Things that go "bang" in the night

So the other day we are having a bbq, nothing fancy, 10 or so people and a few dogs, pre xmas get together, that sort of thing, no need for a flashlight, went till about 10 p.m. or so, walked the last couple of people to their cars in the dark, thats ok. Was tidying up and getting ready for bed when the phone goes...mother in law was camping and the awning has snapped on her campervan, flipped over the van and is now dragging on the ground, no tools or torch.
Well grabbed my petzel duo and my mini mag and a few tools, chucked them in the beemer and off we roared, close to 11 pm by the time we got there.
Neither of these are exactly new torches, the mini mag is an incan and going on 15 years and the duo is about 9 years. hate to think when I last checked the batteries...
Still chucked the duo on and off she went, mini mag is backup in the pocket, really needed both hand s for this job, had to un bolt things hammer other bits, loosen, pull, whack and eventually got the awning and the broken aluminium arms off, would have been impossible if not for the torches.

I know, I know I have to get modern and buy some LEDs, and one day I will, which is why I joined to try and find some good ones, but its nice to know my old-dated stuff still works!
Merry xmas everyone!

The van flipped over? Wow. How tight did she have that awning?

i think he means the awning flipped

good job on saving the day
you should treat yourself to a new headlamp

The awning flipped up over the van.

Anyway, of course, healthy human eyes don't need mega bright lights to get work done by. It's nice you've resisted buying lots of lights and are going along with solid reliable old lights. Well... minimag bulb isn't very reliable Some say they burn out after 4-6 hours use.

Cydonia said:

Well... minimag bulb isn't very reliable Some say they burn out after 4-6 hours use.

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Or straight away if dropped on a caving trip - before getting into the cave.

Well, I am not really active in CPF nowadays but iTorch, WELCOME to CPF! Hope you find yourself comfortable with the bunch of wonderful folks here. :twothumbs

TorchBoy said:

Or straight away if dropped on a caving trip - before getting into the cave.

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Haha! Opps!

It was even more annoying to find the spare bulb in that mini-Mag had blown as well. Maybe it had already done its 4-6 hours. I think we all learned from that trip. Um... anyone wanna go caving?

Sometimes you just got to tell them to go to sleep and let stuff flop
in the wind. I'll be up in the morning. Although a few thoughts...

Hey iTorch - just how scary is she that you jumped like a rabbit to help
the deliberately unprepaired? Sorry but seems you should have stashed
some tools and headlamps in her vehicle on the chance things always go
wrong at the worst times. Then you could have talked her thru the fix by phone from the comfort of your lazi-boy if she had tools and lights and the desire.

Awnings + high wind = its already bent so see you in the morning!!!

I give my relatives older but still working lights to stash in the emergency kits
as you should be doing starting today. Sorry but tell me I'm wrong?

hopkins said:

Sometimes you just got to tell them to go to sleep and let stuff flop
in the wind. I'll be up in the morning. Although a few thoughts...

Hey iTorch - just how scary is she that you jumped like a rabbit to help
the deliberately unprepaired? Sorry but seems you should have stashed
some tools and headlamps in her vehicle on the chance things always go
wrong at the worst times. Then you could have talked her thru the fix by phone from the comfort of your lazi-boy if she had tools and lights and the desire.

Awnings + high wind = its already bent so see you in the morning!!!

I give my relatives older but still working lights to stash in the emergency kits
as you should be doing starting today. Sorry but tell me I'm wrong?

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Your wrong.

Hey iTorch - just how scary is she that you jumped like a rabbit to help
the deliberately unprepaired? Sorry but seems you should have stashed
some tools and headlamps in her vehicle on the chance things always go
wrong at the worst times. Then you could have talked her thru the fix by phone from the comfort of your lazi-boy if she had tools and lights and the desire.

Click to expand...

Well I am a gentleman, when a lady is in distress I go help-maybe I am old fashioned, maybe I just wanted a chance to use my torches!

hopkins said:

Sorry but tell me I'm wrong?

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Yeah, you're wrong. Us kiwis love rescue missions. Go iTorch! :twothumbs

There are rescue missions and then there are "Rescue Missions".

The cheerleader girls campout needs more pizza and drinks delivered
asap may not rate as a rescue but still worthy of haste.

Maybe we need to see pictures of the 'wind flipped camper
awning' that explain how it had to be rescued in the middle of the
night. I can guess the wind was causing it the flap and scrape
against the van making a noise only the heavily sedated could sleep
thru.
In that case bravo! You are the man.

hopkins said:

The cheerleader girls campout needs more pizza and drinks delivered
asap may not rate as a rescue but still worthy of haste.

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Don't know about "rescue" but quite possibly a worthy mission. Sounds like guy food though. :thinking: