Akrotiri Vulcans
I also remember another show on the other side of the square. An old boy and a gamine daughter did an act. He was a magician IIRC and she would dance and writhe on a light box. She remained fully clothed and it was extremely erotic.
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
BW, I claim brain fade. It were all in a mist at the time and dark outside. 
I can confirm that Brian. You may not remember it Brakedwell but it was certainly there. Frequented by hordes of uncouth and unwashed tankertrash it was not a salubrious spot, and unsuited to tender TC/ASC susceptibilities, so probably a good thing you never came across it 
I remember the magician well but don't recall his daughter. Probably warned off tanker crews by her dad!
I remember the magician well but don't recall his daughter. Probably warned off tanker crews by her dad!
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I touched the Vulcan world only on two occasions. Did a short stint at St. Athan on Majors in 78 but the other was more fun. Back in 77 I was on TASF in Akrotiri and our wing included the armoury. This year they got tasked with blowing off the legs of the fire dump Vulcan that sat down near Echo. We all went down to sit in the monnie ditch and watch. I am not too sure if it was intentional but instead of blowing the legs through the wings and dropping the rest onto the ground the opposite happened.
The aircraft was blown off the legs and sent into orbit and all the telephone lines etc. underneath were cut by the blast
My lasting memories of that day was watching the nose section flutter to the ground in bits!!!!!!!
Local papers had a field day about this accident involving the local nuc aircraft
The aircraft was blown off the legs and sent into orbit and all the telephone lines etc. underneath were cut by the blast
My lasting memories of that day was watching the nose section flutter to the ground in bits!!!!!!!
Local papers had a field day about this accident involving the local nuc aircraft
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Green Rock
I'm with you TTN (hi again) and Brian 48 ( we xed paths dirty 30 navs 71 ish-era of Derek Ox and Ron Thomas
).
The Green Rock was first encountered by I while on Night Fly det Akro with 242 ocu from TI in Nov 70. As you say TTN less than salubrious; as I recall the men's bog was even lesser (grammer?) salubrious and the wall you faced while doing the biz was covered with signatures which read like the Air Force List
.
Although we were accomodated on base for this det, my subsequent (many) visits as a newly fully fledged member of truckie command (albert division) we hotacted down town Limassol 'cos those 'kin noisy flying flat-iron thingies used to disturb our beauty sleep
.
Those were the days---ho-hum!
XFT
). The Green Rock was first encountered by I while on Night Fly det Akro with 242 ocu from TI in Nov 70. As you say TTN less than salubrious; as I recall the men's bog was even lesser (grammer?) salubrious and the wall you faced while doing the biz was covered with signatures which read like the Air Force List
.Although we were accomodated on base for this det, my subsequent (many) visits as a newly fully fledged member of truckie command (albert division) we hotacted down town Limassol 'cos those 'kin noisy flying flat-iron thingies used to disturb our beauty sleep
.Those were the days---ho-hum!
XFT
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
And spelling - grammar, but you haven't done insalubrious if you haven't done Bugis Street. You could not stay in there long enough to do up your flies let alone sign your name.
Ah Bugis Street ! Went back to Singapore after almost 30 yrs and asked my stepson , who worked out there, to take me to Bugis Street. Quelle letdown. It was full of stalls selling 'designer' clothes. It was not the only place I did not recognise. The disorientation started at Changi Airport and never stopped !.
PN
I dunno about skirt length; Mrs B48N had to be careful sitting down or bending over in those days (oops!) - voted best legs of wife/girl friend by the 'livers-in' in Temple Hill OM.
Nearly had her eyes scratched out by the 'KyTies' down Bugis Street!
Not bad now for her age!
Nearly had her eyes scratched out by the 'KyTies' down Bugis Street!
Not bad now for her age!
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bomber wing memories
I too was stationed on the wing from 72-74 as a mech a , and experienced the demise of 781, a great feat in landing without a huge pile of metal.
Also being on detachment in masiah when we had a malfunction leaving the last landing of the detachment stranded in the centre of the runways blocking the path for the oncoming Sultan the next day. so working all night and missing the end of det party, but being the heroes we were as Vulcan ground crew we managed with a few hours to spare.
But we made up for it many times after nights, first in the naafi then a kebab and ending in the square.
happy days even during the brief visit to Malta during the invasion of 74, loved it all
Also being on detachment in masiah when we had a malfunction leaving the last landing of the detachment stranded in the centre of the runways blocking the path for the oncoming Sultan the next day. so working all night and missing the end of det party, but being the heroes we were as Vulcan ground crew we managed with a few hours to spare.
But we made up for it many times after nights, first in the naafi then a kebab and ending in the square.
happy days even during the brief visit to Malta during the invasion of 74, loved it all
Taceval, must have been the year before the big upset that sent us all home, and I'm a Jnr Tech on Eng Wing (funnily enough in the Hydraulic Bay at the time, it was one Chf Tech, One Sergeant and yes we had an SACW but her name wasn't White, but not far out). I've been out for hours doing guard on the parallel taxiway, and the Vulcans are coming back from Malta and everywhere else they dispersed to, to avoid the exercise. As their arrival seemed to be timed together, the peri track was nose to tail in Mr Avro's finest. One beast, stopped in the queue adjacent to my patrol point, looking up to the cockpit windows, the RH round one, I notice the proffering of a "Winston" salute in my direction. Having spent the past three days pounding this bit of bondu, I decided that this banter was worthy of reply. Shorts lowered and offering the moon ensured that I really felt justice had been done (and sod you co pilot).
