JimAttrill

Do you still have it? Those Timex watches are underrated. And is that a 'Nato' strap? Do you know what the numbers were on the back? For example, my latest CWc has a lot of numbers which mean things i.e. 0552 (Royal Navy) 6645 (Nato code for quartz wristwatch) 99 (Nato code for UK) 5415347 (I think this means the specific CWC watch) 58267 (serial no) 90 (date of issue) You get 'fake' military watches which purport to have been 'issued' to countries with code 02 and 18 which are both mythical. These are often cheap chinese fake CWC watches marked as MWC with really cheap movements made of plastic. They cost more than the real thing!

My father-in-law (who had his 80th birthday last week) was a French Para in the early 50s. He was lucky enough to not be at Dien Bien Phu, being at Dakar at the time. He was trained by British Paras with the maroon berets (he was most impressed by them even though his English was non-existent at the time), and they flew in JU52s and had American or maybe German parachutes which landed at very high speed compared to the British version. They suffered many broken bones every time they leapt out of the aeroplanes. I managed to take him on a trip on the South African Airways JU-52 ZS-AFA a few years ago. This one has Harvard engines but is now not flying because there is something wrong with the undercarriage, so I have heard.

And I was annoyed about 'Piece of cake' because there is at least one thing that happens in the book that was technically impossible. Please send me answers on a £10 note and I will let you know if you are right...

And the German inventors of WWI poison gas went on to receive Nobel Prizes for Chemistry. It's a funny old world, no?

Talking of the UK paras, I saw them a lot as a boy. My father was a fitter in the RAF from 1921 to 1958 and I remember RAF Abingdon which was a base for Blackburn Beverleys and used for training for the paras. As my father was due for retirement they put him in charge of a hangar there where the Paras were trained. I remember going there and being strapped into a harness and let down fast from the roof of the hangar. There were other things that I was not allowed to do, like jump about 15 feet onto a coconut mat in order to practice landings. I think the chutes of those days came down rather fast! And us kids would watch the paras jumping out of a barrage balloon. IIRC there was a Sergeant instructor at that time who won (I think) the George Medal - very rare, because the balloon burst and he threw all the trainees out before jumping himself at a very low height and was lucky that his chute opened at all. We kids also used to creep to the end of the runway and watch the rubber smoke come off the tyres as the planes landed. The cops used to come and round us up and report us to our fathers... And eight years later I joined the RAF myself. And to Ns13Jarhead, I 'served' with a US Marine in 4 Sqn RAF 1970-73. He was a exchange pilot at the time when the USMC were buying AV8A's as they were called. I did'nt have much to do with him except from strapping him in a few times but I remember he was always polite to his ground crew. I can't say what he made of the RAF but it was most likely a lot different from what he was used to. I read a book written by a USMC Phantom pilot in Vietnam and he said that Marines were 'Marines first and pilots second' - the attitude in the RAF was the opposite.

Here's my current everyday transport, bought in 1996, now with 280 000 kms and not a computer in sight

Sorry to get off US Healthcare for the moment, but regarding the BA strike, what impact will the merger with (or takeover of?) Iberia have? I saw some interesting stats the other day that showed that from a personnel point of view Iberia is about 100% more efficient than BA. Your comment on this OVS please. Of course there are lies, damn lies and statistics ......

RAF engine fitter 1966-73 and then SAAF (Saudi Arabian Air Force) as a civilian until 1975. It seems that the RAF doesn't have any enrolled technicians anymore, it's all been outsourced to Securicor or maybe Tescos.

I've never been in a Tiger, but I did have a flip in an 'air experience' DHC Chipmunk, and even serviced them for a while. Nothing much can go wrong with a Gypsy Major. Just out of interest, the Gypsy engines were designed by a Major Halford (of later fame at Napier), and the engine is basically half of a Renault V8 of WWI vintage. I'm not sure which aircraft that engine was ever used in, though. Doubtless someone will tell me...

