Visit to F. Perkins, Peterborough

significance to the humblest instrument of the galaxy that surrounded him. He imparted, as all good lecturers do, a fabulous amount of well-ordered knowledge, but it was all spiced with delightful personal touches, tone of voice, facial expression, stories of the great and above all his artistry with the instruments.

We were all sorry when the time came to an end, but whenever we see a J. Arthur Rank film we shall know that we have heard and seen the actual gong which heralds each performance, and it will remind us of a delightful hour spent with Mr. Blades.

VISIT TO BAKER PERKINS AND FRANK PERKINS LTD. AT PETERBOROUGH

On the 28th November a party of 19 boys, under the direction of Mr. Coulthard, travelled to Peterborough to visit the firms of Baker Perkins and Frank Perkins Ltd.

From the station we were taken by cars to Baker Perkins where we had coffee and biscuits and were given a short talk on what we were to see and the history of the firm. A film was then shown of a bread-making machine in operation. It was most interesting, as the process was almost entirely automatic, from the mixing of the dough to the wrapping of the sliced loaf.

We then divided into three groups and our tour of the firm was conducted by one of the apprentices, who appeared to be well versed in the various processes.

We first visited the carpenter's shop where we saw all the intricate dies being coaxed out of most unlikely pieces of wood. Our next visit was to the casting shed, where the wooden dies are used to make impressions in sand moulds. The rough cast is then sand blasted, water blasted and ground, so that it resembles something like the finished article. In the engraving shop we saw dies being engraved for biscuits and ice cream wafers.

The three parties gathered at the apprentices' hostel for an excellent lunch, after which our genial hosts took us across to Frank Perkins Ltd.

This firm makes diesel engines of all shapes and sizes for cars, lorries, buses and ships. As they do not have a foundry, they have to import the crude parts from Dagenham or the Birmingham area. The roughly cast engine parts are first trimmed, then ground or milled exactly, and various holes are drilled in them. The engine blocks move around the 750,000 square feet of floor space on roller conveyors or overhead rails. After the block has been completely milled and the cylinder linings inserted, the various accessories are fitted, such as pistons, crankshaft and flywheel. The engine is then 20