Today I shall be Mainly...

[Stanley]

"Bob wants to take a new railway engine that he has finished making for the garden railway ."
That sounds exciting a British loco on the rails in France! (You'll need some small Union Flags Sue to decorate it with.)
I've had my two hours in the shed and apart from one tiny mistake that's of no consequence, I'm getting on well with the shaft. I'll go and post in Shed Matters and come back later.



Part of this morning, we have one end of the shaft finished......

[Tripps]

In fact it has gone up in value

I put mine into webuyanycar.com last year and they offered £6.7k A few weeks later, they reduced it to £6.2k. I considered it a reasonable offer. In an idle moment in the last few days I repeated the exercise and find they will now offer £9160, and the car is a year older ! Of course anything I'd want to buy will have done the same.

PS I looked at the Plug in Hybrid Mini, which I now know is called a PHEV. My eyes are still watering, and the fact that it only does 30 miles on electric made me wonder about the whole thing. That would just be a good walk for Sue and Bob.

[Sue]

Its both petrol and electric, as most of my travel in the car is less than 30 miles a round trip it means my petrol consumption will drop drastically We will use petrol on longer journey which are few. As for the price yes ouch but we buy on a PCP ( personal contract purchase) system over 3.5 years. After that time you pay off the difference in this case £10k or trade it in and carry on with a new agreement. As my car has been valued so highly our payments are more or less the same but for a substantially more expensive car that will have a high resale value in 3 years and we save £10 k in the bank in the savings account we put on one side to pay off the care should we have kept it, like we have done in the past. I wanted to start going green, as I believe in it whole heartedly. My tax goes down too

[Big Kev]

I'm still not ready to go electric. I have a 'Greenline 2' diesel Yeti which is currently £30 in road fund licence, it does around 60mpg so must fairly eco friendly. I paid £5k for it a couple of years ago, it's had one major repair (£500 for the oil cooler) but other than that just regular maintenance costs so a regular car 'finance' outlay isn't something I would want to take on.

[Sue]

I'm still not ready to go electric. I have a 'Greenline 2' diesel Yeti which is currently £30 in road fund licence, it does around 60mpg so must fairly eco friendly. I paid £5k for it a couple of years ago, it's had one major repair (£500 for the oil cooler) but other than that just regular maintenance costs so a regular car 'finance' outlay isn't something I would want to take on.

Mine is historic. I taught evening classes, several evenings a week for over 25 years . Bob worked away for 15 years. He did not want me to be stranded at 10.00 pm at night on a lonely road so I have always had the new car. The exception was last year when Bobs old car was written off in an a freak snowstorm. We were in a position to buy a better second hand one than usual but mine is still the new one.

[Big Kev]

That's understandable.

[Stanley]

With a little bit of luck I shall finish the crankshaft for the two cylinder steam pump. Not sure about the rest of the day, from the look of it a wet walk later this morning and a curtailed bookie watch if I am lucky. We appear to have quite suddenly been tipped into Autumn.

[Sue]

Morning

Its a wet windy start to the day and could possibly be a choppy crossing this evening. The wind and heavy rain woke us early. My opening statement of the day was oh my poor fish Bob is making a cuppa. I have just put the drier on with the contents of my overnight wash, the few things we wore over the last couple of days.

The wake/100 th birthday celebration was a very pleasant do at a local social club in a small hamlet in Edenfield. The weather was so nice by mid afternoon there was a general tendency to move outside and sit in the sun chatting. On display were a variety of family photos that Brenda, the deceased, had collected over the years, but what was really nice were a few school 50 yard swimming certificates. There was also a display of small sculptures that Brenda used to do. It was suggested we all may like to take one. These sculptures apparently had been a bit of a family joke over the years and there were some ugly pieces but I was impressed with the skill of an elderly lady with no art training. I took a small one that looked just like Captain Birdseye. More than half the pieces were taken.

We shall potter off this morning after the rush hour. I am making some sandwiches for lunch which we will eat at Julias, in Coventry. Its always a good opportunity to see her. The girls of course will be at school. Eve was telling me yesterday that she has her first covid vaccination tomorrow. Our local high school is also starting their vaccination programme tomorrow. We should get to Portsmouth around 4.00 pm with time for a look round the shops before going to the ferry at 6.00 pm. There is a good fabric shop in Portsmouth and also an outlet centre. Its looking like we shall arrive in France in the rain like our last visit.

