#emergency locksmiths bury

[theemmtropy]

I think I've found the wildest piece of music history in existence. So I went to a audio/visual store today, and they had vintage cassettes, and I was amazed to find a Travelling Wilburys one. The Travelling Wilburys were a musical supergroup consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty. (I've linked their most popular songs, just in case you're not sure who they are.) So I was very excited to add it to my collection. (Side note: it plays great.) Upon opening it up this evening, I was looking at the inside pamphlet, you know, the kind that has designs and track lists and such. And I found an incredible piece of fake lore for the band, which I have typed out (CW for brief racial stereotype):

“The etymological origins of The Traveling Wilburys have aroused something of a controversy amongst academic circles. Did they, as Professor “BOBBY” Sinfield believes, originate from the various Wilbury Fairs which travelled Europe in Medieval times, titillating the populace with contemporary ballads, or rather, were they rather derived from “YE TRAVELLING WILLYBURYS”, who were popular locksmiths during the Crusades used to picking or unlocking jammed chastity belts (rather like today’s emergency plumbers.) Dr. Arthur Noseputty of Cambridge believes they were closely related to the Strangling Dingleberries, which is not a Group but a disease, an unpleasant form of crotch-rot; arguing that a “WILLBERRY” is often used as an expression for a piece of crud found in the crevice of an ancient pair of y-fronts; but I think this can be discounted, not only because of his silly name but also from his habit of impersonating Ethel Merman during lectures. Some have even gone on to suggest tenuous links with the Pillsburys, the group who invented Flour Power. Dim Sun, a Chinese academic, argues that they may be related to “THE STROLLING TILBURYS”, Queen Elizabeth the first’s favourite minstrels, and backs this suspicion with the observation that The Travelling Wilburys is an obvious anagram of “V. BURYING WILL’S THEATRE”, clearly a reference to the closing of Shakespeare’s Globe theatre by Villiers during an outbreak of plague. This would account for the constant travelling. Indeed, many victims of plague and St. Vitus’ dance literally danced themselves to death, and it is this dancing theme that resurfaces with The Wilbury Twist. Not a cocktail but a dance craze, reminiscent of The Wilbury Quadrille made famous at Bath in 1790 by Beau Diddley, and the Wilbury Waltz, which swept Vienna in the 1890’s. One thing, however, remains certain. The circumambulatory peregrinations of these itinerant mundivagrant peripatetic nomads has already disgorged one collection of popular lyrical cantata, which happily encapsulated their dithyrambic antiphonic contrapuntal threnodies as a satisfactory auricular experience for the hedonistic gratification of the hoi polloi on a popular epigraphically inscribed gramophonic recording. Now here’s another one. Tiny Hampton (Professor “TINY” Hampton is currently leading the search for Intelligent Life amongst Rock Journalism, at the University of Please Yourself, California.)"

(I've included links that might help contextualize the jokes/puns/references that I could pick up on.)

HELLO?????? WHICH ONE OF THEM WROTE THIS I NEED TO KNOW

And APPARENTLY, they all had Wilbury personas.

And BEST OF ALL, they named their SECOND ALBUM (which this is pulled from), "VOL. 3". IM WHEEZING.

[europa-locks]

Everything You Need To Know About Locks In India!

Did you know that burglaries, thefts, and robberies accounted for 70% of all crimes in India? So, whether old or new, you must maintain the locks in each home where you reside with your loved ones and assets. High security door locks can assist in maintaining this trend by preventing would-be burglars and maintaining privacy. 

Internal locks for doors, cabinets, and cupboards are required for security. We are all aware that there are several lock solutions available. However, to choose the ideal one for your organization, you must first understand their main differences. 

Our article explains the seven most common door locks, how they work, and when to use them. Here are a few different types of door locks available on the market: 

Knob locks are one of the most often used types of locks on most doors. It is simple to use and secure as well. However, despite its many applications as outdoor, wardrobe, shed, or bathroom door locks, it is not the ideal door lock.

Cam locks use a fastener with a rotating arm or cam to lock. They are typically cylindrical and have a metal tube with a hole on one side to aid in positioning the bolt when inserted. They are usually found on vending machines, desktops, and display cases.

On external doors, Mortise locks with light-duty and heavy-duty variations are utilized. They have an internal mechanism, making them more of a lockset than a lock. These locksets, which may incorporate knobs or levers, provide more security than cylinder locks alone.  

The cost of the best locks in India varies according to the type of lock you choose, and the kind of lock you want influences the cost. It ranges from Rs. 10 and Rs. 10,000 and above. If the locking system offers additional functions that you wish, the price will be greater as well. The most commonly used locks have essential, affordable, and functional characteristics.

Because the door lock decides the safety and security of your property, you must check that it fulfils your requirements and has a dependable locking mechanism.

 

Before burying door locks, establish what type of door lock you need for your house, workplace, etc.

When it comes to smart door locks, you may look for ones with built-in video cameras, two-way intercoms, emergency sirens, and other features.

Door locks are desirable to prevent lock break-ins and potential theft. Lock businesses such as Europa Locks provide locks designed for this purpose. They are constructed by specialists using the latest techniques and are strong enough to make your front door indestructible.

Most home security pros recommend mortise locks with five to six lock levers for the best security. If you're considering putting a mortise lock in your home, talk to a competent and trustworthy domestic locksmith about where to get the best locks in India.

[evanstanwrites]

Comfort in times of grieve

pairing: Bucky Barnes x female reader

sum: Bucky comforts reader

warnings: angst (if you can call it that), grieve, death, fluff 

“Come on doll, you gotta eat something,” Bucky said standing before the locked door of y/n’s bedroom with a plate of food. “I’m not hungry,” a hoarse voice softly called back. It was clear that she had been crying again, or rather hadn’t stopped crying. If you’d ask her she’d simply say that she hadn’t or that something was in her eyes that made them red and puffy, but then again she hadn’t left her room in days so all they could do was guess at the state of her eyes. So yeah Bucky was worried about her, and more so because she was barely eating. This wasn’t the first time he stood there in front of her locked door with a plate of food. He just wanted to be there for her, take care of her, hold her, be the comfort she clearly needed after what happened a few weeks ago.

It had started as a lovely lazy Saturday, Bucky and y/n had a morning stroll through the park before having breakfast at their usual spot. Bucky made her laugh when he told her about all the stupid things he did together with Steve back in the day. She was carefree when she was with him. When they got back it was already midday and after a quick lunch they both dropped on the couch, cuddled together, and started to watch a random movie that was on tv. The rest of the guys were out on a mission making them the only ones in the building so it didn’t took long before Bucky finally made his move.

“Doll, I need to tell you something,” 

“What’s up?” she asked as she muted the movie so she could focus completely on Bucky.

But before Bucky could open his mouth and confess his love for her, her phone rings. First, she tried to ignore the ringing but when she saw the caller-id she knew something was wrong. It was the nephew of her best friend Jess or as she called her sister, he never called her, he only had her number for emergencies. Bucky saw the look in her eyes, she was scared of what she would hear.

“answer it doll, it could be important,” Bucky said urging her to pick up. So she did.

“Hey Gian,” she said trying to sounds as normal as she could.

“Hey, have you seen my aunt?”

“I last spoke to her Thursday, why?” y/n asks knowing there was something wrong or he wouldn’t ask her that question.

“It seems like nobody has heard or seen her in two days, the cops are here at her place. We’re waiting for a locksmith to break open her door”

“Okay, keep me posted.”

Once she ended the call the smile on her face had made place for a look of worry.

“Want to talk about it?” Bucky asks as he strokes some hair out of her face knowing something was wrong.

“no, it’s nothing. They haven’t heard or seen Jess in a few days. But the last time I heard her, she wasn’t feeling so well. I know when she’s sick, she sleeps a lot, I bet she just slept through it all and once they break open that door those cops will get a surprise. They’re probably worrying over nothing,” she chuckles before standing up from the couch but Bucky could clearly see that she was worried too, like they both had a feeling that once they’d open that door there wouldn’t be a sleeping woman on the couch. 

“I’m sorry but I’m gonna take a nap,” y/n said and she took off to her room.

