Christmas reading for our "leaders and betters"... Yes you lot!

The natural state of the human being, is resourcefulness, intelligence and proficiency. I fear that the government, would rather that we were passive and bovine. To that end, since the end of WW2, a government dependence culture has gradually been constructed, I am assuming in a deliberate attempt to rule and control.

I have hated the word "consumer", ever since "the Consumers Association" became known to me and the BBC started to repeat it endlessly, and push their "Which" magazine in such a big way.

I recently referenced Sean Gabb, having not thought about him for a while, probably since the death of the Libertarian Party, which I don't recall him being involved with, but who does refer to himself as a libertarian. I even joined his YouTube channel, and there... are a small collection of videos of classical records, played by him on an old Columbia portable record player.

On a whim, I did a bit of research, took a look on the Bay, and aimed for an HMV 102D portable record player. I won the auction, there was a collection of records and lots of spare needles and a nice drive out to the country to collect it. A good all round experience.

When I got it home, I wound it up, I didn't change the needle, there was a chipped record already on the turntable, so I launched it. It barely moved, so I moved the speed controller to full speed, and this awful racket started to emerge from the horn... Something had to be done.

I downloaded the manual that some helpful individual had posted, and read all four pages. I went to a clean desk with a single flat bladed screwdriver, and followed HMV's instructions. Very soon, I had a pile of bits, and a jar full of screws. I fiddled around, pulling this lever or prodding that knob, and realised that there was absolutely nothing wrong that a bit of cleaning and lubing would not address. HMV from Hayes, Middlesex as a company, were aware that their product was very simple, but very well made and robust. Even a mechanical nincompoop could open it up, understand it, and repair it.

I judiciously applied a few squirts of WD40 as I had seen my friend Gerry Wells of the Vintage Wireless Museum do on many occasions. Reassembled the machine twice before I got everything right, took it to the place where the records were. I wound it up and put that old record on with a new needle... And Bing Crosby started to sing. Absolutely marvellous, the record was a bit crackly, it was damaged and I don't recall the tune, but the speed adjuster was dead on 78rpm, the sound was room filling and the cat ran for his life... always a good sign.

Later, I realised what a great little allegory this was:

One of the dooberies that one encounters during the above mentioned procedure, is an arrangement of steel spheres on a metal spindle, set between two pivots. When the spring is wound, and the motor brake released, this thing starts to spin, quite wildly, and the balls change their position, it sort of clatters a bit. 

After I cleaned, wiggled, lubed and poked, the clattering stopped and everything else seemed to run more smoothly. It turns out that this thing is called "the governor", and its purpose is to control the speed and even-ness of the spindle that eventually causes the turntable to turn. The speed adjuster allows a bit of external manual control. The listener, knows when the sound is right, although some people have made paper things that allow a nerd to check the speed with a strobe light.

I like the idea that a governor has a limited role, which is to maintain a steady speed and stop the engine running out of control. The owner/user hand winds the spring and drives the turntable, and requires a few extra winds following every couple of tunes. 

The folded horn that is unseen underneath the turntable and emerges at the back of the case, passively fills the room with the music that "I" want to play. A new needle ensures that the sound is clear and unmuffled. And it will do these things, until I am tired and wish to rest. Notably however, others can take up where I leave off, and have a little dance, as long as the small number of pre-requisites are dealt with, it will keep playing its tunes.

Wonderful, our politicians and civil servants should ALL be issued with an HMV 102 as part of their "establishment" ceremony. lest they forget what they are there for.