Today I shall be Mainly...

[Stanley]

I must have needed that second sleep. I slept for another three and a half hours! I shall get geared up and go for a walk and Bookie watch......

[Stanley]

Today is weekly early doors shop at the Co-op so only an hour in the shed. I'll take a view on walk later, we are promised heavy rain all morning.

[Sue]

Morning

It was a very warm day yesterday, I was thankful to be doing indoor jobs where the house is very cool, indeed in the evening it is quite cold. We can tell they have not had a lot of warm weather as the the house walls have not warmed up as much as usual. Yesterday made a difference . Bob was busy outside preparing the ground to sow the grass seed. It is due to rain from lunchtime today with thunderstorms for two days, followed by 5 days of 50% chance of rain . I think we have been lucky with our weather as so far it only rained the day we arrived.

Roland looked well. We still had to wear masks when visiting which is good, and the usual ‘bises’ or kisses have been replaced with a handshake. Nicole kept her horrid dog inside and came out to meet us. She enquired about the bite and was clearly very upset about it. I played it down, she has suffered enough recently. I enquired as to wether it was possible for us to collect Roland in the summer and bring him here for his lunch . Nicole says yes, the home need three days notice, so we will be doing that on our return .

Glad the jelly etc worked out Ian. Clotted cream is difficult to get. Here in France the only cream available is long life stuff. It tastes OK but is rather thin. Tomorrow I am making a cake ( working through the eggs again) as Laetitia and family are coming over for drinks at about 6.00 pm. I will have to fill the cake with creme fraiche and strawberries rather than cream .

We watched a lot of the Jubilee celebrations on TV last night, particularly the beacon lighting. Claire and family went to their local one and Erin was delighted to be photographed with the Mayor who was wearing his chain of office, she had also planned a birthday tea including crowns which they all wore. Claire produced all the food imagined...she is a good mum.Julia and family did not know there was a beacon in Coventry but today they are having a Jubilee BBQ with friends. The kids all think it is great fun. I remember on the Silver Jubilee we had a street party which the girls still remember vividly. its nice to have something to be cheerful about.

This morning we will sow the lawn seed and have an early lunch before going over to La Gacilly. We want to book a table for Sunday lunch and visit the Yves Rocher shop to buy some toiletries there. The annual photographic display officially opens this weekend so we will wander round that if it is not too wet. So its a relatively low key day, a bit of jigsaw and possibly some sewing. The long term plan was to paint the inside of the kitchen cupboards but its a messy job to start just a few days before we make home tracks. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

The cupboards will keep Sue!





Only an hour this morning so I made the eccentric. These two pics tell the story, it is finished except for the drill and tap for the set screw that fastens it to the shaft.

[Sue]

Yes the cupboards will keep Stanley, probably till winter. I have roses to dead head outside, plus the lawn seed to sow on the flattened mole humps this morning. Its very dull and grey

[Stanley]

Same here Love, you're not missing any good weather. Only good thing is that the rain bated while I went to the Co-op....

[Sue]

Same here Love, you're not missing any good weather. Only good thing is that the rain bated while I went to the Co-op....

Lawn seed sown and watered and the sun is out. Warm with a gentle breeze. We had a shower of rain. It appears to have gone

[Stanley]

That's what we need here, some balmy proper Spring growing weather but we haven't had it yet.
I shall be in the shed with the engine and walk and bookie watch look to be on because we have a sunny day promised.....

[Sue]

Morning

We had our thunderstorm, it really came down about 4.00 pm. I had just finished applying weed and feed and lawn fertiliser to the main lawn when down it came. We were awash, but an hour later there was no sign of it, the puddles were gone and indeed you could walk across the grass without getting your feet wet. It shows how dry the ground was. At 6.00 we were sat on towels on our outside bench drinking a glass of wine. The bench, being wood had not dried. Another storm is forecast for 6.00 this evening which unfortunately coincides with Laetitia and family arriving for apéritives. This means we will all be inside. The kids have loads of energy so its better if they can go out with the football or the tennis racquets.