Bucky did try to go after but once he reached her bedroom her door was already locked, but what he could hear was her phone going off again and soft voices talking before his ears filled with her sobs. Seems like the cops did get a surprise but not the one everyone was hoping for.

Now weeks later y/n had still locked herself in her room, grieving the loss of her best friend. The cops had found her on her bathroom floor, her body had given up after what had seemed like multiple epileptic seizures.

Bucky had brought her food multiple times a day even if she didn’t always open the door for him, but on the days she did, she acted like nothing was wrong. He did try to get her to talk to him but it seemed like she just wasn’t ready to even face the pain. So he did what he could, he made sure that she knew he was there for her. He knew that when the time was right she would let him in.

“I’ll leave the plate here, please eat something doll, even if you’re not hungry, please try.” 

As always he did stay awhile sitting against her door, telling her all about everyone’s day or just random things that he knew could make her laugh on most days. That evening he stayed there for hours, just talking to her until he couldn’t keep open his eyes anymore. So he let her know that he went back to his room and stood up, leaving the still untouched plate of food.

It didn’t take long before Bucky fell into a light sleep still aware of his surroundings so when he hears the soft sound of his door opening and the shuffling of feet he’s wide awake but keeps laying still in his bed. He could recognize those footsteps out of a million. It’s only when he felt her slip into the bed next to her that he turns to her, welcoming her into his arms in silence. It’s just like she melted into him, her head buried under his chin as he softly ran his hand over her back and placed a kiss on top of her head. It didn’t take long before she started to shake in his arms as soft sobs left her lips.

“I don’t know how to go on without her,... I don’t know what to do,..., I feel like I’m drowning Bucky. I feel so pathetic crying this much, I don’t want to be this weak.” she sobs

“Doll,” Bucky starts speaking softly as he moves a bit so he could look her in her tears filled eyes.

“You’re not weak, you’re grieving, that’s just the price of love. It shows how much you love her. She was your rock, you were each other’s rocks. Now all you can do is learn how to swim in the ocean of grieve because grief won’t stop, it’ll only get easier over time. And I’ll be here with you every step of the way for you to lean on. I’ll swim with you babydoll,” he says as his own eyes start to tear up from seeing the woman he loves hurting.

“I just miss her, I miss her so much,” 

“I know” he whispers as he pulls her as close as he can while letting her cry it all out and softly whispers soothing things to her before she continues to talk about how she’s feeling.

It’s only when the first morning sun rays start coming true the drawn curtains that things get quiet between them before she speaks again.

“Thank you, Bucky,”

“For what doll?”

“For everything, for being there for me, for loving me,”

“No need to thank me doll, I love you, y/n”

“I love you too Bucky” 

tags

@feelmyroarrrr​ @rynabarnesrogers-reading​ @marvelgirl7​ @patzammit​ @palaiasaurus64​ @loricameback​ @lizette50​ @rebthom89​ @zaddychris​

[strapskinkstories]

Massive Panic Attack - Disaster Averted - Never Will I Abandon You!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/alinslive/52131708662/in/datetaken-public/

Today was terrible in some respects, in other respects it was great.

Good news first: I’m soon getting a pair of one of a kind harnesses from a friend! @RubberDogBronco and @RubberDogMagnus on Twitter are going to be helping me. I’ll be getting exact copies of their harnesses. I have drooled over their harnesses for days on end and just seeing them makes me want to curl up with them. I can’t yet though so I’ll curl up with the harnesses I have on hand.

Bad news: I had a massive panic attack today. The only way to get things under control was to have a smoke and then get in bed with my harnesses crank the music to 11 (Terrible Spinal Tap reference I know) and forget the world. Lucky for me I was able to stop the panic attack without needing to take emergency medicines or worse go to the emergency room. We had a contractor here to do a new install of a pair of doors and as soon as he started hammering and using the pneumatic nailer my brain went absolutely haywire. Luckily for me I know how to execute a ‘soft shutdown’ procedure that involves a few steps. I often forget to initiate this procedure during panics and the consequences are often costly.

1. Run to my bedroom

2. Grab the headset and crank the music

3. Grab my harnesses or a ton of straps and get buried under them

It’s literally the only way I can get myself distracted enough in situations of major panic. I often forget the second step which is a crucial component to getting my brain elsewhere, especially if the panic is set off by LOUD NOISES.

Bad news Item 2: Looks like I won’t be going into locksmithery. It’s not a financially smart move for me to make the expense of buying into a locksmithing career and potentially endangering myself. Locksmiths by occupation often get called into dangerous situations like icy sidewalks, severe rainstorms, or bad neighborhoods with gunshots in the area. I am a person with cerebral palsy, I can easily slip and fall and boom, end of my career & potentially a $500,000 healthcare bill that I’ll be on the hook for because if I’m making locksmith money I won’t be entitled to social security, medicare, or medicaid. And locksmith money doesn’t exactly pay for stellar health insurance or good things at entry level. If I’m called to a bad neighborhood and hear gunshots, I’ll run from the work site and speed off in my car which could cost me my job. It’s a good hobby and a good interest to add to my vanilla list. It’s a good skill to have to know how to pick locks, if I ever get locked out of my house or locked out of my safe or another belonging I can probably pick the lock open now that I know the basics of how locks work and how to pick them.

THE REAL GOOD NEWS: This has all summed up into a Discovery. 

I’ve for a long time kept chasing at vanilla careers. I tried to get into medical coding, I spent $400 on code books that are mostly just very fancy living room decor. Though they’ll at least help me when I need to fight the insurance company on something and don’t want to go digging on the internet through unreliable references. I have the same books the insurance reps use. So it’s not totally wasted money. They’re a good resource to have around, kind of like having a fire extinguisher in the kitchen, you probably don’t need it, but you’re better off having it.

THE REALITY IS: I AM A MUSEUM DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION CURATOR & A SENSORY EXPLORATION THERAPIST!

I’VE HAD A JOB ALL ALONG, IT’S LITERALLY RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE!

After being manipulated and abused by Catholic Clergy member for many years of my life I have discovered that they have been trying to force me to become a straight person for a long time. They have also been manipulating me and trying to get me away from a REAL CAREER and REAL LOVE. I have all my life loved harnesses and straps. Since I was a kid I would steal belts out of my dads wardrobe and sleep with them wrapped around my head, particularly my eyes and mouth. I liked the shiny leather on my eyes and the feel on my lips is relaxing. I’ve over many years built a massive collection of harnesses and belts. Some of which are hard to find or now completely impossible to find.

I am not only a adult entertainer, I’m a museum curator, a depository institution holding a collection. A sensory explorer and pioneer. When I have someone visit my house and play with me, it’s not just play, there’s science happening. Human sciences of sensory exploration and therapy. 

To abandon MY CAREER for a drones job of locksmithing or medical coding is to abandon over 3000 followers and throw them all under a bus. To abandon my career is to shutter the doors of a museum holding artifacts that might never be seen again.

I have had many friends over the years, many people have played with me and enjoyed my knowledge of playing with raingear and other sensory explorative objects to create happiness, relaxation, and even erotic times. I’ve also noticed especially in my latest vacbag session that having an orgasm, isn’t necessary to have a really relaxing and great time. The forcing of an orgasm isn’t necessary, and might be detrimental to the main goal of what my career is as a sensory explorer. Relaxation and happiness are the main goals in what I do. If I am making people happy, I am doing my job right, if I am making people aroused, then that’s just a bonus. If someone has an orgasm then that’s a major win. A man I met had never had an orgasm triggered by another person until he came to me.

My bedroom isn’t just a playspace or a place to sleep. It’s a laboratory of sensory exploration and therapy. Rehab hospitals have sensory rehabilitation units. Me quitting my job, would be like a sensory rehab center shutting its doors forever. In 2016 I went on a two year long hiatus, triggered by the abusive manipulation of a clergy member who was abusing me long term and manipulating me with malicious intents.

I AM AN ESSENTIAL WORKER to adults seeking a sensory escape. I might not be a doctor or someone with a fancy clinic. But I’m still ESSENTIAL. Without me, that man who met me, may have never experienced the true thrill and comfort of having a skilled breathplay & bondage practitioner watching over them as they have their first climax.

