Tales Of A Tunnel (2)

 ... But First Some Answers to Quiz Time Number 3

1, It was our Isle of Wight correspoident who e-mailed the answer to fbb.

The problem is that the sidecar is on the wrong side of the bike. fbb suspected this (remember he has no answer sheet!) but, because the interwebnet has bike and sidecar pictures from various countries, he could not confirm it without extra help. Thanks Alan!

2. Back in the 1930s, helmets were not compulsory, but ...

... you could not carry a pillion passenger if you were still on a ptovisional (learner's) licence.

3. Tricky to get upstairs or off the bus from upstairs ...

... without stairs!

4. If you queued your car against these gates ...

... the gates could not open. Crossing gates when open to road traffic offer a symbolic barrier to trains by closing across the tracks. They wouldn't stop a train,, which is why crossing gates are linked to their protective railway signals.

5. The ship pictured is the Queen Elizabeth launched in 1938.

The Queen Mary had three funnels and was launched in 1934.

6. You would have to be a special kind of pilot ...

... to handle a plane with two engines on one wing and one on the other.

7. The duodecagon shape of this three pence coin was not introduced ..,

... until 1937. So one dated 1917 would be a fake.

8. There is no catch in this picture ...

... and thus no means of keeping the contents secure! An open and open case!

9. Odd working on the railway!

One train has no locomotive and the other has two - pulling in opposite directions.

10. Closing the doors might be tricky ...

... which is why they should open outwards!

Bonus : Roller skating is, fbb is told, not easy ...

... but roller skating on ice would be even harder. The skateress might well be disqualified anyway!

Back To The Tunnel ...

... and that portal of gloom near the southern exit of the Queensway Tunnel under the River Mersey.

There was once a branch tunnel at the Birkenhead end which led to the town's docks area. If you go to Rendel Street you would see this ...

... which looks familiar. And, from just round the corner we see the old docks tunnel entrance road.

And the old road from above.

The old tunnel, now used for parking maintenance equipment, is barred by gates at the Rendel Street end.

Here is the original meeting point now visible at the hole of doom as at the head of this report.

This picture is from the leaflet explaining how the junction worked.

The pictures below show the junction in use, and controlled by traffic lights - in the early days ...

... and somewhat later.

Looks like fun!

But what about a roundabout in a tunnel?.

==================

"NOT the Advent Calendar", but ...

     The      

  CHRIST -mas 

  Criss-muss  

   Confusion  

 Critique  31 

Part of the Christmas Story ...

... but Later.

Like the "Find The Fault" quiz above, we ask, "What is wrong with this traditional stylised picture?"

Almost everything!

The shepherds didn't take any sheep

The wise men didn't ride on camels

The wise men didn't meet the shepherds

It was, most likely, a cave not a stable

The wise men went to Jesus' "house"

The shepherds did not observe the star

There is no record of three wise men

They didn't wear silly hats

The wise men visited Jesus when aged 2

And they weren't Kings - ever.

Here is what Matthew actually wrote.

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the time when Herod was king. Soon afterward, some men who studied the stars came from the East to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the baby born to be the King of the Jews? We saw his star when it came up in the east, and we have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard about this, he was very upset, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. He called together all the chief priests and the teachers of the Law and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be born?”

Looking for a "King", they went to the King!

As it turned out, not the best plan.

So who exactly were these "some men"?

=========================

 Tunnel blog Part 3 : Weds 1st Jan 

Tales Of A Tunnel (1)

... But First Some Answers to Quiz Time Number 2

1. In the beach scene the obvious fault was the bucket ...

... but a close examination of the frame of the deck chair shows that is it wrongly erected with the cross piece not straight and thus not resting parallel with the ground!

2. Tiles and slates have to overlap to give, usually, three layers of material to keep out the wet in addition to overall roofing felt. To allow the rain to drain ...

... they should overlap starting from the bottom, not the top.

3. A watering can has a large lip to allow the user to pour the whole contents without spilling.

The lip should be on the same side as spout and rose.

4. Neither is it a good idea to sleep in a tent that will instantly fall down!

Whilst poles and ridge are supported, the main structure is not!

5. Watch out for this one!

fbb hasn't worn a watch for decades but reference to te timepiece adorning Mrs fbb's beautiful but toil-worn wrist gave the old bloke the answer. There was nothing wrong with the numerals and nothing wrong with the juxtaposition of the hands. The winder is on the wrong side!

6. Again, easy to miss ...

... and thus not miss the missing pillar supporting the portico. But the car doesn't have a front registration plate either!

7. Unless the farmer is letting out a small room in the roof of the barn accessed by a rope ladder ...

... a chimney on a building where inflammable substances are stored seems ill-advised.

8. Trying to open a gate using the catch supplied ...

... but at the same end as the hinges, would seem to offer unlikely success.

9. Trying to screw in this screw ...

... without a slot for the blade of the screwdriver would mean your efforts were totally screwed! Using a crosshead blade would make you more than cross and do your head in!

10. The keystone (a k a capstone) of the arch ...

... would fall out as it has been installed upside down. Collapse of bridge and non stout party crossing over would be a jolly jape for bystanders!

Bonus : Another ridiculously obvious one ...

... where fbb failed to spot the Golden Pig error.

Not far from fbb mansions, and on the outskirts of Honiton is a restaurant called simply "The Pig".

it is a bit too posh and far too expensive for the fbbs!

Something Odd In A Tunnel?

The Blackwall Tunnel under the Thames opened in 1897 and offers a road and a footpath, although the atmosphere is not entirely conducive to First Footing at any time! The tunnel was busy in 1953, as seen from the steps down to the footpath.

fbb has never walked via its atmospherically challenged and noisy path! But he has ridden through on a bus. It was, and still is, the 108.

When the Mersey Tunnel opened in 1934 ...

... some claimed it was the world's first undersea tunnel! Where the River Mersey turns into the Irish Sea is not clear, but the "largest" claim is equally dodgy. 

Largest in diameter? Longest underwater?

fbb was taken through the bore when he was approx 5 and remembers his apoplectic excitement and his mother's palpable fear ot instant inundation. He also remembers his father being a bit of a bore about the bore and suspected that the old boy didn't actually know what he was talking about.

fbb has inherited a similar skill but taken it to dizzying heights!

The Art Deco style could be seen in the pay kiosk ...

... and those glorious street lamps, just a few that have been preserved from the original proliferation.

It is a bit more electronic these days!

In fact all the toll gates are at the southern end ...

... because they would have had to demolish quite a lot of Liverpool to fit them in at the northern portal!.

The northern approach tells you how much you will have to pay to escape ...

... so you have been warned. It also says NO BUSES and NO HGV'S. But buses certainly appear to come the other way.

The restrictions are for lane occupancy, not a total ban on such vehicles - fbb guesses.

But, as you near the Birkenhead (southern) end, you might espy this looming and capacious hole ...

... of which more tomorrow.

fbb Is Appealing

But it is not his Adonis-like handsome features or his ready wit or even his intellectual prowess that is the appeal.

He wants to know about this tie.

Here is a slightly fuzzy close-up of the shield.

The tie was a much loved possession of fbb's late chum John Simpson who died on Christmas Eve. John's widow, Glenys, and his sons would love to know what is special about it. 

But as Manuel might say to Basil Fawlty, they opine "I know nothing" in an exaggerated Barcelona accent.

fbb wonders if any of his readers can identify the tie. If so, please e-mail as follows:-

fbb@xephos.com

Just in case you wondered, fbb has viewed about four million green ties with shields illustrated on line and it isn't one of them!

==================

"NOT the Advent Calendar", but ...

     The      

  CHRIST -mas 

  Criss-muss  

   Confusion  

 Critique  30 

Always Missing From the Christmas Story

But it should be there!

As well as Anna, the aged prophetess, this man was lurking in the Temple when Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the ceremony of "Purification"

If that happened today, the police would be called!

Simeon's words, quoted from Old Testament Scripture, have become an integral part of the set service in, for example, the Anglican Church. It is called the "Nunc Dimittis" which means "Now You Can Go"!

Now, Lord, you have kept your promise,

and you may let your servant go in peace.

With my own eyes I have seen

your salvation,

which you have prepared

in the presence of all peoples:

A light to reveal your will to the Gentiles

and bring glory to your people Israel.

In itself this was quite shocking - the Jews thought of themselves as God's only chosen people and here is Simeon revealing that the Saviour was for the Gentiles, the non-Jews, as well.

But it is what he said to Mary that made everybody think.

This child is chosen by God for the

destruction and the salvation of many

in Israel.

He will be a sign from God

which many people will speak against

and so reveal their secret thoughts.

And sorrow, like a sharp sword,

will break your own heart.

The future doesn't look pretty at all.

But then ... 

On the third day ...

That is what Christmas is really about.

And in a while some blokes in silly hats will arrive to see the child and reinforce the idea.

=========================

 Tunnel blog Part 2 : Tues 31st Dec