The Era Of Cycle Accidents

I am accident prone and wont to make snap decisions. At fourteen I bought my first bicycle, second-hand, for a pound, and learned to ride it. It was a heavy, characterless brute, with only one gear. A month later I went on my first real journey, to visit an aunt. She was out, so I… Continue reading The Era Of Cycle Accidents

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Categorized as Pre-WW2

Empire Day and the LCC

When we first heard the King’s speech on the wireless, it was really a celebration of the Empire and its reinforcement, tightening the ties. My first recollection of Empire Day, although I know it was celebrated in most schools in England, was when it was celebrated in Livingstone. Unsurprisingly it was a ‘great day’, which… Continue reading Empire Day and the LCC

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Categorized as Pre-WW2

The New Industry Has Gone Crazy

Still on the Blog, the piece I entitled New Industry, can currently be read under October. I now am forced to comment yet again, due to the passage of time and what I believe to be the rubbish that is being talked. I Start with David Attenborough’s apocalyptic programme. Some three weeks ago on TV,… Continue reading The New Industry Has Gone Crazy

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Categorized as General

Taking Responsibility

I’m not sure if irresponsibility has exactly the same connotation as not taking responsibility or indeed negligence. I propose to assume they do. Banking. On Tuesday the sixth of February, Watchdog on BBC1, TV, presented a piece which irrefutably showed that some major Banks are considering that if money is withdrawn, using a valid pin… Continue reading Taking Responsibility

In Praise of a Lost Art

The making of a ‘Prick’ of tobacco. The ration was supplied in leaf form, as the name implied, with stalks and all, and I intended to turn this mass of dried cabbage into a plug of tobacco, which could challenge any in a tobacconists shop. Just writing that has made me realise there are few… Continue reading In Praise of a Lost Art

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Categorized as Royal Navy

Cluttons 3 of 3

Following on from items Cluttons 1 and 2, I write this because it highlights the differences between business in the late Victorian era, my time there, and today Aspirations outstripped resources, and I had ideas beyond my station, like going to the theatre. In London, at lunch time I would rent a folding seat, at… Continue reading Cluttons 3 of 3

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Categorized as General, WW2

Shorts N0 1

Not An Electric Eel In the Belfast shipyard of Harland and Wolf, it was necessary for me to go into the bowels of the ships to check wiring. It was there that I discovered the cruel, if crafty, disciplinary action of the management. Generally it was a long way from any part of the ship… Continue reading Shorts N0 1

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Categorized as General