I make people obey hospital rules when they enter my house. Because my house is a lot like a rehab hospitals sensory lab. Here, I take notes of what a person likes, what they don’t like, what their medical issues are, and I create an environment for them that will make them relaxed, happy, and if I get things right, aroused, and if I hit the jackpot a climax will result. NEVER WILL I ABANDON YOU my followers, my museum members, my therapy clients (those of you who have visited me and want to visit me)

I CANNOT ABANDON MY CAREER THAT I HAVE LOVED ALL MY LIFE!

All my life I have been a sensory explorer, a sensory pioneer, and a sensory creator as well as a museum curator. I’m like The Smithsonian, of harnesses, straps, and bondage gear. I collect gear and I keep it safely stored away until it is called on for play or to be shown to the world. I have hundreds of belts, some antique that I would have potentially lost if I were to abandon my JOB and sell my things or even just toss them away. 

NEVER WILL I DESTROY OR LOSE MY COLLECTIONS for I am a museum. My gear collection has very rare pieces, some that are one off productions. The harnesses I am scheduled to early - mid next year receive will be one of a kind. Only two of the harness pairs will exist in the world. Mine, Broncos, Mine, Magnus’s... The two harnesses I am set to receive are like the Louvre receiving a pair of extremely rare paintings that only two pairs exist in the world.

IT IS MY DUTY to protect my collection, show my collection to the world, and make people in the world aware of sensory explorations.

Today might have been rotten in some ways, but in other ways, it’s been a revelation. I’VE HAD A TOP NOTCH JOB ALL ALONG!

I’M THE HEAD OPERATOR OF A MUSEUM AND SENSORY LAB!

I’ve talked to my friends for years about eventually saving enough money or making enough to open a storefront called the museum of straps and harnesses. And that has to REMAIN MY ULTIMATE GOAL. To have such a museum would be like the Leather Archives and Museum having a sister museum, that specializes in other things.

THIS IS MY LIFE. THIS IS WHO I AM. I AM WHO I AM!

[afterhourlocksmithh]

Best Approaches To Dodge Getting Locked Out | After Hours Locksmith

Lockouts at homes and offices happen from time to time. They can occur for a variety of causes, including our negligence or other factors beyond our control. Whatever or whoever is to fault is commonly unnecessary, and one thing we all know is that being trapped inside or locked outside is an unpleasant experience, to say the least. 

A lockout in serious situations, such as crises, can be life-threatening and result in the loss of numerous goods and properties if necessary action is not taken at the appropriate moment. It is why having the phone number of an Orlando locksmith on hand at all times is a good idea.

To ensure that you never have to experience the frustration of being unable to enter your house, After Hours Locksmith put together some worthy suggestions to keep you in control and prevent you from getting locked out:

Hide an Extra House Key.

While it's ideal to avoid hiding the key in naive locations, doing it in the right places will considerably improve your chances of regaining access to your home without resorting to extreme means. 

Locksmiths recommend people to not hide spare keys near the front entrance, especially beneath rugs or doormats, unless they are needed for a limited time. Hide a spare key in a lockbox and bury it somewhere that can be recalled but not discovered to obtain the maximum level of security possible.

Give an Extra Key to a Trusted Family Member or Friend.

It's also a good idea to leave a spare key with a trusted friend or family member in case you are locked out. When locked out, one might easily ask their neighbors for help or phone a family member or friend for aid.

Routinely Check Your Things.

In general, keeping a spare with you at all times is a good idea, but it doesn't always work out that way. As a result, it's a good idea to check your pockets before leaving the house regularly. Creating healthy habits will benefit you in the long run.   

Also, according to studies, habits emerge after 1 to 2 months of daily practice, so if you establish this routine, you will have a significantly lower statistical chance of being locked out.

Replace Faulty Locks.

It's essential to take proper care of existing locks to obtain the maximum level of reliability when it comes to avoiding being locked out. Many homeowners, business owners, and vehicle owners recognize the advantages of functional locks versus broken ones. Hiring a professional locksmith service like after hours locksmith is an amazing method to ensure that broken locks are replaced correctly and efficiently by experienced lock and key experts.

Use Smart Locks & Electronic Locks

When it comes to entrance and exit, adopting a more current and advanced security method, such as the digital and electronic characteristics that smart locks provide, may provide various benefits. The other perk is that digital locks and smart locks do not require keys, making them easier and reliable solutions to reduce the odds of being locked out. 

Have a Local Locksmith Ahead of Time

If you're still having issues choosing how to avoid a house lockout, consider hiring After Hours Locksmith. A competent locksmith can provide you with a fair and reasonable quote for fixing your lock or creating a new key, and they can typically complete the job the same day. Never take your home's security for granted.

[erinpaula-blog1]

LocksmithinUK.co.uk are a locksmith directory,  we provide access to certified local locksmiths in a number of UK Cities and Towns, available 27/7. We operate all around the UK, ensuring that you never need to look any further to find a locksmith providing a high-quality service. The locksmiths that we provide access to have extensive experience within the industry and are well-trained to use the latest tools and techniques, helping you gain access to your home, business, or car as quickly as possible.

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[kalamazooautolocksmith-blog]

Best Auto Lock Specialist and Fast Response Auto Locksmith

Auto locks are a common challenge that lockman deals with and as one of the best emergency locksmiths in Kalamazoo Oil Company, they know how to help you quickly.  Auto locks are a way to replace keys or to add additional automation features, like remote locking or unlocking. Although most commonly found on cars, many cutting-edge security providers are offering auto locks for homes and businesses. In any type of auto lock, a latch or bolt is made to cross the opening between the side of the door and the door frame, preventing access. This can be a “spring bolt,” which is held in place by springs and allows the door to close when locked, or the more secure “dead bolt,” which stays in place until manually unlocked. In both cases, locking and unlocking is achieved by rotating the visible element to move the bolt or latch. Traditional key locks use some variation of the “pin and tumbler” method, in which the lock cylinder is held in place with a line of small metal pins, each of which consists of an upper and lower half. When a key is inserted and turned, the uneven “serrated” edge ensures that each pin is moved a certain distance. The cylinder may be turned only when each pin is moved just enough to create a straight separation between the upper and lower halves of all pins.Auto lock also has parts called “actuators,” which connect the bolt or the cylinder to a small motor completely buried within the door or frame itself. The motor is controlled by an electrical impulse, which may be triggered in a number of ways: by an electronic card reader, by a keypad or by a wireless remote control sensor. Each method of locking has pros and cons.  Physical keys, such as metal keys, key cards or handheld remotes, can be lost or damaged, while numerical key codes can be forgotten. Key codes can be quickly and easily changed by the user when necessary, while changing physical locks and keys is much more involved, requiring specialized hardware and expertise. Power failures are problematic for purely electronic door locks, causing them to remain locked or unlocked until the electricity has been restored. You’ll find some combination of physical and electronic locking control on auto lock doors. For example, you may have a physical key for setup and emergency backup, but use the remote or keypad to lock and unlock the door on a day-to-day basis. This provides an extra layer of convenience and safety for the user, but may also provide additional functionality as well. We, at Ridderman Oil and a Grand Rapids fuel company team are used in getting calls at all hours of the day or night from stranded motorists and modern cars especially when it comes to keys and locks and losing a car key on a night out and it can become a nightmare. In Ridderman Oil, you have a locksmith that can assist you with absolute ease and they are only a phone call away. We do our best to price by the job rather than by the hour! All our keys are cut by our professional locksmiths with our key cutting service to very high standard, our professional and reliable locksmiths have many years’ experience in their fields.  If you want to avail our 24/7 service at Grand Rapids Oil Company, you may call (269) 685-5825.

[locallocksmithpro]

What To Do About Ignition Cylinder Problems!

Auto ignitions are often little thought of until something goes wrong and the car won’t start. By then, it’s usually after we are strapped in and have the car loaded with luggage or groceries and other items. Here at Local Locksmith Pro LLC we deal with ignition cylinder problems on a regular basis so residents of Smyrna, GA often call us to handle their ignition issues. You should do the same but if you don’t live in the area, feel free to call a local full service automotive locksmith near you.

