Dave Hunt

I think that the term 'very reasonable' applies there Flavio. Dave

I wonder if Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose is still airworthy in LA? Dave

I hired a Dacia in Spain that had the keyless entry but you had to be within a few feet of it before the doors unlocked. Mine and Jill's cars have keys that unlock the doors at the press of a button and have to be inserted into the steering column before the engine will start and I must say that I prefer that methodology. Mind you, being a numpty I once left the key in the steering column when I put my car in the garage and left it there for three days. Since it is a stop/start car the flat battery had to be replaced at the price of going on for a Deltic 😢 Dave

What are the fares like? Dave

The Gotha bomber idea does have a certain appeal but it’s maximum load would prohibit HH plus passengers so to make a profit it would have to be limited to me and the passengers. And in order to ensure the maximum numbers per trip it would pay to prioritise on slim, scantily clad young ladies. Hmmmmm........ Dave

I wasn't that bad at driving the things! Almost right. The second part was "If you hear 'eject, eject, eject' the second and third ones are echoes." Dave

First of all congrats to the Bazzes. Sorry it's a bit belated but I've only just become aware of it. Keep smilin' Baz, I've found that the first 53 are the worst. Not a lot of smiling here today, though, as we've been told that Jill's sister has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer with secondaries but it hasn't been decided yet what treatment she will be given. Whatever it is, we just hope that it will be effective. Dave

I know that it isn't in the same league but whenever we took civilians for rides in our aircraft they had to sign disclaimers and while I can't recall exactly what they said, I know that they weren't very lengthy documents, just a couple of paragraphs. Dave

Sounds good. Dave

Could be a bit dodgy getting it though 😋 Dave

A guard's ticket and money satchel?

Certainly. Here is the wagon doing its job. Dave

The mood in Hunt Towers has taken a bit of a nosedive this morning with the news that SiL has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer plus secondaries. Jill is understandably very concerned and may well be going down to Devon in the not too distant future to see her. SiL is being very positive about it, though, and is urging all her nearest and dearest not to get morose about it but to get on with their lives. ❤️ Dave

Commiserations on the back trouble HH from one who knows only too well how excruciating it can be. As one doctor said to me, the trouble with the ‘bad back’ is that it isn't something that can be seen from outside, it has the reputation of being used as an excuse by malingerers for not working, many people think of it as merely a bit of backache, and it is often seen as something amusing by those who have never experienced it. Dave

Swiss Tony wasn't as polished as Polish Andy. Dave

That was quite common with locomotive drawings. I've seen drawings for Compounds and 4Fs, for instance, that were produced in 1910 and were still being updated in the 1950s. Dave

The match wagon from the breakdown train got me the S7 group trophy last weekend. Dave

Today was really exciting for me too. We spent most of it putting stuff back into the new kitchen cupboards and getting things ready for the flooring chaps coming tomorrow ☹️. Then comes the plumber on Monday, the quartz worktop people on Wednesday and a final visit from the fitter a week today. That just leaves the decorating to do (thinks- since it’s mainly painting I wonder if Polish Andy is busy?) then it’ all quiet on the Hipposhire front until Jill gets the next bright idea. Maybe I’ll even get some modelling in??? Dave

Have you been to the French railway museum in Mulhouse? If not, I strongly recommend it for a day out for the three of you. I’ve been twice on days out from UK flying to Basel and thence to Mulhouse and have been thoroughly impressed - and there are some of A C’s finest on display. Dave (a great fan of Chapelon)

In the 70s we used to do quite a few fondue dinner parties, mainly meat ones. The fondue pot was filled with hot cooking oil and each guest given a bowl with chunks of raw steak in it. The pieces of steak were speared on the fondue fork and placed in the oil until cooked to individual taste. There were side dishes of different dips and salads as well as garlic and herb breads. Dave

Sorry NYH, that's the wrong way round. There is actually nothing faster than a hippo chasing cake. Dave

What a good idea, it may take some of the strain off the denizens of Hipposhire. Dave

When I did the RAF jungle survival course in Malaya in 1968 we spent nearly a week in the jungle and frequently had leeches latch on to us. The way to remove them was to touch them with a lighted cigarette (nearly all of us smoked in those days) but also we used the cigarette butts by putting them in a bottle of water and then dribbling the liquid onto the leeches' heads whereupon they dropped off. The first time we found leeches on us we were all horrified and shuddered as we removed them but after a day or so we became inured to them and it was just a routine event to have a de-leeching session a couple of times a day. Dave

I made a mistake in my count; including States in which I just landed and then took off again after a while on the ground it's eighteen. Dave

It looks like between us we could write a reasonable travelogue for the States, both from thr viewpoint of residents and visitors. Dave