In March 1961 the Astra Cinema Organisation in Aden dispatched an additional 16mm film projector, together with four feature films, to entertain detached 208 and Canberra squadron members involved in an ambitious joint service excercise. Unfortunately heavy rain shortly before the excercise was due to begin flooded the airfield and the excercise was called off. None of the Sharjah based officers were prepared to take responsibility for the projector, so I volunteered to look after it. The films were Our Man in Havanna, Rally Round the Flag Boys, Further up the Creak and Tom Thumb, plus cartoons and newsreels. We placed the projector in the bathroom of our 152 sqn detachment bedroom and aimed it through the open door at the opposite wall on which a sheet "borrowed" from my copilot's bed was taped. 208 squadron provided copious amount of beer to launch our 24 hour cinema. IAL air traffic controllers soon got to know about it and I was summoned to the Fort to hear a proposition that would benefit everybody. "Do you know anything about the Sharjah Pornographic Society?" I was asked. I shook my head. "It's been around for years, films are easy to come by, but the only available 16mm projector is held by the British residency office in Dubai and we can only use it for training purposes so many times! More beer was promised, our private cinema became more crowded and myself and my copilot moved into a tent! The projector ran non stop for three days while an IAL Landrover shuttled between Dubai and Sharjah rounding up blue films. I think all those involved were secretly relieved when the projector ran out of oil!