Around two hours later I had a short, very one sided "conversation" with OC 35 squadron, who pointed out that such treatment of his hard working Aircrew, who were working their spheroids off trying to help us all through Taceval, was not acceptable. Having been asked to explain myself, and mentioning the salute from the co pilot, I was silenced and told "Royal Air Force Officers do not act in that fashion". Well I took my rollicking that day, but, today I might argue. A few years as a GE soon put the lie to his assertions. On leaving the Hydraulic Bay I was given the option of Lightnings or Vulcans next, I chose Lightnings, they did seem to have better manners (said he who mooned a Vulcan)
Smudge
Around two hours later I had a short, very one sided "conversation" with OC 35 squadron, who pointed out that such treatment of his hard working Aircrew, who were working their spheroids off trying to help us all through Taceval, was not acceptable. Having been asked to explain myself, and mentioning the salute from the co pilot, I was silenced and told "Royal Air Force Officers do not act in that fashion". Well I took my rollicking that day, but, today I might argue. A few years as a GE soon put the lie to his assertions. On leaving the Hydraulic Bay I was given the option of Lightnings or Vulcans next, I chose Lightnings, they did seem to have better manners (said he who mooned a Vulcan)
Smudge
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
smuj, I suspect it was not the Taceval but the security exercise if the aircraft had returned from away bases..
We certainly did a taceval launch. The first attempt at a master plan had Vulcans taxying out of their dispersal slots in a carefully prescribed order, turning smartly south and exiting through the ground equipment park.
AL1 had the turns reversed and the aircraft turning properly north.
Come the off the plan and AL1 went out the window and it was survival of the fastest Naturally we would have all returned about the same time if it had been the Taceval.
The annual security exercise was always a farce. Professionals against the amateurs. The raiding battalion had always recced the base and probably knew the bundo even better than the resident Rocks. Every year we lost either all the aircraft or all the aircrew.
One year Mike Beavis, Gp Capt Ops had a master plan. Disperse all the aircraft to Malta. Masirah etc and put both aircrew and aircraft out of reach. It worked but it were hard work patrolling the streets of Malta.
We certainly did a taceval launch. The first attempt at a master plan had Vulcans taxying out of their dispersal slots in a carefully prescribed order, turning smartly south and exiting through the ground equipment park.
AL1 had the turns reversed and the aircraft turning properly north.
Come the off the plan and AL1 went out the window and it was survival of the fastest
Naturally we would have all returned about the same time if it had been the Taceval.The annual security exercise was always a farce. Professionals against the amateurs. The raiding battalion had always recced the base and probably knew the bundo even better than the resident Rocks. Every year we lost either all the aircraft or all the aircrew.
One year Mike Beavis, Gp Capt Ops had a master plan. Disperse all the aircraft to Malta. Masirah etc and put both aircrew and aircraft out of reach. It worked but it were hard work patrolling the streets of Malta.
Fan Blade #31,
Pops soup kitchen. Now you're talking. Many is the night that I've been grateful for a bowl of goulash and a chunk of bread in that establishment. In my day, it was the only way to finish an "evenings entertainment" in the square.
Pontius #37,
Thanks for that, ISTR that that was day three of guarding the taxiway, so assumed it would be a Taceval, but, weren't those Vulcan Co pilots vulgar
Smudge
Pops soup kitchen. Now you're talking. Many is the night that I've been grateful for a bowl of goulash and a chunk of bread in that establishment. In my day, it was the only way to finish an "evenings entertainment" in the square.
Pontius #37,
Thanks for that, ISTR that that was day three of guarding the taxiway, so assumed it would be a Taceval, but, weren't those Vulcan Co pilots vulgar
Smudge
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Can't add any tales of the Vulcan, far too young for that, (cough) but feel bound to add a short tale of Cypriot descent.
On detachment with the mighty E3 a pal of ours on the first day said he would aquire a couple of hire cars for the duration as he knew a less than salubrious local who dealt in that sort of thing. He duly turned up an hour later with two scrap heap wrecks; on enquiring how much these two heaps were going to cost us he said
'A pound each.'
'Wow that's good' I said, '
A pound each per day'
'No' he said 'A pound each for the cars, for the whole detatchment.'
So we made the best use of them. After a particularly inebriated day at Aiya Napa (before it became Aiya Napa) we decided to return home, me semi comatose in the back. I awoke to hear concerned discussions as to how we had managed to make a wrong turn. I raised my head to find that we were driving down the taxiway at Limassol Airport. I lay back down and went back to sleep thinking that the lack of headlights on the car would hide us. Apparently it did because nothing was heard and we certainly didn't say anything.
Good days!
On detachment with the mighty E3 a pal of ours on the first day said he would aquire a couple of hire cars for the duration as he knew a less than salubrious local who dealt in that sort of thing. He duly turned up an hour later with two scrap heap wrecks; on enquiring how much these two heaps were going to cost us he said
'A pound each.'
'Wow that's good' I said, '
A pound each per day'
'No' he said 'A pound each for the cars, for the whole detatchment.'
So we made the best use of them. After a particularly inebriated day at Aiya Napa (before it became Aiya Napa) we decided to return home, me semi comatose in the back. I awoke to hear concerned discussions as to how we had managed to make a wrong turn. I raised my head to find that we were driving down the taxiway at Limassol Airport. I lay back down and went back to sleep thinking that the lack of headlights on the car would hide us. Apparently it did because nothing was heard and we certainly didn't say anything.
Good days!
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Limmasol in 1966, ambling around the Square and seeing a local female run out of a house towards a Cypriot Police Vauxhall Velox screaming that she had been attacked and pointing towards the way her attacker had gone. Unfortunately the police car would not start so we gave the police car a push to get it started! Almost as amusing as seeing the police motorcyclist in Gibraltar (1970 or so) fall off his bike rouding a sharp corner