Dear All,
Whether it be Ship, Army Barmy or FliSky, we have been there seen it done it, and none of us are exempt from this Track!
So, who will dare to admit to something................! Maybe me first.... ok, I will.
What I am about to say is documented in a book, so it must be true!!!!!!
During the winter of 2002, I happened to own/operate the Buttermere & Westmorland Green Slate Quarries Co.Ltd.. No great shakes, not worth billions, but I owned and 'actively' ran them all the same (no job of any man on the job I could not do or would not do be certain of that). Whilst the mines and one opencast were operating, I undertook the Sunday night starting of the 8" sump pump at the Opencast (after the weekend drainage), ready for the Monday 8am shift. Well, it being arranged that the starting handle be always placed hidden somewhere, I came back from my Sunday sojourn at the Fish Hotel at Buttermere at 01.00, and landed at 1600 feet in a blasting gale in torrential rain to start said big pump. Could I find said starting handle (this 1984 bear in mind)... no... I turned over about a ton of slabs to find it with increasing anger, and, eventually saw no sense in the matter... so, being by then very cold and very wet, and by then 'extremely hard' in the matter, I proceeded back down the mountain, used my master key to get the magazine keys from the key locker, and took out a No.6 1 second delay detonator and a 'pill'/full stick (8oz), of Gelamex90 (no point in doing things by halves I considered at that time of night!) - being very wet and extremely fed up at 1 am by that time!), and then proceeded back up the mountain. Knowing that most probably some idiot had left the a . sing thing (bet the auto mod don't pick that up!!! LOL!), I put the pill between lock and door, reversed the Opencast blasting line, and blew the f lock off the door... mind you it did take the complete door off as well, but no matter, I couldn't stop laughing - never had so much fun and pressure relief since - and couldn't wait 'till the following morning. There was hell on when the shift got there of course, what the f has been b well going on! Brief threats of 'no work until', but all their fault... after little expl., why should have I got completely soaked and wet through and blown away at 1am just to make their lives comfortable on a Mon. 8am... eh!!! Considering they left the starting handle in the Bait Cabin I blew the door off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All went quickly quiet... but the handle was never left were it wasn't supposed to be ever again was it
Who else has such tales.... whether land or sea - oh, have a few at sea as well! By some who should have known much better...! So called Officers we are sometimes supposed to rely on! - not Engs. though we can always rely totally on them... land based or otherwise
Regards, Bernard
