The day of the Great Cotton Reel Tank Contest approaches and yesterday I decided to undertake some advanced road trials of the Beta Test Model (Series II). For those who have not been following this story, a couple of months ago - over a pint of two of beer - a friend and I started to reminisce about the elastic-band driven cotton reel tanks we used to build and race as kids. The talk rapidly escalated into competitive mode and we agreed to meet in a couple of months to race tanks we would have, by then, built and tested.
For me, everything was going smoothly and the tests undertaken on the kitchen table yesterday gave me hope of success on Saturday. I was so pleased with the engineering progress I had achieved that I went off to the pub with a confident smile on my face.
Alas, on my return I discovered that LucyDog had somehow managed to climb up to the table an eat the Beta Test Model (Series II)! I now must start the long process of rebuilding in the hope that an elastic-band driven phoenix can arise from the ashes - pushed along by its matchstick drive-shaft. But just in case things don't go well, I have managed to get a note from a friend of mine who is a teacher explaining that my dog has eaten my homework.
