Madame Saffron Hemlock is proud to announce...

The 2019 World Parasol Duelling Champions!

L to R
Raven Hawthorne Street Duelling and Flirtations Champion

Farmer Mandy Compulsory Figures Champion

Linda Laszchuk Duelling and WORLD CHAMPION!

Congratulations Ladies!

Fill 'er up!

This photo shows the partially inflated gas bags of the British R33.

 From FB user Rick Zitarosa: "Gas lines at Lakehurst could provide 100,000 cubic feet per hour at 1-inch of pressure. Weather was a factor on working conditions and while the wartime-size ships could be inflated in a day or two Harold Dick advises that the inflation of the LZ129 commenced in mid January and took over 2 weeks. A critical juncture in the birth/life of a ship because in addition to having the riggers moving about attending to snags/folds/possible tears it was also necessary to ensure even inflation of adjacent cells and the proper addition and movement of sandbags, ballast, etc as the ship became buoyant."

Of course our ship, the HMAS Velvet Brush is inflated with steam, so while it wouldn't be quite so dangerous it would have been very hot!

The picture was posted on the awesome FB group Airships, Dirigibles and Zeppelins
There is an amazing collection of photos and expertise in that group.
Highly recommended is you are looking for an almost daily hit of Airship Wonderfulness.

Thanks for reading.

Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed, and your water iced.
KJ

Dog and Pony...

Here is the third and last part of the Epilogue to my serial story Ice and Clockwork.

Previously, Lt Cmdr Maxwell MacDonald-Smythe (Max) having recently returned to England after being shipwrecked on the coast of Norway, as detailed in Lost at Sea,  has been given command of the Velvet Brush. However his ship is still undergoing refit at the EAD's airdock.

You can start from the beginning of the Epilogue here.

Enjoy Part III

Ice and Clockwork Epilogue

A serial story from The Airship's Messdeck.

Part III
  by Kevin Jepson

EAD London

Max enters the headquarters building of the EAD, brushing the dirty grey snow off his uniform greatcoat as he does so. It is a cold, snowy winter day in London. There has been no sign of the sun for a week and everything is chill, damp and grey. Max rubs his lame leg, which always aches in cold damp weather. The entrance hall of the headquarters building is busy with clerks, officers, and couriers heading into and out of the entrance hall.

Probably always like this nowadays, not like when we worked here all them years ago.

An orderly comes up to Max and salutes, "Lt Commander MacDonald-Smythe?"

"Aye that be me."

"This way Sir, they are waiting for you in the meeting room Sir"

Following the orderly as he threads through the rushing crowd, Max wonders who he is going to be meeting with this time.

The meeting room is a large office at the end of the corridor with a heavy oak and brass bound door. Two marine sentries stand guard beside the door and salute Max. The orderly opens the door and ushers Max inside.

The center of the room is filled with a large heavy table crowded with reports and papers. Admiral Wilcox is seated at the head of the table. Max comes to attention and salutes. The Admiral stands and says "Ah Gentlemen, and Ladies, Lt Commander MacDonald-Smythe has joined us. Please stand easy Commander and take a seat. The orderly will take your coat."

"Thank you Sir"

Max sits at the only empty seat at the table. Looking around he sees that the 10 or so men and women around the table are a mix of civilian contractors and Naval personnel. He recognizes the gruff lead of the dockyard hands, and the dockyard boffin who accepted the Velvet Brush from him more than a year ago now. Max smiles and gets a nod and smile in return. The officers seated next to Admiral Wilcox are full four stripe Captains, who Max does not recognize. At the end of the table are several ladies. one of them Max recognizes as Madame's cousin, the one with a clay pipe and bowler hat, she smiles at Max and gives the hand sign to 'fly level'. The same sign Mary had given him when he had been getting ready to present his report, in this same building, after the attack on the ship in Portsmouth two years ago.

So many miles under yer keel since then Max me lad.

