Ascoteer

Hi Debs

nice intro on your letter  - had to pause a moment before the penny dropped!

On the Yours aye - I wasn't aware it had forces connotations.  I have seen it quite a lot her in legal circles in Scotland and assumed it was a Scottish thing.  I must see if I can find out more.

Sadly no direct Forces engagement in my history.  At school I really did have the RAF down as the career path however around secondary school time it was becoming obvious that the blackboard was a little fuzzy from the back of the room.  My right eye was and remains quite shortsighted to the degree any military career seemed out of the question.  The optician reckoned there was not much wrong with the left and they used to recommend a monocle.   Hmmnnn... Blues and Royals maybe?   Law seemed the next best choice so off to uni I duly went.

Funny how things work out though.  The guy sat next to me at the first lecture on day one became a good friend.  Donald Asher and doing law through an RAF scholarship.  He spent his career in the RAF but not in the legal branch.  Postings to Cyprus and his last at Lossiemouth where I gather he was a feature of their pipe band.

While he was at Akrotiri he needed to be PV'd and I had a visit from someone who made a point of obscuring his department.  Donald was  - not sure of his job title - but basically the pa to the Boss out there.  I went out to visit and got invited by the Boss for dinner. He and Donald spent the night trying to persuade me to give up private practice and join the forces legal branch.  I came that close and looking back I wish I had made that decision but we all live and learn.

Some years later I met a reporter on the local paper at court and we became an item.  She went to do pr work and next thing she was approached by your PR flight to come in as a reservist.  She ended up as a Squadron Leader and had time in Iraq.  She was asked to do more and promotion would follow however she packed it in as after doing more and making the commitment various changes of Bosses meant that the whole thing got rather delayed and promises made were never kept so she moved on.  Pity as by all accounts she was very good at her job from what I heard both from inside the forces and in her other job.  It was interesting to be down as a "wife" at functions for some time though.

We parted and kept in touch for a good few years and she and I are both now happily married albeit to someone else!

Still would have liked some time in the service though.  All my family had military service.  My grandfather was on HMS Barham at Jutland, my uncle with the Royal Engineers in Burma and Dad was in the Marines at Sicily, Salerno, D-day and Walchren island as well as sundry other wanderings.  He was asked to stay on when hostilities ended but seemingly Mum beckoned so he went the way of civvie street.

I see you are a C-130 fan and ex driver.  Quite an extraordinary design and one that has to go down in history with all the other long living greats.   I have a 1/48 Italeri one in the stash along with Flightpaths upgrade set.  I am not sure if you can advise but there are aftermarket sets for the engines and front of the wheel area "bulges" suggesting they shapes of same are not quite right.  They are advertised on Hannants.  Any thoughts?  I do like the very early tan scheme with the white roof area.  I suspect thats just nostalgia kicking in 

Well better get back to work and earn a crust

Hell of a business that Mike is going through.  The membership really dont know the half of it but it has been very nasty and vicious.  Very upsetting for his wife too.

Thanks for writing

regards

and again Yours aye

John

Thanks guys

Thanks guys

so which is the best 1/72 C-130 out there? (and where do you store them when built!)

\Hooray!

Yeah yeah yeah that's in hand the FIVE Albert build (afore you demand a 6th in Crud n Custard)

Ayup Debs, did that pocket rocket get you home alright in that slippery weather ?

Hi. Aye but it was a tad slippery so I took it steady.

Or a converted hanger.

6

I thought it was going to be 6 m'um

Raises eyebrow and looks sideways at Perdu...

Crikey. 4 c-130s?

You can never have too many Alberts!

You can never have too many Alberts!