Re: Ha!
The chairman of the local magistrates told my mother this story:
When he was a child, his uncle, a former naval person, who lived next door had two brass cannons outside his front door. It seems that the croquet balls (wooden) were just the right size for the bore. So at school he made 7.5lbs of gunpowder (this was in the days of real chemistry lessons, no safety goggles, and playing with actual mercury with your bare hands). One Sunday night, when all was quiet, he crept round to his uncle's front door, loaded the cannon with 3lbs of gunpowder each, wadding, croquet ball, maximum elevation, and used the remaining 1.5lb for a fuse trail.
They never found one of the croquet balls, it probably disintegrated. The other one went over the house opposite into the neighbour's greenhouse.
In all the excitement he got away. And although it could not be proved that he was responsible he basically was unable to sit down for several days due to the extensive beating he received (see earlier comment re when this happened). Apparently his uncle never did manage to get those cannons to polish up as well as they had before.
So, Jake, I do hope your ones are 'secure' from any schoolchildren who may have read some 'Master and Commander' or 'Hornblower' and fancy a bit of fun in the night. Failing that, make sure the croquet set is well locked up.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
