** Live and let Live, The Adventure of Life **
We all have a favourite character and in my case its the Pink Panther, this fullfills
my love of animation which is left over from my early life before computers in the
film industry. Although only as a mechanical engineer employed by a company in Euston
Road and later in Camden town. It all started with my fathers love of making 35 m/m projectors,
from scratch which
exposed me to the delights of animation. The Pink Panther was first seen as an introduction
sequence in the first of many films, which were to spawn the delights of Peter Sellers,
in the role of bumbling police Inspector Jacques Clouseau . And focused on a jewel thief,
who always left a glove
bearing the panther logo, after he had stolen the jewels. The music was by Henry Mancini
and the Animation was implemented by De Patie and Freleng, it was so well
implemented that this animated Panther started a life
of its own. This simple yet sophisticated creature goes through life having
adventures. He has no voice and expresses himself with mime and musical highlights,
I can completely relate to this creature.
** Life is an Adventure **
** With due deference to the Kenwwod Food Mixer
, But that is 'another' story ! **
A Hanging Offence
I enjoyed climbing when I was young, and would enjoy the self relaince it taught, as well
as the challange. Nothing major, but scrambling over rock faces with partly home made
climbing kit, was fun. When you anchor off, you know at some point you are going to be
putting all your weight on that link. So you treat it with care, and test it well before
putting any reliance on that point. Having made a point secure I moved away too fast and
when my weight was fully on the rope, the surrounding rock crumbled and the link pulled
out. As I tumbled down all kinds of thoughts passed my mind, including that fact that
I had borrowed some links from a friend, was it one of his that had failed ? . The sharp
jerk as the rope reached it full length, brought me back to the "here and now". It took
a long while to pull myself back up and resecure my position before I finished that climb.
But when I did get back, the first thing I did, was to check all my gear very carfully.
From that day to the last day I climbed " I NEVER USED BORROWED KIT ".
Just how Angry can 'you' get ? 
Whilst working one Friday in 1971, at Tintagell House, a problem with a card reader
dragged on and on, first the parts sent were the wrong ones, then they took ages to
set up and working around the customer, I waited to test the device. Just before we
closed the machine for the day, I ran the test and at last, all was fine! With a sigh
of relief we closed the machine down and departed. The following Saturday morning
my wife aroused me and said there was a news item, on the radio stating that there had
been a bomb as Tintagell house! No it could not have been, I assured myself. Then the
newspaper arrived, and there across the headlines was the same report. I rang my manager
and said I was going into London, to check if the machines were alright, whilst in
reality I was more worried about a book I had left in the engineers office, which was
in my opinion irreplaceable. He said it was not our problem, and we should stay away.
I said I was going in anyway, and would report to him on the state of things. 25 miles
and and hour later, we both arrived together at the entrance to Tintagell house. A
brick pier between two windows had been blasted away from the River side of the building,
The machines were covered in small debris, brick parts and dust. About three hours later,
with a little work they were both in running order again, I recovered my book and we went home
for the weekend. A small amount of fame and fortune followed both myself and my manager, for
several months after that. With letters expressing thanks for the swift action we had taken.
The responsibility for the bomb was placed with the Angry Brigade, but they were lucky as
I would have been very 'Angry' if they had damaged my fathers book.
Shipboard Adventure
Having purchased a picture from the photographic display. On returning to my cabin on
a cruise recently, I put the key in the Lock and turned the key, to this day I was
certain that I heard the latch click. Walking into the cabin I put the picture down
and listened to my wife taking a shower in the bathroom. Well I would just pop up to
the observation deck and see what the weather was doing, so I reached to the right hand
top draw of the dressing table, where I kept my camera. But upon opening the draw I
found not my Camera but some ladies makeup. The first thought was that my wife had tidied
the top into the wrong side of the dressing table. So I went to knock on the Bathroom
door to talk to her about it, as I walked to the door I looked around me, and although
I saw the same cabin layout the items were not my wife's.
Suddenly a germ of a thought struck me, "I WAS IN THE WRONG CABIN !". With a cold sweat
slowly forming on my brow, I listened to the shower running again, and thought what this
implied. Panic set in and action followed.
What can I say " I ran "
Returning to my own cabin two doors away, I explained to my wife what had happened, we
agreed that the door had not been locked and that I had selected the wrong door.
Somewhat shaken by this lapse on my part I tried not to think about it, until that
afternoon we met two friends from our dining table, who with a smile announced that
they had experinced some strange happenings. One of the two ladies had returned
to her cabin and had found a picture on the dressing table, of my wife and myself along
with the captain, from the first formal night. Yup ! when the panic had set in I had
bolted and left a picture of myself as evidence. The moral of the story is that one
should always check the cabin number very carefully before entering, and as regards
my self styled panther emulation, I have to consider myself a failure
" Mama Mia - What a Mistaka to Maka "
" Life 'is' an Adventure, Free the Panther, inside You! "
" Inspector Jacques Clouseau Says "
" I will find the Pink Panther, whatever he does and wherever he hides"
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