Today I shall be Mainly...

[Sue]

Snow forecast here too Stanley. On the whole its been a much better week than expected. A couple of really nice warm sunny days, a couple of cloudy days and two wet ones. Yesterday was a mixed bag. Nice in the morning but cold, wet and windy in the afternoon.

Not much to do this morning. Change the bedding to bring it home to wash. Change bedrooms from our warm winter one to tbe cooler summer one facing north. It will be late April, early May when we come again. I shall wash the towels and leave them on the roof mounted airer to dry, tben pack. It will be omelette for lunch as many of our friends round here keep hens so we often have an egg glut! The ferry is overnight, luckily the strong winds don’t seem to arrive until after Friday morning.

On Saturday, we are driving up to Carlisle to pick up some garden railway rails Bob has bought on eBay. Next trip here we shall bring them over. We are hoping there are enough to finish the circuit.

[Stanley]

I was on the verge of asking about the garden railway the other day. Remind me what gauge it is.....



Here's a pic for Bob. Newton driving and Johnny riding behind his Dyak Queen at Blackgates track at Bradford.

[Sue]

Its a 5 inch Stanley. He says thanks for the picture.

Just arriving in Portsmouth, a very smooth crossing despite the forecast. The sun is shining. The boat is an hour later today because of maintenance work at the dock, we have to wait for a ferry to leave before we can access the quay. So we were able to get up at a civilised time. Its always easier coming back as we gain the hour anyway.

[Stanley]

I have an idea that Dyak Queen was also 5" gauge.



Here's a pic I did in 1980 of the 5" gauge loco that Newton built.

Today I shall be writing articles, a good occupation for a nasty day.
I'm glad you had a good crossing. Wrap up warm if you have to go out today Sue!

[Sue]

What a performance. We remained on tbe ferry till 10.00 because there was a ‘police incidence’ which appears to have been an un attended black suitcase. When we got back to our car the battery was flat, easily solved but put us at the back of the queue for passport control. It was thus 10.30 before we hit the road. By which time mid morning traffic and road incidents had built up.

We had to come home via Coventry, dropping a bag of goodies at Julias. Normally a journey of 2 and a bit hours , it was 1.40 when we left there. The M6 was just one big traffic jam so we cut across country to Derby and Buxton. A pretty route and indeed shorter than the motorway, and probably much faster but it was still well after 6 .00 when we got home. We unpacked the car and went straight out for a curry. Thus it was 8.00 before we could properly say we were home.

[Stanley]

A long cold day Sue. Glad you are back in the hutch....
I wrote two articles and kept warm! I shall aim for the same today!

[Sue]

We got to Carlisle and home with the rails before the worse set in. Now it is thick and falling fast, I don’t think we will get To Erins birthday party, i hope everyone else will.

[Stanley]

Good! This morning things are looking a lot better.
I want to write a couple more articles to get some headroom to take me beyond next months social activities round the wedding and the gathering of the clan. Under pressure!

[Sue]

We did manage to get to Erins birthday party. About 9.00 the gritter came up the road, with snow plough at the front. Once we got down our hill the roads were not too bad and we arrived at the party just half an hour late. It was at a gym and activity centre, the kids were busy enjoying the freedom and fun. Erin had a shared party with her friend Ethan, and the two Mums did the catering. What a spread! We all went home with doggy bags of food. The sandwiches were hardly touched as the kids dived into carot and cucumber sticks and chopped up pieces of fruit. So good to see.

[Stanley]

That is a good sign Sue. Perhaps education is starting to have an effect! Glad you got to the party.......
I wrote 3 articles so the stock pile is healthy again, I'm written up to the end of April so feeling safe again! Shed today...... (and it's warmer.....)

[Sue]

I am supposed to have written two pieces for March for the writing group, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Todmorden U3A, but no inspiration. I really don’t think writing is my scene. Its the one thing I do that I really struggle with. I know I can write but I am never stimulated by our themes. In this case 10 th Anniversaries and The Seven Ages Of Man. I shall have a go at the first perhaps.

My friend moved house yesterday, they rent and the landlord gave them two months notice on their beautiful apartment that over looks the canal, apparently he now needs the place for himself. Anyway they have found a house...not ideal as they really need one level, but it is a long term let and they have been told they can put a stair lift in. Tomorrow I am going over to help unpack boxes, thus any writing will gave to be done today, between yoga , pilates and helping at the hospice shop. Busy busy!