Don’t panic!

When the car won’t start, people tend to panic. A wave of emotions runs through them ranging from fear, anger, guilt and surprise. Is then engine dead? Is the battery run down? When was the last oil change? Who is the best and most affordable auto mechanic? Does AAA work today? These and dozens of other questions can almost overwhelm you. That’s why it’s nice to know that it may or may not be your ignition system and that there are a few “tests” that you can conduct first, before you call in a professional for help. So before you call for a tow truck or call in sick at work, be sure to check out our recommended tips first!

Are you ready?

Our Georgia winters often get cold – very cold! If your car is parked outside for long, or even inside the garage overnight, the motor oil can get chilled to the point where it becomes difficult for the engine to turn over. This is sometimes confused by drivers who think that the ignition has failed when in fact it has not. Another common problem is being in the wrong parking gear. Many a roadside assistance pro has been called to help with a faulty ignition system when all that was really needed was to move the gear back into PARK from wherever it was. Out of gear settings will not allow you to start your car and often the confusion can lead to auto repair bills and towing fees that were totally unnecessary.

Years ago, cars could start in Neutral but late model cars can only be started in the PARK gear and nothing else. We advise putting your parking brake on and securing your car in the right gear to start it. Many deaths and injuries occur every year due to cars rolling forward or backward onto people or pets while they are distracted by something else so please apply your brake and check your gears – jiggle them back and forth and make sure that the right one is locked into place.

Locked steering wheel

Another common misconception is that the car ignition has locked up due to auto repair issues. This is often caused by a locked steering wheel. If pressure is put on the wheel by leaning on it, it can lock into place and if the ignition key is inserted, it will not turn or even come back out. This action can cause panic and a hurried call for roadside assistance. In reality, all that is usually needed is a firm twist to the steering wheel to unlock it and release the ignition key. Save yourself some time and money by trying this option.

Check for drained battery

A run down battery will often produce the same symptoms as a faulty ignition. Fortunately, it’s easy to check the status of your battery; without even leaving your car! Again, put your parking brake on! Now, test your battery by working your windshield wipers, radio or power windows. You can also test your headlights if you are in the garage or close enough to something in front of the car to see if they are shining or not. If your battery is working enough to work these items, the problem is not it.  

Is it the right key?

Believe it or not, sometimes the wrong key can be inserted – obviously it will not start your car. Often, these wrong keys can get stuck in the ignition and won’t come back out or turn. This leads to another dilemma as you don’t want to risk key breakage and then a new key is needed along with key extraction! If you live or work in a place where it’s easy to mingle transponder keys from other folks, you can see how easy it is to accidentally grab the wrong one and try and use it. It doesn’t happen often but it does occur from time to time.

Right key but no chip

This scenario is more common – you dropped your transponder key and tried to use it to start your car. It opened the car door as usual but would not start the car. A missing chip may be to blame. It might have fallen out when the keys were dropped or when the dog was burying it in the backyard. As you know, without the chip embedded in the key head, there will be no radio signal sent to your car’s computer to recognize.  

Time to call in the pros!

Did you try all of the above tips with no success?  Go ahead and make the call to your local, full service automotive locksmith shop. If you live in the area, we’d love to help you but if you don’t, call a technician in your locale that offers mobile service, 24-hour emergency help and free price quotes. Auto ignitions are very much like large locks. They have similar working internal mechanisms and can be serviced, repaired or replaced by experienced locksmith pros. By most standards, your locksmith will offer better rates than your typical auto repair shop. Also, there is never a need for towing as your locksmith will always come to you and the location you specify. If unfamiliar with locksmiths in your area, get two or three price quotes from different shops. Select a technician based on price, eagerness to help and to answer questions. The right lock professional will have you back behind the wheel in no time!

[grantmkemp]

“My Brain is the key that sets me free.” .... Harry Houdini

Born 146 years ago, today, 24th March 1874, Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American illusionist and stunt performer, noted for his sensational escape acts. He first attracted notice in vaudeville in the US and then as "Harry 'Handcuff' Houdini" on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it. In 1904, thousands watched as he tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's Daily Mirror, keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini presented himself as the scourge of fake spiritualists. As President of the Society of American Magicians, he was keen to uphold professional standards and expose fraudulent artists. He was also quick to sue anyone who imitated his escape stunts.

Some Houdini Facts .............

Houdini got his start at age nine as a trapeze performer; he was billed as “Ehrich, the Prince of Air.”

Though he was born Erik Weisz, Houdini claimed he adopted the stage name Harry Houdini in honor of two magicians, Harry Kellar and Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin. Houdini was under the false impression that the suffix -i at the end of name meant “similar to” in French; hence, he would be “Harry, the Houdin-like.”

Houdini’s brother, Theodore Hardeen (né Ferenc Weisz) was also an escape artist. Though he was a talented showman in his own right–he was the first to come up with the idea of escaping a straightjacket while underwater and in full view of an audience, he was nowhere near as successful as Houdini, and was often billed as “The Brother of Houdini.”

Early in his career, Houdini had a partner. He and Jacob Hyman billed themselves as “The Brothers Houdini.” Hyman was soon replaced by Houdini’s actual brother, Hardeen, who was then replaced by Houdini’s wife Bess under the name “The Houdinis.”

Houdini frequently escaped prison cells. The most notable of these was his escape from the prison cell that held Charles Guiteau, the man who killed president James A. Garfield. Houdini escaped that cell in just 18 minutes.

There was no great secret to Houdini’s escapes. In many cases, Houdini would have access to a key or a lock-pick. Sometimes, these were slipped to him by an onstage assistant or hidden somewhere on stage, but more often Houdini kept them himself. He could swallow and regurgitate keys, and grew his bushy hair out to hold keys better.

In one feat, Houdini was challenged to break out of a pair of custom-made, never-before-seen, state-of-the-art handcuffs. The handcuffs had taken locksmith Nathaniel Hart five years to design and construct. Houdini escaped in under an hour.

Founded in 1902, the Society of American Magicians is the world’s oldest magicians’ club. Houdini joined and soon rose through the ranks to become their president, a role he filled from 1917 until his death in 1926.

Many people incorrectly believe that Houdini was killed by this sucker punch, which is said to have ruptured his appendix. While the story itself is true, the punch may not have been what killed him. Houdini continued to give performances for several days after, choosing to ignore a bout of appendicitis that had been ailing him even before his Montreal show, and it is still unclear if blunt trauma can cause or exacerbate appendicitis; instead, the punch may have merely masked the pain of his appendicitis. He eventually succumbed to peritonitis, a complication of his ruptured appendix, on October 31, 1926. Although he reportedly had hope for recovery, his last words were allegedly, “I’m tired of fighting.”

112 years ago, The Harvard Bridge, April 30th 1908 .....

Before two weeks of performing at Keith’s Theater on Washington Street, the master of the “Impossible Possible” decided to take his talent of escaping from handcuffs and chains a step further by doing so underwater. Houdini was dressed in a red unitard that left nothing of his muscular body to the imagination. His arms were cruelly shackled behind his back by thick chains that also looped around his neck. He was surrounded by crowds of men in bowler hats and women in floor-length dresses. It looked like an execution. Houdini stood at the edge of the Harvard Bridge, commonly referred to as the Mass. Ave. Bridge, and was shackled by a Boston patrolman. His hands were handcuffed behind his back and chained to a collar around his neck. According to a Boston Globe article chronicling the feat, a signal was tooted from a towboat, and Houdini went overboard into the chilly waters below.

“There is always the possibility that I will be unable to free myself, as one never can tell what will happen to a lock,” Houdini told the newspaper. “However, I am a good swimmer, have confidence in myself, and I hope to perform this feat successfully.”

The Globe estimated some 20,000 spectators gathered to see Houdini’s leap, including the mayors of Boston and Cambridge. They waited 40 seconds for the magician to resurface, which he did with the shackles in his hands. A plaque commemorating Houdini’s jump is situated on the Boston side of the bridge, commissioned by Boston’s chapter of the Society of American Magicians.

