficult and eventually the coal engine was destroyed in an explosion. Diesel then abandoned the idea and started to use liquid fuel. There were some further experiments in America in the 1940s to power diesel locomotives using coal dust but they were again unsuccessful. Dave

Well, I managed to get some shed time in after all. Just as things were looking doubtful Jill's pal rang to ask if she wanted to go for a walk so I was left to my own devices. Before the front door closed I was heading to the big shed to do some work on the small shed as well as a pair of tool vans I'm making to finish the breakdown train. I suspect that tomorrow will involve some domestic tasks before any more muddling is on the cards. Dave

I believe that Birds custard powder factory has suffered more than one explosion due to the fine dust being combustible. Dave

Some more brownie points scored yesterday afternoon when I took ‘er indoors to a local wine bar for Prosecco and cake. I’m hoping that after church they may have lasted long enough to be traded in for some sh*d time but there have been ominous rumblings about it being ‘too nice a day to be stuck indoors’. Only time will tell. Dave