General Chat

Hello Piers .Thank you ..Kay sounds very posh working in a Castle x Samaritians do Ist class job .Barbra

First job after college was assistant nanny to a Dukes children,a live in job, at their home,,,,,,,,a castle,,,,,its a national monument and well known place...but spooky,,,,,,,and paid,,,£4.00 per week. by monthly cheque

later on I passed to be a nurse.

I eventually qualified as a Social Worker ,,,along with 12 voluntary years for the Samaritians.

Lovely story Barbra :-)

About Jobs after my small bakery one .moved to the Co.op in the finishing room .decorating cake`s for the shops ..thought my first weeks wage was wrong .went to the office window. asking them to check it .& it was my future oh who sorted it. we dated & have been together over 50yrs. 48 of them married .were have all the years gone .PS I was a young Bride 19 :-D :-D :-)

You near Macrahanish? OH was stationed there and he promised to take me there.

It took eighteen years before he did and when we came home the kitchen was flooded!

Ann no problem its good to find out about people & past & present goings on ..We visited Benson. .Brize Norton .little Rissington .when we had holidays in the Cotswolds .many years ago .very nice place`s,we stayed Bourton -On- The -Water. .Lower Slaughter .Burford . Willersey. Had some great days out touring .there was so much to see ..a bit to far as we live in southwest scotland .but would like to visit again one day Barbra :-)

Barry

No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron (sometimes written as No. XXXII(TR) Squadron) of the Royal Air Force operates in the VIP and general air transport roles from RAF Northolt in Greater London.

Originally formed in 1916 as part of the Royal Flying Corps, the squadron saw action during the First and Second World Wars with fighter aircraft, but was disbanded in 1969. The Metropolitan Communications Squadron, involved in the VIP transport role, was renamed as No. 32 Squadron at that time. In 1995, the squadron was merged with the Queen's Flight and incorporated 'The Royal' title into its name. At this time the squadron moved from RAF Benson to RAF Northolt, where it remains.

The merger ended the RAF's provision of dedicated VIP transport aircraft; the aircraft of 32 Squadron are available to VIP passengers only if not needed for military operations. Three flights within the squadron operate the British Aerospace 146, AgustaWestland AW109 and British Aerospace 125.



Barbra, sorry if we have sort of gone a bit off topic!! :-)

:-D

Thanks, Pat. I have snow outside ... I don't need reminding. Lol.

However, I cannot hold back on this coincidental picture from yesteryear ...

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/55285188/32.JPG

Barry talking of snow and Troodos

http://www.skicyprus.com/skicyprus/cam/camcyprusski.asp


:-D

Thank you for clarification, Ann and Pat.
We stayed at Mount Troodos one night 30 years ago and have also holidayed in Cyprus on other occasions.

I don't know precisely when HM The Queen's Flight was disbanded at Benson ... although it must be at least 15 years, I would suggest.

going back to jobs ....................


Looking back, I think my favourite and most enjoyable was the summer job I had working in a private hotel in Frinton-on-Sea between finishing school and starting university



There was a group of summer workers who got together, most from the "big" hotel at that time, the Grand, but 4 of us from where I was working.


We'd meet up every afternoon on the beach, we arranged transport so we could go to the 11pm shows at the Clacton Jazz Festival ................. where I found my love for jazz.

The main perfomers that year were Johnny Dankworth adn Cleo Laine, and Humphrey Lyttleton.


It was an almost magical time from late June until early September ......... despite the fact that I had to get up early to take morning tea trays to the bedrooms, then help wash up, then make beds and clean rooms and bathrooms all morning, before working in the still room (washing silver, china and glass ware by hand) during and after lunch (and again at dinner time. We also had to turn down the beds while the guests were at dinner.


The 2 dining room staff were a married couple, and insisted on having the same day off ................. so we two "maids" also had to learn how to serve in the dining room


I got room and board, and about £3 a week :-)



The worst would be the 2 holidays (Easter and summer) that I worked at the Pakamac factory ................... almost soul-destroyingly boring! But we did get a reasonable wage.

Barry the queens Flight was based at Benson when we flew there in the Wessex. In about 1993/4

Barry the wind was wicked in the winter. The medical centre was some way from the WRAF block, it could be a very wet walk.

Queen's Flight was at Benson when I was there. Benson medical centre covered Prince Charles learning to fly before he went up to Cranwell. An ambulance, driver, medic and a doc. had to go to a small airfield somewhere between us and Windsor.

OH came to Cyprus in June 1970, I was posted in July 1970. We both spent evenings DJing on the internal radio doing programmes for the singlies. My programme was second on and I had to hand over to OH. We married out here January 1971. :-)

sometimes I think snow is preferable to rain ............................





it's drier :-D



and rain is so grey and dreary :-(




I don't miss having to go out in the rain, whether I wanted to or not, when I was working :-)


Now ................ I can usually just watch it from inside

Yes, they have indeed had a lot of snow in the Maritimes, Sylvia!
I can't say as I miss clearing the snow, however, regardless where I am.

Barry .............



that's cold!!!


there's a good reason why we have never moved from the Banana Belt since we arrived here in 1968 :-)



Daughter is on the East Coast ................ and suffering there.

Pat, I went to Benson two years ago for the annual squadron reunion. It was my first visit. A cold day it was indeed ... and Benson seems very open and inhospitable, I thought.
We stayed nearby at the Shillingford Hotel.
This year's reunion will also be at Benson, I understand.
HM The Queen's Flight was based there way back when, I believe.
Where were you and OH overseas?

Ann, I did almost 2 weeks at RAF Innsworth helping out a rather overworked dentist whose nurse was on embarkation leave. She was having to cope with patients, try to do a stock check and type out everything in the surgery - in duplicate, as the way things were done was changing. I was sent in as I'd just done it where I was based at RAF Benson. I travelled there on the Monday and worked the next 10 days straight through to get everything done and left on the next Friday morning. It was February 1969.

Barry my husband was an electronics apprentice, he was at RAF Locking from 1964 - 1967, aged 16 - 19. He was 41 when he left. He only did 1 overseas in 25 years 1970 -73 :-S

I was in the WRAF 1967 - 1972 I also got in 1 overseas 1970 it coincided with OH's as that's when we met. :-)

Ann, I think you hit the nail OK the head about joint service.
I still have my blue uniform ... and I wear it on our local Legion Remembrance Day Parade.
I think the blue is a lovely shade. Our KD was a nice shade, too.

Sylvia. I am so envious of your non minus temperatures!
Send some here, please!
I have just returned from walking to the post office and the light wind is BITTER!
The thermometer shows almost -8C ... and the wind reduces it even more.
A couple of mornings ago my thermometer recorded -21.9C on the balcony.
Add the wind chill factor and it was about - 30C.
Oh to be back in the sunny Middle East again!