3 bandsmen and a fireman

Today saw Timmy Magic and the rest of Regent Hall Band visit Sittingbourne in Kent for an evening of fun, laughs and games (according to Jonny Lomax).

We had a jolly ice time when we arrived, but this post concerns the pre-arrival antics, and to some extent, the pre-departure antics.

We loaded the van up, as is customary when we go away, and hopped on in. I chucked my bag onto the front seat and, realising that there was little leg room, it might be more sensible to put in the the back of the van. I asked Norman if the van was locked, to which he replied in the affirmative. But that the key was in his jacket pocket and that his jacket was, oddly enough, in the back of the van. The locked van.

Into action we sprung, finding hammers, pliers, screwdrivers, broken music stands and big bits of metal in an attempt to break the padlock. We poked, prodded, pulled, pushed and generally beats seven bells out of this padlock but to no avail.

It was decided that we should leave, think about the problem on the way and if required, buy a hacksaw. By the time we had got from the Rink to All Souls, a plan was formed. We would stop at the fire station on Euston Road to ask them if they could help.

We pulled up outside and couldn't see any sign of life apart from the cars parked outside. After large amounts of hunting and small amounts of ringing the bell we missed first time round, a helpful fireman arrived. We asked him if he had any bolt croppers and he told us he did not as they were in the other van. He did however have this.

"This" was a petrol powered set of cutters, much like the fire brigade use to remove railings and roofs from cars. Oddly enough, it did the trick. After about 2 seconds of using the machine, the padlock went 'ping' and fell to the ground.

The helpful fireman then asked who we were and when we told him, he offered us a cup of tea because the Salvation Army are always helping them. We declined, thinking they had evened it up in our minds.

Timmy "Pinged Padlock" Magic