Admiral Wilcox rises from his seat and says "Ladies and Gentlemen I want to thank you all for braving the cold and taking time from your extensive duties to join us. We need to make sure everyone is on the same page with respect to the status of the Velvet Brush. As you may know, Lt Commander MacDonald-Smythe has been given command and is currently collecting his crew. Their Lordships are anxious that we release the Velvet Brush back to the Admiralty as soon as we can do so. With that in mind I would like to call upon each of the department heads to make their reports please, starting with the Dock Master."

For the next hour and a half Max sits quietly as each section head presents their report on the status of the his ship, the Velvet Brush.

My Ship! Never thought I would ever get formal command being an engineer and all, but a command is a command, even if it is probably temporary till they assign another four striper.

As the meeting progresses it becomes apparent that it may still be some time before the Velvet Brush can be formally turned over to the Admiralty.

Well, more time to try and understand all the changes they've made to her I suppose.

When it is Max's turn he tells them that he has most of the old crew collected from their various postings, that the deck crew was being assembled and that the Marine contingent was mostly complete awaiting the return of its senior NCO from his "detached service" with Naval Intelligence.

After everyone has given their report Admiral Wilcox rises again and summarizes the reports for the clerks to record the status. He then dismisses everyone suggesting that they partake of the excellent luncheon laid on for them upstairs.

Max rises to leave as well but Admiral Wilcox calls out to him. "A word Commander if you please."

"Of course Sir."

"Since it appears that you will have to wait a while longer till you can get your fine ship in the air, there is another duty you will need to perform for us."

"Sir?"

"You have heard about the new 'Spread the Wealth' plan that her Majesty's government has devised?"

"No Sir, I have not been following the press I'm afraid Sir."

"Ah, quite, mostly drivel frankly, alas this is not. Somebody in the Government has decided that it is not right for Her Majesty's Military to keep all its technical discoveries to itself. So they have requested that we start releasing the results of our experimental work to the public."

"Is that wise Sir?"

Admiral Wilcox snorts. "No it is not! However the reasoning is not all bad, if our industry can make use of these developments then our Empire will still stay ahead of our competitors even if in the process we give up some of our military lead."

"What does that have to do with me Sir?"

Admiral Wilcox sighs. "We need you to start the process of releasing the information deemed no longer secret."

"Me Sir? How am I to do that."

"Dog and Pony show I'm afraid."

"Ah"

"Ha, don't look like you are going to a courts marshal commander, it isn't that bad. I understand you are an excellent speaker on technical matters. Sir Gordon told me of your presentation here after the attack on your ship in Portsmouth. You don't have to worry about what technical information you will give out, that has been prepared for you already. All you have to do is give the impression that we are complying with the Government's request."

"Impression Sir?"

"Dog and Pony commander, dog and pony. We are going to release information and technologies that we know are already compromised so we loose nothing but may actually gain if our businesses can make some use of it."

"Aye Sir, understood. I'll do my best Sir."

"Excellent. Your first event is at the London Air Services association Monday next. Faraday has all the details and the documentation for you. Now let us get some of that luncheon before everything is gone eh?"

"Aye aye Sir!"

You can read the transcript of Max's speech here.

==========================

Thanks for following along with the adventures of Max and his crew from the Velvet Brush.

I hope you have enjoyed them.

There are many adventures yet to tell.

Thanks for reading and as always...
Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed, and your water iced.
KJ

The Message

Previously, Max was called to the EAD for a meeting with the current head of that organization.
Max and his crew have only been in England for a short while after being rescued from their adventures as told in my serial tale Lost at Sea.

Here is part two of the Epilogue.

Enjoy
Keep your sightglass full, your firebox trimmed, and your water iced.
KJ

Ice and Clockwork Epilogue

A serial story from The Airship's Messdeck.

Part II
  by Kevin Jepson

Max enters his room at the Officer's Hostel and closes the door behind him. It is the same room he had before taking the old Doris north in the dead of the previous winter. He drops the folder with his orders, and the envelope from Mary, down on the desk and sits on the bed. Somebody had set a fire in the small grate so the room is just warm enough to be comfortable.

