Today I shall be Mainly...

[PanBiker]

As it's raining, I think today will be the sorting out day for the camping equipment that our Jack and his girlfriend want for their Easter jaunt over York way. Lucy has produced a list of what she thinks they need in equipment but has never camped before so the list will need modifying slightly. It will ultimately be decided by what they can fit in Jacks car. They are going cosy in the three up Easy Camp tent, easy to pitch although I have suggested a trial pitch, they are young enough to handle the height! I don't think we can get away with the minimalist list we used to shove on the motorbike every weekend when we were rallying! I think it may be a bit of a revelation when it's all downstairs. I hope it's fine for them.

[Sue]

I well remember those simpler camping days. Two man ridge tent with extra fly sheet as a porch extension. Great function

[PanBiker]

Indeed Sue. Our Easycamp 3 is step up from what we used originally before we were married when we were rallying all over the country. Everything had to fit on a rear carrier rack. We got this tent for when we went to France on the last bike we had which was the 1100 Pan European Tourer. which had dual panniers, (his and hers) and a 50L GIVI rear carrier. We were 20 years younger then when we went to visit Sally's great Uncle Thomas's grave up on the Belgian border. Tried it last about 5 years ago when we got back into camping and soon realised that we needed a later generation job that you can stand up in! Jack an Lucy are still young enough to go lower profile.

[Stanley]

The last tent I had was a two man bivi I used to take to steam rallies for me and the dogs. It must have been a decent tent because Susan told me not long ago that one of the grandchildren is still using it.
I watch a channel called Kent Survival on Youtube and he has a different tent every trip. I suppose he's working with the manufacturers.....
Today I shall be in the shed from 06:00 for an hour with my engine. Then order my meet from Kath Brown and then look forward to Robin my Chiropodist who comes at 10:15 to give my feet a treat.

[Stanley]

First this morning I sanded the two plinths I had left in the vice yesterday. Then I trimmed any excess off the rubber base. Next I shifted attention to the connecting rod. I had to cut down the small end so that it was a good fit in the slot in the crosshead but those two cuts had to be exactly perpendicular to the drilling for the crosshead pin. I achieved that by taking a chance on a very insecure grip in the vise. I made my cuts very carefully and quietly and got away with it. The last image at closing time shows the correctly oriented con rod in place on the crosshead pin with the castings for the bearing lay on the surface plate in front of the bed. I know what my task is tomorrow..... Now for breakfast!

[Sue]

Morning

I think its meant to be a dull dryish day. If so this afternoon I will tackle removing the drowning hydrangea from its pot and replanting it in fresh soil, with trimmed roots and a better drainage, but this morning it is art at Haslingden

Yesterday was busy , we started by visiting the garden centre to buy new rockery plants for the rockery we rebuilt. When it stopped raining I planted them. I also checked on my seeds in the greenhouse and it looks like they are at last sprouting. I had a chat with our neighbour whose garden is behind our greenhouse. He recently had some trees removed, which we thought was a mistake, long story but we can remember why they were planted by a previous inhabitant of the house.

Anyway David was busy building a new fence round a new patio he has created in the only corner of their garden which is sunny late afternoon and early evening. It is more than a patio, it has a covered area with a jacuzzi which he bought second hand ( he has since discovered it has a leak) I digress. David has no access to the back garden except through the house or over the garage roof as the house has been much extended over the years. We are used to seeing building materials and gardening stuff being delivered via the long garage roof. Imagine our surprise on Monday morning seeing a large jacuzzi sitting up there. It caused some concern and interest on our part, and anxiety on their part , seeing 5 burly workmen ( David is a roofer and builder ) discussing how to get this thing off his roof and into the garden before the roof collapsed. Now its nearly finished, with jacuzzi in situ, the whole area looks lovely but I am not sure how often it will get used in sunny Rochdale.

My sewing session revealed numerous problems with our original design. I have booked another session next Wednesday so we can go back to the drawing board as they say. It was nice to be back in creative mode, however,.

Have a good day all.

[Gloria]

Sue, I wonder if the removal of the trees is causing the water problem in your greenhouse. A friend of ours took a big tree down and then had allsorts of water ingress they’d not had before.

[Sue]

Sue, I wonder if the removal of the trees is causing the water problem in your greenhouse. A friend of ours took a big tree down and then had allsorts of water ingress they’d not had before.

It will cause a water problem but in their garden. We think the water in the greenhouse is seeping under the brickwork because rain water is accumulating round it faster than it can drain through the drainage holes. When it is dry enough Bob is going to seal the bricks and on to the concrete with a bitumen sealant

[PanBiker]

Enjoying my Christmas present from Sally. We are off to see The Jive Aces at the Barlick Music and Arts Centre tonight. Seen them many times before when we went jive dancing regularly. Will be nice to see the lads again in their Zoot Suits. We have seats for tonight, formerly we were on the dance floor all night on previous sessions with the band.

The Jive Aces

[Big Kev]

Enjoy. I've been to a couple of gigs in the cellar but found I don't really fit. The ceiling height is only around 6ft 3in so I had to bend down just to get anywhere

[Stanley]

My mate Daniel has the same problem Kev. I think the world was made for us short-arses on the quiet.....
Today I shall roast my chicken after second sleep like I did last week. I have my veggies and will be cooking them tomorrow. I shall be in the shed at 06:00 this morning working on my crank bearing.
Thinking about builders.... I think you're right Sue about jacuzzis and our Northern Climes..... I have my own water problem, a damp patch on the wall in the front room. I suspect a leaking gutter and hopefully will get an answer when my builder calls later today. There's always something!

