Kicking and screaming was over. I’d been blackmailed into that prospect that everyman dreads – SHOPPING. If the quality of the blackmail on offer from one’s wife is of such a quality as to be irresistible, then I go with the flow and line up a shop or two that I’m interested in.
Let me from the start mention that I have no connection with the shop in question other than as a customer and neither does my mother work there. The shop is Nauticalia and it specialises in nautical curios and other items of general and often topical interest including toy aircraft and boats, all of which is of particular interest to mature schoolboys such as myself.
I found a stand containing fridge magnets of many shapes, sizes and varieties. Two in particular took my attention: a not particularly good reproduction of an Avro Lincoln which at first sight until I read the label I took to be a Lancaster which looked the worse for drink.
The other, which really lit my boiler and which might have some of you jumping on your bikes to have a look was a very seductive fridge magnet in the shape of a late model Spitfire – somewhere between a Mk9 and a Mk16 in early WW2 camouflage. It is about four inches long and made – I think, from MDF.
The pilot – who looks like me but with a mustache at least, that’s what I’ve told my grandaughters, who are so impressed that they asked me to get one for their kitchen fridge. It’s now on its way in the mail complete wilh registration letters JM – R on the fuselage. They’ve been told that these mean John as in their grandpa’s first name and Madeleine as in grannies. The R was a problem until I thought it could mean the more than sarcastic “yeah, Right” often uttered by their mother when confronted with some of my wilder imaginings.
My Spitfire magnet sits on the top left hand corner of the fridge. Sitting as it does on a slippery shiny surface, it is liable to change position. One moment it’s straight and level, the next, in a dive or climbing -depending how many times the fridge door is opened.
Thus, I have my very own and personal air display !
By: John Green - 30th January 2014 at 18:30
Re 12
Last Lightning
This, from the man who thinks that he is Chuck Yeager !!
By: Jonesy - 30th January 2014 at 17:26
Ahh Nauticalia….wife once declared that she’d rather see me leafing through a copy of ‘Razzle’ than the Nauticalia catalogue that dropped through the door every now and again.
Possible to spend an awful lot of money on highly interesting, high quality, bits of absolutely useless frippery there. Fully operational static steam engines with gloriously shiny brass spinny bits…a bulkhead phone cased in a lovely wooden mounting box…a rather nice-looking Furuno surface search radar…any number of heavy wool fishermans knit jumpers. For anyone suffering Shiny Object Syndrome this is like the alcoholic left guarding the Glenmorangie distillery or standing Cameron Diaz in front of a sex addict….wearing naught but an inviting grin!.
Hmmmmm….still want that bulkhead phone.:love-struck:
By: Edgar Brooks - 30th January 2014 at 15:25
As a child, I dreaded hearing my mother say, “We’re going to Oxford this afternoon,” since I knew this would mean being pulled away from looking at the delights of toyshop windows, while having to spend (seeming) hours, kicking my heels outside the windows of women’s clothing stores. My mother could never understand why I always wanted Oxford to lose the Boat Race, University cricket match, rugby match, anything.
By: John Green - 30th January 2014 at 12:19
Re 13
Deep sympathy.
By: 19kilo10 - 30th January 2014 at 00:51
I once made the mistake of going into a shoe store with the wife, her mother and sister. I’v tried to surpress that memory ever since.
By: Last Lightning - 29th January 2014 at 23:26
Insanity is not just for the insane!!
By: Mr Merry - 29th January 2014 at 20:59
No chance of fridge magnet for me, the ‘war department’ got a fridge behind a door. 🙁
By: John Green - 29th January 2014 at 20:47
Re 8
basv
Oh! the ignominy. Ask the youngsters……! Yes, I’ve got a digi and the pc is loaded with ACee DCee software so I will have a go.
By: John Green - 29th January 2014 at 20:41
Re 6
Trumper, you’re a pessimist ! But, now you’ve mentioned it I’ll lay a piece of artificial grass at the bottom of the fridge door.
By: bazv - 29th January 2014 at 19:50
Easy posting photos john,if you have a digi camera : )
Get one of the youngsters to put the pic on your computer and join photobucket or similar,then the youngsters can show you how to post it…it is really easy – even I can do it : )
By: hampden98 - 29th January 2014 at 18:40
I had a fridge magnet of a SAR Seaking I picked up while on holiday in Weymouth.
The missus was making pastry one morning. Slammed the fridge door causing the Helo to fall
onto the work surface. Straight into some flour and straight into a whiteout condition.
Fortunately the magnet survived the ordeal.
By: trumper - 29th January 2014 at 17:11
At some time in the future the magnet will slip,the ground will come racing up to meet the stricken plane ,will it survive,will it land ,will it grab in time for a low level pass or will it be joined by another for a dual act 🙂
By: John Green - 29th January 2014 at 15:15
Re 3
I’m occasionally allowed a day off !
By: John Green - 29th January 2014 at 15:11
Moggy,
There’s nothing I’d like more – I just don’t know how !
By: Newforest - 29th January 2014 at 14:58
And I thought this would be a political thread! 🙂
By: Moggy C - 29th January 2014 at 14:52
Simply green .. (see what I did there?) … with envy.
Will we be permitted a photograph of this mouth-watering item?
Moggy 😉
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January 29, 2014 at 2:30 pm