A Cautionary Tale

We should perhaps be careful, if we give him much more grief he might replace it with an AK47! And before anyone goes down the obvious banter route, no he wouldn't take better photos with one of those!

I can't get hold of an AK-47, however other weapons are available. ;)
 
I can't get hold of an AK-47, however other weapons are available. ;)

Ah yes... perhaps we should be kinder to Andy, given he checks the inventory of an assortment of deadly weapons... OTOH... no!
 
I can't get hold of an AK-47, however other weapons are available. ;)

h'mm wonder if you can still buy a potato gun, yanno push the end into a spud and fire a pellet.....well unless elf and safety has banned it ;)
 
I was thinking more like a spud bazooka...

(actually, that brings back memories of a mis-spent (and marginally lethal) teenage years... we built a spud mortar. Length of cast iron drainpipe propped up at one end, with the "ground end" embedded in the embers of a bonfire. Drop a used aerosol can down the drainpipe, with a potato right after it and basically run for it. 10 seconds or so later "WOOOMPH!!!!" aerosol can explodes, and the resulting pressure wave blows the potato around 200 yards from the scene of the explosion. Worked great until some tool dropped a half-full can of hair-lacquer down the pipe. Basically, it Shattered the cast iron pipe, flinging shrapnel for 20 yards, and blew out the bonfire. How we survived unscathed is a sodding miracle.)


Needless to say folks, this comes with a disclaimer - different times, different attitudes to health and safety, and really, really DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME...
 
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I remember having a spud gun that also fired little tapered corks that you stuffed in the end of the barrel. :whistle: On one occasion we had one of those hoedown/barn dance things at school so I took the spud gun along for a laugh as we were supposed to wear 'wild west' style outfits. Part way through a very dull evening of doesy-doe ridden 'musical' torture, one of the teachers decided to have a cigarette (back in the days when you could smoke in the workplace and in front of children!).

For a laugh I loaded a cork into the gun, told her she shouldn't smoke, and fired in the general direction of the cigarette in her hand from about 10 feet away... and promptly shot the end of her cigarette off! Given the legendary inaccuracy of toy spud guns, I think I was more shocked than she was! There was a brief moment of panic as we tried to find the glowing cigarette end and stamp on it to prevent the school going up in flames, but luckily for me she saw the funny side afterwards! :D As 'Yinny' says, different times! Perhaps just as well, too!
 
oh, compared to some of the tricks we got up to, the spud mortar was pretty restrained. I vaguely remember making a "scaled up banger" from the contents of several packets of conventional ones and the inside of a loo roll, wrapped in gaffa tape for a bit of extra security... the more astute amongst us probably realise that is basically a black powder equivalent of a stick of dynamite. I know it left a crater about a foot deep on the school field when it was let off...

And then there was the time when I was doing the "pyrotechnics" for the school play... Something crap that involved a Djinn / Demon arriving in a flash and puff of smoke. Rehearsals required multiple attempts to get this right, each time re-loading the flashpot with a bit o fuse wire as the igniter and a single teaspoon of flash powder. After the 9th take, where the Demon still hadn't hit his mark, I'd got sloppy, and forgot to remove the flashpowder tin and replace the lid. Yep, spark hit the half-pound of flashpowder - basically a 12 foot high 30 second+ duration blinding magnesium flare erupted blinding everyone on stage, scorching the Demon, charring the proscenium arch over the stage and leaving a big burned spot on the stage - not to mention flooding the entire school audtorium with acrid white smoke that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, and causing pretty serious panic... So much for my career in Special Effects :LOL:
 
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basically a 12 foot high 30 second+ duration blinding magnesium flare erupted blinding everyone on stage, scorching the Demon, charring the proscenium arch over the stage and leaving a big burned spot on the stage.

Hehehe... kill it with fire! :D
 
Fortunately Chris's trusty hat converts to a coracle for marine escaping. :D
 
What did I say about the trip resembling a Laurel and Hardy film storyboard? :rolleyes: What are you lot like, you're not fit to be let out! :LOL:
 
Unfortunately, I failed to take a shot of Carl getting his feet wet at Chapel Porth beach :oops: :$ I must have been too busy laughing!! I did, however, manage to get one of him running away from the waves :banana: Watch this space later......
 
Unfortunately, I failed to take a shot of Carl getting his feet wet at Chapel Porth beach :oops: :$ I must have been too busy laughing!! I did, however, manage to get one of him running away from the waves :banana: Watch this space later......

Too busy laughing at the little girl that tripped and fell on the sand, then got drenched by the waves as she watched her family retreat to dry land without her :p
 
Too busy laughing at the little girl that tripped and fell on the sand, then got drenched by the waves as she watched her family retreat to dry land without her :p

That was very funny!!! However, I seem to remember that I wasn't the only person laughing at that, Mr Hall.....;):D
 
You pair of Schadenfreudes! Wish I'd been there as well. Can't beat small children falling over for amusement :D
 
Not so much matooned as poised.:D
 
Beige is the new black. :)
 
Well done Chris, I'm laughing already :LOL:
 
And to think I’d almost forgotten about this :LOL:
 
Just a little bump to introduce this spectacular comedy moment to a wider audience.
 
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