Chugalug,
Your quote:
"same thing, bury all your valuables in the back garden and pray * that some day you'll be able to dig them up again". (my asterisk)
In the '42 Burma retreat, a Squadron had to abandon their Messes and get out quick. Their quick-thinking Padre buried all the Mess stock of spirits in the Mess garden. A son of the soil, he knew how to hide a burial - the Japs never found it.
Two years later the Squadron returned; remarkably enough they came back to the same airstrip. The stuff was all there, some of the labels had come off, but a small tasting session remedied that.
Last I heard of the Padre, he'd made Monsignor. Long dead now, of course. (I've forgotten the name). * Shows there is efficacy in prayer !
Happy New Year to you and yours, and to all PPRuNers (active and passive),
Danny.