Len Deighton moment / Electric tabs / Totalitarian tailoring

[hirez]

The kerbs at the unfashionable end of Charlotte St. car-park in Bath are somewhat higher than most people expect. Thus there was a minor scraping noise this AM when the air-dam on the 9k made passing contact with same.

On the way back to the car this even, I spotted some Golf-pilot who'd made much more of a bugger of the job. The bendy-plastic bottom half of his car's front valance was scraping along the tarmac in front of his car. I attempted some complex gesticulation, but I suspect he was far too middle-management to pay attention to the chap in the strichtarn semaphoring like a rowdy tramp.

Early this morning, a man came to replace the electricity meter with a panatela[1] box.

Later, while I was sitting in the car waiting for the aircon to defrost the windows, I had occasion to grab at various bits of said strichtarn jacket in order to find out if I'd remembered to bung my spectacles in one or other pocket. Instead, I found what felt like an oddly-shaped lump of something else. The sort of lump one might find in one's clothing had one managed to wash a folded envelope or a wad of tenners. However, it wasn't inside any pockets or part of the material for same.

I dunno about you, but when I find a strange lump in a jacket I bought second-hand that originally came from the Soviet Bloc, I start to imagine all sorts of things: false papers, a handful of ostmarks (or indeed dollars, given hard currency would be more likely to be hidden) or a suicide kit.

Luckily, there were some loose stitches in the lining handy for the whatever-it-was, so I was able to wiggle it out. It's an odd sort of double-pocket arrangement and I have No Bloody Idea what it might have been for.










[1] As advertised by 'National treasure but a bit shaky on GPS and TCP/IP' and 'Seppo medic impersonator'. Pointy finger hat.

Comments

[sarah-mum.livejournal.com]

Clearly it's a pocket for holding rolled up dollars, emergency spare specs or hi-vis Golf-summoning tools.

[neefsck.livejournal.com]

I remember driving down the motor way one afternoon on our way from somewhere up north when we approached a car whose muffler was looking like it was about to just drop entirely out of the bottom of the car.
In an attempt to alert the driver I remember grabbing a large piece of paper and wrote "YOUR MUFFLER!" on it in pen and whacked it up against the passenger side window and made Mel drive next to them, while I dried to get the drivers attention..

I think it actually worked in the end.

[hirez.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, the exhaust on a different Saab broke in half on the way back from seeing Severed Heads in Antwerp some years ago. It was quite startling.

[neefsck.livejournal.com]

We had the exhaust go on the Peugeot go on a trip up to Bristol one evening.
Unfortunately it went right up near the muffler unit so the usual fix of a softdrink can used like a splint could not be used.

So we kept on driving anyway. It was a very very noisy ride that night, Particularly on the way back to London. :)

[quercus.livejournal.com]

'It's a scarf, you Northern oik!'

[neefsck.livejournal.com]

Oi! Who you calling a Northern Oik then!?

[razornet.livejournal.com]

First of all I'm likely to be in Bath around April, fancy a pint?

Secondly that looks suspiciously like the holster pocket stitched between the the umm.. christ this would be easier in person. For want of a betteer phrase: the front bit of the buttoning section and the interior of the jacket. It's for a Makarov, closer inspection should reveal a little loop for the hammer to go through if it hasn't been lost in some forgottten part of Berlin.

Yes I'm dressing in a full cold war era Fallschirmjäger loadout this weekend, this is why I know (though I can't seem to find my shirt).

Before anyone says anything, it's a GAME ok?

[nemesis-to-go.livejournal.com]

Bendy-plastic front valance? Air-con? I know naught of these modern-type motoring accessories!

A good tip from the Land Rover Series 2 forum for keeping your car windows clear of mist: clean them with shaving foam. I did it, and it works for months afterwards.

[meltie.livejournal.com]

Shaving foam, eh? What a brilliant tip! Or get some of those Ford-style windscreen panes with the heater wires embedded in them. Some madman's been making them for Seriesies.

[d-floorlandmine.livejournal.com]

Nifty!

[hirez.livejournal.com]

Beer? Yes.

Holster? Seems a bit odd.

[jarkman.livejournal.com]

My folks allege that the Ford ones are crap for night driving. The wires are less see-through that one might wish for. Apparently.

[jarkman.livejournal.com]

Was there any actual opening in the coat through which said pocket could be accessed ? Say, though the top outside pocket ?

[hirez.livejournal.com]

No. That's the odd thing. It made me think 'smuggling pocket' first.

[jarkman.livejournal.com]

How very intriguing. I shall have to inspect it in person.

[maluse.livejournal.com]

I've had the misfortune of hiring several Fords with said screens over the past year and they are indeed terrible at night. Unless you like seeing pretty stars and fireworks instead of oncoming headlamps that is.