• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Where premium quality meets exceptional value. ZEISS Conquest HDX.

Tilley Hats.. Comments please (1 Viewer)

Tilley Hat's,Me and Terrorist Surveillance at the Airport(Hilarious facts.)

The First thread that i stumbled on in tne Birdforum was Tilley's Hat comments please.I have never heard of of this hat(last year 7th of April 2005-ah) TURBAN ALL LIFE LONG :'D (ah) YES BUT TILLEY"S HAT NO My Wife
decided to go England with my children to visit her Brother in South-End-on the Sea_Essex.So off she went but before she left i told her dont come back with out a Tilley Hat-you hear. |=@| .I did call her twice .Then in between i did call to find out if she had got the hat.Then on 1st i called her because i knew she was coming back on 4th of Sept.She told me they couldnt find the hat.Banged the phone down and then got a brilliant idea-E-mailed Ianf at Birdforum(poor chap by now must have disabled his e-mail because i have been a pain in the beh...for him.(for give me my friend i must tell your part in it). Within three hrs he had sent me all the retailers of Tilley in Essex-faxed it to my Out-Law in Essex(THANK YOU Ianf).Then went home at 11.30pm and dossed off with my shoes on in bed-the phone rang-oh God not a patient please-the time was 3am then heard my wife's voice-she told me she is in the shop and the Tilley hat is too expensive-told her to give the phone to her brother in my most sexy voice (I am sure you too do the same when you want some thing from your wife).I told my out-law you must buy this hat for me -do you understand or do you want me to speak more slowly(in our tradition the brother of your wife cant refuse any thing you aske(I LOVE THIS TRADITION :-O -)he quickly handed the phone to my wife
i kept on saying hello but no answer but i could her my wife talking to her brother,then i heard my wife asking the salesman-(PLEASE WENT YOU READ THIS LINE USE A TYPICAL INDIAN ACCENT PLEASE :'D )-For how long it is GRA-N-TIT( ;) ED-then i heard this typical british voice(i could visualise the Brit with a up turned nose saying)-FOR LIFE MADAM -then i heard this huge thud and the line got cut.
Then as i was drifting of to sleep i reliased the thud was my wife fainting(Who has heard of life grantee-i havent)-well no problem my out-law doctor is there to bring her around-point is a point(ah)
Next day went to work and called a senior officer in the Immigration at the Airport(we go back donkeys years together).Hi this is Manjeet my friend-are you busy-he replied no but our mutual friend is here would you like to talk to him even before i could aske who- he passed the phone to him.Hello i said -(he)well how is my sword welding friend-oh no the chief of Security at the airport-said a few words and told him to pass the phone back.Look my friend my family is coming back from U.K. on 4th Sept(Sunday) and they are bringing my Tillet hat-could i go and wait at the Air craft area were they leave the plane.Well he told me to wait and he will call me back after 5 mins.
He called me and said-two conditions-1-no sword in the airport-i told him i am only joking with the sword-oh he said i heard how you threatened your neighboures with a sword while birding.2nd there will be 3 junior officer accompanying you.Come on i told him WHY -well Manjeet i know what can happen when you are around-You can by just walking pass a crowd -cause a fight amoung the crowd.So yes i said.
Next day reached the airport at 10.35am and went to the Immigration counter and there were this 3 new squeaking guys with huge grins waiting with 6 other staff(Must be some joke they were sharing)They pined the pass on my left breast(i felt that he would have liked to push the pin in my chest :'D ).So they nailed me to the pass and took me inside(one of the chap's took my car keys and told me that he will collect the baggage ticket from my wife and take my luggage to the car and wait for me there.(still grinning he walked away).Now i have gone to the Airport many times something was wrong but couldnt pin it- the sweepers passed me twice but didnt look at me,then a few times the custom officers passed me and the the people when seing me moved back and started whispering as i passed.(damn it some thing was going on)Then as i passed a t.V. screen it showed us passing.
Reached the area and set down had to wait an hr-starting nibbling my finger nails to bed rock and was going to start on my toes-saw people coming out.Then saw my youngest and my family-the youngest was carrying a green plastic bag with the words Tilley's Afordables.My family saw me and ran to me with out stretch arms and i also ran to them with out stretch arms and as i reached my daughter and the plastic bag I tried to grab the bag-then with a sheepish grin held out my arms to all 4 of them -they were hugging me and crying and were saying they missed me and i was hugging them and crying because i couldnt see my Tilley hat. :'D
By the time a lot odf passengers were around us(50to 60).Then my little one took me to the launge chair and made me sit and bowed and handed me the Tilley hat bag-there was quite a lot of :clap: :clap: from people around.>Then i took out the Tilley's and took a deep breath and put it over my head-IT wouldnt fit oh no they have brought me a small size one..Then while turning red with angry and with my beard and mustaech bristtling like a angry bull tried again-it couldnt fit my head.
Turned my angry eyes towards my daughter and was about to say something bad when my little one cupped her dainty hands around her mouth and shouted PAPPY YOU ARE SILLY-YOU HAVE TO TAKE OUT YOUR TURBAN BEFORE YOU CAN WEAR THE HAT and her voice was heard every were in the airport.
There was pin drop silance for a min. and then the passengers around me collapsed with laughter-i could hear the whole airport ringing with laughter for the speakers were on.Grabed my Tilley, my children and my wife and then bolted for the exit and car park as i was galloping i saw people pointing at me and collapsing with laughter.Reached the car park panting and saw the junior officer rolling on the ground..I was angry and demanded what was goining on -he wordlessly handed me his walky-talky and i heard my daughter's voice Pappy dont be silly....Then i asked who did this.Wiping tears from his eyes -OUR BOSS -Your friend Dr.Manjeet -he told us that to-day they were putting a Terriost suspect under surveillance(ME and told every body it was a excerise only-see how well you'll can do that without the suspect knowing.It was on T.V.(all people were told ) but not the suspect and all his words should be heard on the speakers.Then he said there will be a replay of at 3pm care to watch.Got my family in the car and then me and my family collapased howling with laughter. :D
THAT IS HOW I GOT MY TILLEY HAT_LOVE IT
LAUGH- LIFE IS SHORT
 
