Never enough knowledge
Another acquisition from a charity shop. It came in a case with a working zipp and carrying handle and was in good working condition. As it had not been used for some time it came with the usual ‘musty’ smell. The serial number was found to the right side of the bell. The number 622428…
This was rejected by an auction house and was to be returned to its owner, but I had the opportunity to view it and thought it was in reasonable condition to acquire. Its serial number W 122158 (on the right top of the frame, under the right end of the carriage) indicated that it was…
In its June 2023 report the Climate change Committee found that as regards the government’s second National Adaptation Programme (NAP2), there was very limited evidence of the implementation of adaptation at the scale needed to fully prepare for climate risks facing the UK. The current approach to adaptation policy is not leading to delivery on…
Read More “UK’s Inadequate preparation for adaption to Climate change” »
Passed to me from within the family, the typewriter came with a case and was in working condition apart, from two inoperative keys (question mark and percentage) and some keys sticking. The serial number B4A02505 at the rear bottom of the frame indicated that it was bult in 1930 with the ‘B’ denoting the colour…
Specification F.7/30 From the early 1930s it became apparent that the Royal Air Force’s current fighters were pitifully inadequate barely able to outpace the bombers that were supposed to attack. To address this state of affairs the Air Ministry issued specification F.7/30 for a new day and night fighter. The key performance requirements in the…
The Schneider Prize was a trophy awarded to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flying boats. It was financed by Jacques Schneider, a balloonist and aircraft enthusiast and was intended to take place annually and latter biannually. If an aero club won three races in five years, they would retain the trophy. The…
Read More “The Schneider Competition – and the Supermarine Company” »
Design and Development In 1925, at a time when biplanes largely ruled the skies, the newly appointed Chief Designer of the Hawker Engineering Company, Sydney Camm, put forward a design for a single monoplane fighter armed with Vickers machine guns and powered by a Bristol Jupiter engine. Such a revolutionary design was not accepted, so…
The Facit was acquired from a charity shop and came with a faux leather case, dust cover, an instruction manual and a qwerty keyboard set up for the Swedish language. The serial number was located behind the left ribbon spool. Some faults were present to do with the shift and backspace mechanisms – these were…
All of my previous marquetry pictures were created from commercially available kits which usually included the required veneers, glue, scalpel, pattern and carbon paper to transfer the image to the base board. While they provided great satisfaction in building up the final picture, I did not have a personal connection to the picture’s image. After…
I bought this Triumph Tippa, complete with case and instruction manual, for £20 from a charity shop. It worked ‘straight out of the box’ as it needed minimal attention apart from cleaning the keys, buying a new ribbon and making the missing locking plate to hold the keys in place when transported. I use it…