You know you're getting old when......
Cheap Watches
Just to be clear Boogie street cheep (yes that is the correct spelling)
or Changi Stores cheap?
Never brought a watch in Boogie street until it had been subjected to immersion in a pint of tiger till you finished said pint and checked the cockroach had not drowned
CR
or Changi Stores cheap?Never brought a watch in Boogie street until it had been subjected to immersion in a pint of tiger till you finished said pint and checked the cockroach had not drowned
CR
Join Date: Nov 2005
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When you were young and fit !!
Remembering jumping out of bed pulling on your flying suit and being ready to take off in three minutes.
Not like today when you crawl out of bed catch your big toe in your yfronts and go arse over head !!
Not like today when you crawl out of bed catch your big toe in your yfronts and go arse over head !!
"Mildly" Eccentric Stardriver
True story. 2004, flying a 737 charter into Akrotiri. Young lady controller asks if I am familiar with Akrotiri. "Not since 1975". Long silence... not surprising, since it was probably before the lady was even born.
Join Date: Mar 2009
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Getting back to Fulton Block on Saturday morning after 24 + hrs in sick quarters curtesy of Doc 'arold after your 1st ever night on the p*ss and finding you still have a ten bob note and some change in your pocket out of 30 bob.
When apretty young lady smiles as she passes and you just know your fly is undone....again!
When apretty young lady smiles as she passes and you just know your fly is undone....again!
"All men would live long" (La Rochefoucald) "but none would be old".
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Just to be clear Boogie street cheep (yes that is the correct spelling) or Changi Stores cheap?
Never brought a watch in Boogie street until it had been subjected to immersion in a pint of tiger till you finished said pint and checked the cockroach had not
Hmmm' When I was there it was called Bogis Street !
or Changi Stores cheap?Never brought a watch in Boogie street until it had been subjected to immersion in a pint of tiger till you finished said pint and checked the cockroach had not
Hmmm' When I was there it was called Bogis Street !
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The Good Old Days.
......£3 an hour (instruction inc) in a Gypsy Moth when I were a lad....
(not really feasible on my thirty bob a week. Actually, £3 would be a good week's wage for a man in those days; today's equivalent would be £530, so the Cambridge £177 is a steal !)
(not really feasible on my thirty bob a week. Actually, £3 would be a good week's wage for a man in those days; today's equivalent would be £530, so the Cambridge £177 is a steal !)
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Gentleman Aviator
Violet 813, Red 850......Red 650 even, and Green 100 are no longer remembered......
) fellows.To be really old (comme moi) you have to remember the 2 figure codes, so BBK was Red 85, Stan Jello was Green 10 etc.
The ones ending in 0 were (active or disused) airfields, while 01 was the HQ, so originally ALDZ was Violet 10, not to be confused with HQNI which was Violet 01.
Yes - of course it was confused, and with those two LSs in particular, it meant that a number of VIPs had their aircraft (never RAF - Scouts' Honour
) waiting at the wrong place. So firstly V10 becomes V81, and then the proliferation of LSs there (again, a background of VVIP cock-ups), led to the third digit there and for neatness, everywhere else. (Mostly with just a 0 at the end.)History lesson over, class dismissed ......
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Just for the youngsters.....and it was Bugis Street.
1950s-1980s
After World War II, hawkers gathered there to sell food and goods. There was initially also a small number of outdoor bars set up beside rat-infested drains.
When transvestites began to rendezvous in the area in the 1950s, they attracted increasing numbers of Western tourists who came for the booze, the food, the pasar malam shopping and the "girls". Business boomed and Bugis Street became an extremely lively and bustling area, forming the heart of Xiao Po. It was one of Singapore's most famous tourist meccas from the 1950s to the 1980s, renowned internationally for its nightly parade of flamboyantly-dressed transwomen and attracted hordes of Caucasian gawkers who had never before witnessed Asian queens in full regalia.
The latter would tease, cajole and sit on visitors' laps or pose for photographs for a fee.
Others would sashay up and down the street looking to hook half-drunk sailors, American GIs and other foreigners on R&R, for an hour of profitable intimacy. Not only would these clients get the thrill of sex with an exotic oriental, there would be the added spice of transgressing gender boundaries in a seamy hovel.
There was an adage amongst Westerners that one could easily tell who was a real female and who was not - the transvestites were drop-dead gorgeous, while the rest were real women. The amount of revenue that the transwomen of Bugis Street raked in was considerable, providing a booster shot in the arm for the tourism industry. Some Americans referred to it as "Boogie Street" in the wake of the 1970s disco craze.
Veterans recall that the notorious drinking section began from Victoria Street west to Queen Street. Halfway between Victoria and Queen Streets, there was an intersecting lane parallel to the main roads, also lined with al fresco bars. There was a well-patronised public toilet with a flat roof of which there are archival photos, complete with jubilant rooftop transwomen.
One of the "hallowed traditions" bestowed upon the area by sojourning sailors (usually from Britain, Australia and New Zealand), was the ritualistic "Dance Of The Flaming Arseholes" on top of the infamous toilet's roof. Compatriots on the ground would chant the signature "Haul 'em down you Zulu Warrior" song whilst the matelots performed their act.
