Folks,

we had a small limb fall on the house while the power was off Friday night. It did no damage. Today with the melting a 4" diameter holly limb fell on the wrap around porch roof but seems not to have dine any damage. As you can see all the ice is already gone except in shady places.

Beautiful shots of shimmering ice sparklers! Yes, you can imagine the shimmering looking at those shots.

The only time I ice-skated off rinks was in Maine on an ice-covered grassy area in the middle of the housing area. No way I could do that now. But it was fun then.

Folks,

Fittop:

Thank you for the compliment. Sometime the beautiful can also be dangerous. Perhaps that adds a bit to the excitement whether you are looking at frozen water crystals, a woman or even the Spitfire.

In the 60s an ice skating rink opened about 30 miles distant. There was a neighborhood pal of ours who held great promise as a figure skater we all thought. I was vitally interested in lovely figures but never learned to skate period. I 'allowed' two pretty young sisters to try to teach me to roller skate when I was about 14.

In truth, I was far more interested in them than in the skating. They held me up for quite some time until they caught on. Directly after which I found myself going down a steep street on one skate ending up ass over teakettle in a drainage ditch. The gales of laughter I heard from the top of the hill did not help the pain one tiny bit.

I finished the 6th and final episode of "Piece of Cake" on YouTube last night. Interestingly enough to me, I found I remembered only brief passages of the film after seeing it at least twice before years ago. I enjoyed it.

Chaps,

CO is worried thst noone is putting in combat reports, even now as Leroy is serving coffee, the boss is pacing the rug and every so often looking towards the horizon..............

Folks,

DK:



Not to be completely outdone by that delightful effort by our accomplished flyer, bike peddler, and notably artistic caricaturist MG, I am posting this very poor effort on my part taken from a recent and less than flattering photo of Moi. Yes, I would be pleased to remove it at any time provided the offended pilot sends me a fiver bearing the authenticated autographs of Sir Winston Churchill, Penelope Cruz, and the real Monte Python.

If anyone cares (I know you shouldn't in the least) I have been watching an old, old Brit WWI TV series from the 70's titled "Wings" on YouTube. The kites are a bit dodgey but I am enjoying watching. I was unaware of any of the players save for one whom I had seen previously in "Sharpe's Rifles" or "Sharpe's something or other" that was also a lengthy series as well. His name is Michael Cochrane. Apparently this fellow has been in just about every Brit series there has been in the past 40 years. So he should be well known to you lot across the big wet spot.

Sorry about not posting DK. We are fortunate indeed to have someone so keen as you. He puts us to shame Dux. BTW where have you been Dux? Perhaps your band is now much more in demand and you are traveling? Maybe the snow is so deep in the Peaks you cannot see out the windows and the power being off as well you have no clue what time it is? You've actually posted more times than I have in these 15 years so could it be your ancient keyboard is so worn you can no longer make out the letters and, since you never completely memorized QWERTY, you cannot type? Inquiring minds need to know.

As for an after action report:

I took on a crowd of He111s headed for London yesterday morning. Here's what happened:

The closest bomber to port caught my eye. One engine was already giving off white smoke thanks to a Hurricane. I came from below and gave it several squirts of .303. That would be the bomber and not the Hurricane before you ask Dux. This put one engine out altogether and the other soon began trailing black smoke after another go at disabling it. The stricken bomber never made the banking turn with the other 111s and drew away from the formation in a long but steady descent. I followed it down a ways but it was a goner for sure. I saw no parachutes.

Gents,

JRT,

The transatlantic mail exchange seems to have dried up but only temporarily. I still have to gather some pics for M to send on and I am daily being prompted to see to it. 'It will be this weekend', I promised...


Had an accident with the Burns this week. As I presented myself in a characteristic 'showing off' posture, I nearly pulled the amp off the bench and would have done so if the jack had not pulled out from the bass. It pulled out at an angle of 90 degrees (I can imagine you flinching) which tore the plug-in shroud from the interior electrics. I can't screw it in again because the plastic packing washer broke and it won't screw in far enough to prevent the assembly from moving about. Now, it looks like I will need a completely new jack-plug assembly.

I usually wind the lead around the strap where it attaches to the base of the body. That would have prevented the jack damage but would have pulled the amp off the workbench so damage was guaranteed - one way or the other.:( Luckily there several other basses to choose from for the time being until repairs can be undertaken.

Folks,
Dux:

Showing off what my dear fellow?

I assume you have a vintage Burns amp? I am not all that familiar with the innards of the brand. Could it be tube type rather than transistorized? Maybe not that vintage perhaps? Bad luck on damaging that jack plug assembly my friend. Not a complex part as I recall. Maybe local repair is possible? Used parts can be found online. Factory parts can be ordered no doubt and installation should be intuitive. A nuisance of course but, as you point out, it might have been much worse and damage more extensive had that part not given way.

Nothing possible mail wise unless "T" is here rather than at her mom's. She has only just joined the Girl Scouts and is now visiting a friend's where they held an all night slumber party last night. She should be back this afternoon or evening. I'm sure she will be in touch and would love those pics.

