Today I shall be Mainly...

[Sue]

Anyone who can find 'chill' today is very lucky Sue... We are promised a gradual improvement starting tomorrow but from what I can see no such respite for you Sue, hard luck! The big fire in the Gironde is in the news here.

Thunderstorms due on Sunday with a temperature drop to 21-24 degrees

[Stanley]

Our drop in temperature has been cancelled, at least two more days of 28C, I am not amused.....
Today I shall be working out how to tackle what I believe will be an impossible task on the engine. A very careful study of all the drawings and information I have may give a clue.
Then Susan comes to give me a pedicure after that I'll see how I feel. I should really be cooking veggies but do I really want to do that while it's this warm? I shall give it some thought.
I gave it some thought and decided to cook my chicken while it was cool, I also decided that it was too warm to go in the shed. I hadn't had a good night and it would be foolish to push my luck.
The good news is that I managed to keep the kitchen cool by having the window open while the chicken was cooking. I don't need to cook veggies today, I can manage without. I might cook them tomorrow morning while it's cool, that worked well with the chicken.

[Sue]

Morning

Yes another day of 36 + today and another night of 21+ . Its very tiring. Tomorrow its all due to break with temperatures at 22 degrees and supposedly rain showers all day. I am half pleased about that, the pants need it but I am afraid our holiday guests don’t. It is the big Breton festival tomorrow, but thunderstorms are forecast. Neither Jane nor Emma has brought a coat, though we do have umbrellas.

Our plans today are market food shopping, lunch out and a browse of the photography exhibition , then supermarket shopping for food for over the weekend until Tuesday/Wednesday. Its a national holiday on Monday and most shops will be shut. Its going to be hot and sticky.

Our trees are down, infact Jonathon finished on Thursday whilst we were at the airport, we have a huge bank of chopped branches and trunks , most badly infested with insects and even termites. We have been told not to use it for firewood and keep it well away from the house, which it is. It will take years to rot away. Bob can just about manage to replace the fence he had to take down, but not completely. The wood itself will provide a barrier, and if anyone decides to steal it in our absence then the consequences will be theirs.

My cup of tea has arrived....have a good day all

[Stanley]

I'm feeling better but am still going back to bed for a while. This is hard weather on us oldies.....

[Stanley]

Much better now after breakfast and a pedicure by Susan! We walked across to the Town Square and had a coffee and a good catch up. When I got home I felt so good I have two pans of Veggies cooking and I can do the others tomorrow. Far better than I thought.....

[Sue]

I'm feeling better but am still going back to bed for a while. This is hard weather on us oldies.....

Its hard weather for us too. Just hot in from lunch and shopping, Jane and Emma have gone for a siesta, I am in the cool of the sejour, trying to keep cool with the fan on

[Big Kev]

I'm feeling better but am still going back to bed for a while. This is hard weather on us oldies.....

Its hard weather for us too. Just hot in from lunch and shopping, Jane and Emma have gone for a siesta, I am in the cool of the sejour, trying to keep cool with the fan on

I've just been to B&Q and bought a fan, it's mighty warm overnight in Wales.

[Stanley]

I had a much better sleep last night and feel fine this morning. BP is 117/74 and 77 heart rate. Yesterday's episode was my own stupid fault, a bag of chips at lunch time on Friday. Perhaps I will eventually learn! (It strikes me that if a bloke can break a 70 year habit of nicotine addiction the fact he is addicted to chips points to carbs being a harder habit to break!)
Too hot on the shed again so this morning instead of going in there I shall cook the rest of my veggies while it is relatively cool. I see we are promised 29C today so the rest of the day could well be spent taking it easy.....

[Wendyf]

We are going to Trawden Show this morning for a wander around though I don't think we will stay long in the heat.

[Stanley]

Big Floppy hat Wendy.
(I've told Margaret it's Trawden Show.)

[Sue]

Morning

Its been a hot sticky night even with the fan blasting all night but now its 20 degrees, its pouring with rain, real proper rain. Its due to do it all day. We were off to the big Breton show but there will have to be a change of plan. Jane and Emma both brought some work with them so today may be the day to do it. All plans are on hold.

Eve swam her races in the International Children's games, she was 2nd in the 13 year old for the 400 m freestyle and 3 rd in the 100 m. However for medals the class was 13-15years. Later she was asked to swim for the Spanish team in the 400 m freestyle mixed relay as they were one swimmer down. I think she loved that.

So the rain continues, my skin is clammy, but rain like this is so badly needed. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Sounds good Sue. We could get rain later today and almost certainly tomorrow. I have had a breakfast of cauliflower and Broccoli...Total carb free. Off back to bed now....

[Big Kev]

I have had a breakfast of cauliflower and Broccoli...Total carb free.

Certainly very low

[PanBiker]

Handing the Silsden grandchildren, Isla and Finlay back to their parents. Carla is picking them up around lunch time. Then we can have a go at a bit of a tidy once they have taken all their holiday stuff out of the way. Ruby is with us until Tuesday when she goes back down to Stratford. Later train from Leeds so Sally and Ruby will be meeting up with Carla and Isla for a bit of shopping in Leeds before she goes. I will do the Skipton run. It's been nice having them and we have had some fun over the last week and a bit.

