A motoring anecdote with an aviation connection (slight):

My first car was an Austin A35 van, handed on by a Fleet Air Arm friend when he was posted to Singapore in 1959/60. Neat and nippy, but a rust-bucket as I discovered when I tried to fit inertia reel seat belt mechanisms to its floorpan a year or two later. But its most remarkable feature I discovered only when dealing with a puncture on a very rural mountain road in Germany somewhere -- the sidearm of the screw jack had been installed upside-down by the manufacturer (Smith's Industries). So when inserted into the retaining loop below the door sill it simply tore its way out as the weight of the car came onto it.

My first car was a 1954 Austin Somerset which had a similar arrangement. Lift the front carpet, remove a large rubber grommet then poke the jack through the hole and insert into the chassis cross member.

That car taught me a lot - Every 3000 miles, change the oil and the cylinder head gasket!

It was fun though. Column gear change, umbrella hand brake under the dash and no seat belts, which meant you could get 3 people in the front, and another 3 in the back!

The swing axle and its tuck-under trick was common with several cars that were popular in Cyprus in the early 60's.

The very severely cambered Cypriot roads aggravated the problem.

On Sunday mornings, after the single guys had been to Hero Square, the road between Limmasol and Akrotiri had a selection of rolled Simca 1000's, Renault Dauphine's, VW's and Triumph Herald's.

Technical question - having little clue about car manufacture of that era,

were they rolled or were they stamped?

Some car - A SIMCA ! There is a paddock full of them just south of Hobart.

My brother yesterday reminded me of the salt tablets taken by all RAF families on overseas postings, together with tins of powdered fizzy drink which may have contained other minerals. As we recall, adults in Aden took two or three tablets daily, we kids took one each. They contained probably 5g salt per tablet in today's money. Sixty-five years later we are warned that salt plays havoc with our arteries and we wondered if salt tablets are still issued to Our Boys abroad?

I remember the little baskets of tablets on the dining tables in the Mess in Singapore. Were they salt, or malaria, or both? I certainly don't remember going to SMC for them.

The salt tablets in Aden went straight through the system like bullets!

There was a chap at Luqa who collapsed at Happy Hour (wait for it ...) having just arrived from an energetic hour or so in the squash court. He was dragged into the cloakroom where the doc administered a pint glass of water containing the content of a salt cellar, after a few minutes the patient was as right as rain and carried on with his pint!

FZ:-
I am pleased to note that the proprieties were fully observed. The very thought that a pint of water, with or without any salt added, should have been administered in the bar is unthinkable. Thank goodness that the MO had the presence of mind to remove him so promptly from the scene. Clearly his training shone through at that very critical moment! :ok:

Sharjah 1963-64, the tables in the airman's mess had dishes of salt tablets, vitamin tablets and paludrin tablets. We also got a monthly issue of a couple of bottles of cheap concentrated fruit squash. No fresh water in the ablutions, showers & handbasins were all salt water and needed "Vel" soap to get a lather.
The only difference between winter and summer dress was that in winter we wore socks, in summer we didn't. I still have my National Health style sunglasses

BernieC (#10322),
Weren't they all in that era ! The Tin Beetle ruled supreme!
Again, par for the Course ! The British cars of the period were a laughing stock (except to us, who had to be humbly grateful for anything.

Danny.

OffshoreSLF (#10323)
Ah, those bench front seats, and the possibilities they opened ! (and a column gearshift made an unobstruced floor) .... Memories, memories !

Danny.

Like my Dad's Ford Consul - hated the plastic covering on the seat but very easily wiped clean

Confession is Good for the Soul.
 

Geriaviator (#10326), MPN11 (#10327), JW411 (#10328), Fantom Zorbin (#10329), Chugalug (#10330),and ricardian (10331),

You drink a lot of plain water, what sweats out is salt (4 [?] % - a distant memory of our acquatic origins). That has to be replaced to maintain health.

So the salt tablets, in hot weather they were put out in the Messes in bowls, you were supposed to suck one a day, but I can't remember any checks on you. They were off-white, about the size of an "Ovaltine" tablet, I think.

In India, we had small yellow "Mepacrine" tablets as an anti-malaria prophylactic. One per day, no checks (turned you yellow, too !)

JW411, don't remember any laxative effect. But in India then anything you ate or drank was apt to send you off with the "Runs" !

ricardian, I still have my "Spectacles Anti-Glare" in the blue case. Seems I unaccountably failed to hand them in. Naughty, naughty ! :=

Danny.

Probably the ultimate in "Cool Shades" these days :)

First solo
 

Packing to move, came across the log book of my Uncle Alastair.
He went solo on 16/12/1948 in G-AISR at 6.45 flying hours.
His main instructor was a Mr R Whitehead. Took place at
Southampton. I think my father was on the same course, but
did not find his logbook yet.
John

Chugalug2 (#10330) :D:D

Bought my Hillman Minx on arrival at Kinloss for the Shackleton course in 1964. FGS 947 - funny how things like that stick in the memory. Many trips from Kinloss to Bath, where my parents lived, with cats , kids etc. It was an epic journey - the only good bit of road was the Preston by-pass. most of the rest was not even dual carriage way. Top speed of 57 m.p.h indicated, probably a lot less true. Then got posted to St. Mawgan, so a slightly shorter trip to Bath (about 240 miles), but again virtually no dual carriageway, so a slow trip.
Sold it in 67 when I was posted to Changi and bought a Standard Vanguard on arrival. Bought it from the M.T. officer who was going home - suspected he knew of a hidden stash of spares around the back of the M.T. workshops. In fact it gave very little trouble, and when I left in 69 I sold it for the same price as I paid for it. To a newly arrived M.T. officer. Confirmed my suspicions about the hidden stash.
Went to Singapore on detachment in '71 and saw my old Vanguard on the base at Tengah. Owned by, surprise, the M.T. sergeant.

On the subject of salt tablets, when I did the Jungle Survival course on arrival in Changi, we were told:- " put a salt tablet in your mouth. If it tastes horrible, spit it out - you don't need it. If you can't taste it, keep sucking it - you do need it."
We were also told that Mycota powder, which we were given to stave off athlete's foot, was good for sprinkling on the cords supporting your parachute canopy hammock, as it deterred the ants from travelling along them. But " whatever you do, don't put it on your feet."
Thread drift, what thread drift? The nice thing about this thread is that it is indeed like sitting around a crew room when the weather is sh*te, swopping irrelevant yarns

Interesting that so many refer to sucking their salt tablets, we were told to gulp them down with a glass of water. Oxenos's Mycota anti-ant powder was another revelation, in India and some Khormaksar accommodation with thatched roof it was advisable to stand each charpoy leg in a Players 50-ciggy tin filled with paraffin. One could thereby slumber ant-free, albeit in a haze of hydrocarbon fumes.

At Sharjah 1963-64 the bedbug removal technique was to put your bedframe out on the bondu, squirt a bit of lighter fluid into all the crevices and apply a naked flame