I finished watching the 2 seasons of the Brit WWI TV series "Wings". I wish there had been more. If there are more I cannot find them on YouTube. As for the Sharpe series, I can find about 100 videos but not the first season "Sharpe's Rifles". The one I found had a horrible voice-over in a foreign language that was horribly out of sync. So, off I went and I found the "Hornblower" series. I've read the books and seen all those shows as well but they are worth watching again. Apparently there is no flying in the "Hornblower" series either for some odd reason.... Well, one sailor tried to fly but it was a horribly short flight that ended tragically. No wings you see.

Folks,

Dux:

I hope you can get that repaired. An acquaintance of mine back in the 60s Juan Annatoo had a problem with his Peavey Amp. That solid state amp had no entry opening in the back so he had to pop off the grill in front, remove the 4 speaker screws and then the speaker and proceed from there to dismantle the lot before finally getting to the faulty jack plug.

I hope it is different with the Burns. Juan Anatoo later in life suffered from a mild complex and delusion. He thought he was Lawrence Welk for a short time. Sadly he was shocked unconscious and drowned when a bubble machine he had installed in his small apartment malfunctioned and could not be tuned off......

OK, I made some of that up.

Chaps,

Rain, rain and more rain. It's a wonder that this Sceptered Isle doesn't submerge into the Atlantic right now.

Hosepipe ban? That seems a distant memory among car washers, gardeners and our own beloved Olga who never tires of demonstrating that she can suck a golf ball through the one inch variety.

JRT,

The Burns has joined a list of 'things to do' along with the Fokker for example...

Folks,

Dux:

Even in the worst of circumstances we can always count on Olga to suck it up and do what needs doing.

We have had days of rain this past week over here as well. The last time it rained as hard and long as it did on Thursday that probably caused Noah to build much faster. We've had two cold days without rain now but more rain is expected tomorrow and colder weather next week. We have full sun today but there is a strong north wind that instantly reminds one it is still very much winter here in the south.

I wish you very good luck with the Burns repair. Next time you want to go bungee jumping I recommend you do not use that classic amp cable.

Chaps,

JRT,

I have repaired the jack-plug washer with superglue (a fiddly job) but it appears to be quite strong. Will fit sometime today. Shouldn't take long.

Folks,

Dux:

Such a shame damaging a classic amp like that but it might have been far worse. Fortunately it did not fall on you as well. Super glue can be a good choice and above all quick depending on the surfaces being mended and the repair should hold. Two part epoxy might effect a more permanent repair if the instant fix should fail. Good luck.

Having another cold snap here with temps down in the mid teens F. by Sunday night and not getting much above freezing during the day. Cold for us.

I watched an interesting couple of video interviews of German Adolph Galland recently. In one all Galland's dialog was in English while the over dubbing was in German. As many of you would know he was a great friend of the British ace Stafford Tuck after the war. They did a lot of shooting together. The two pilots had met during the war when Tuck was an involuntary guest of Galland's squadron just after having been shot down.

As I read it, it was the jack on the bass that was damaged?

I also usually wrap the cord around the strap to keep it
anchored on my guitar. It's pretty much just habit though,
as I am pretty much sedentary while playing now.

Chaps,

JRT,

The jack-plug has been repaired and fitted. The superglue did the trick OK. The steel plug fitting had pulled out of the plastic threaded electrics housing but apparently had not damaged the plastic thread enough to prevent both being screwed back together. Seems quite firm and has now passed the test. Lucky really because finding the right replacement part would have required a lengthy search which would have taken a long time, I am sure.

PV1,

Coincidence typing at the same time!

Yes, that is what I usually do with the cable but paid for it by not winding it around on that occasion.

Folks:

Quite cold here. We got a dusting of snow yesterday and the temps have plummeted. It is much colder other places however it has been unusual for temps to remain below freezing for even a few days here. We are enjoying that common northern phenomenon this weekend. Down to 15 F. tonight. Remember the band called "3 dog Night"? I'm not sure how many dogs tonight might require for us thin skinned southerners just to keep warm.

It looks like I'll be called away for an indefinite period of time on another secret mission. Should I fail to return, keep SNAFU's old thread going if you can fellows. We are so close it would be nice to see it reach 15 years on April 24th.

Stay safe and come back well soon, JRT.

Is the whole Squadron away?

Chaps,

Over the years, people have contributed here and dropped off with just a few survivors remaining, hanging on to SNAFU's thread. There have been times when we have disappeared for a while, even several months but I'm sure JRT will return in due course.

If he doesn't, I will lay claim to the contents of his locker, his WAAF address and 'phone number book and the keys to SNAFU's Bentley which JRT won in a raffle when our founder went missing on a 'rhubarb' mission.
I don't mean a cross-channel Rhubarb sortie either. I was referring to the time he went to the Station allotment accompanied by Olga to try and arrange the forcing of his rhubarb. She got the wrong idea and he was not seen again after that fateful day...

Greeting oh unworthy ones Have had to hide for awhile over unpaid mess dues, Olga seems to think i owe afew shillins to something called "The Rhubarb repatriation fund" something to do with collecting said item from an allotment somewhere...........I'm not convinced and not going either! Rather face the Red Baron himself to be honest, hope your all well. Mess looks empty!