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Minor Strangeness (IHTM)

When our mum died four years ago, my brother sent me a message saying 'we're orphans now. Should we approach Dr Barnardo's, do you think?'

We're a bit dark in our family.
We lost my Dad in 1985 and my Mum this March, and in the depths of our sorrow I pointed out to my siblings “we’re orphans now”. Big sister is 70, little sister is 54, and there are four in between.
Everyone smiled. We have a dark side too.
 
We lost my Dad in 1985 and my Mum this March, and in the depths of our sorrow I pointed out to my siblings “we’re orphans now”. Big sister is 70, little sister is 54, and there are four in between.
Everyone smiled. We have a dark side too.
Yeah, I was 56 and my brother 53. Probably a wee bit old to be taken into the orphanage.

Sorry for your loss, Tempest. Even when you're smiling, it still hurts.
 
My little sister (Down Syndrome, lives in semi-sheltered accommodation) was 47 when she was orphaned. 'Don't worry' said her flatmates (all 'special needs') 'we've been orphans for years'. Cheered her up - but stunned me when I realised how easy my life was.
 
My little sister (Down Syndrome, lives in semi-sheltered accommodation) was 47 when she was orphaned. 'Don't worry' said her flatmates (all 'special needs') 'we've been orphans for years'. Cheered her up - but stunned me when I realised how easy my life was.
So eye-opening, whenever I do volunteer work, I come home feeling so lucky.
 
We lost my Dad in 1985 and my Mum this March, and in the depths of our sorrow I pointed out to my siblings “we’re orphans now”. Big sister is 70, little sister is 54, and there are four in between.
Everyone smiled. We have a dark side too.
It's good that there were six of you to share the sadness.
 
Er....2 Chinook helicopters just flew over here, heading West.
I think the nearest US air base must be over 50 miles from here (I'm not sure, but I don't think UK forces operate these)
And last week an Apache helicopter went over.
1654623070829.png
 
Er....2 Chinook helicopters just flew over here, heading West.
I think the nearest US air base must be over 50 miles from here (I'm not sure, but I don't think UK forces operate these)
And last week an Apache helicopter went over.
View attachment 55918
Might be moving stuff from one US base to another. There are still some bases here, I think.
 
Er....2 Chinook helicopters just flew over here, heading West.
I think the nearest US air base must be over 50 miles from here (I'm not sure, but I don't think UK forces operate these) ...

As far as I know, the RAF still operates the largest non-USA fleet of Chinooks.
The Boeing Chinook is a large, tandem rotor helicopter operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). A series of variants based on the United States Army's Boeing CH-47 Chinook, the RAF Chinook fleet is the largest outside the United States. ...

The Chinook, normally based at RAF Odiham in England, provides heavy-lift support and transport across all branches of the British armed forces. ...The Chinook is expected to remain in RAF service until the 2040s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Chinook_(UK_variants)
 
Last Monday it was Memorial Day here, a day of remembering all those who fought for freedom, and three F16's (my husband thought that's what they were) flew overhead -
The noise was horrendous, my eardrums felt like they were going to blow out. I suppose they were on their way to a NY Memorial Day tribute of some type. I said to Mr. R, 'Is that what war sounds like??'
That UFO I saw 25 years ago didn't make a sound and moved in the blink of an eye from one side of the sky to the other.
Now I know for certain that there is no way we have that type of technology, not yet anyway.
 
As far as I know, the RAF still operates the largest non-USA fleet of Chinooks.

I think the RAF keep their Chinooks at Benson

Aaah Okay well I stand corrected then.

But still, RAF Odiham and RAF Benson are some distance away from here!
I have carefully drawn a map of the area and indicated the direction of flight I observed (the big red arrow) and the two bases.

1654681069627.png
 
We're some way from Odiham and still get chinooks flying through from time to time, on occasion roaring really low over our house and/or garden, make-the-walls-vibrate-and-panic-our-animals low. Can't say I'm a fan of them. :p

Much prefer the military cargo planes we also sometimes get; something almost stately about those, and are always a heck of a sight flying so low over the fields toward you.
 
While we (my son and I) have been looking for rental properties, we saw one online which seemed appealing.
That was until I pointed out to him that it was actually at the end of the runway of Brize Norton RAF base.
We didn't bother arranging a viewing.
1654703722523.png
 
Much prefer the military cargo planes we also sometimes get; something almost stately about those, and are always a heck of a sight flying so low over the fields toward you.
Indeed and wondering how they can stay airborne going so slowly and thinking 'if only I could jump just a little bit higher I could hitch a ride'.

I used to get them flying over my house quite a lot when I lived in Wales. There was also the prospect on 'low flying training days of getting yourself to higher ground to watch them jetting by beneath you. Not that I ever managed to be in the right place at the right time but friends did. The not 'quite so low' training days were bad enough although I did get used to them and stopped jumping out of my skin and ducking.

A connected minor strangeness /coincidence type thing. A friend of mine was so angry at one of them that she pretended to shoot it down. Well she didn't expect it to be successful well you wouldn't would you if your weapon was only two fingers? However she found out late that the pilot had had to ditch out of his malfunctioning aircraft ...... ooops.

I also was in the habit of giving them two fingered gestures but not in the shape of a gun and I wasn't yelling 'bang bang' but a word that can be used instead of.

We didn't bother arranging a viewing.
Very wise of you Trev.
 
here was also the prospect on 'low flying training days of getting yourself to higher ground to watch them jetting by beneath you.
Managed that on Hadrian's Wall once.

As a Lincolnshire Fen girl, I'm used to the flyboys being overhead at 200 ft. A lot of the bases have closed now, but I still fondly remember the days when it was nearly bedtime because the 9.30pm patrol had gone off towards the North Sea again...
 
Managed that on Hadrian's Wall once.

As a Lincolnshire Fen girl, I'm used to the flyboys being overhead at 200 ft. A lot of the bases have closed now, but I still fondly remember the days when it was nearly bedtime because the 9.30pm patrol had gone off towards the North Sea again...
Oh do you live near or have Hadrian's Wall on your property?
 
I'm sitting here in bed pidding about on the forum and the whole house has just shaken with a noise like a door slamming shut downstairs. I am supposing that a through-draught (front window is open and so is the back door) has caused the back door to slam, but I'm slightly scared to go and look...
 
... I bravely went and looked and all the doors are open. Next door are out, and I've never known their doors slam and affect my house anyway. There was no noise, just that vibration in the floorboards that I get when something big moves downstairs.

Hmmm.
 
... I bravely went and looked and all the doors are open. Next door are out, and I've never known their doors slam and affect my house anyway. There was no noise, just that vibration in the floorboards that I get when something big moves downstairs.

Hmmm.
Gulp. :oops:
 
I'm sitting here in bed pidding about on the forum and the whole house has just shaken with a noise like a door slamming shut downstairs. I am supposing that a through-draught (front window is open and so is the back door) has caused the back door to slam, but I'm slightly scared to go and look...
You mean your door opened up by itself?
 
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