MYSTERY OBJECTS

[David Whipp]

Shame on you Plaques...!

Wendy has it, it's a radish.

Son Tom popped a harvested salad sized radish back into the bed; the result was the spectacular flowering specimen in the photos.

The North West in Bloom judges were quite impressed by it when they visited in July - it was one of them who commented that the seed pods were a delicacy in fancy restaurants (my words, not hers).

Me and Tom have spent a quiet hour or two of an evening this week collecting the seeds from the dried seed pods; we'll see if they do anything next year.

Stanley - we don't have a Percy Thrower, but we do have Titchmarsh (the tup pictured on the board behind the raised bed). Titchmarsh has been our mascot since the first year of Barlick in Bloom when we started with the fleece lined hanging baskets.

[plaques]

An easy one for weekend. Every old shed inhabitant will have one of these. This is slightly different from the norm. Full description please.

[David Whipp]

Cordless driver....

[Gloria]

Is it the driving mechanism off a hand drill?

[Bodger]

Two speed hand drill, probably a Stanley ?

[plaques]

Bodger's got it spot on. Its always sold as a two speed drill. Of course technically its a two "torque" drill. If you wind it by hand you can get any speed you like.

Gloria is a good second.

David. I think you are pulling my leg.

[plaques]

What's the reason for this.

[PanBiker]

Celebrate HM Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee 1977. Lots of promo stuff like this around at the time.

[Stanley]

Sounds good to me Ian....

[plaques]

Ian & Stanley. Right again. These are now much sought after by collectors and can be worth anything up to 25 pence. "Wow"

[PanBiker]

I have a perspex paperweight produced by Thorn, EMI, Ferguson electronics group for the Silver Jubilee. It has Red Green and Blue clear ribbon cable twisted through the block to signify the primary colours used in colour TV systems. Same ribbon was used in their colour TV's to take the signal from the video output stages to the CRT base connector. Sent out to the TV dealers at the time.

[plaques]

On display at a museum. What is it. Try to be specific.

[Stanley]

I think I know what it is but not the make.

[Gloria]

I think I know as well, but not the make either.

[plaques]

My mind reading abilities are playing me up today. You probably both know what it is and being good natured sorts you're letting other people have a go.
Every self respecting Barlicker should be able to make a guess at this.

[Cathy]

A Rolls Royce engine or a Mill machine... I know I am wrong because Stanley would have known the make.

[PanBiker]

Every self respecting Barlicker should be able to make a guess at this.

Well, I'm one of them and I haven't got a clue. Its some kind of engine but it's not a supercharged Merlin or any component part of same, (my mum used to play with them). Never worked in engineering or any of the local factories or mills so nothing to be gleaned from there. It could be some kind of wagon engine but if it is I don't know what the connection would be with Barlick.

[hartley353]

Could it be a 1800cc RR engine built in Manchester, later increased to 1900cc and giving about 10hp.

[plaques]

Hartley353. Excellent. 99.999R correct. It was the 1904 engine built in Manchester before Royce went into partnership with Rolls. Just another bit of trivia, At Barlick RR is referred to as "Roll's" while at Derby it is "Royce's".

[Cathy]

Was I half right...

[PanBiker]

Our Barlick factories have never had anything to do with the car engines only the stuff that flies. I belive all "Rollers" are officially known as "Royces" though.

[hartley353]

Lots of these engines never fly, some are used in power generation, many power gas compressors.

[plaques]

Slow down, its only a bit of fun. On my part if the facts don't match the rhetoric its because I've been exposed to too much political propaganda. At one period RR Barlick started to make "blow moulding" machines. But there again I suppose these can be classed as hot air machines. At the end of the day a lot of people can been thankful of Royce's engineering talent which set the foundation for the present aero engine industry.

[Stanley]

Yes Cathy, you were half right, certainly nearer than I was because I thought it was an early marine engine! Come on Mick, let's have that mystery object!

[Stanley]

Try this one....