When I was a lad, Pan Am operated DC-6B’s, DC-7C’s and the odd Stratocruiser into London Airport (Heathrow to you youngsters!).

Seeing my “mature” wife dancing, naked, to the calypso tune on my mobile phone alarm. Well, made me feel a bit queasy to be honest…:D

About 20 years ago I ran a rather spacious automatic Chevrolet Caprice car. On one occasion I visited my dear old mum with the car loaded with myself and 5 passengers in place. The journey was comfortable and uneventful, but things changed… When preparing for the return trip, all 6 occupants were seated and I had started the V8 ready for departure and selected reverse, holding the car on the brake. In the rear was my sister, her husband and his mother and in the front, my son, me and in the middle of the bench seat, my wife. We had all put on our seat belts excepting my wife, who had inadvertantly sat on her lap strap. While she was trying to locate the strap, the car suddenly accelerated backwards!:eek: I jammed my foot on the brake, but 5.0 litres of American power, sorely tested the efficiency of the brakes. I quickly realised that wife had partially stood up to release the strap, and inadvertantly stamped on the throttle pedal, which was adjacent to her left foot as the car was left hand drive. Funnily enough, Chevrolet failed to warn customers that their wives could pose a serious hazard if allowed in the front seat and should be left in the back to nag…:D

OMG and to think I was spreading it on my head! How daft am I???:eek:

In my original post, I said it was fully loaded leaving Shoreham. What I failed to mention was the return flight only carried 1 pilot, 1 lad of about 13, me an my wife! While Blue Islands may have made a few bob going out, I really can’t see that they did on the return flight and that was in August, probably their busiest time of year. The Shoreham to Alderney route is now discontinued, probably on financial grounds.

Indeed – from the Telegraph last year:

“SIR – I have learned this week of the sad demise of bloater paste. The last supplier, Shippam’s, now owned by Princes, has informed me that its production has been discontinued.

It is a sad day for connoisseurs of this great-smelling little spread, with a special taste that I grew up with.

I have one small jar left. Should I eat it, sell it on eBay or donate it to a museum? “

Googling might reveal a secret source. For any who have never tasted it – you are in for a surprise!!:diablo:

Yes it was a distinctive smell… Would you consider a swap for a tin of Brilliantine?

You could get bloater paste until quite recently…

Trafficators! I was following an old convertible at the weekend and out one popped! Trafficator that is. I remember the ones on my Triumph Mayflower always getting stuck and having to bang on the B pillar hard to get it to drop down again.

Column gear changes. Mayflower again. Only had a 3 speed box and sometimes it wouldn’t go from 1st to 2nd and 3rd was too high a gear to miss out 2nd! As 1st had no syncromesh, the resulting down change removed a good quantity of gear teeth!

Then there are king pins, cross ply tyres and cable brakes… Happy days…:rolleyes: