Originally Posted by
zulu Delta 534
Patsy and I have just returned from the first part of our Anzac ceremonies, the one held at Bald Hills State School.
A very impressive service with recitations and addresses by the School Leaders plus a general address on the meaning of Anzac Day by a young Regular Engineers Lieutenant, the Ode, Last Post and Reveille.
As usual I was extremely impressed by the way these kids carry the service out and it is indeed a privilege to be part of it.
Part of the day for the kids (and when I was this age it sure would have been a highlight for me,) was being able to scramble in and over some of the vehicles and I am always surprised at some of the sensible questions put forward by people so young. It is also interesting to be brought back down to earth again by listening to some of the ideas in these little heads.
One little girl pointed to my medals and asked "was I killed in the war?"
Humorous as the statement may be it also makes me wonder just how old I was before I actually came to grips with what "Dying" actually meant.
Anyway back to the lighter side of the day:
Just after I made my last post yesterday afternoon about my Anzac Day plans and after spending the past day or so sprucing the vehicle up a bit, I hopped in Onslow and took a short run down to the servo to take on enough fuel for the next few days running, and on the way home, about 1 km out I heard a hissing sound and noticed that the temp gauge had risen fairly alarmingly. I threw it into neutral and coasted the best part of the click or so home with the engine still idling, pulled into the driveway and did a quick inspection in, under and around, lifted the bonnet and gingerly (with the aid of a very large towel) released the radiator cap. I put in a couple of gallons I suppose before I realised that it was getting out as fast as I could put it in, so I looked a bit harder and found that the core plug (screw in one) just above the starter was gushing water out. Disaster!
After switching off the motor, I cleaned up the hole area with a screwdriver, towel and compressed air as best I could, then I grabbed some "quicksteel/kneadit" (insert your favourite brand name here.), chopped off about an inch or so and began to knead it and insert it into the offending hole.
About an hour later it had gone off and cured so I refilled the radiator and ran the engine back up to running temperature again without the radiator cap on and all seemed well.
This morning I replaced the cap and set off on our 55 minute freeway run across to the other side of town, with one eye on the road and the other on the temp gauge. All went well so I now just hope this temporary fix will last through tomorrow then I can do something a bit more permanent.
So much for those dramas, now a couple of pictures of the day.
Much the same crew each year offering a wide range from WWll through to Vietnam and current vehicles.
Now we just have tomorrow to look forward to.
Regards
Glen