FROM Alison Jenner
alisonjenner@yahoo.com
I have booked at the Queens Hotel for
lunch and /or afternoon tea on 03 September, meeting at 12 o clock.
At the moment there are seven of us going; please let me know if you
want to join us. We will be discussing "Landfall", the next book in
the list. Much of the action of the novel takes place in the area.
http://www.queenshotelportsmouth.com/how-to-find-us.htm
NB The Queen's Hotel was also mentioned in Trustee.
FROM Mary Jane Meyer
mjmeyer@dcaccess.net
Hallo, I’m new to the NSN Foundation and wonder, if there are local chapters in the Washington DC and/or Northern Virginia area?
FROM Paul Spoff
paulspoff6@aol.com
This is what you call magnificient flying and
a helicopter pilot who knows what he's doing!! WOW!!!
AMAZING FOOTAGE!!!
I can imagine the pilots praying, "No wind God,
please no wind!"
Hire the right people if you want a complicated
job done. I can't imagine that helicopter pilot having that level of
control.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/qJHlXe_RnYo
FROM Sally Rossetti
sally.rossetti32@gmail.com
Reading this delightful book by Alexander McCall Smith, on page 135 one of the leading characters is reading a letter from an Australian young woman, a pen pal, thinking he may ask her to marry him. In reply to questions she writes her 2 favorite authors are Nevil Shute and Charles Dickens, action takes place in the early 50s located in Alice Springs. The author tells us Alec's response. "He had heard about A Town like Alice-everybody had as it had just been published and was much discussed in the papers; he could talk about that he supposed, even if he had not yet read it. But Charles Dickens was another matter. I was just delighted to come across this so unexpectedly. And he did marry her too although Shute was never mentioned again. Thought you folks would enjoy this too!
FROM Gadepalli Subramanyam
gsmani174@gmail.com
One of the threads running in all Shutists' eulogies for the great story teller, is the recurring mention of 'Re-reading'. Hardly any other author rates this high in repeated readability. How I wish some of the enthusiasts try to write sequels to some of the novels.
FROM Mike Blamey
mike.blamey@yahoo.co.uk
Cedric's comment (and the linked story0
about Mr Honey and his professional responsibilities to both his
profession and his employer! touched a chord.
I had the good fortune to gain early knowledge of carbon-fibre processing
(particularly the so-called pre-oxidised version-based upon PAN:
polyacrylionitrile chemistry) and subsequently became some what of a
guru in this area. Creating the fibre was the easy part [simply
burn it in a controlled atmosphere so that it does not 'ignite' but
the 'extras' H,O, N in the molecule are driven-off leaving pure
carbon. It is processing this material to usable textiles which is
the clever part! The so-called stretch-breaking process is the
key. I then was asked to assist a US firm-Polycarbon Inc which was
'carbonizing' viscose based fabrics to form the nozzles on the
boosters for the Space Shuttle. [layers of carbon fabric literally
stacked upon each other, glued together and then shaped to the
venturi effect required to direct the rocket exhause. The scrap-rate
was horrific, and I was able to suggest successful amendments to the
process. This work was directly for Morton Thiocol. My link at
Polycarbon [Ken Marnock] became a close friend: we skied, drove
off-road motor-cycles in the desert together. As a pivotal supplier,
ken was invited to witness several launches: and he of course knew
the Engineers at MT very well. I recall his description of the
terrible episode the loss of Challenger - and the deep depression
and concerns of his links, that they had failed. I used to use the
episode in a lecture "EngineerIng in Society" to students at several
Universities: about their professional responsibilities. [I recall
well as a young Engineer being similarly encouraged by my seniors at
ICI after the Aberfan disaster. [a coal tip slid down engulfing a
primary school 100+ children and teachers were killed] -that as an
Engineer one had responsibilities more than just passing a concern
up the chain of command. "break Nature's laws and detection and
punishment are immediate".
FROM Mills Dyer
wmdyer61@charter.net
I was intrigued by the name Mary Stopes-Roe and
wondered if she were related to A. V. Roe. I’m sure that you know
all this, but I checked on the internet and found that A.V. Roe was
her husband’s uncle. There are several Internet entries for Mary
Stopes-Roe; I liked the May 2013 RAF one the best:
www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/mary-stopesroe-13052013.
Not a very long newsletter this time, but with some
interesting reads is it. If you have anything to share with your fellow
Shutists, please don’t hesitate and send it to me.
From the Netherlands, where it was very hot last week, but very rainy this week, see you all next month.