50 years ago, I worked at a factory which repaired Service (mostly Army) Bedford lorries, and it was my job to book them (some very severely damaged) in. One arrived, with the radiator and engine pushed back into the cab, with a neat semi-circular hole where they used to be.
As usual, we asked the driver what happened, and this chap admitted that he’d been driving it, “We were driving under convoy lights only, and I was tail-end Charlie. Suddenly the light, in front, disappeared, so I put my foot down, to catch up. That was when I found out that the others had all gone round the roundabout, and there was this dirty great tree growing in the middle of it.”

No surprise to see the blame game in full flow. “It’s the politicians’ fault” “It’s the media’s fault.” No, it isn’t; it’s entirely the fault of the idiots who panicked, and sat (often with the engine running for fear of someone getting to the pumps first) in a queue for ages, then put minimal amounts into the tank (one woman was seen taking £2.68-worth, and another was caught filling up old paint tins.)
We’ve gone through decades of the chattering classes who “Know Best For Us,” so refuse to allow us to develop, and use, common sense, so it’s little wonder that so many have lost the ability to think for themselves.

If you can find MicroMesh, which, among other things, is used for polishing canopies, it does a superb job on aluminium, too. I’ve managed to return a corroded aluminium cover to the appearance of chrome, using that material, but had to treat it as a wet-and-dry paper, and use it wet. Follow the instructions, as well, which tell you to sand in straight lines, and use successive grades, with each at right angles to the preceding. Some model shops sell starter packs, at around £15, which will be a lot cheaper than the aviation packs at probably double the price.

You don’t think there’ll be a UK-wide pasty shortage do you?

Let us hope so; have you tasted the lumps of sludge, masquerading as pasties, in Asda, Tesco et al, lately?

Ah, the joys of the old fogey’s bus pass.

It looks as if it came, went, then came back again; on the Mk.I & II the stowage was introduced 3-2-41, then a new (known as Mk.III) screen & hood were fitted, and the crowbar seems to have fallen into disuse, but was then reinstated (this time on the I, II & V) from 23-1-42. As so often, Vickers’ paperwork tells what happened, but not why.

totaly unlike thier red shirts at a liverpool v man u game then ???

You won’t see Manchester United in red shirts, when they’re playing Liverpool at Anfield.:p