I have trouble reading about the Somme battle. It makes me want to go and shoot a General (one of 'ours' of course). How so-called 'leaders of men' could be so callous to their own soldiers I find very hard to believe, yet it happened time and time again throughout the war. No wonder soldiers looked upwards to see a cleaner type of war, even if it did rely on shooting your opponent in the back. It was at least more individual combat rather than thousands of soldiers sinking in the mud. On the subject of getting the attention of troops on the ground, Bill Lambert of 24 sqn fired across the bows (so to speak) of advancing British soldiers to draw their attention to an anti-tank gun in a wood.

Well I guess the only thing you can do is take it out, get it apart and rescue the magnets. Then use epoxy to glue the magnets to your car's oil filter. They keep all the ferrous bits in the filter. (Or you can put them on your fridge).

I often wonder how Lindbergh flew the Atlantic in that Ryan with NO forward visibility at all ....

I was lucky enough to be at Filton on a Pegasus course in 1969 and saw the Concordes being built. They took us to the engine test bed and the engineers there wound the engine up in full reheat to show us what it looked like. The whole jetpipe went white hot which made us realise why the pipes were made of such advanced alloys. Truly an amazing sight, and noisy even through double armoured glass. We were told that the engine gave off a lot of low-frequency vibrations which were felt in Bristol, even though they could not hear the silenced test bed running at that distance. The full-power runs were published in the local newspapers as some people suffered from extreme irritability without knowing why. For this reason the ground crew wore kidney belts when on start-up duties. The guys at Filton were a bit p1ssed off at being force-merged with Rolls-Royce. To this day I insist that the Pegasus and Olympus are Bristol engines. Bristol was for many years the only manufacturer who made the whole aeroplane. The only other I can think of is some De Havilland early jet fighters, and some Junkers between the wars.

