Distantly related to 'Pontius Navigator' and
Anyway, enjoying my second unexpected day at home, and no telephone in those days (too expensive), I didn't find the note through the front door later that night "Where the hell are you?"
No one had told me the exercise had finished the day before.
A mate of mine (called Steve) worked at the 'not very secret ATC centre' in West London. Every year or so they would have a exercise for a week, when the ATC bods were expected to dress-up in green, wear respirator masks, carry a 'bang-stick' and play-pretend at being guards. Steve had done this once, and hated every minute of it, especially when the Hereford Hooligans showed-up and didn't play by the rules!
The exercise brief was that they would be on stand-by for the whole week, and on one 'unannounced day/night' they would have to take part in the exercise 'proper'.
Now Steve had a girlfriend, who had a brother who lived in the housing estate directly opposite the base. Every house in said estate had a hand-delivered notice saying that on Wednesday evening/night and Thursday morning there would be a major exercise involving guns and explosions, and that they were not to 'phone the Police, etc, yada, yada. So Steve knew when the exercise was due to start, and how long for.
On the Wednesday evening, heads home after a day pushing blips around the sky, and then goes out and stays with his girlfriend that night. At about 8pm they start the exercise, and phone-up everyone to come back to the base and play at being soldiers.
Except Steve ... he lodges at a friend's grand-mother's house, who's a bit of a doddery old bat at the best of times. When they phone-up, she says Steve is not there, and she will take a message, and leave it for him where he will read it in the morning. This is all pre-mobilephones, so there's no other way to contact him.
The following morning Steve goes to work by bus in his normal 'blues', and is met at the gate by everybody in 'green' and wearing respirators and carrying guns. The Sgt grills him about his uniform, and lack of exercise kit, and asks if he had received the message. 'No' says Steve, 'havn't been home since yesterday!' The irate Sgt says that he will have to go home and get them, so Steve walks out the gate, and in full view of the Sgt stands at the bus-stop outside. After 10 minutes the Sgt comes and asks him what he's doing ... 'Waiting for a bus Sgt, you sent me home to get my kit. Should only take about 2 hours, can you wait for me?'.