The tea has arrived and the drier may be finished. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

I hope you have a decent crossing Sue but for myself, I am glad I am not setting off to cross the channel tonight. Your day sounds busy as usual.... Mine is shrinking as the rain sets in properly.... I have had two hours in the shed and now I have to post on Shed Matters. I shall return with a pic.....



The crankshaft for the two cylinder pump is finished and fitted. I think it's a bit better than the original....
Then I went into working on the castings for the 10H.

[Sue]

The weather changed to 19 degrees and sun at Stafford and has remained so until about 30 minutes ago. Its not too windy but cooling off now. The Fabric shop has closed down, and WH SMITHS has closed down. Only Tesco to buy a magazine and the choice was dire. Back at the port the bar and coffee shop are closed, machine coffee only. Forget that! We couldn't get off the motorway to go to the toilet because of queues for fuel . We eventually came to a services with no fuel and hence no queue but had to have a Macdonald cup of tea to park yuk! We have loads of fuel. Bobs car is diesel and we had enough for 650 miles when we set off this morning. Its just started raining and the wind is getting up. We will be fine on the boat, in general the new ferries can cope with bad weather pretty well. Their restaurants are ‘t as good as the older ferries though, and I am getting peckish. Another couple of hours before we can eat .

[Big Kev]

Hope you find something decent to eat soon.

It turned out quite nice here too

Screenshot_20210927-175734_Facebook.jpg

[Sue]

Its sunny again now but cold. Had a marsbar for now

[Big Kev]

Had a marsbar for now

Fine dining

[Stanley]

Sounds like travelling in war time Sue. Aren't the Tories making a good job of running the country....
I shall be in the shed and I think the heating will be on as it is the coldest morning this back end. The Stuart Number 8 has gone to a new home and the two cylinder steam pump is put away so I am attending to the 10H which will be for my Stuart collection. I doubt if there will be any bookie watch because we are promised cold weather with heavy rain. Deep Joy! We are sinking rapidly Westwards into winter!

[Sue]

The lack of food is Brittany Ferries doing, not the Tories.its a french company . As for shops this main shopping centre has been running down for years. Most people shop at the outlet centre on the key side with nice bars and restaurants and waterfront seating. Its heaving there. Smiths may have reopened there but we weren’t paying for parking again and did not have the time to visit that centre Few people sew hence the fabric shop closing m hence my
E buying most fabric online. There are cheaper stationary shops here than Smiths for the students. Tescos sells magazines but not a good range. They only sell what people want. Its a change in life style and the pandemic.

Newspaper headlines here today is that France is short of 50000 lorry and delivery drivers and can’t fill the vacancies. Is that the Tories?

[Sue]

Had a marsbar for now

Fine dining

I love them. I used to have a joke woth one of my colleagues at work. When under stress I eat a marsbar. He mad me a box on the wall behind my desk. It had a mars bar in it. There was a notice that said. “ when under stress, break here. Then shout for Stuart for a refill“

I eat very little sweet stuff but love mars bars

[Sue]

Stanley, Bob tells me that there are several WHSmiths in the Portsmouth area, they have only closed that one. Probably because THE WORKS gets most of the stationary trade from the students.

[Stanley]

Never mind who's responsible, I'm sorry you went hungry! I hope you are safely ensconced and ready to blitz the garden again today!
I shall be quietly recovering after sleeping in and then going in the shed to carry on fettling my castings after finishing the two cylinder pump crankshaft.....



The rest of the day depends on the weather.....

[Sue]

Morning

As expected the food was awful on the boat. Its a new ferry. Very eco friendly etc etc. But plastic and cheap fittings everywhere. The nice restaurant that is on other boats has been replaced with a cafeteria and impersonal service. On the plus side the beds are more comfortable . Apparently our normal ferry will return sometime ! It was well after 8.00 by the time we ate. Its a good job we had those mars bars. The trouble was we had an early lunch because we ate at noon with Julia and Ed who took a break from their work. They were both working from home so our lunch time was dictated by theirs. I had taken a packed lunch but we hadn’t had our usual afternoon treat. Where we stopped for the toilets it was a Macdonalds. In Portsmouth we tried to get into Sainsbury but the queue again blocked the right turn into the entrance . If it had been a left turn in we could have slipped down the inside.