Over the years this became almost a mandatory exercise and although it may seem to many to be a gross act of indecency, it was generally well received by the sometimes up to hundreds of tourists and locals. The Kai Tais or Beanie Boys, as the transwomen were referred to by Anglophone white visitors, certainly did not mind either. By the mid-70s Singapore started a crackdown on this type of lewd behaviour and sailors were arrested at gunpoint by the local authorities for upholding the tradition. By this time those sailors brave enough to try it were dealt with severely and even shipped home in disgrace. Though many locals accepted this part of Singaporean culture, many conservative Singaporeans felt that it was a disgrace and it defaced Singapore's image.
1950s-1980s
After World War II, hawkers gathered there to sell food and goods. There was initially also a small number of outdoor bars set up beside rat-infested drains.
When transvestites began to rendezvous in the area in the 1950s, they attracted increasing numbers of Western tourists who came for the booze, the food, the pasar malam shopping and the "girls". Business boomed and Bugis Street became an extremely lively and bustling area, forming the heart of Xiao Po. It was one of Singapore's most famous tourist meccas from the 1950s to the 1980s, renowned internationally for its nightly parade of flamboyantly-dressed transwomen and attracted hordes of Caucasian gawkers who had never before witnessed Asian queens in full regalia.
The latter would tease, cajole and sit on visitors' laps or pose for photographs for a fee.
Others would sashay up and down the street looking to hook half-drunk sailors, American GIs and other foreigners on R&R, for an hour of profitable intimacy. Not only would these clients get the thrill of sex with an exotic oriental, there would be the added spice of transgressing gender boundaries in a seamy hovel.
There was an adage amongst Westerners that one could easily tell who was a real female and who was not - the transvestites were drop-dead gorgeous, while the rest were real women. The amount of revenue that the transwomen of Bugis Street raked in was considerable, providing a booster shot in the arm for the tourism industry. Some Americans referred to it as "Boogie Street" in the wake of the 1970s disco craze.
Veterans recall that the notorious drinking section began from Victoria Street west to Queen Street. Halfway between Victoria and Queen Streets, there was an intersecting lane parallel to the main roads, also lined with al fresco bars. There was a well-patronised public toilet with a flat roof of which there are archival photos, complete with jubilant rooftop transwomen.
One of the "hallowed traditions" bestowed upon the area by sojourning sailors (usually from Britain, Australia and New Zealand), was the ritualistic "Dance Of The Flaming Arseholes" on top of the infamous toilet's roof. Compatriots on the ground would chant the signature "Haul 'em down you Zulu Warrior" song whilst the matelots performed their act.
Over the years this became almost a mandatory exercise and although it may seem to many to be a gross act of indecency, it was generally well received by the sometimes up to hundreds of tourists and locals. The Kai Tais or Beanie Boys, as the transwomen were referred to by Anglophone white visitors, certainly did not mind either. By the mid-70s Singapore started a crackdown on this type of lewd behaviour and sailors were arrested at gunpoint by the local authorities for upholding the tradition. By this time those sailors brave enough to try it were dealt with severely and even shipped home in disgrace. Though many locals accepted this part of Singaporean culture, many conservative Singaporeans felt that it was a disgrace and it defaced Singapore's image.
You know you're getting old when you remember....
1. Strait Street, Valletta, was known by a very different name to all servicemen!
2. When there more aerodromes on the left side of the 411H than on the right.....
3. You didn't even need to show your ID when driving onto nuclear bomber stations.
4. You could park outside the squadron without everyone assuming you were a terrorist.
5. If you weren't flying, the squadron closed for lunch and all officer aircrew spent an hour or so in the OM bar.
6. You could drive across the UK and guarantee seeing low flying military aeroplanes.
2. When there more aerodromes on the left side of the 411H than on the right.....
3. You didn't even need to show your ID when driving onto nuclear bomber stations.
4. You could park outside the squadron without everyone assuming you were a terrorist.
5. If you weren't flying, the squadron closed for lunch and all officer aircrew spent an hour or so in the OM bar.
6. You could drive across the UK and guarantee seeing low flying military aeroplanes.
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Cheap Changi watch
When your first cheap Changi Watch circa 1968 stops working after nearly 50 years and your next one from 2010 stops after a couple of months!
When your first cheap Changi Watch circa 1968 stops working after nearly 50 years and your next one from 2010 stops after a couple of months!
Khormaksar watch 1966, still going strong......as long as I wind it up every couple of days.
You know you are old when the cadet you taught to fly retires with the rank of Air Marshal. And you are still working as a flying instructor....
Join Date: Apr 2003
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Just to be clear Boogie street cheep (yes that is the correct spelling) or Changi Stores cheap?
Never brought a watch in Boogie street until it had been subjected to immersion in a pint of tiger till you finished said pint and checked the cockroach had not
Hmmm' When I was there it was called Bogis Street !
Never brought a watch in Boogie street until it had been subjected to immersion in a pint of tiger till you finished said pint and checked the cockroach had not
Hmmm' When I was there it was called Bogis Street !