Blink and you will miss it.

Above is a photo of the fairly new apartment block built adjacent to Erith Railway station, and overlooking both the River Thames and the Riverside Gardens. The block was built a couple of years ago to house key workers on a part rent, part buy arrangement. As the block was being assembled (built is probably too strong a word, as it came in prefabricated sections) it did look like a shabby bunch of portacabins precariously stacked on top of each other. Now it is complete and has been occupied for a couple of years, it looks quite impressive. It is nice to be wrong once in a while.

I had a "blink and you will miss it" appearance on TV this week. Obscure satellite channel Brit Hits TV had an evening dedicated to offshore radio (another shameless reference to the forthcoming The Boat that Rocked movie). They showed an amateur video of life aboard the Ross Revenge that was taken mostly in 1983 / 84, but intercut with the bulk of this footage was later material from 1989, featuring yours truly, complete with long hair and beard. How times have changed. I think the footage was taken from this video which used to be available via Offshore Echoes. It is certainly rather obscure.

Dates have now been set for the fourth Bexley Beer Festival - the 16th to the 18th April 2009 at Sidcup Sports Club. Suffice to say that I will be attending, along with a contingent of Pewtysciples on the Friday night.

One thing that absolutely gets my goat, is so completely unnecessary and wasteful of language is the habit certain individuals have of following every pronouncement or comment they make with the mono syllable "Yeah?" They presuppose that those they are addressing are as dense and uncomprehending as themselves, and require confirmation of the reception of their monologue. Only a dull witted gibbon would be so linguistically bankrupt.

I am exceedingly pleased to see that comedy has returned to the Woolwich Tramshed for the first time in many years. I recall seeing a very young Hale and Pace performing there when I was still at school, and also seeing Doctor and the Medics playing there after their huge hit, the cover of Spirit in the Sky, orignally performed by Norman Greenbaum. Details of the new comedy nights at the Woolwich Tramshed can be seen here.

I am glad to see that the campaign to restore and keep an Avro Vulcan jet bomber flying has secured further funding. There was a strong possibility the venture was going to have to close through lack of working capital, but they continue the good work. You can view their website here.



Above you can see a photograph of my cherished Racal RA-17L vintage communications receiver which dates from way back in 1964. When it was new, it cost the same as an E-Type Jaguar. It needs some serious surgery, as it is very deaf; I suspect a couple of electrolytic capacitors have gone bad, and it could also need some new valves (tubes to Americans). It is way past my technical ability to repair (these "boat anchor" receivers are notoriously difficult to repair and calibrate). I need to locate a reputable company to bring the beast back into full life. It is years old, and could do with a bit of sympathy; it is so well built and well preserved that a few quid spent on it now should keep it going for another half century or thereabouts.

As I mentioned last week, I have had several people asking me if I could automate the process of notifying readers when the Maggot Sandwich was updated; thusly I added a new Blog element allowing people to subscribe to the Blog as a follower. So far this has not quite worked out as I expected, and so far only one person has joined. If it looks like being a non - starter, I may have a re-think about the whole Blog following thing. Do feel free to drop me a comment via the link below on what you think.

This weeks' video clip is a bit of fun. It is taken from the DVD of "Mail Call" - a TV series shown in the UK on the History Channel. The show is presented by actor and former U.S Marine drill sergeant R. Lee Ermey and explains military history and technology for the lay person. The clip below shows Dragon Skin body armour, currently being issued to U.S forces around the world. The practical test of the effectiveness of this armour is rather persuasive, to say the least.

Help for an old stager.

Well, now time for a mini appeal. The imposing box pictured above is a Racal RA17 H.F Communications Receiver from the 1960's - I blagged the photo above from Google photos and touched up some imperfections using Gimp on my Fedora Core 6 Linux laptop. I have got an RA17 that is cosmetically similar (though in marginally better condition than the one above) that was purchased from a silent key sale on my behalf by my friend G3VTT some years ago. The RA17 was built between 1954 and 1969 and was used by the military and intelligence services for many years for receiving all sorts of clandestine communications on the short wave bands. When new, my own late 1968 ex Royal Navy model cost about the same as a brand new E - Type Jaguar!

Sadly, whilst my own model looks great, it is now exceedingly deaf and in need of complete restoration. The chassis is fine, but many of the electrolytic capacitors and valves need replacing. Unfortunately I have neither the time or the skills to undertake the extensive task myself. If anyone knows of a reliable restorer of vintage valve radio gear, I would love to hear from them. Can anyone help?

The second Bexley Real Ale Festival is scheduled for the 12th to the 14th of April. Last years' inaugural event was in my opinion the best one of the year. The sequel will be fun and instructive to attend. I will be going on the evening of the Friday. I had planned to add this to yesterday's ramblings, but Blogger was playing up big time and it would not accept an update to my original posting. Ho Hum. The following video dates back to 1995 and shows what happens when you try lighting a Barbecue using a bucket full of liquid oxygen.