FROM John
Anderson
Professor Keith Jeffrey
I'm saddened to report the death of Professor Keith Jeffrey, the
distinguished historian, chronicler of Irish and military History.
Those who attended the Centennial in Albuquerque will remember him
giving his most interesting talk entitled "Nevil Shute and Ireland".
I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but we corresponded briefly
when I was writing Parallel Motion. I obtained a copy of his book
"The Sinn Fein rebellion as they saw it" which contains a reprint of
Mary Norway's letters written at the time, together with Arthur
Hamilton Norway's memoir "Irish Experiences in War" about the Easter
Rebellion. This memoir had never been published before.
Prof. Jeffrey had a distinguished career as an historian at Queen's
University, Belfast. He published a number of books both on Irish
and military history, including a history of the British
Intelligence Service MI6.
It is perhaps ironic that he died at the time when the centenary of the Easter Rising is being commemorated.
FROM
Alison Jenner
alisonjenner@yahoo.com
Nevil
Shute weekend 07-08 May 2016, Isle of Wight
Dear friends,
I suggest that we meet for a "Mini-Nev" weekend on the Isle of
Wight Saturday
07 May - Sunday 08 May 2016.
We need to avoid the busiest days on the Island if we are going to
be able to get about.
I have booked some twin and double rooms at the Premier Inn,
Newport, IOW for us at a cost of £86 per room.
If there is a sufficient number interested in taking part I suggest
that those of us from the mainland meet in Southampton and car-share
on the ferry on
Saturday morning.
Please let me know straight away if you are keen to take part so we can firm up our arrangements.
FROM Dan Telfair
wdtelfair@gmail.com
While traveling by air on business in the early 90’s, I met a
gentleman who was quite well known as a national level US radio
journalist. I can’t recall his name now, and perhaps it is just as
well.
We fell into a conversation regarding the works of Nevil Shute, and
he told me that he had read, among other NSN books, The
Purple Plain. Although I was not familiar with the work at the
time, I assured him that Nevil had not written that book. We made a
gentleman’s $5.00 bet on that, to be resolved as soon as one of us
proved his point. Shortly thereafter, I received a cheek from him
for $5.00. I have since obtained a DVD of the film by the same
name, based on the book by H. E. Bates.
A similar thing happened with The Shepherd, by
Frederick Forsythe. Shortly after we started the NSN Website, we
were contacted by a gentleman who insisted that we had omitted that
work by NSN. Fortunately, I am also a Forsythe fan, and knew the
correct attribution. Unfortunately, no wager was made, so no money
changed hands.
In both cases, the stories could have well been written by Nevil.
A third tale, not written by NSN, but that could well have been, is The Worlds Fastest Indian. It is an excellent film starring Anthony Hopkins, based on the adventures of Burt Monro, a New Zealander motorcycle enthusiast. It is a real life tale, but very similar to Trustee from the Toolroom.
FROM Charles D.
dalsecl@prtel.com
Tons of narrow gage videos
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=locomotives+baldwin+for+narrow+gauge&FORM=HDRSC3
FROM Paul Spoff
paulspoff6@aol.com
The Matchstick Fleet
This is so incredibly beyond belief!!! What
a treasure……..
Phil Warren, from the UK, spent 62 years to
build this incredible fleet of 432 ships. All vessels are built
entirely of matchsticks and boxes of wooden matches. The collection
includes nearly 370 American and 60 British ships.
Although now 84 years of age, Mr. Warren began creating his first boat in
1948, when he was only 17. He uses a razor blade, tweezers and
sandpaper to carve the pieces and boxes, then sticks them together
with balsa wood glue.
In total, more than 650,000 matchsticks were used to
create an amazing collection of 1:300 scale models. His 1,200
aircraft make an even more realistic appearance to dress the decks
of aircraft carriers.
http://www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Warren.htm
FROM Paul Spoff (2)
This is really neat.
However, I am surprised they would be allowed to fly so
close to each other.
How cool is this? Can you imagine all the
passengers in that plane all heading to that side to witness this!
When passengers boarded this plane bound for San Francisco, they
never could've guessed what they would encounter near the tail-end
of the flight. During the flight, just off the left wing - as
visible in the video - there emerges a totally futuristic aircraft.
What was it?
Virgin Galactic's brand new SpaceShipTwo and its
mothership plane, the White Knight II. Even more impressive, the
aptly named SpaceShipTwo (it literally goes into space) executed a
parallel landing with the commercial airliner.
THERE ARE TWO PARTS TO THIS VIDEO
Pt 1:
http://www.chonday.com/Videos/jegalctospc2
Pt 2: https://youtu.be/0oxgLEm4ZzA
FROM Charles D. (2)
dalsecl@prtel.com
Archeologists have found what appears to be a new Viking
settlement on the Southwest edge of Newfoundland.
This would be a much more hospitable place than the
first finding at L’anse Aux Meadows.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35935725
FROM Charles D. (3)
dalsecl@prtel.com
This is an interesting video of early artic exploration
by aeroplane
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90DpQZXlNf
The newsletter is very late this month, I’m sorry about
that, but I have a reason. As some of you know, I have been retired since 2
years. But I have just started in a new job, and had to take some exams, to
be allowed to do so. I’m a driver now on a 9 person mini-bus, for an
organization that cares for mentally disabled people. It’s a very rewarding
job, and I love it.
From then Netherlands, see you next month.
See you all next month.