The crossing was fine and the weather yesterday not bad but a little showery over lunch. With the lawns already cut we set too and did some pruning. First job was the wisteria which had crept along the ground and formed a huge curtain around the edge of the gazebo. Once cleared it was only a barrowful of clippings. I also had to do a bit round the bedroom window. Then we could move in the outdoor table and chairs and have a beer! Bob pruned three shrubs and I tidied the rose and herb beds . The roses are now back in full flower after my vicious prune on our last visit . Today will be tidy the flower beds. They don’t need too much work . The strawberry patch looks dreadful. I am thinking of letting it grow over as I never get many strawberries and spend all my time weeding it.

We have been planning our social calendar. Our English friends are coming for a meal on Saturday and our french friends for a cup of tea one afternoon next week . We are not visiting our neighbours for a couple of days. The youngest child is ill, probably a cold, but he has a PCR test today to confirm so we are waiting till after the result. We shall also be off to see Roland and Nicole fairly soon.

Have a good day all. Its still dark here at 7.45 am . I never take to the late dark mornings from September onwards. In mid winter it is after 10.00 before it is properly light

[Stanley]

Morning Sue, you can't really call it light here yet either, like you I hate the short days. Roll on December 21st! (Is that right?) Bigger sandwich box next time I suspect!
I've had two hours in the shed and will be back after I have posted in shed matters....

[Sue]

Morning Sue, you can't really call it light here yet either, like you I hate the short days. Roll on December 21st! (Is that right?) Bigger sandwich box next time I suspect!
I've had two hours in the shed and will be back after I have posted in shed matters....

It was bigger than usual..... just an earlier lunch and then no opportunity for the afternoon or teatime nibbles which is our normal routines. We are both partial to a scone or a toasted teacake on our travels. Ah well its good for the weight and I do love Mars bars

[Stanley]

Here we are at knocking off time Sue after two hours quiet work. I'm almost ready for having a bed and base ready for fitting!

[Stanley]

Guess what! I shall be in the shed for a couple of hours moving the 10H engine onwards and upwards. Not sure about what happens later. I doubt if there will be any bookie watch, we are promised a wet cold day.
The heating is on and I am grateful for it.

[Sue]

Morning

Beautiful day here yesterday and the same forecast for today but I believe autumn kicks in tomorrow with rain forecast for most of next week . In view of the forecast we decided to get on with our outside jobs. I did lots of bits of jobs, mainly pulling weeds where I could, but the soil is baked hard and difficult to work. It hardly rained in September. In the outhouse I found some pots I could stack, half a sack of compost, some water retaining gel crystals, and some fertiliser pellets so I transplanted a lot of my strawberry plants aka Alan Titmarch. Each layer filled with plants round the edge and another pot placed in the middle. Its not very high but I must have planted up well over 40 plants . I cleared the few weeds from the rhubarb patch and today we will buy some bags of dried manure to dig in. I will then transplant the rest of my strawberries in there. Bob pruned 9 flowering shrubs and we put the cuttings in the trailer to go to the tip.

Today as well as a bit of shopping, we are expecting the man to come to change the electricity metre. We were told to expect him between 8 and 12 so it's an early shower and breakfast this morning. I also want to start preparing the second veggie plot to transplant and tidy up our raspberry canes. This will reduce the overall veggie planting area for future years. We no longer need as much. Partly because of our age and partly because we can no longer bring plants over from the UK grown in the greenhouse. The mice eat the seeds here and plants are expensive and sell very quickly. We usually miss them . The old raspberry plot and the strawberry patch will revert back to grass.

Got to go and shower. Have a good day

[Stanley]

Good luck with the leccy man Sue. You have caught me before shed today because I have been preparing a steak casserole and getting it going. This is to go with the veggies tomorrow, today's meals are already prepared....
Off into the shed now....