Last edited:
don't be silly
dump the tilley
they make ya look
bloody silly

if it's chilly
around yer w***y
wear a sock
around yer


oops phone, brb
 
Last edited:
capercaillie said:
Tilley hats are alright! Seems they have the same connotations amongst sea kayakers as they do birders.

Indeed welcome Capercaillie, you very nearly slipped in at a side door unnoticed. ;)

D
 
Am a pale englishman who has been in the middle east for a year, it is sunny here apparently. I can vouch for the ability of a T-hat to keep the sun off your swede.

Had one in the UK for over 10 years, mainly used when fishing, its still going but bought a new one here, as the sand colour blends in better with the sand than my blue old one.

They are not expensive when you consider the lifespan and benefits (small lie, they are expensive but worth it).

Big Gordy
 
wearing any hat with a wide brim & you will miss birds, take it off & you can see more but the sun plays hell with you.
call me old but i wear a Hoggs flat cap which fits like a glove, water proof & is now a big part of my birding kit. summer/winter, this hat will not let me down, never blows off & blends in with any surounding. it cost me £12 in Hereford cattle market & I never looked back. you could get 4 of these for the price of a Tilly and the Tilly stands out on your head from a mile away, if you want to vanish into your surounding then dont get a white hat.
remember, farmers & outdoor folk have worn these flat caps for years in all weathers, you wount see them with a fancy priced tag hat!!
 
This is the first time I have noticed this thread and there are certainly some diverse views on Tilley Hats.

Well I was thinking of getting a Tilley Hat as I am going to Turkey in September. I burn easy and as I am going with Steve Lister I can well imagine that I am going to be out in the sun quite a lot. I have purchased some Regatta zip off trousers, a Craghoppers shirt (all protective against the sun), and my final purchase was to be a hat. Thankfully one of my work colleagues has a little used Tilly Hat so they have lent it to me. Sorted.

I don't care what people think as it has been borrowed with one purpose in mind, to protect my head and neck from the sun and to that end I couldn't care less how I look as long as I am protected.

John
 
QUOTE

'This is the first time I have noticed this thread and there are certainly some diverse views on Tilley Hats.'


DITTO, only just seen this thread.

I have tried on these hats before and didn't find one that felt comfortable and that didn't add 20 years to my age!!! but in May I tried on their latest 'Hemp' Hat in dark olive green at Cley Spy in Norfolk at the same time I was buying the new Nikon ED50 scope, but didn't want to stretch to the hat as well at the time!!!


Well I will quite happily admit I treated myself to the hat at the Bird Fair and I love it, I don't give a monkeys what anyone else thinks!!!!!!!!! — Penny
 
Penny, Reader,

More converts, great, and don't worry about monkeys!

I was looking at the Tilley Endurable range of clothing in Edmonton this week, certainly look endurable, but need to eat LOTS to fit them! Prefer to stay slim and stick to the hats...

Dr Manjeet - what a lovely tale!

Mike
 
Hey, Doc M, don't know how I missed your missive the first time around, but glad I saw it tonight! What a hoot! :bounce: This is one birder who loves her Tilley hat, especially on pelagic trips. It floats. ;)
 
Very over priced, good hats, no i dont have one. plenty of other hats on the market just as good & much cheaper. saying that a mate had his for years & they replaced it free when it got worn out.
I got a Rogue hat, much better & will last a life time, lots of styles do a search for Rogue hats, made in Africa with distribitors here in the UK, you wont be disapointed.
if your stuck i can send you the address
 
My hat is not a pure breed tilly,I purchased it from norwich market for £2!

Does a good job of keeping the rain from off my face though (which I detest)

Also good for mozzie bashing in the summer ;)

Matt
 
Reader said:
I don't care what people think as it has been borrowed with one purpose in mind, to protect my head and neck from the sun and to that end I couldn't care less how I look as long as I am protected.
In other words, because - as some of us have been saying all along - it's a hat..!

;)
 
A hat's a hat at the end of the day. I have a wide-brimmed hat, similar to a Tilley hat, except mine cost £3 in Tesco and will probably fall to bits in a few years.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 16 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top