These are my colourised versions of two black, and white prints: the first is a portrait taken in 1910, and the second was taken on April 30th 1908 just before his jump from the Harvard Bridge into the freezing Charles River below.

Restoring Your Past  … Website Restoring Your Past … on Facebook

[emergencyservicesseo3]

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[pantysleep64-blog]

The 1856 Columbian Hook & Ladder Firehouse - 102 Charles Street

In 1854 volunteer companies made up Manhattan's fire fighting force.  Their members, who all had other jobs, lived near their firehouses.  Called "laddies," they scrambled to the station on alarm of fire.  That year a new group, Columbian Hook and Ladder Company No. 14 was organized in Greenwich Village.   

The property at No. 96 Charles Street, nearby the new police station at No. 100, was deemed a good location for its firehouse.  In June 1855 a Board of Aldermen report recommended the property as the new firehouse.  It was owned by Samuel D. Chase who lived nearby on West 11th Street.  Only months earlier he had completed a house on the the site with a stable in the rear. 

If the need for a new fire company in the immediate neighborhood was ever in doubt, a fire one month after the Aldermen's report may have eliminated the question.  Ironically, the blaze which broke out around 2:00 on the afternoon of July 16 was in the stable behind No. 96 Charles Street.  It caused damages of about $100--nearly $3,000 today.

This would not be the first time the city's architect was tasked with converting a residence into a firehouse.  In 1854 an upscale home at No. 269 Henry Street was transformed for Americus Engine Company No. 6.  The Charles Street house, too, would emerge as a handsome firehouse.   The renovations were completed in 1857.  As was typical, large, centered bay doors were flanked by entrances.  The arched stone pediment over the bay doors was echoed above the upper windows.  An understated sheet-metal cornice crowned the design.

The ground floor held the company's brand new truck, constructed by Pine & Hartshorn in 1856, and its team of sturdy horses.  The second floor held a dormitory, a library, and a "grand meeting room and parlor."   The top floor housed equipment including racks for drying hoses, for instance, and a "trunk room."

Members of the Columbian Hook and Ladder Company, No. 14 represented a wide variety of mostly blue collar jobs.  The 1857 roster includes clerks, cartmen, three ice dealers, several carpenters, two painters, a locksmith, a bookbinder and a grocer.  There were also one silversmith and a jeweler in the group.  The "laddies" came and went as their schedules demanded; but one member, Peter W. Fraleigh, lived here full-time.

A few weeks after the Civil War broke out Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth, a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, organized the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, composed entirely of fire fighters.  Several of the member of Columbian Hook and Ladder Company, No. 14 joined the unit known popularly as the Fire Zuoaves.

The group quickly saw action, winning a battle in May 1861 almost immediately upon arriving in the South.  The enemy's flag was sent home.  On June 1 The New York Times reported "The first Confederate flag taken in Virginia by the Fire Zuoaves, will be hoisted, union down, under the Stars and Stripes, on Sunday morning, at 10 o'clock, on the house of No. 14 Hook and Ladder Company, at No. 96 Charles-street."

The firefighter soldiers would return home to a changing fire department.  The Act of 1865, enacted on March 30, coupled Brooklyn and New York with a paid “Metropolitan District” fire department.  The volunteer companies were disbanded and No. 96 Charles Street became home to the new Hook and Ladder Company No. 5. The unit's importance in squashing the many fires in the district was evidenced in January 1884 when the Fire Commissioners decided to "double up" Hook and Ladder Company No. 5 by providing an additional truck and "a sufficient additional force...to man the reserve apparatus." Most fire houses acquired a mascot and Hook and Ladder Company No. 5 adopted Ginger in 1882.  The New York Times described him as "a nondescript dog, pedigree unknown."  The mutt was a favorite among neighborhood girls who "stopped at the truckhouse on their way to and from school for a romp with 'Ginger.'"  But Ginger was more than a playmate, he was a true fire house dog. "Ginger was essentially a fireman's dog and took an almost human interest in the affairs of the company.  He was prompt to answer alarms of fire, and when the truck rolled out of the quarters his short, sharp bark mingled with the gong's louder tones as he ran at the head of the horses," wrote The Times. But then, on November 17, 1888, 16 years after the dog first arrived at the firehouse, The New York Times ran the headline "Ginger Is No More."  Ginger was "taking his constitutional walk in Bleecker-street," the day before when he was run over by a truck.  A policeman, recognizing that the dog's wounds were fatal, ended its misery by shooting it in the head. Ginger's body was laid out with dignity in the side yard of the firehouse.  "When his death became known yesterday to the school children they thronged to the truckhouse for a last look at their pet."  He was buried there the following day.

Possibly, Ginger's unmarked grave still exists in the adjoining yard.

The galloping horses pulling the heavy fire equipment presented a danger to vehicles and pedestrians despite the loud gongs of the trucks' bells.  When a fire erupted at No. 8 West 13th Street on the afternoon of November 18, 1901 Hook and Ladder Company No. 5 responded.  Mrs. Mary Smith, a missionary of the Church of the Strangers, stepped into the street directly in the path of the charging fire truck. The Evening World reported that the driver "tried to save her" by veering the truck; "but the horses knocked her down."  The fire truck then ran directly into a street car.  Hook and Ladder Company No. 5 never made it to the fire and Mary Smith was removed to St. Vincent's Hospital. The company appeared in the press most often, however, for the heroics of its members.  Such was the case on March 9, 1921 when fire tore through the apartment of J. W. Ferrington at No. 249 West 11th Street.   Ferrington was an invalid, unable to get out of his smoke-filled rooms. Fire fighters broke in the door to find that "flames were sweeping across the rooms," according to The Evening World.  Fireman Hogan dropped to his hands and knees and felt his way through the apartment.  Other fire fighters aimed their hose directly on him.  "The only possible manner by which he could penetrate the flames and smoke was by the protection of streams of water constantly played upon him, and in this manner he went from room to room." Hogan finally found Ferrington, who had managed to tumble out of the bed.  He was crouching by a window, trying to breathe.  The newspaper reported that Hogan "dragged him to the hallway, the water drenching both throughout their progress." In the meantime, the fire spread to two apartments on the floor above.  Mrs. Simon J. Medico was visiting with her 8-month-old son, Simon, Jr. on the fifth floor.  She "became hysterical when she found her way blocked by smoke and screamed from a window."   She managed to climb part way down the fire escape and pass her baby to a neighbor in an adjacent building. The fire also extended into the apartment of Daniel J. Phelan, whose 16-year-old son, Edward, rushed upstairs after the blaze was extinguished.  The Evening World explained he needed "to assure himself of the safety of two pet canaries and his first long trousers.  The smoke had killed the canaries, and the flames had burned the legs off the trousers." In 1936 the Charles Street block was renumbered, assigning the firehouse the new address of No. 102. A five-alarm blaze on June 20, 1942 wrecked nearly the entire Greenwich Village block bordered by Hudson, Washington, Leroy and Clarkson Streets.  The inferno resulted in 50 injuries to fire fighters, $15 million in damages by today's standards, and the total loss of Hook and Ladder Company No. 5's truck. At one point, according to The New York Times, "The north wall crashed with a tearing, crunching sound and a barrage of flying bricks...Hook and Ladder Truck 5, stationed at 102 Charles Street, and accordingly one of the first pieces of apparatus to respond, fared worse than any of the men."  The truck had been pulled "close in" on Leroy Street.  When the wall smashed down, it flattened the fire truck.  Amazingly, warned by a large crack that appeared in the masonry, all of the fire fighters escaped.

Fire fighters clamber over the wreckage of Company 5's truck.  The New York Times June 21, 1942

As had been the case in the 1880's, Hook and Ladder Company 5 had a mascot.  This one, named Prince, was no mutt like Ginger, however.  He was a pedigree Dalmatian--the iconic fire house breed. The men of Company 5 held their dog in such high esteem that they entered him in the special fire dog category in Brooklyn Kennel Club Dog Show on December 3, 1949.  A month earlier, on November 24, The Times reported "Firemen are stealing a little time from polishing brass these days to groom their Dalmatians for the special competition." Fire Chief Joseph J. Scanlon tried to discourage the practice of fire dogs, telling a Times reported "Officially, the department has no interest in dogs," adding "A firehouse is no longer a good place for a dog in these high-powered, mechanized days.  They may fall off the speeding trucks answering an alarm, or get run over or they sometimes get lost in the crowded city.  The average life of a firehouse dog is not much more than one year today, I'd guess." The cold water the chief threw on the event did not discourage the men of Hook and Ladder Company No. 5.  Prince was shown at the show by Fireman Leonard Smith.  Because it was a special category, no award was given.

