Thread: Take a punt

Time to share a yarn I think

Many moons ago my father built a cannon in firing order out of brass he aquired while my grandfather was working at the Aratiatia power station construction, one day dad and one of his mates (now a retired gunsmith in tauranga) decided to fire it one weekend in the driveway of where my father lived in the Aratiatia village Albie (my fathers mate) flogged a few shotgun shells off his old man and they used the powder from them to charge up the cannon and then put a lead ball down the barrel the first couple of firings the lead ball just fell out of the end of the cannon, so albie suggested stuffing the wad down it after putting powder in followed by lead ball, all this time my grandfather was happily working under his car in the garage on a creeper board so albie and the old man fired this bloody cannon with the wad included, the canon roared the tree they were aiming at lost some of its bark the cannon recoiled backwards so well it hit the creeper board my grandfather was laying on and sent him scooting the rest of the way under the car and out the other side. Needless to say albie and my father thought it was a good idea to run like hell and stay away for a few hours to let grandad cool off. Close to dinner time dad and albie arrived back to my dads house everything was dead quiet and calm the front door was open so dad and albie strolled on in thinking all was well until from behind them they heard the distinct sound of that door slamming shut. They slowly turned around to see my grandad with the look of death in his eyes and holding the dreaded strap made from an old conveyor belt.