How to speak Seffrican: Your definitive Saffa Slang Resource! Each letter of the alphabet gets three slang words, struesbob! Ag: is ‘Oh no!’, as in ‘Ag no man, how can it be raining again. Aita: is a greeting, as in ‘Aita bru, I reckon we hit Camden market today.’ Arvie: means ‘afternoon’ as in ‘I reckon I’m going to chill in the common this arvie dude.’ Babalas: means hangover, as in ‘Yissie that Dutch beer gave me a babalas today.’ Biscuit: commends someone, as in ‘Go Hamilton you biscuit! Go!’ Boet/Bru: means friend, as in ‘I would dig to have a beer with you, my bru.’ Chips: is a warning, as in ‘Chips for that siren oke! That’s when the cops come!’ China: is your friend, as in ‘My china why haven’t you hooked up the speakers yet?’ [originally Cockney rhyming slang 'china plate = mate'] Chookie: is jail, as in ‘He didn’t chips for the siren, and now he’s in chookie.’ Dop: is a drink, as in ‘I’ve heard there is cheap dop at that off license.’ Donner: is to punch or hit, as in ‘If those chavs don’t stop making noise I’m going to donner them!’ Dwaal: means dizzy, as in ‘This muggy London heat leaves me in a dwaal.’ Eish: is an exclamation as in ‘Eish! I thought I saw David Beckham for real today!’ Eina: means pain, as in ‘Eina man! Stop kicking that football at me!’ Ek se: means ‘I say’, as in ‘Let’s go out on the London town tonight, ek se.’ Fully: is an affirmation, as in ‘That DJ’s set was fully wicked my man.’ Fanks: is saying thank you, as in ‘Fanks for my birthday present!’ Frot: means drunk, as in ‘Why did you get so frot and pee against the wall last night?’ Goof: means to swim, as in ‘Let’s go take a quick goof at Wimbledon park.’ Goose: is one’s girlfriend, as in ‘Last night I took my goose to a movie.’ Graft: is one’s work, as in ‘I start new graft tomorrow, wish me luck!’ Hectic: is a describing word, as in ‘Yoh but those Snakebites at that club were hectic!’ Howzit: is a famous Saffa greeting, as in ‘Howzit! How are you doing?’ Hundreds: is an expression, as in ‘I slept in late so I’m feeling hundreds today!’ Indaba: is a meeting, as in ‘Have you seen the cool stuff at that art indaba?’ Ish: indicates worry, as in ‘Ish, I’m not too sure about this Thames eel pie.’ Izit: is an expression of interest, as in ‘Izit? You say I can make biltong at home now?’ Jeet: means go, as in ‘I’m tired of this place boet. Let’s jeet!’ Jislaaik: means anger or wonder, as in ‘Jislaaik it but the London Eye is tall!’ Jol: means party, as in ‘That was one of the best jols I have ever been to!’ Kief: means cool, as in ‘That Vernon Koekemoer is one kief oke!’ Klap: means hit, as in ‘Do that again and I will klap you my friend.’ Kuif: means hair fringe, as in ‘Any less kuif and that’ll look like a mullet china.’ Larney: means fancy, as in ‘Last night we went to this larney jol.’ Lekker: means nice, as in ‘I am having a lekker time in London!’ Legend: is a compliment, as in ‘You my dear sir, are a legend.’ Mal: means crazy, as in ‘I wouldn’t mess with those football yobs, those okes are mal.’ Mif: means unpleasant, as in ‘China your room smells as mif as my grandma’s socks.’ Moegoe: means a twit, as in ‘That Mugabe is a real moegoe don’t you think?’ Naff: means wimpy, as in ‘That is a naff shirt you are wearing.’ Naught: means bum, as in ‘I came short and fell on my nought. It hurts now.’ Nooit: means no, as in ‘Nooit bru, I will always be a Liverpool supporter.’ Oke: means guy, as in ‘Did you see that weird oke on the Tube?’ On a mission: indicates action, as in ‘That oke is always on some kind of mission.’ Ou ballie: is an older man, as in ‘Boet if you don’t turn it down, that ou ballie is going to klap you.’ Park off: means to chill out, as in ‘Can’t we just park off at this restaurant a little bit longer?’ Poepol: is an insult, as in ‘That bouncer is a real poepol, I’m not even drunk yet!’ Porzie: is someone’s house, as in ‘Can’t we just chill at your porzie for the afternoon?’ Shot: means thank you, as in ‘Shot for the heads up mate, I’ll take the District line instead.’ Sif/Sis: denotes unpleasantness, as in ‘Sis man! Get your face off that toilet seat!’ Struesbob: means the truth, as in ‘I saw Cheryl Cole naked today, struesbob!’ Trap: means to walk, as in ‘Let’s take a trap down to Notting Hill.’ Tune: means to engage in conversation, as in ‘I’m going to go tune that oke about a job.’ Twak: means tobacco, as in ‘Can I bum some of that twak off you please?’ Vaai: means to leave, as in ‘Let’s just finish these beers and vaai.’ Vloek: is to swear, as in ‘I’m going to vloek that oke just now, bru.’ Voetsek:is to chase something away, ‘Voetsek you doves, voetsek!’ Wettie: is a cold drink, as in ‘Yoh, it’s hot, I need a wettie right now!’ What what: means something, as in ‘That guy tuned me what what but I didn’t understand!’ Windgat: means speed freak, as in ‘Gee, that old lady on the electric wheelchair is a real windgat!’ Yinnah: means wow, as in ‘Yinnah it’s a hot day today!’Yoh is said in amazement, as in ‘Yoh, yoh, yoh! That is one fine-looking lady! Yowza is also said in amazement, as in ‘Yowza that Ferrari is lekker.’ Zol: is marijuana, as in ‘I don’t like people who smoke zol on Sundays. Zonked: means drunk, as in ‘That guy was so zonked on Saturday, it was quite funny.’ Zippit: means keep it down, as in ‘I told you to zippit!’ So there you have it. A mere drop in the ocean of South African culture, language and expression.

von Robertson? It's no wonder you got shot down with a name like that.

Haven't seen District 9. After all, it's only just down the road.

