A Flash in the Pan (Harry Evans Book 3) by Ralph Williams

Author:Ralph Williams [Williams, Ralph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford eBooks Ltd
Published: 2015-06-08T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

Harry lined up with the rest of the new students at the Technical School. He was tidily dressed – Helen had seen to that. He wasn't too sure whether he should have brought overalls or something. He had a sharp pencil – that was a comfort anyway. As he stood outside the enrolment room waiting to be shown where his initial class was to be held, he heard a familiar voice.

'Hey, what have we got here? A newbie of all things.'

It was Dinky who, in company with Pug, was making his way down the main corridor. 'Which class are you in, Harry?' Dinky enquired.

'Not too sure yet. I think it will be tech drawing, by what I've heard.'

'See you later then.'

As he was about to turn away Harry heard a new voice. 'Harry. Harry Evans, isn't it?'

He swung round and confronted Leda. A genuine feeling of warmth came over him. She came towards him and gave him an affectionate hug as though she had just come across a long-lost cousin. Harry was too surprised even to blush. Dinky looked on.

'What are you doing here?' asked Harry.

'Oh, I decided to do something to better myself and take pattern and drafting classes for dressmaking. It's so lovely to see you again.'

They made an arrangement to see each other after class to catch up on things.

Harry's next two hours were spent learning the basics of technical drawing. The teacher was of the old school: a Scottish ex-marine engineer, a product of the Clyde shipyards, who reckoned that freehand drawing was superior to any produced by draughtsmen in flash offices with all the paraphernalia handy to them.

'Och, now how the hell in God's name are you supposed to communicate what you want fabricated when you're down in an engine room? The ship is rolling at thirty degrees and you're covered in oil and all you've got is a pencil and a dirty bit of paper to write on. Are you supposed to wait for fine weather? Now, lads, draw the idea roughly and you can always improve on it later. Now here is a steam valve. I want you to take it to pieces and draw me a pretty picture of what you think it should look like.'

He had the genuine knack of communicating although his Glaswegian accent was so broad it was almost unintelligible. He also had that rare ability to get the most from his pupils although some of his methods were highly questionable. He encouraged the students to imagine they were sitting inside an engine component such as an oil pump and draw the workings from where they were seated. To be able to do this of course one had to have a working knowledge of the pump and therefore the lesson was twofold: if you didn't know how the damn thing worked then even if you happened to be Michelangelo you just couldn't draw it.

He treated the students to a stroll though the lubrication system of an engine as though they were going for a walk through a park.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.