I have an idea for a new thread...

[The Guy in Pink]

My Sunday musings about Elim Hospital took me back to this story.

 

Constable Willem Eagle and his rifle.

Constable C.W. Eagle was born in Canada from an English mother and a Red Indian Brave father. In 1904 he Joined the BSAP and was stationed at Fort Edward, a prefab steel fort, near Elim. (20km From Louis Trichardt)   He brought with him his own repeating rifle.

The Rifle was a Colt repeating rifle, unusual to say the least, as Colt made revolvers, ,both pistols and some revolver rifles. However, they made about 40 repeating rifles before Winchester took them to court for patent infringement, and Colt recalled all of them in 1904 except for three.  One of which escaped the recall was Constable Eagle's, as he was already on his way to South Africa at the time of the recall..

In 1908 he was dispatched on horseback to investigate a disturbance west of Messina, and encountered a lioness who attacked him. He fired many shots at the lion with his rifle but was severely mauled before the lioness withdrew.  A Prospector on a nearby hill saw the incident and got him help. He was taken by mule cart back to Elim Hospital (The journey must have taken several days)   He died of his injuries several days after getting to hospital.  

 

So why was his rifle so ineffective against the lioness bespite all the shots fired?  Well It was a .22 calibre peashooter .

 

Below is local historian Charles Leach with the rifle.

 

[geomark]

[Slowbee]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boer_Revolt

 

Things they dont teach in history class.

 

What a rabbit hole I have been down because of Hitlers Spies in South Africa

[Slowbee]

The rabbit hole also brought me to this ..

 

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-11-16-declassified-apartheid-profits-german-u-boats/

 

Totally fascinating !

 

(and distracting)

[geomark]

 Other things they dont teach you in history class ;

 

 

...In an attempt to achieve this mission to the Moon Nkoloso recruited twelve astronauts, and put them through rigorous training of his own devising. He put them in an oil drum, spun them round trees and rolled them down hills in order to prepare them for weightlessness. He taught them to walk on their hands as he believed this to be the way to walk in space. He made them swing on a rope, before cutting the rope to allow them to experience freefall...

 

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/zambian-space-programme

 

http://www.goodshortfilms.it/en/articles/afronauts-il-programma-spaziale-dello-zambia

[DJR]

More history they never taught us:

 

Cracking the sky - The fascinating story by a fascinating South African, Des Prout-Jones (he is still alive and every now and then still launches a rocket for fun and his grand children) who built and shot rockets long ago (late 1940s to 1960s), but was blocked around every corner. Yes, we could have had a space programme long ago if the authorities were not so idiotically myopic. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Sky-History-Rocket-Science/dp/1868882039

 

More detail of the stuff they did

 

http://www.rocketry.org.za/History

[Hairy]

[Hairy]

[geomark]

 

[The Ouzo]

IMG_2977.JPG

 

bac84bbb-6400-4f65-a3c0-d1c8d70dab80.jpg

I laughed more than I should

[fanievb]

IMG_2977.JPG

 

bac84bbb-6400-4f65-a3c0-d1c8d70dab80.jpg

 

I refuse to let my daughter grow up not knowing what she is eating or where it comes from, so she knows where steak, wors and a tjoppie comes from.

 

In our house bacon is known as peppa pig 

[RocknRolla]

My little one was going on about how cute the little pigs were that he saw at the venue we were at. And I kept on calling them bacon 1 and 2....he is also fully aware.

[Long Wheel Base]

IMG_2977.JPG

 

bac84bbb-6400-4f65-a3c0-d1c8d70dab80.jpg

Does that mean the program will now be taken off air?

Luckily my boys now ask us to change when peppa pig comes on. Some of their programs I can tolerate but that program is not one of them.

[Long Wheel Base]

I refuse to let my daughter grow up not knowing what she is eating or where it comes from, so she knows where steak, wors and a tjoppie comes from.

 

In our house bacon is known as peppa pig 

Same here. I was making biltong this weekend and the oldest asks what animal was killed for biltong? I laughed and said killed is such a harsh word. He then asks well how does it die then? After my long pause trying to come up with a answer suitable for a 5y/o he tells me they just shoot them.

[Red Robin]

Does that mean the program will now be taken off air?

Luckily my boys now ask us to change when peppa pig comes on. Some of their programs I can tolerate but that program is not one of them.

 

I liked Shaun the Sheep    

[Hairy]

I liked Shaun the Sheep    

Shaun the Sheep is excellent ... even for "adults"