Egypt4u

Those of you on Facebook will be aware of Facebooks' habit of reminding you of pictures you posted in past years. I usually just ignore them but this one arrived today reminding me of our visit to Duxford Air Show, 3 years ago.


I converted this picture to mono because I thought it was more fitting than colour and more like an iconic image from the forties.

I particularly wanted to go to Duxford in 2014 to see the last two remaining airworthy Avro Lancaster bombers from WWII. It was an overcast cloudy day and any aircraft appeared against a white background. In this picture I have cheated and put my picture against a more appropriate background sky. The 'Lancs' were Thumper from the Battle of Britain Flight, seen here with one of the Spitfires from that flight; and 'Vera' that had flown all the way from Canada to take part in these memorial flights around the country.


The sight of those aircraft brought tears to the eyes of many in the watching crowd, myself included. And I ask myself, What is it about inanimate objects like old planes, and cars, and trains, and old engines; that can generate so much emotion as to bring people to tears?

Nice photos and I actually remember the one you posted 3 years ago too. Mono is the way it should be too.

Do you think it is the inanimate object that brings tears OR the sound?

I often feel a welling up when I hear bagpipes. Not sure why (memory from long ago? genetic or dna reaction?) but I do. I can LOOK at a Scottie in full regalia and it doesn't bother me at all but soon as the Pipes actually start I can 'feel' the stirring.

Is it the same with airplanes? Is it the actual plane or is it the sound of them and I'm sure they have their won special sound too.......

Super photos Grandad, I remember also when you posted on this subject.

I'm like LLL whenever I hear the pipes always thinking of home & proud to be Scottish.

As for looking at the photos of time gone by especially these photos doesn't bring me to tears but I think of all these brave men in them & the ones lost .

LLL, for those of us of a certain age we do have memories of planes like the lancs and the role they played in giving Britain superiority in the air in WWII. According to Wiki, 7,377 Lancasters were built (many in Canada) and these are the last two still flying. In newsreels we would see them limping home on two engines or with part of their fuselage shot away. It was almost as if they were wounded animals struggling home and even today those memories bring back the emotion. Getting soppy in my old age.

I do agree with you both about the sound of bagpipes. Whether stirring men into battle or playing a lament, they can create a range of moods and stir emotions.

Being engineer trained, I appreciate all things 'engineering' particularly from the Victorian era when engineering moved on apace. Some years ago we travelled on the last seagoing paddle steamer in the UK, The Waverly, from Whitstable to central London.


An enjoyable trip but for me the highlight was seeing the engine, or at least that part which visitors were allowed to see. No that wouldn't bring a tear of emotion But I do see beauty in such pieces of heavy mechanical engineering.


We have been to India 3 times and whenever some dignitary or celebrity visits Agra they are always pictured sitting on a particular bench at the Taj Mahal. And my wife and I ALWAYS turn to each other and say, 'We sat on that bench'. It brings back a fond memory. Sorry about the very poor image.....

How lovely! What poor image, it's enchanting.

The Taj is definitely on MY bucket list. I'd love to go and see it. Have a gf who spring of this year went on a month long tour of India and she said she couldn't believe how beautiful it was on the outside but found it rather plain on the inside. Have to say I've never thought about the interior of the Taj Mahal but I would have expected it to be described as gorgeous, opulent etc.

Love the paddle steamer. Definitely had a full load of passengers!

I find all mechanical things and big engines fascinating. I have absolutely NO idea how any of it works or the whys and wheretofores of mechanics but I can definitely say it sure takes a higher level of thinking, planning etc. to turn out anything mechanical. I can't for even a split second comprehend HOW the people at NASA built space ships, do the calculations and put people into space.....totally beyond my ability to even remotely think on that level.

We first went to India in 1996, the same year as our first visit to Egypt. We were a small tour group and all got on very well together under the superb supervision of our guide Raj. This is the group with Raj kneeling front right and us third and forth from the right. By coincidence we actually saw Raj again in another part of India where he was guiding another group. A billion people in India and you chance upon the only Indian you know


LLL, the interior of the Taj is quite plain. At ground level there are false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan. They are actually interred at a lower level, not available to tourists. During my first trip on business in 1974, a handfull of rupees did gain me access to the lower sanctum, and the real sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, which was quite dark with much adornment of marigolds.

I think India remains our favourite country that we have visited, and it brings back so many happy memories, and experiences.........

Super photos Grandad , You have some great memories with all your journeys.

