Saturday 2 October 2010

Question Time

I think I'm looking forward to next week, but I can't be sure. I'm leaving the company I set up with my business partner in 1994. It's time to move on. Steve and I have shared an office for nearly seventeen years and in that time we've barely had a cross word. Though that's probably because instead of getting stressed about whether the FTSE or the Dow Jones Index is going up or down, we've wrestled with far more important issues. Over the years these have included:


What was the tog rating on Don Revie's coat?

Can Paul McCartney really peel an
orange in his back pocket?

Has there ever been a better single released sin
ce White Man In Hammersmith Palais?

What would Dad's Army have been like if Jon Pertwee had accepted the Captain Mainwaring gig?

If you put a humidifier and a dehumidifier in the same room, who would win?

What are the pros and cons of Time Travel?

But, time and again, the burning question we return to is: just how big was Thunderbird 2? As kids we can both remember seeing cutaway drawings and blueprints in comics and magazines, but, if they were accurate, it would have to be as big as a farmer's field. Maybe it was. Well, it had to carry a pod which housed The Mole: and we all know how big The Mole is. Don't we?

I know we could cheat and look it up online. But, like most search engines, Google has killed the heated debate with a single bullet. So no, we won't look. Hell, next thing you know we'd be on Google Earth trying to find Tracy Island.

13 comments:

  1. Love that Leeds top next to Revie. On the football/coat crossover: which beastie was killed for Malcolm Allison's fur affair

    For years I had similar confusement over the Starship Enterprise - where was the bridge? The dome atop the disc, or the disc itself.

    Those Gerry Anderson models are literally FAB. The SPV with it's reverse drivers seat, Ed Straker's car, the Interceptors (Spectrum and SHADO) and the Space 1999 Eagles..

    Good luck with the move I'm sure you'll both overcome any wobbles and withdrawal symptoms

    PS - did you know The Batcave is viewable via Google Earth?

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  2. You raise some very important questions there John. The Jon Pertwee/Dad's Army one for a start...not sure how that would've actually worked out...a more zany Mainwaring than we were accustomed too...

    ...as for time travel pros/cons...right now I'm only thinking of the pros but the cons must be getting stuck in the past with no hope of returning to the present!

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  3. M - Thanks! You and Mrs M will have to come and visit when we've finished unpacking boxes.

    LJ - I suppose it depends where (and when) you get stuck. Didn't the BBC leave Garry Sparrow stranded in 1940 with no means of return? At least he had a few white fivers in his skyrocket.

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  4. so what answers did you and Steve come up with to these Q's? I'd say that coat is 15 tog minimum...

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  5. I always thought that T2 would have just plopped off the end of that ramp. There didn't seem to be nearly enough power behind it. But then, what do I know?

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  6. Oh God, you see what you've started now?

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  7. What you should really be discussing is why, whenever anyone planted a bomb somewhere (like the Fireflash airliner) it was a always labelled 'This is a bomb. Danger!'. What kind of terrorist would leave himself open to detection like that? Oh yeah, that's right, The Hood.

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  8. Gosh, the cons of time travel would surely include having all your illusions blown. I've always dreamed of dancing with Gene Kelly, but imagine if I got the chance to go back in time and found his breath smelled? I just couldn't take the risk.

    Good luck with the moves - you are obviously at a Significant Developmental Life Stage (shrink jargon). It all sounds exciting stuff.

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  9. Bloody hell Doctor! Significant Developmental Life Stage? How long have I got?

    You're right though, it is exciting.

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  10. Well the answe to Number 3 is "Groove is in the Heart", isn't it? No?

    *looks around vainly for support*

    I think Thunderbird 2 was the size of a blue whale. In fact, maybe it actually was a hollowed-out blue whale in green armour. My favourite was Thunderbird 4, even though it they never had it on. Parker and Miss Penelope got more screen time than poor old Gordon Tracy. Maybe it was expensive to film underwater.

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