From the last page of a book: 47 Squadron was in action again the following day, escorting a formation of 'A' flight DH9s on a raid on the Bolshevik HQ at Tsaritsyn. Two enemy fighters, a SPAD and a Fokker triplane, came up to intercept, but the SPAD was immediately shot down and the Fokker broke off the engagement. In May 1919, No 47 Squadron was ordered to step up its operations and destroy as many enemy aircraft as possible in support of the white Russian advance on so Tsaritsyn. During the first 10 days of the month the Squadron destroyed seven enemy aircraft; many of the latter were operating from an airfield near Urbabk, and in the second week of May this was attacked by White Russian DH9s escorted by the Camels. The Reds came up in strength to intercept with a mixed formation of Nieuports, SPADs and an Albatros, the whole led by an all-black Fokker D.VII. A whirling dogfight spread across the sky as the Reds attacked with a determination the British pilots had not encountered previously. The black Fokker destroyed two DH9s, then circled overhead as the remainder of his Squadron engaged the Camels. The British pilots got the best of the encounter, shooting down five enemy aircraft, but all the Camels were damaged and Major Kinkead had to make a forced landing on the bank of the Volga with a shot up engine. Throughout that summer the Squadron flew intensively, the pilots seeing early White Russian victories gradually crumble into defeat. There was a marked decrease in enemy aircraft activity, a number of the Red squadrons having been withdrawn for service on other fronts. Nevertheless, the Reds appeared in strength from time to time. On one occasion in August, an RE8 observation aircraft, escorted by two Camels, was attacked over the Volga by two enemy machines. One was a Nieuport and, and the other was the all-black Fokker D.VII which had already been encountered on several occasions. While the RE8 put its nose down and headed for home at top speed, the two Camel pilots - Captains Aten and Burns-Thompson - engaged the Red aircraft, Burns-Thompson taking on the Nieuport and Aten the Fokker. After a savage dogfight that lasted several minutes both enemy aircraft were shot down, and a second Nieuport that joined the fight was also destroyed by Aten. Later, General Wrangel, the White Russian commander, telegraphed his congratulations; the pilot of the black Fokker had destroyed at least a dozen bombers during his short career in the Russian Civil War. Privately, the pilots of number 47 Squadron suspected that his score might be much higher than that. The tactics he had used, the flair he had shown, were of the kind they had all encountered on so many occasions, when they had faced the elite pilots of the Richthofen and Boelke Geschwader over the Western front. But no one ever found out who he was. From "Ace's Twilight" - Epilogue - by Robert Jackson, Spere Books, 1988

Yes it has alway struck me as strange that such a clever guy as Doenitz should have wanted to take the job when obviously the 3rd reich was dead on its feet. Maybe they were all a bit mad at that time. And Doenitz didn't even get to sign the surrender document, that being left to Jodl.

I have Win XP and Win 7 Ultimate 64. The only problem I have with 7 is that my joystick only rolls to the left. As this is rather a problem, I use XP for OFF. But Win 7 seems to work well apart from that. Maybe if I get a new joystick with drivers for Win 7 all will be ok. Also my camera only shows me upside down, but I can always turn the thing upside down to fix this problem

Looks marvellous Maurice. What joystick do you use? I am considering upgrading to something better than what I have. But the triple-screen thing...... wow! (but I don't think SWAMBO would approve and I can't hide all that stuff in the garage ) We must meet for a beer sometime.

For those who don't know, the spelling of that town changed a couple of years ago from 'Mafeking' to 'Mafikeng'. It was famous in the war previous to WWI here in SA.

And the Dutch hadn't learned either in Java (now Indonesia). They, like the French, went back to territories that had been taken by the Japanese (went back with the help of the British in both cases). Not a good idea for them because they both ended up fighting the guerillas who had had a lot of practice against the Japanese. The British were better off as some of their colonies that had been Japanese were happy to have them back. eg. Hong Kong and Singapore. Others were given quick independence whether taken by the Japanese or not i.e Burma, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and India. Some stayed as part of the British Empire for quite a while, the last to go being Hong Kong. The ties are still strong in these countries, whereas the French influence in Vietnam and the Dutch influence in Indonesia is non-existent today.

"It was a strange world that died that summer of 1914. For ninety-nine years there had been peace in Europe, apart from the Crimean War." And so the Franco-Prussion war of 1870 was a barn dance? Strange that the author should have forgotten that one, which the French were trying to avenge in 1914. It is true, though, that the men of Europe almost all wanted to have a war, certainly in 1914.

I know a guy who makes full-size railway train simulators. These are definitely not a game but save the railways a lot of money. They are rather like the airline simulators but only have one or two axis hydraulic rams to emulate (simulate?) going over points and round corners.