Taj Mahal beautiful ! maybe someday I'll get there

Grandad wrote:LLL, for those of us of a certain age we do have memories of planes like the lancs and the role they played in giving Britain superiority in the air in WWII. According to Wiki, 7,377 Lancasters were built (many in Canada) and these are the last two still flying. In newsreels we would see them limping home on two engines or with part of their fuselage shot away. It was almost as if they were wounded animals struggling home and even today those memories bring back the emotion. Getting soppy in my old age.

I do agree with you both about the sound of bagpipes. Whether stirring men into battle or playing a lament, they can create a range of moods and stir emotions.

Being engineer trained, I appreciate all things 'engineering' particularly from the Victorian era when engineering moved on apace. Some years ago we travelled on the last seagoing paddle steamer in the UK, The Waverly, from Whitstable to central London.


An enjoyable trip but for me the highlight was seeing the engine, or at least that part which visitors were allowed to see. No that wouldn't bring a tear of emotion But I do see beauty in such pieces of heavy mechanical engineering.


We have been to India 3 times and whenever some dignitary or celebrity visits Agra they are always pictured sitting on a particular bench at the Taj Mahal. And my wife and I ALWAYS turn to each other and say, 'We sat on that bench'. It brings back a fond memory. Sorry about the very poor image.....

I love the pictures - especially of the engine. I too love to see working machinery, especially of that period.

Until 1958 when my father died, we always went to the Isle of White each year in Cows Regatta week travelling across the Solent in a ferry boat. There was public access to the engine room via a gallery that went though, giving a close view of the working engine. I seem to remember may four or six big arm rotating. Gleaming and powerful a thing of beauty. My favourite part of the whole holiday.

Another memory was triggered this morning. I can't recall the context but A A Milnes son, Christopher Robin, was mentioned. My mind flew back to when I was very small and my Dad used to sing me to sleep with Milnes poem, 'Christopher Robin is saying his prayers'. I am definitely getting soppy but I can remember every word. (I heard them so many times) But it is a very sweet poem

Little boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on his little hands, little gold head.
Shhh, Shhh, whisper. Who dares?
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers,

"God bless Mummy, I know that's right,
And wasn't it fun in the bath tonight,
The cold's so cold and the hot's so hot.
God bless Daddy, I quite forgot.

If I open my eyes just a little bit more
I can see Nanny's dressing-gown on the door,
It's a beautiful blue but it hasn't got a hood,
God bless Nanny and make her good.

Mine has a hood and I lie in bed
And I pull the hood right over my head,
And I shut my eyes and I curl up small
And nobody knows that I'm there at all.

Thank you God, for a lovely day,
And what was the other I wanted to say?
I said, 'Bless Daddy', so what could it be?
Now I remember: God bless me".

Little boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on his little hands, little gold head.
Whisper. Who dares?
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers

All together, Ahhh!

I know I have been banging on about India but there was a very interesting program on BBC2 this evening about Delhi, one of the great cities of the world. Presented by Dan Snow, it is worth a look on the iplayer.

Keep "banging on" Grandad, it's very interesting.

Lovely sweet poem

I don't know what could have prompted this memory this morning but this might be quite a long story.

I started full time employment early in January of 1950 at the age of 15 years and 3 weeks. My starting pay was 6 pence halfpenny an hour, 2.7p in todays money. I was able to earn more than my weeks wage on Saturday morning as a butchers boy delivering meat orders. My younger brother did a paper round so he was earning his own pocket money. My sister is 6 years my junior and I used to give her two shillings, 10 pence today, for pocket money, and my Mum 10 shillings for my keep. And I still had plenty left for myself.

I was a member of the local Sea Cadets and had been since the age of 12. By this time I was a Petty Officer. Various opportunities arose for the cadets and I was selected to spend some time on a merchant ship plying between Commercial Docks London and Hamburg Germany. This was around mid 1950 and I had some difficulty persuading my boss at work to let me have time off.

I actually spent 3 weeks on the ship and did 2 return trips to Hamburg with a few days at home between trips. There was another cadet from another Cadet Unit on the trip so I had company. The ship was very slow and as I remember it took about 2 days to reach Hamburg after negotiating the River Elbe.

This was just five years after the end of WWII and my first memory is of the devastation of the shipyards along the river with bent and twisted gantries over each slipway. After the ship had docked ready to be unloaded. we wanted to go ashore and the best way was by the river ferry, like a double deck bus on water. I was quite tall and probably looked more than my years. However, whilst on the first ferry trip I was accosted by a prostitute looking for business. I was still a virgin and taken aback by her approach.