[Stanley]

The shed loses out again today, it's far too hot in there for work! So Early breakfast and a second sleep.
We are promised 22C today so a walk and a sit might be OK later. I shall see what the day looks like.

[Sue]

Morning

We had heavy rain all day and 20 degrees. We went to the Breton show but it was a washout and soon came back. It was a day of inside entertainment , card games and cooking. On the plus side it was cooler last night and we didn’t need the fan.Today is dry but thick misty cloud akin to Rochdale. The temperatures are due to start climbing again but with showers on and off most of the week. We have decided not to bother with the car boot sale, most of it will be on grass which will be sodden. We have decided to go for a walk this afternoon round the two small lakes.

This morning Jane and Emma have work to do. Jane is setting up a new business venture as she is about to be made redundant from her present full time job. Emma is a self employed short film writer and director and has to finalise the writing for a new film. She flies back to London on Friday to start on the project.

So thats my contribution for today. Have a good one

[PanBiker]

Done the garden waste recycling site run and followed that with an Aldi shop. A new till opening was announced just as I was looking for one so I grabbed it closely followed by a woman with a trolley full. She complained that there was no operator for the till and said that she hated shopping at Aldi. I told her that she could go to the Coop, Asda or Sainsbury's if she wanted but she complained that she didn't like driving either! Self made catch 22 for her, glass half empty person! Within ten seconds of her unloading on to the conveyor he was in his seat. 45 seconds later I was sorted, my glass was half full as I left. Got home just before it chucked a brief shower

[Stanley]

It's still 75F in the shed so I'll take a view on going in there later. I find I am doing a lot of sleeping, I think it's the fatigue caused by the hot weather. Drinking plenty of water so it isn't dehydration. I had my walk and a sit yesterday and hope to do the same today.
Sue, that's a big temperature drop for you, must have been a relief!

[Sue]

Sue, that's a big temperature drop for you, must have been a relief!

Morning

Its been a wonderful relief. Whilst Sunday was very wet indeed, yesterday was pleasantly cloudy and sunny all day but still a lovely cool 21 degrees . The girls decided they wanted to stay put and not go out. Jane sat and dosed and read in the garden, and Emma took over the kitchen making both lunch and tea. They are both feeling very lethargic after the heat of the last few days, the rural fresh air, and a break in their very busy working lives. Not a complete break for either of them but enough to refresh and revitalise

I did some gardening, deadheading and cutting back the lavender. There are now no roses left, the rain on Sunday finishing them off but I am hopeful for more to come . I also dug out some soil from my veggie patch and wheel barrowed it to the lawn, where we are filling in a path and will eventually convert it to grass. The rain has made it possible to dig, previously it was dry like concrete. We are sick of trying to keep the path weed free. Bob spent his day trying to tidy up the branches etc from the felled trees so he can reinstate the fence before we go home in 3 weeks. The railway line is out of commission again with ‘leaves on the line’. Its looking like autumn here with trees shedding their leaves everywhere creating a crisp brown carpet, having been scorched by the intense heat. I suppose its too late for them to produce new leaves now.

Today is a bit of shopping to refill our lunch supplies and top up food to get us to the weekend. I need to refresh the bedroom Barbara and Bill be sleeping in as they arrive tomorrow, and need to wash the kitchen floor which, with white tiles, took quite a hammering with Sundays rain. I may leave that till after tea as there are thunderstorms and showers forecast for most of the day ( and tomorrow) . Not a good start to the holiday for our friends who all arrive tomorrow

So thats it for today . If I get an opportunity there may be more blackberries to pick. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Just as I am off back to bed Sue. I shall sleep I am sure, fatigue after the heat rings a bell with me!

[Stanley]

Back in the world again after another three hours hard and fast asleep. I think I must have needed it!

[Sue]

We had one almighty downpour about 8.15 this morning, but otherwise it has been a warm, sunnyish day. Not as per the hour by hour forecast

[Stanley]

We never saw any thunder at all Sue and no heavy rain, just an occasional scattered light shower.
I think I will try an hour in the shed this morning, it's cooled down now. Then at 11AM I have an assignation with a lady in Town Square for a coffee. Everything after that is a bonus.

[Sue]

Morning

Yesterday there was thunder rolling around whilst BOb and I picked another 2 litres of blackberries. The sky was dark elsewhere but remained nice here. Thunderstorms are forecast again today from lunchtime. We may be lucky.

Today our 4 friends arrive. Barbara and Bill have come over by ferry and are sight seeing on the drive down. Wendy and Keith are flying to Nantes this afternoon and Bob will go to collect them . My day will be one of a little cleaning, swapping bedrooms round and washing floors. I am making a salmon meal this evening as it does not take long when Bob gets back, and I can prepare the veg during the afternoon. I have no other plans . Have a good day all.

[Stanley]

It's raining here Sue but it's expected to stop and brighten up in the next hour.
I have been in the shed!



No actual machining this morning. I wanted to find out about the glands I needed to make for the lids on the pump and the steam cylinder. Easier said then done, Mr Westbury's drawings are neither clear or comprehensive. I have the measurements and I have done a fag packet drawing and found some brass ends I can use as stock. That took me over an hour.....