Prince is groomed by Company 5 fire fighters before the show.  The New York Times, November 24, 1949

It was cats which caused problems to the fire fighters 11 years later.  In the fall of 1960, unknown to the men, two feral cats took up residence in the basement.  One had a litter of kittens there.  They were not the only new residents.

On September 11 the men began scratching.  One by one they showed signs of bites until, as reported by The New York Times, "After two days of scratching, the company captain, Benjamin J. Ciranna, complained to Battalion Chief Cornelius P. Harrington."  Chiefs Harrington and Otto H. Knochenhauer went to the firehouse to investigate.  They were promptly bitten.

A Fire Department spokesman said "investigation proved the invaders were not gnats or mosquitoes but straight out-and-out fleas--the dog type."  The firehouse was vacated.  The Times quipped "The twenty-five officers and firemen of Ladder Company 5, victors over raging holocausts, collapsing walls and barricades of beams, have been forced to retreat before an ignoble enemy--an army of fleas."

The truck and its men were temporarily lodged at Engine Company 24 at No. 78 Morton Street.  Pioneer Exterminating Company spent three days in the firehouse, fumigating it with a "machine vaporizer."  The firefighters returned home on September 16.

The 136-year history of No. 102 Charles Street as a firehouse came to an end in 1993.  A renovation, completed the following year resulted in a store at street level and one apartment each on the upper floors.

For years the ground floor, formerly home to horses and then motorized fire trucks, held the Plane Space art gallery.  It houses an upscale handbags and accessories boutique today. photographs by the author

Source: http://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-1856-columbian-hook-ladder.html

[burylocksmiths-blog]

Why You Should Choose the Best Locksmiths in Bury

When it comes to the security of your office or home, you should never take any chances. It is very important to keep your valuables and belongings safe because their loss could cause in irreparable professional or personal damage. Thanks to the progress which has been made in the field of technology, our lives have become a lot easier. These improvements have helped to bring about improved security systems which allow us to sleep soundly at night. Locksmiths help in installing these systems at our workplaces and home.

There are residential as well as commercial locksmiths who can come to help you. They also offer other services like opening of locked doors, making new keys or duplicating them. It is very important to choose your locksmiths carefully. The problem of security should be handled carefully and wisely. While choosing a locksmith bury make certain that he must be licensed. There are a lot of people who pretend to be locksmiths just to gain access to the keys of your door. Few of them are inexpert and will provide you with poor quality service. Therefore, it is very important to check his documents before hiring him.

You can ask your friends, relatives or neighbours for a recommendation. Never try to become your own locksmith. This job involves a lot of skills and if you are not able to install the security systems properly, they will never work efficiently. Hence, the whole purpose would be defeated, right? In order to save a few bucks, you will be exposing your office and home to losses which could be worth thousands. If you are planning to hire a locksmith in the Bury area you must choose a professional locksmith. It’s very difficult to find a reputable locksmith at the moment of emergency. Therefore, it’s better to look for a locksmith in advance. So, just go and find a reputable locksmith in Bury area and when you will find one just save his number on your phone for future

[centrallocksmithsmanchester-blog]

Patience is the Ultimate Key to the Doors of a Reliable Locksmith

There come emergency situations many times and with many people when they may need a locksmith like in a lockout situation. Certain professionals are meant for certain tasks as locksmith is meant for the lock systems job. Either you may have gone into a situation of lockout or you may have seen others stuck with the same. When locked out in Manchester anywhere, i.e., locked your keys inside your home or forgot the keys inside the home, and when seeking an emergency locksmith service in Bury, following the tips as stated below can keep you calm and at ease with your locksmith search:

1. Patience is the key When finding Reputable Locksmith in Manchester

People get frustrated when they lose their key either in their car or inside the home. When a situation like this occurs, patience is the only key that can unlock the door of a reliable emergency locksmith in Manchester. Don’t make footrace in frustration even if it’s an emergency.

2. Ensure the Reliability of the Locksmith Before You Hire

The fraudsters can take benefit of such situations; therefore, you need to check the reliability of the locksmith before you invite him on call to resurrect the lockout problem. Though you may not have enough time to make a deep inspection, make sure the locksmith you are hiring belongs to a reputable locksmith company. The above two points are the key to your locksmith search. Once you found the locksmith and the job he did is satisfactory, save the company’s name and his contact information so that he can readily be available in your service when you are stuck with the same lockout situation.

[grrachel-blog1]

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[the-yaoi-galla]

His name was Henry Summers – but who was he? – BBC News

Image caption Harry (on the left) with workmates at George Brown & Sons

When I heard the story of an elderly man who had lain undiscovered in his flat for three years I wanted to know more about who he was.

It began with an urban horror story.

In June 2015 police in Edinburgh were called by a GP because an elderly patient named Henry Summers had not been seen for several years.

The police went to Henry’s address in Leith, one of the most densely populated areas in Scotland.

Image caption Henry lived in a top-floor flat in Leith

They went to the door of his top-floor flat on Easter Road and knocked but got no answer.

The police called a locksmith but he couldn’t open the door because the hinges had fused as it hadn’t been opened for years.

When the police knocked the door down they found a mountain of mail in the hall and Henry Summers was inside, dead.

He had been dead for three years, undiscovered, because all of his bills were paid by direct debit.

Image caption Police beat down the door to gain entry to Henry’s flat

A few years before that a woman had been found dead in Edinburgh, undiscovered for five years.

The media were full of recrimination and finger pointing.

I used to work with old people and had seen this before. It’s easy to de-personalise older people.

We talk about parents and pensioners as if they are conversation-starters about social issues.

But the way someone dies isn’t a summary of their whole life.

Who was Henry Summers?

A year after his body was found, I wanted to find out who Henry Summers had been during his 80-something years of life.

My detective work was for a BBC Radio Scotland documentary and it began with the reports of the incident in the local papers.

Journalist John Connell had interviewed neighbours at the time the body was discovered.

Image caption Denise Mina started her investigations at the home where Henry was found

They told him they had last seen Mr Summers three years earlier in 2012.

They saw him being stretchered out of his house into an ambulance.

He was wearing an oxygen mask and looked very grey.

The neighbours didn’t know that Henry had been discharged and returned to his home.

Image caption The nameplate on Henry’s front door

Later, one of the neighbours knocked on the door. He opened Henry’s letterbox and smelled what he assumed was food going bad.

They said Henry kept himself to himself but was very dapper, always wore a blue jacket and a flat cap and he used to whistle as he was coming up the stairs.

Then a twist: a man came forward and said that the man found dead in the flat in Easter Road could not possibly be Henry Summers.

Henry Summers of Easter Road was his father and had died and been cremated in 2012.

‘Unfathomable coincidence’

My Henry was 10 years younger than the man’s father.

This meant that two men with the exact same name had lived in the same street and died in the same year.

It sounds like an unfathomable coincidence – but it wasn’t.

Later, once we knew who Henry was, it would make perfect sense.

Image caption Henry lived at 300 Easter Road in Leith

I went to Easter Road and asked in the local caf, the pub, newsagents.

The police wouldn’t release a photo of Henry so it was difficult to know if they were remembering our Henry.

Some people thought they’d seen him but he was variously reported as being in his 60s and his 90s.

Some said he stood at the bus stop every morning, caught the number 35 and then came back on it in the afternoon.

He bought milk and newspapers every day too but the shopkeepers had changed in the three years since he was last seen. He was a difficult man to find.

Funeral paid for

I had assumed that Henry had been forgotten and would have been buried by the city council.

Public health funerals often happen when a person has died alone and impoverished.

I was completely wrong.

In fact, Henry’s funeral had been organised and paid for and an obituary had been printed in the paper.

