Lesson 65 Jumbo versus the police
Why did the police have to push Jumbo off the main street? Last Christmas, the circus
owner, Jimmy Gates, decided to take some presents to a children's hospital. Dressed up
as Father Christmas and accompanied by a 'guard of honour' of six pretty girls, he set off
down the main street of the city riding a baby elephant called Jumbo. He should have known
that the police would never allow this sort of thing. A policeman approached Jimmy and
told him he ought to have gone along a side street as Jumbo was holding up the traffic.
Though Jimmy agreed to go at once, Jumbo refused to move. Fifteen policemen had to push
very hard to get him off the main street. The police had a difficult time, but they were
most amused. 'Jumbo must weigh a few tons,' said a policeman afterwards, 'so it was
fortunate that we didn't have to carry him. Of course, we should arrest him, but as he has
a good record, we shall let him off this time.'
Lesson 66 Sweet as honey!
What was 'sweet as honey' and why?
In 1963 a Lancaster bomber1 crashed on Wallis Island, a remote place in the South Pacific,
a long way west of Samoa. The plane wasn't too badly damaged, but over the years,
the crash was forgotten and the wreck remained undisturbed. Then in 1989,
twenty-six years after the crash, the plane was accidentally rediscovered in an aerial
survey of the island. By this time, a Lancaster bomber in reasonable condition was
rare and worth rescuing. The French authorities had the plane packaged and moved
in parts back to France. Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored.
It has four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, but the group will need to have only three of them
rebuilt. Imagine their surprise and delight when they broke open the packing cases and
found that the fourth engine was sweet as honey-still in perfect condition.
A colony of bees had turned the engine into a hive and
it was totally preserved in beeswax!