We got about 12 Dm's for our pound sterluing which made us well off in their terms, but I resisted her invitation for 'a good time' We were advised to get off at the Planten um Blomen ferry stop, which we did. Checking on Google today I see that the Gardens of Planten un Blomen are still there and now very well kept. We walked away from the river along roads bordered by, then cleared, bombsites. The rebuilding of Hamburg was only just beginning. This video of the time gives an impression of the devastation and also features Lancasters that I started this thread with.



Through the war years we were accustomed to seeing the military carrying rifles and small arms but after the war that mostly disappeared. Of course we never saw a policeman carrying a weapon in those days. So I was very uneasy as a young fifteen year old to see police and security personnel all carrying a side arm. Very disconcerting. After we had walked up the road beside Planten un Blomen we went left into The Reeperbahn noted as the centre of the Red District. I don't remember seeing any ladies advertising themselves behind the windows but this was during the day and maybe business starts after dark. Some buildings that had survived the blitz were now operating as a variety of small shops.

Not knowing how long we would be in Hamburg I decided to look for a gift to take back for my brother and sister and I clearly remember my purchases. For my brother I bought a small sheath knife in a nice leather sheath, the handle of the knife was made up of layers of coloured leather and the end was polished aluminium. I don't think I paid more than 5 or 6 marks. The shopkeeper made a big point of showing me that the blade was engraved 'Solingen' , the high quality German steel makers. He probably etched that on everything he got from China

For my sister just 9 years old, I bought a small child's sewing machine that worked and sewed perfectly. Again for just a few Dm's.

When we returned to London and before we were allowed to disembark, the ship was visited by customs men who did a seach of the vessel and to check that the cargo was intact. What they didn't know was that on the outbound trip the crew had hidden around 100 kilos of coffee under the coal in the coal bunker. Real coffee was not available in Germany at this time and the contraband gave the crew a nice little bonus. The customs men also failed to find the sacks of sugar also secreted under the coal for the return trip and another little bonus for the crew.

The second trip followed much the same pattern but over those three weeks this naive 15 year old grew up by several years.......

We have been talking cars on another thread and while flicking through an album I came across this pic.


This was 1960 before we had started a family. The Austin Mini WMH 511 was one of the first built and only registered a few weeks after the launch in August 1959. Another small car that we kept for about 8 years and traded it for £100 against a Vauxhall Victor FB, a much larger car because by then we had two children and a third on the way.

Another pic that I found was this one, my father in laws Renault Dauphine.


This reminded me of when we all went to Austria in the Dauphine for a 2 week holiday in 1961. Lots of picnik stops along the way


And this was a picture after a high speed exit from an underground salt mine near Saltzberg. We are the four on the front of the carriage


Starting to live in the past

Great memories Grandad, did the Mini have the push button type starter on the floor? Also with the Renault Dauphine, didn’t they have an all aluminium engine? I seem to recall there being some problem with them losing steering traction or something similar due to them being too light at the front end, but it may have been some other issue that they had.

Horus wrote:Great memories Grandad, did the Mini have the push button type starter on the floor? Also with the Renault Dauphine, didn’t they have an all aluminium engine? I seem to recall there being some problem with them losing steering traction or something similar due to them being too light at the front end, but it may have been some other issue that they had.

H, I don't remember clearly but I think the Mini had a simple key ignition on the column. There wasn't really a dash, just a round dial with speedo and warning lights. 850 engine and front CV joints that needed shimming every few thousand miles. And those silly little sliding half windows in the front. But it was a lot of fun and we used to whizz to and fro to Harrow West London every weekend.

The Dauphine was not the best car ever built but myFiL was very proud of his. They were very light and being rear engined there was very little weight over the front wheels to give good road holding. But it was only 850 so 4 up it didn't break the sound barrier.

It was seeing the old model in your picture that reminded me of the ignition switch (on the van version at least) that had a floor mounted button mounted on the floor between the two front seats.

Great memories Grandad & what an attractive young couple you both were

You triggered memories of my Uncle Bill who always had mini's each time a new one came out he would have it , I remember his last one being light blue colour & he always kept them spik & span

I remember also my brothers & father having Vauxhall Victors, lovely big cars at the time & if I remember rightly my father also having a Vauxhall Zepher I think I have a picture of me sitting on the bonnet of it , if I find it I'll post it

Interesting car photos. Those makes and models were never really popular here and I'm not sure I've ever seen one.

Definitely interesting memories and always interesting as to what triggers what when we start to think back