I wrote, via the crematorium, to the person who paid for the funeral but they wanted to remain anonymous.

I also assumed that Henry’s flat was rented, perhaps the landlord would know him, but Henry owned his flat outright.

He had bought it in 1970 and paid his mortgage off completely in just four years.

It was 1,500. Where on earth did he get that money from? Was he from a rich family?

I was stuck so I went on BBC Radio Scotland’s Kaye Adams programme to ask for information.

Left intestate

The documentary team were contacted on Facebook by people who thought they had seen a man matching his description in the Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre.

He was there regularly, reading the paper, quite content, they said.

The number 35 stops there so it seemed credible.

In the meantime, I tried to trace the person who inherited Henry’s flat.

In Scotland, any property left intestate is dealt with by the National Ultimus Haeres Unit.

National Ultimus Haeres Unit

DEATHS REPORTED 01 JULY 2015

SUMMERS, Henry, d.o.b: 16/03/1929: place of birth: Leith, who resided at Flat 3F3, 300 Easter Road, Edinburgh , EH6 8JT and who died at Flat 3F3, 300 Easter Road, Edinburgh , EH6 8JT, on 24/06/2015. NUHU/113/15 – POSSIBLE RELATIVES TRACED

They list unclaimed property online so that any claims can be filed.

Henry’s flat had been claimed but they couldn’t tell us who the beneficiary was.

I contacted expert genealogist Dr Bruce Durie and using the Land Register and the census he solved the mystery of the two Henrys.

Our Henry was born in 1929 and had lived and worked in Leith all of his life.

He was an only child and lived with his parents, nursing his fragile mum until her death.

After that he moved from a flat in Thorntree Street just round the corner to the flat in Easter Road.

Image caption Henry was said to have taken the 35 bus from his home to Ocean Terminal in Leith

Here was the answer: Henry’s dad, one of nine children, was brought up at several addresses in Couper Street, Leith.

This street was populated almost entirely by households by the name of Summers.

Most of those families, probably relations, had children named Henry.

The name ‘Henry Summers’ was as much a part of Leith as rope and drink.

Demographics changed

The only reason I didn’t know that was that Leith has changed so much over the past 40 years.

It is gentrified now, the docks have shut, the demographics changed and the vast Summers family have mostly left.

My Henry was a ships’ carpenter, according to his death certificate.

This was an extremely skilled job with a long apprenticeship. Henry’s family were labourers, so he had done well for himself.

They must have been very proud of him.

The mystery of the mortgage remained.

Maritime historian Dr Eric Graham speculated that Henry might have been a whaler or worked long haul.

Those ships would go around the world for months at a time and ships’ carpenters could be paid a lump sum at the end of the voyage.

His name was Harry

It was all guesswork but then our original radio programme was broadcast and suddenly Henry came alive again.

His old pals heard it and contacted us, or the newspapers carrying stories about him.

He wasn’t even known as Henry, everyone called him Harry.

Harry, it turned out, was a great laugh.

He was a Hibs fan, a brilliant carpenter and an angler.

His old gaffer told us Harry was plagued by a mysteriously intermittent case of lumbago, which only ever flared up when he couldn’t be bothered doing a particular job.

His work pal, Andy, contacted us.

Image copyright Courtesy of George Brown & Sons

Image caption Harry (on the left) with workmates at George Brown & Sons

They worked together at George Brown’s in Leith all the way through the 1970s.

Andy saw the obit in the paper and went to Harry’s funeral.

He said Harry was a gent.

In the 1940s and 1950s, when Harry first started work, men in the high trades would wear a shirt and tie underneath their overalls. Harry still did this in the mid-90s.

Image copyright George Brown & Sons

Image caption Henry worked at George Brown and Sons in Leith

We heard that Harry was a good guy who didn’t like sexist jokes, which was unusual in the docks in the 70s.

Another old work pal, Robert, remembered that Harry would pop in to see the guys after he retired to regale them with his latest adventures.

Harry was a confirmed bachelor, an only son and came across as bit of a mummy’s boy, in a really nice way.

He was teetotaller when Robert knew him but their gaffer, Fred, told stories about Harry’s wilder days when they would all laugh and Harry would laugh along with them.

Fred was a whaler and Robert never heard them speaking about whaling together, so he thought Harry probably hadn’t done that. He didn’t think he had ever been abroad.

Image copyright George Brown & Sons

Assistant manager at George Brown and Sons, Steve McIntosh, knew him well.

Harry had retired in the late 90s and loved river fishing for trout.

He was off every weekend to the Tweed and Dalkeith.

Harry didn’t like drydocking the boats in winter or the rain, Steve said.

If Harry knew a boat was coming in and the weather was rotten, he’d call in sick with lumbago, an unusual condition for someone as active as Harry.

Very unusual in avid river fishermen.

Extraordinarily skilled

Steve said they wouldn’t tell Harry the boat was coming in but Harry would have his revenge: if he knew they’d tricked him he’d call in sick the next day.

Despite this Harry was worth keeping on because he was so good at his job, extraordinarily skilled and meticulous.

It emerged that as well as the shipyard, he had been part of a team who “re-roped” the stage sets at the Churchill and Playhouse theatres in Edinburgh.

When Harry retired he used his bus pass to go anywhere – Galashiels, Berwick, Kirkcaldy.

The last time Robert saw Harry was in the St James shopping centre in Edinburgh city centre.

He was fit and active going for a bus. Robert asked him where he was going and Harry said he didn’t know.

Image caption Harry in the back row of Rona’s exercise class (wearing a red T-shirt)

He was going to jump on any bus and that would be his destination for the day.

Harry’s physiotherapist got in touch.

Rona ran an exercise group for people with heart conditions and Harry always stood at the back with the other guys.

They all started at the same time.

The group would go for an annual day out at the Botanic Gardens and she also remembers Harry at their Christmas Ceilidh.

Image caption Henry (back left) on a trip to the Botanics with Rona’s fitness club

When he stopped coming they were worried about him but Rona bumped into him and he explained he was having trouble with sore feet.

He never returned to the class but was spotted out and about, on the bus and at the bookies.

At the physio class Harry and another man would swap stories about the bookies, how lucky or unlucky they had been.

The mystery of the mortgage remained until we heard this. Harry was a gambler.

Maybe Harry just got lucky.

His Name was Henry will be broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland at 13:30 on Wednesday and will be available on the iplayer.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-39429128

from https://www.makingthebest.com/2017/04/10/his-name-was-henry-summers-but-who-was-he-bbc-news/

[lavendermiilk]

His name was Henry Summers – but who was he? – BBC News

Image caption Harry (on the left) with workmates at George Brown & Sons

When I heard the story of an elderly man who had lain undiscovered in his flat for three years I wanted to know more about who he was.

It began with an urban horror story.

In June 2015 police in Edinburgh were called by a GP because an elderly patient named Henry Summers had not been seen for several years.

The police went to Henry’s address in Leith, one of the most densely populated areas in Scotland.

Image caption Henry lived in a top-floor flat in Leith

They went to the door of his top-floor flat on Easter Road and knocked but got no answer.

The police called a locksmith but he couldn’t open the door because the hinges had fused as it hadn’t been opened for years.

When the police knocked the door down they found a mountain of mail in the hall and Henry Summers was inside, dead.

He had been dead for three years, undiscovered, because all of his bills were paid by direct debit.

Image caption Police beat down the door to gain entry to Henry’s flat

A few years before that a woman had been found dead in Edinburgh, undiscovered for five years.

The media were full of recrimination and finger pointing.

I used to work with old people and had seen this before. It’s easy to de-personalise older people.

We talk about parents and pensioners as if they are conversation-starters about social issues.

But the way someone dies isn’t a summary of their whole life.

Who was Henry Summers?

A year after his body was found, I wanted to find out who Henry Summers had been during his 80-something years of life.

My detective work was for a BBC Radio Scotland documentary and it began with the reports of the incident in the local papers.

Journalist John Connell had interviewed neighbours at the time the body was discovered.

Image caption Denise Mina started her investigations at the home where Henry was found

They told him they had last seen Mr Summers three years earlier in 2012.

