Page 87 - Demo

83work. I can%u2019t remember how we managed up to then as we had different shift patterns, but at some point I had bought an Izetta bubble car which I drove to work in. It was not very reliable, and the spark plug blew out from time to time. It came out with some force hitting a wooden panel behind my back with quite a thump. I just pushed it back and carried on but it wasn%u2019t really safe for Gabby.. Anyway, when we landed at Akrotiri the local ATC announced that %u201cthe co-pilots wife has passed her driving test%u201d which was something of a relief. In September we moved to a rented house in Findhorn called Tigeribu. The problem with Ellando was that it was a few miles away from Kinloss. Gabby usually worked a 3 shift which meant she was at work every third night. However, if there were no station aircraft flying she could come home. The powers that be then decided that controllers could only go home if they lived within 3 miles of the base. The only houses that close were either the married quarters, none of which were available for us, or something in Findhorn. We did manage to find Tigeribu and agreed to rent it. However, the old lady who owned it wanted it back for a month in the summer and we agreed to this and decided we would worry about the summer later, if need be, moving back into the mess. This would have been a bit awkward as Gabby had bought a Cairn Terrier by then. We called her Mop because that was what she looked like. I had not been consulted at all and wanted Gabby to take her back. But as usual, gave in at the end. A couple of days before we moved in, our crew went to RAF Coltishall for a static display laid on for some senior military officers.. When we got home Gabby and I moved into Tigeribu although as we had no furniture that was pretty simple. The rent was %u00a37.35 per week.Most flight commanders took many of the best overseas trips for themselves, but Tom was different. As a result, our crew got few %u201cjollies%u201d but that changed in October when we went to Tengah in Singapore. We