Too clever by half

I STILL remember the radar on my first ship. It was a dull grey box, with a soft rubber hood for daylight viewing, like the What the Butler Saw machine on Bognor Pier. It had a little aluminium roller blind to “protect” the controls, with a lock, so that no unauthorised person would be party to the electronic secrets. The key was kept on a brass hook adjacent to the set, although the previous master had insisted on keeping it, so that the officer of the watch had to make a personal application if he wanted to avail himself of this navigational aid.