They saw him being stretchered out of his house into an ambulance.

He was wearing an oxygen mask and looked very grey.

The neighbours didn’t know that Henry had been discharged and returned to his home.

Image caption The nameplate on Henry’s front door

Later, one of the neighbours knocked on the door. He opened Henry’s letterbox and smelled what he assumed was food going bad.

They said Henry kept himself to himself but was very dapper, always wore a blue jacket and a flat cap and he used to whistle as he was coming up the stairs.

Then a twist: a man came forward and said that the man found dead in the flat in Easter Road could not possibly be Henry Summers.

Henry Summers of Easter Road was his father and had died and been cremated in 2012.

‘Unfathomable coincidence’

My Henry was 10 years younger than the man’s father.

This meant that two men with the exact same name had lived in the same street and died in the same year.

It sounds like an unfathomable coincidence – but it wasn’t.

Later, once we knew who Henry was, it would make perfect sense.

Image caption Henry lived at 300 Easter Road in Leith

I went to Easter Road and asked in the local caf, the pub, newsagents.

The police wouldn’t release a photo of Henry so it was difficult to know if they were remembering our Henry.

Some people thought they’d seen him but he was variously reported as being in his 60s and his 90s.

Some said he stood at the bus stop every morning, caught the number 35 and then came back on it in the afternoon.

He bought milk and newspapers every day too but the shopkeepers had changed in the three years since he was last seen. He was a difficult man to find.

Funeral paid for

I had assumed that Henry had been forgotten and would have been buried by the city council.

Public health funerals often happen when a person has died alone and impoverished.

I was completely wrong.

In fact, Henry’s funeral had been organised and paid for and an obituary had been printed in the paper.

I wrote, via the crematorium, to the person who paid for the funeral but they wanted to remain anonymous.

I also assumed that Henry’s flat was rented, perhaps the landlord would know him, but Henry owned his flat outright.

He had bought it in 1970 and paid his mortgage off completely in just four years.

It was 1,500. Where on earth did he get that money from? Was he from a rich family?

I was stuck so I went on BBC Radio Scotland’s Kaye Adams programme to ask for information.

Left intestate

The documentary team were contacted on Facebook by people who thought they had seen a man matching his description in the Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre.

He was there regularly, reading the paper, quite content, they said.

The number 35 stops there so it seemed credible.

In the meantime, I tried to trace the person who inherited Henry’s flat.

In Scotland, any property left intestate is dealt with by the National Ultimus Haeres Unit.

National Ultimus Haeres Unit

DEATHS REPORTED 01 JULY 2015

SUMMERS, Henry, d.o.b: 16/03/1929: place of birth: Leith, who resided at Flat 3F3, 300 Easter Road, Edinburgh , EH6 8JT and who died at Flat 3F3, 300 Easter Road, Edinburgh , EH6 8JT, on 24/06/2015. NUHU/113/15 – POSSIBLE RELATIVES TRACED

They list unclaimed property online so that any claims can be filed.

Henry’s flat had been claimed but they couldn’t tell us who the beneficiary was.

I contacted expert genealogist Dr Bruce Durie and using the Land Register and the census he solved the mystery of the two Henrys.

Our Henry was born in 1929 and had lived and worked in Leith all of his life.

He was an only child and lived with his parents, nursing his fragile mum until her death.

After that he moved from a flat in Thorntree Street just round the corner to the flat in Easter Road.

Image caption Henry was said to have taken the 35 bus from his home to Ocean Terminal in Leith

Here was the answer: Henry’s dad, one of nine children, was brought up at several addresses in Couper Street, Leith.

This street was populated almost entirely by households by the name of Summers.

Most of those families, probably relations, had children named Henry.

The name ‘Henry Summers’ was as much a part of Leith as rope and drink.

Demographics changed

The only reason I didn’t know that was that Leith has changed so much over the past 40 years.

It is gentrified now, the docks have shut, the demographics changed and the vast Summers family have mostly left.

My Henry was a ships’ carpenter, according to his death certificate.

This was an extremely skilled job with a long apprenticeship. Henry’s family were labourers, so he had done well for himself.

They must have been very proud of him.

The mystery of the mortgage remained.

Maritime historian Dr Eric Graham speculated that Henry might have been a whaler or worked long haul.

Those ships would go around the world for months at a time and ships’ carpenters could be paid a lump sum at the end of the voyage.

His name was Harry

It was all guesswork but then our original radio programme was broadcast and suddenly Henry came alive again.

His old pals heard it and contacted us, or the newspapers carrying stories about him.

He wasn’t even known as Henry, everyone called him Harry.

Harry, it turned out, was a great laugh.

He was a Hibs fan, a brilliant carpenter and an angler.

His old gaffer told us Harry was plagued by a mysteriously intermittent case of lumbago, which only ever flared up when he couldn’t be bothered doing a particular job.

His work pal, Andy, contacted us.

Image copyright Courtesy of George Brown & Sons

Image caption Harry (on the left) with workmates at George Brown & Sons

They worked together at George Brown’s in Leith all the way through the 1970s.

Andy saw the obit in the paper and went to Harry’s funeral.

He said Harry was a gent.

In the 1940s and 1950s, when Harry first started work, men in the high trades would wear a shirt and tie underneath their overalls. Harry still did this in the mid-90s.

Image copyright George Brown & Sons

Image caption Henry worked at George Brown and Sons in Leith

We heard that Harry was a good guy who didn’t like sexist jokes, which was unusual in the docks in the 70s.

Another old work pal, Robert, remembered that Harry would pop in to see the guys after he retired to regale them with his latest adventures.

Harry was a confirmed bachelor, an only son and came across as bit of a mummy’s boy, in a really nice way.

He was teetotaller when Robert knew him but their gaffer, Fred, told stories about Harry’s wilder days when they would all laugh and Harry would laugh along with them.

Fred was a whaler and Robert never heard them speaking about whaling together, so he thought Harry probably hadn’t done that. He didn’t think he had ever been abroad.

Image copyright George Brown & Sons

Assistant manager at George Brown and Sons, Steve McIntosh, knew him well.

Harry had retired in the late 90s and loved river fishing for trout.

He was off every weekend to the Tweed and Dalkeith.

Harry didn’t like drydocking the boats in winter or the rain, Steve said.

If Harry knew a boat was coming in and the weather was rotten, he’d call in sick with lumbago, an unusual condition for someone as active as Harry.

Very unusual in avid river fishermen.

Extraordinarily skilled

Steve said they wouldn’t tell Harry the boat was coming in but Harry would have his revenge: if he knew they’d tricked him he’d call in sick the next day.

Despite this Harry was worth keeping on because he was so good at his job, extraordinarily skilled and meticulous.

It emerged that as well as the shipyard, he had been part of a team who “re-roped” the stage sets at the Churchill and Playhouse theatres in Edinburgh.

When Harry retired he used his bus pass to go anywhere – Galashiels, Berwick, Kirkcaldy.

The last time Robert saw Harry was in the St James shopping centre in Edinburgh city centre.

He was fit and active going for a bus. Robert asked him where he was going and Harry said he didn’t know.

Image caption Harry in the back row of Rona’s exercise class (wearing a red T-shirt)

He was going to jump on any bus and that would be his destination for the day.

Harry’s physiotherapist got in touch.

Rona ran an exercise group for people with heart conditions and Harry always stood at the back with the other guys.

They all started at the same time.

The group would go for an annual day out at the Botanic Gardens and she also remembers Harry at their Christmas Ceilidh.

Image caption Henry (back left) on a trip to the Botanics with Rona’s fitness club

When he stopped coming they were worried about him but Rona bumped into him and he explained he was having trouble with sore feet.

He never returned to the class but was spotted out and about, on the bus and at the bookies.

At the physio class Harry and another man would swap stories about the bookies, how lucky or unlucky they had been.

The mystery of the mortgage remained until we heard this. Harry was a gambler.

Maybe Harry just got lucky.

His Name was Henry will be broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland at 13:30 on Wednesday and will be available on the iplayer.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-39429128

from https://www.makingthebest.com/2017/04/10/his-name-was-henry-summers-but-who-was-he-bbc-news/