Well here we are again Max you old salt, back in the same hostel waiting to get on with another mission and just as confused as before.

He takes off his jacket and cap and tosses them onto the chair, lies back on the bed and stares at the tin ceiling. The dim watery light of a winter London day gives the room a slightly misty look.

It's as if I never left for God's sake, like all that happened was a dream or something. I half expect to see the rat ticking on the window sill.[1] But you are sitting up in Scapa Flow where I left you when we sailed out into the North Sea in the the Argo all those months ago. I wonder if yer still ticking you little clockwork bugger.

Some things had changed though. The young seaman Jones had been assigned to a cargo airship carrying supplies up to that same base at Scapa Flow, and the old pensioner had gone to his rest some months before.

Max smiles as he remembers Jones in all his finery striding off to meet Daphne for tea at Lady Formingham's London house...

Max looks over at the thick folder of paper on the desk and sighs.

Ah, Mary... Well, nothing for it, best find out what you has to say.

He gets up and pulls the envelope out of the folder. Looking at it carefully he can see that the doodle of the pelican crosses the seal of the envelope.

Clever Mary, nobody could open this without me knowing. Not that Admiral Chicheley's boys couldn't read it through the paper and all. No, if they had gotten their hands on this I would never have received it. Unless they want me to get it that is. Odd that Admiral Wilcox would give me this while telling me that I am still forbidden any contact!

Taking a letter opener from the desk he carefully opens the envelope and takes out the letter and begins to read it.
----
My Dear Maxwell
I do not know if you will ever see this.
I fear that you may be lost in that awful storm, the worry is horrible.
Gordon has been almost frantic about it too. He would send everything he has to find you if he could but there are so many lost his resources are strained to the limit.
I have sent this note by Daphne's beau, the young lad you so graciously helped to make a good impression before you left. He flies on the supply ships that bring us our regular supplies. I told him to give this to Sir James if he could and no other.
Sir James is an old friend of Gordon's and though he is constrained as much by Naval Intelligence as anybody he can be trusted to pass this along if you ever return.
On that wondrous and happy day I hope you can read this safely and know that I have not stopped thinking of you since you sailed away on that old trawler.
Your friend always.
Mary

P.S.
I know that SHE can read this but perhaps others may not, even the pelicans on the Thames can keep their secrets.
RjIj* ufnJ* mABh* aKxt* lFrv* ztey* jnfn* OtGi* wisy* wlyx* qDuy* )iIp* Fpfx* ucuv* ueIx* umrp* fDxx* orps* Awha* AqDl* yxmz* pfzx* wisH* !Eiv* uFys* sBcx* wJmA* Dwat* Ewsn* wuwD* llCk* bHpy* txvf* nMmA* BhaG* Jwuw* jtnJ* mqHc* qIBq* ljuf* nqqE* xciI* Cfz&* cUvu* Dlvd* znKx* qiBp* IpgG* Ccuv* uDlv* dznD* tFif* bFue* rxua* MEzl* jvaW* piA&* cBzB* euBc* oCJe* mBcj* Hpxq* npt+* pQAE* haoB* BmHv* /n2f* DH [2]

Max stares at the note for a long time before putting it back in the envelope and placing it carefully on the desk with the pelican doodle where he can clearly see it

Secrets indeed.

Mary what are you up to now...

Part III is here.

-------------------------------
[1]When the Velvet Brush was in the airdock at Portsmouth she was attacked by KARs (Kamikaze Automaton Rats) These were clockwork automatons loaded with explosives sent by an unknown assailant. The crew captured one and Madame Taxus-Hemlock converted it to be useful as a way to communicate securely between the members of the crew. You can follow the adventures of  Madame's assistant and protege Maddie Hatter in the Maddie Hatter series by Jayne Barnard where she has a clockwork bird created for her by Madame.
[2] As part of our role play we created a code system to use when communicating outside the group.
I will leave the decoding as an exercise for the reader.😉