Page 40 - Demo

38Not Quite Enough Top Rudderon the Slow RollIt was the night before the 1966 World Cup Final, and I had arranged to meet a couple of old friends who lived on the Cranwell married patch, for a boys%u2019 night out ten-pin bowling at Coningsby, which was then under Care & Maintenance awaiting the arrival of the Phantom. I wanted to drown my sorrows as my girlfriend at the time was away for the weekend at a 21st birthday party with some ex-Henlow engineering cadets, now in our Senior Entry. As I was one of the few with a car (my mother%u2019s beloved old Renault Dauphine), I drew the short straw and drove, with John Luke, Clive Chandler and Ian Dow riding shotgun. A good night was had by all, although I seem to recall that the quality of the bowling became inversely proportional to the amount of ale consumed. Eventually, the time arrived when we had to leave, to beat the curfew time back in the Block. John remembers events very clearly. With Raz %u2013 who had sensibly refused the eighth pint, on the grounds that he was driving %u2013 at the wheel, and as we flew over the bridge by Ruskington, singing Rule Britannia (or, more likely, some ditty about a harlot), a sharp 90o left appeared from nowhere%u2026..we got halfway around, hit the kerb, and progressed into the adjacent field in an inverted attitude. Short chorus of %u201cYou all right?%u201d%u2026..%u201dYes, I%u2019m all right, you all right?%u201d%u2026.and we opened the doors with much scraping of gravel%u2026..turned the Renault the right way up%u2026.and were most disappointed when it failed to start!Pushed it into a lay-by, got picked up by a passing car, whose driver happened to live on the Cranwell Officers%u2019 patch, and he got us back to the Block by curfew time. Amazing that none of us was hurt %u2013 pre-