[Stanley]

Only one image needed this morning. I think you all know that the reason I get such good results out of my El Cheapo mill/drill and cutters rescued from scrap yards is that I am not afraid of popping the cutters in the Clarkson Tool and Cutter Grinder and making sure they are razor sharp and the right geometry. So that's where I started this morning doing an in depth sharpen of two end mills after backing them both off and gulleting them.
The result was that I could make a good job of milling all the faces of the crank pin bearing castings that needed it and the image is of the bearing brasses cut to size and ready for further work. My business now is breakfast!

[Sue]

Morning

After a good effort in the garden yesterday we managed to repot the drowning hydrangea. Bob drilled several more drainage holes in the pot, we tidied the root ball up and put it back with fresh compost mixed in with the old which smelt like bad drains. Bob then tootled off to the workshop and I tackled the small seriously overgrown rockery, chucking away most plants as they were entangled with grass and weeds. I then rebuilt it using soil and stones from elsewhere in the garden. Today I will go and buy more plants from THE PLANT DUDE in Bacup.

So thats my trip this morning, Bob is off to the tip with a trailer full of the old vacuum cleaner, the old floor steamer, hedge cuttings and stuff he has cleared out of the loft over the last couple of days.

Being Friday its lunch out so we are meeting Wendy and Keith at the usual time of 1.30 in the usual place, the Italian at the Lake . When we get back we shall be packing ready for a long weekend in York, a spontaneous booking the night Bob finished his treatment.

Have a good day all

[Gloria]

Enjoy your weekend away Sue

[Stanley]

Yes, I hope you enjoy York Sue......
Waterlogged seems to be the theme today. I hope my builder can sort out where the water is getting in my wall! I shall do something useful now and roast my chicken....

[Stanley]

Cooking finished. Chicken roasted and dealt with. Roasting pan and tools all washed and put away. Now I need to see my builder, I shall have to sit and wait for him to come.

[Sue]

Hope your builder arrives ok. We too had a suspect patch on the lounge wall, our neighbour Jacuzzi David had a look, he relaid the flashing but could find nothing else but maybe porous brickwork and will spray it for us…when its dry. Though he may be in the jacuzzi that day.

[Stanley]

John and has mate came and I think pin-pointed the problem straight away. It looks as though a bad gutter joint is discharging water on the the wall. It runs down harmlessly until it encounters a bad joint in the pointing just at the level where the damp patch starts in the front room. They are going to come next week and sort the gutter and the pointing. They will also inspect the roof and the guttering. They are good lads and I am much happier now.
Meanwhile life must go on. I roasted my chicken yesterday and today after shed and second sleep I shall cook my veggies and then make savoury mince with the pound of mince Carl delivered yesterday with my meat order. It's all go!

[Stanley]

Again, only one image needed. This morning's task was simple but to do it accurately needed a lot of care. It was to put witness marks on the two halves of the bearing do some careful measuring and marking then drill the two halves to accept the 4BA bolts that will hold the bearing on to the end of the con rod. That took me almost an hour, I have to check everything so many times but as you can see it all turned out OK. Now for breakfast!

[Sue]

Morning

Bob suggested to me that it might be your guttering. Its a cold windy day, rain forecast here but not in York. There it is sun and cloud, 4 degrees feeling like -1. Tomorrow is due to be 10/11 and sunny. We live in hope. We leave after breakfast and will pick up a Tesco order on the way over. We find that works very well when we go to the Lakes in January . We just take the basics, plan our meals put it on an order and do click and collect.

We have no plans for York except to chill out and enjoy ourselves. We will be doing a u3a zoom enjoyment of wine session from our Sykes cottage accommodation this evening. The theme is food wine pairing. At our meal yesterday Wendy asked me what I was cooking, I said nothing. The reality is we are having local fish and chips bought in and we have looked up and bought the appropriate white wine to go with it.

I have now replanted both my newly structured rockeries, given them a water and await the new growth . Moving stones from other parts of the garden has in fact opened up a border allowing me to plant more flowers. I do love pottering in the garden. At last my seedings are appearing in the greenhouse and I have 12 newly rooted geranium cuttings now planted up sitting on our ´sunny’ bedroom window cill. The garden is beginning to grow.

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You can just see the top of Davids jacuzzi covered area behind our greenhouse next to his shed. It used to be all trees there. I have tried to shield the view a bit with a honey suckle screen. I just loved the trees. The blackbirds used to sit on top and sing to us. You can also see the messy rockeries by the top pond before their renovation
Have a good day all, stay warm

[Stanley]

Morning Sue.... Bob was right of course, the source of the water running down the wall is almost certainly a faulty gutter but the route into the house seems to be via some defective pointing that John and his mate picked out immediately. They are going to come next week, get on the roof and sort it whatever it is!

I can see why you miss the trees Sue. Bit of a disappointment that......
As for York, I wish you all the best.... It could be cooler but less rain.... It's very cold here this morning, We are promised a high of 6C with a -5C wind chill. Work that out for yourself. I shall be happy cooking veggies in the warm....

[Gloria]

Wendy, thankyou for representing us at Ken’s funeral, as we were away I’ve only just caught up with reading this, thanks again.

[Wendyf]

Wendy, thankyou for representing us at Ken’s funeral, as we were away I’ve only just caught up with reading this, thanks again.

I was glad to be able to go Gloria, I met Ken on a few occasions and I was a familiar face to Jean. I would think that most of those attending were ex RR colleagues.

[Big Kev]

Thank you for going Wendy.

[Big Kev]

This evening I was the minority in a quiz team at Barlick Cricket Club. £500 was raised for a children's cancer charity

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