[Stanley]

Finding a theme..... I now the feeling Sue and it gets harder the longer I do it! Sorry to hear about your friend, high time the rules on letting were tightened up, the tenant has no rights at all in many cases.
I swapped writing for workshop frustration with fiddly little nuts and bolts yesterday but I am getting there slowly! I must be a masochist.....

[Sue]

I suppose it must have been in the contract, two months notice on either side or something like that. The landlord can only adk the tenant to leave for being a bad tenant or if they want to use the property for themselves, which was the reason given in this case. When we rented out the cottage in Anglesey ours was an initial six months let then a months notice on eithe side. Although we promised never to sell if we had a tenant and on one occasion gave him the option to buy. He would have done but later moved in with the lady and her family at the other end of the village...who was pregnant.....

I didn’t write anything, i may try tonight when I am sitting

[Tizer]

I should have been taking one of my relatives and her family to the station this morning, heading for the airport and a week in New York to celebrate her 50th birthday. But she got a call last night to say the flight has been cancelled and now she's had to cancel the holiday altogether. A big storm is on its way to the US East Coast and thousands of flights have been called off. She's upset but she's better off here than being in NY during the storm! We're now encouraging her to look for a last minute holiday cottage here in UK! Going round to have a cuppa with her shortly and cheer her up.

[Stanley]

That sounds like good advice Tiz! I had a look at ABC news..... LINK and here's their report. Active weather conditions like that on the East Coast of the States often get across to us. Perhaps that's the Easter snow that is being rumoured here.... I shall just enjoy what we have!

[Tizer]

While we had our cup of tea with them the two daughters were upstairs and, like typical oldies, we assumed they would be texting their pals and playing on social media. Not so, they'd been searching for last minute holiday deals and came up with a log cabin in the Forest of Dean! The family have now booked a cabin from Friday to Monday and they're spending today in Lyme Regis. The cabins are more luxurious than you'd think... Log Cabin

[Wendyf]

We have had a few holidays in Forestry Commission cabins over the years. They used to be fairly basic which suited us fine but now they are getting very smart indeed.

[Tizer]

These types of log cabins can be very warm in winter. They're timber-framed and packed with insulation, much more than most masonry house walls. We stayed in a cottage on a property where the owner also had an office in the grounds. It was like the log cabins and hardly needed any heating. I wish the house-builders would get around to building their houses the same way, we'd need a lot less heating!

[Stanley]

That was something that struck me when I was in a wooden house in the depths of the Minnesota winter in Northfield. Made of timber, the walls were only 6" thick but very well insulated and this was the oldest house in the town, built about 1870 from a kit ordered from Sears and delivered by rail, flat pack. No asbestos, mainly paper insulation. Common to have temperatures below 0F in winter.
Today is shopping and I have a pressing idea for another article.......

[Sue]

Art today, then lunch with friends, followed by a trip to Crosby where my sister is doing a fundraising charity winetasting. Its in aid of an animal charity. Bob won’t drink much as we shall drive back, though Jane did invite us to stay. If anyone is interested she is trying to set up a wine tasting business having been made redundant from her job as a journalist. She still writes wine articles for them however. She goes under the name http://www.onefootinthegrapes.co.uk/.
I know some of you live far and wide but you may be able to spread the word. She really doesn’t want to travel far from her home in Crosby due to travel costs. Small groups , charity and commercial team building events are where she is aiming

[Stanley]

Good luck to her Sue....
I never got in the shed yesterday but wrote another article.... I am into May now and have another boiling in my head.....
F1 starts today and I could be watching qualifying at some time.....

[Wendyf]

F1 starts today and I could be watching qualifying at some time.....

Make the most of it Stanley, this is the last year we will be able to watch the races live. From 2019 Sky have full broadcast rights.

[Stanley]

I shan't go into a decline Wendy. I'm getting a bit disillusioned with it these days. To formulaic, too many rules and more show business than sport. And of course it's ruled by money..... Snooker is more my watch of choice these days, perhaps I'm growing up at last!
Today will be mainly cooking and housework, not a lot of energy anyway, clock changing and disturbed routines don't suit me at all!

[Stanley]

I have another article in mind and I must start to do something about making sure I am ready to dress up for the wedding! I think I'll start by polishing me shoes! This may stop me getting into the shed.....

[Stanley]

Didn't get round to the article but all items of dress checked and OK! Could be the articles today.
I did one task that wasn't on the schedule, cleared the old mint stalks from the front garden.