Sunray Meets Yappy

Originally posted by Geoff Winnington-Ball
Blanco was a khaki-coloured waterproofing which you used to paint your cotton web gear. I'll show you when you eventually decide to visit London.

There's a good chap, saved me hours of typing. . . . . but I will anyway.

Gaiters are anklets made out of webbing; you tucked your trouser bottoms into the top of them, and they went down over the top of your boots. Again, show 'n tell sometime soon.

pay attention.
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-...ish-books2.htm
Some of these chaps have gaiters on, some have kilts, but we'll not worry about that; some have putees - long windings if you will.

Now Mr. Sunnington-Ballraywinn

"Stand still!!! You're wavin' abaht like a field of corn."

To get the trousers really tiddly you do NOT tuck them into your gaiters, invariably for us taller chaps, this results in the trouser legs pulling straight up and down rather than the nice puffed roll over the gaiters. Here's what you do.

Get an length of very old fashioned British house wiring cable that is lead sheathed, pull the conductors out to leave an oval tube of lead. Cut the lead into 3/8" (9.525mm for the metricated) lengths and thread onto an issue, leather thong (no, not a modern female undergarment) bootlace making a flexible loop of diameter somewhat greater than the fitted gaiter and about the diameter of the trouser leg.

Obtain a length of industrial strength 1/2" (12.7mm) wide knicker elastic and make two garters that are a tight fit on the gaiters.

Assemble so:
Apply trousers to lower body.
Fit garter to leg.
Fit sock.
Fit lead weights and slide up to knee to retain.
Fit boot and lace up correctly.
Fit gaiter.
Turn sock over top and outside of gaiter (stops riding up problems)
Lower garter and place around top of gaiter over sock.
Turn trouser bottoms outside in and tuck up under garter leaving a little lengthwise slack and ensuring garter retains sock and trouser leg.
Stand up to allow weighted thong to fall into turned-in trouser half-toroid thus formed, some jiggling may be required.
Go on parade.

The modern British Army now has high combat boots and uses the "twisty" bought from the camp shop - a number of fine bungees purposely arranged with a twist to make a fat loop; or may use a girls hair band I believe called a "scrunchy." Both methods produce the desired and reliably puffy trouser bottom.

Shirrell Heath is Richard's village of residence, north of Southampton. Nice place, and of course the focus of acitivity for the Solent Club, which Richard chairs.

Correct.

I'm being polite, of course... Shirrell Heath and environs is actually populated by the most amazing collection of loonies. I can attest to that personally. You will meet them eventually, and I shall simply stand back and watch...

Correct.

LRDG stands for "Long Range Desert Group", the model for the present day SAS. They used to take their trucks (most of which Canadian or American) thousands of miles out into the Western Desert in North Africa to conduct reconnaisance or resupply patrols. Quite a unique body of individuals, which, come to think of it, applies perfectly to the Shirrell Heath mob.

But rather as the Long Range Display Group, much like the Oxford CMP lads epitomised by Mr P Ashby (part-time gent).

The fledling SAS-LRDG had that hell-raising Paddy Maine, he would rarely be satisfied with a reconnaisance or road watch patrol but rather gate-crash a Luftwaffe desert airfield with 2 or 3 jeeps armed unconventionally but usually with 2 Vickers K guns and more, then racing up and down the lines of aircraft shooting at everything and keeping the enemy heads down.

The Dutch Skyscraper has nothing more to add, although I suspect Mr. Notton may well. So I shall retire now.... I suspect the litter box needs cleaning, at least it did the last time I used it...

Actually rather good stuff for oil spills too as that was the original design intention.

R.