It was late 1972 early 1973 and I know that because in those days, everything you did was centred on what was in the charts at the time. This was a “GudbuyT’Jane” moment. I’ve checked since and that reached number 2 on 25^th November 1972, so there you go.

The very next day I found somebody to teach me those three chords (see “Demystifying playing the Electric Guitar” elsewhere in this blog) and off I went. Some likeminded mates joined in and we had a band. Great fun.

Pretty soon we were playing at the odd party and a little bit later, the local church hall circuit. I remember one school event when we successfully managed to plaster all the parents and the odd school master up against the back wall-something to do with the volume I think. When we eventually did play Maney Hall it was a defining moment, like things going full circle.

The Beatles. Now I have been a Beatles fan for as long as I can remember, and I was forever sticking some of their songs in our set much to the chagrin of some of the more contemporary band members. So imagine my surprise and delight, when, many years later I discovered that on 1^st February 1963, The Beatles had played two gigs, one being at the Assembly Rooms in Tamworth, Staffordshire and the other…….you guessed it, at somewhere called St Peters Church Hall, in Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Maney Hall!!

I haven’t washed my feet since!

During the Great War (1914-1918), TLM produced military cap badges and other similar items and although this continued throughout the Second World War (1939-1945), of far greater interest was its work on what might even today be regards as “more specialised activities”. Amongst these was the production of very small compasses for use by special forces, paratroopers and commandos behind enemy lines. Due to its secret nature, this work was of course very closely monitored, with all tooling being guarded and strictly controlled.

It is of no great surprise that Jewellers were used for this work. They were of course used to dealing in meticulous detail with items of great value and it was presumably this expertise that enabled them to carry out this work quietly and without fanfare.

Although sadly TLM no longer exists, its work lives on in the very nice examples that can still to be found on EBay. On a historical note, the site that it once occupied is now the home of the Birmingham Jewellery Museum

Roz and Roger run RnR Yacht Charters (“RnR”), a company which offers professional, friendly yacht charter holidays with a personal touch  in the Aegean and Saronic gulf.

Originally from the UK, they’re actually based on Poros, an idyllic island within easy reach of Piraeus – Athens’ main port. The great thing is, RnR offer a variety of sailing holidays to try and accommodate everyone’s experience from absolute beginner to those who are experienced and qualified enough to skipper a boat and it’s crew by themselves.

Take a look at their boat, a 44ft Jeanneau Sun Magic called “Imajica”

Now I’m not a fan of the vast quantities of red tape that emanates on a daily basis from all those government departments, but there is or appears to be some sanity buried in the mass of health & safety legislation that carries a message for us all.

If you are unfortunate to have an accident in the workplace, one of the things that will count is whether or not you showed a duty of care wait for it……………to yourself. Quite right too! If you did do something silly, careless or without thought that contributed to, caused or exacerbated the event that befell you, why should your employer be culpable? Heresy you say, well I say not!

Now then, let’s extend the argument. Do you get the right amount of sleep, drink plenty of good quality water, eat the best quality food you can afford (that’s fresh not expensive by the way), get regular exercise and limit your alcohol and drug (well coffee then) intake sensibly?

No? Well there you go. You have a duty of care to yourself, so give your body the tools it needs to repay you with trouble free motoring!

I’ve just fallen off my soapbox!

Now, we’d normally have to wait a while longer for the release of a census but not so this time. You see, any particular census (which itself is taken every 10 years) is normally not released until a further 100 years have elapsed, so this one, the 1911 version should have been released in 2012 or thereabouts.

The thing that really makes this one very different to earlier census records, is that not only will your ancestor’s handwriting be in evidence (and that’s a really great “touchstone” event), but it also details family arrivals and sadly, departures that have taken place in the intervening years.

If you want to check it out, you can do online here. A basic online search is free, but as with most things, any detailed information on particular members will cost you “credits”-see the website for details. If you’re in the UK and you can get to Kew in London, it’s available at The National Archives for free, but to ensure fair access to all, you are understandably restricted to a one hour review period per visit.

As to the future, if pay per click is not your thing, the 1911 census will undoubtedly feature at some point on one of the more popular subscription bases sites.

Have fun!

I couldn’t afford a hard top or side screens so trips up the motorway in the rain were a real experience, but when the sun came out and you could finally use it as it was intended to be used, it felt fantastic.. With wooden floorboards underfoot and given the damp conditions that often prevailed, I’m amazed that it survived so well.

One memorable event though. Picture a petrol station and me about to dutifully check the battery levels. Now for those of you who don’t know, there were two 6 volt batteries (located behind the front seats under the hood area) accessed by lifting & sliding off a metal battery cover. On this occasion the cover (which was shaped to have a longer front edge than back edge) dropped onto both battery terminals and, next thing I knew the carpet in close proximately to the batteries was on fire!

Now, this was a fire right by the fuel pump and near the tank itself, but luckily, I managed to put it out by frantic use of my size 10’s. The event still haunts me, but not enough to stop me hankering after having another MGA-someday!

E bay here I come!

The distinctive component of this jewellery is the Morpho butterfly, originating predominately from South America. Typically there is a an iridescent blue butterfly wing background set in a sterling silver mount protected by a glass front cover.

The butterfly wing was used to simulate water or sky and where there are scenes, these were produced by the paint being applied directly to the back of the glass frontage piece which was then placed on the wing which formed the background.

High quality painting will add to the value of the piece and will usually be very evident on visual inspection. If you’re checking for it on EBay, look for well-made sterling silver settings with undamaged glass fronts where the butterfly wing has not faded. If in doubt, always ask the seller a direct question or two.

Then, to keep it your collection in great condition, avoid continued exposure to daylight and do not under any circumstances allow any moisture to penetrate the casing!

Happy hunting!