Sleight of hand. In one place I worked the boss had the theory that everyone made at least one mistake in anything he did. Give the boss a sheaf of drawings to check and approve, he would look at every one of them until he found a mistake, which was not blatant. It could take… Continue reading The Vagaries of Engineering
Month: January 2007
The Golden Rivet
If the wide screen is to be believed, in the days of the great railroad expansion in the USA, there was a tradition that on the completion of a section of track, a golden spike was ceremoniously driven into the last tie. In the Navy there was a legend that every wooden warship had a… Continue reading The Golden Rivet
Teachers As Surrogate Parents
Recently there have been a number of changes in national policy which seem to have neither rhyme nor reason, but the most arrogant of them all, apart from the wars, is the proposal to extend the school leaving age across the board. In the 30s, some of my friends matriculated, and others left at 14… Continue reading Teachers As Surrogate Parents
Clement Atlee On Epsom Downs
Those of the Television Era would not appreciate the shock of misconception suffered when brought face to face with a politician whose appearance and mien have been conjured from only newspaper articles, radio interviews and radio comment, when there was no TV. Recently, all we see is the top few of our leaders and their… Continue reading Clement Atlee On Epsom Downs
Bits and Pieces 1
Throw art y’moldies! This was the period when people went everywhere in charabancs, those overblown, single-deck buses with their thin tyres and great over-hang at the back. Derby Day, early in June, was a great outing in our part of South London, especially as it was on the route directly to Epsom Downs. There was… Continue reading Bits and Pieces 1
More Rubbish About Rubbish
On the ninth of October last, I wrote an article about rubbish. Unfortunately I feel I have to make some further points more strongly, because the Local Authorities in conjunction with the Government are still intending to further charge us for collecting our rubbish. They are using the current, excessive amounts being put out for… Continue reading More Rubbish About Rubbish
Rugby and the Surgical Saw
Rugby Was Certainly A Culture Shock Prior to leaving England for Africa, the only male member of our family whom I had any regular contact with was my grandfather and he was rarely in the house when I was awake. Hence I had never heard of Rugby, as in those days it was mostly a… Continue reading Rugby and the Surgical Saw
The Wichita and the Tuscasa
I have mentiond the first part of this elsewhere, but this is the full picture. The Wichita and the Tuscaloosa, two American cruisers arrived at Rosyth. The Americans had only recently entered the war and, I suspect, this fact affected the American’s attitude, they were doing us a favour coming over to help. Our Skipper… Continue reading The Wichita and the Tuscasa
Evacuation 2
Lewes – A Place Apart In retrospect there was something almost magical about the months I spent there. I was not aware of this at the time, I was often unhappy, but who is sublimely happy all the time, contrast gives colour. Lewes, the Town, was the hub, but it was really the district which… Continue reading Evacuation 2
Dog Crazy 2
My relations are all slightly dotty about dogs. I wrote Dog Crazy 1, so boringly, I fell asleep myself. This made me think about pets, and dogs especially. If you look at Crufts’ on TV, do you ever wonder how people could possibly love some of those ugly crossbreeds, and even more, stress that some… Continue reading Dog Crazy 2