Snapper

There seem to be a lot for sale generally. Maybe they have reached the point where only serious owners stick with them. Lovely little things. I'd have one or two in my lottery powered fleet....just waiting :-D I would, of course, have another Iltis. Fond memories. MB

Very interesting....thanks for the info. Nice to think it might have some use for veterans. I won't hold my breath.

no - only Canada. US wouldn't touch.

Cheers Dylan, Thanks for the link. There are some superb shots in the Blog section of kit I'd like to see. MB

Definitely. Unfortunately we need to use the arena before 10am - BUT if we can amass a big enough area for ourselve in the Americas field, then maybe we can arrange something different. Perhaps we could use the helipad/Twickers offroaders pitch? Thoughts anyone???? MB

You need an airsoft G3 but the top rubber clip for the barrel will need serious softening up. A basic 'spring' or hop-up thing is cool enough. I had one for FDE but never fitted the G3 because the top mount was so solid. But they do go well and have seen it done. I'm afraid my son would kill me if I attempted to sell the gun. It also took Uzis down the side of the driver and passenger in specific clip mounts. MB

The joke will always be, that Jack thought I'd won the plank. I thoroughy expect to walk it. MB

I would imagine they are stymied by the nosedive in the housing market. They tend to keep bits for heritage and flog off the majority with the notion that the new owners will maintain the "historic" bits. Yeah, right. See what they did to Shoebury Garrison, very nice and tasteful and I'd consider retiring there....but all that history swept away. I don't think it is possible to draw a line in the sand on these matters. Civil servants have been selling, scrapping and steamrollering since days of yore. It isn't a new culture, it's just that is seems to be more public and more painful. For me the issue is knowing that all these property sales do not garner money for Tommy in Helmand or Jack Tar at sea. We know where it goes. I once had course to remind a foreign gentleman that Great Britain is named thus because it is the biggest island in the chain, not out of any inflated opinion of itself. We'll always be Great. All the same I think the general decline continues and I know who I blame - nothing changes on that score. But this descends in to the evil world of politics..so is off limits.:nono: I hope I've closed that particular cul-de-sac, while leaving other aspects of the thread well and truly OPEN. MB

Me????????????

Very interesting. Education is a bit of a lottery. I'd love to be involved in education, perhaps when Rupert has finished with me (Murdoch not Bodge) in the new year I'll find something to do. Maybe my two O levels, four CSEs and an NVQ won't mean much. Actually Jack, it was not the King's fault that people had to pay. It all stems from the setting up of the Imperial War Graves Commission and how the funding of it would be generated. HMG expected to put in the largest amount and did so. They agreed shared costs with the Dominions and India and covered the costs of all the others. Each Great War Grave from that time cost HMG £5 in old money at a time when the country was broke - not an inconsiderable sum. Every soldier was guaranteed a grave with his name on, if applicable. The inscriptions were brought in precisely to stop the proliferation of private memorials which could only be afforded by the rich. It was all part of the drive to keep the dead in theatre and have no repatriations, which would, again, have only been affordable by a very few. The whole aim was to have parity in death, no class system - (although this did not stop acceptable for the times burials separated by rank in some cemeteries such as at Etaples). In practice a form of means testing of NOK was carried out by the IWGC on an ad hoc basis outside of officialdom and a great many inscriptions were made without charge. Perhaps the most interesting point, which you will not get an official answer to is that in the case of the Unknowns, each unidentified grace was recorded with a map reference. To this day the CWGC ( as is) do not want a proliferation of enquiries from people who have traced battalion records and think they can pinpoint Uncle Albert. All very interesting. This is how they "found" John Kipling. The floodgates might open. I thoroughly recommend the CWGC's book "The Unending Vigil" to all interested parties. See their website. MB

Jack Beckett is permanently 39. He's a bit like that poor sod in "19" by Paul Hardcastle. None of them received a heroes welcome. Good bloody job too. MB (49 yrs, 2 months and several days - I can't add up).

No worries Baz, the rifle has one already which appears to be close to the real thing. I am seriously considering a deact, though. Ihave become very interested in SLRs for some unfathomable reason. daft as a brush, me. M

It was only forty quid, which might seem a silly price, I was in a good mood and I like the idea of film props. In the cold light of day I might not have bought it. But sod that for a lark... MB

The Clubhouse will not be renamed The Nag's Head, but welcome nonethless...enjoy the Friendly Forum. MB

Top of the bananas to ye. MB

Some old helmet plunderer from the land below sea level.

I've always been enthusiastic about my weapon. My wife makes me keep it locked in a cupboard. The secret to a twenty year "happy" marriage. New balls, please MB

What a shame. Atleast it meant you missed Exeter City (ask AlienFTM). I'd be pleased, too.... Did Jessie appear???? Maybe you couldn't see him in all that fog.

Good man. Nice to see stuff from the far flung corners of the Empire. Did you see any Exeter City shirts?? MB

As long as they remember theirs!

I am amazed how long these things remained in service and events like this are a salutory lesson about getting about to shows where interesting stuff turns up. I'd love to see the K6 - something different. Thanks for the note, by the way, Rick. Good to see my German friend out and about. I was really pleased to receive your PM about her. Made my day. I really hope I can see her in the metal again one of these days. MB

Lucky sod. He was standing with me when a good few of these were done...I've got the same snaps from slightly different angles. Harry is a fast learner and cool under fire (literally). He will go far. MB

Happy birthday matey... Hope you have a grand day. MB

Atleast we can now get rid of the gum trees if we need to (but preferably not).

I don't think a Geordie can say grammatically incorrect without appearing to name the Georgian defence minister.