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..1 hour after

And during the storm

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This morning is thick mist. I have a cake to make, and some sewing to finish that I started yesterday afternoon. We need to buy more lawn seed as we ran out. We did go and buy some yesterday but our french failed us and we accidentally bought 4 Kg of lawn fertiliser, hence spreading lawn fertiliser just before it rained. The pump on our automatic watering system has failed too so we need to buy a new one. We have an automatic system for our pots of flowers and our strawberries, otherwise we would have none in the summer and be unable to buy any then. So on the whole a busy day again. Have a good one

[Stanley]

Morning Sue. Not only busy but full of incident.
I've just come out of the shed....



The first thing I did was drill and tap the eccentric for the 1/8" Unbrako set screw that will lock the eccentric to the shaft. Then I put the PCD on both lids and used the packing to mark the hole positions. All the holes drilled tapping size so that when I use them as templates for marking the cylinders I will be more accurate. They can be opened out to clearance size later. Knocking off time, I am ready to mark the cylinder for drilling and tapping.
Quiet careful work and good progress. Nice!

[Sue]

Looking good, but difficult Stanley. It looks like it needs a lot of patience.

I am making a cotton top in a pattern I have made several times before. The fabric cost £1.99 from an oddments box in Burnley as it has a couple of faults on it, which I have managed to avoid. Its all going together well. The finish will not be my usual standard as my sewing machine here is a rather mediocre one from Aldi. It does everything I need but sounds cheap. Its noisy and sounds like it is clockwork rather than electric . It doesn’t seem to like the fine lawn fabric I am using for the top. I gave Claire my good one from here, but I am sorely tempted to buy another !

[Stanley]

Don't tolerate bad tools Sue if you can afford to do better. We don't do these things for any other reason than enjoyment and that's not enhanced by bad tackle.. Go on, get a better one!

[Stanley]

I have to report that the best laid schemes have gone aglay. Instead of going out I have been cooking. It needed doing....

[Stanley]

The shed will get its two hours attention this morning. I might even get an overcast walk in but it will be cold!

[Sue]

Morning

Its another misty start to the day but not as thick as yesterday. It lifted yesterday by 10.00 am to reveal a surprisingly nice warm sunny day. A wind whipped up about 6.00 pm which seemed to shift the threat of rain and it looks like the thunderstorms forecast have veered over the channel to England. A mixed day is forecast bit it would be nice of I could get the towels and the last of the washing dry outside.

It was a busy day . I finished my top and overall I am very happy with it and my £1.99 fabric purchase. I made a cake and scones and we had a pleasant evening with Laetitia and Yves. A sign of the times the kids wanted to drift back home to their own entertainment leaving the adults chatting. Laetitia wanted to show us their new veggie plot ( I think they have become interested due to rising prices) and animal acquisitions , which include a pig so we went back to theirs and had another beer. By 8.00 pm and after cake, scones and two beers we had lost the desire to eat the cassoulet I had in the slow cooker, so had just a small portion and will freeze the rest today. In the morning we managed to buy a new pump for the watering system but today we beed to buy some batteries for it. I also managed to get some liquid feed for the tomatoes etc and gave everything a good application. They will have to manage by themselves now till mid July.

Today I shall clean the kitchen and do a bit of fly and spiders web removal. The window cills I sanded the other day need there top coat of varnish, and Bob wants to mow the lawn. We are having lunch out and packing ready for our early start for the ferry tomorrow . Its been a fast but good fortnight with a nice balance of work and pleasure. We are not looking forward to the temperatures at home! On the plus side we have a trip to the Mini garage on Tuesday to complete paperwork. It looks like my new car is imminent

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Morning Sue. Yes, nothing to crow about with today's weather here, after allowing for the chill from the ENE wind we are in single figures, CH on and the threat of thunderstorms later. So enjoy what you have!

I've just come out of the shed....





One of the things about making engines is that you spend a lot of time drilling holes and tapping them. The Cylinder is where most are concentrated. These two pics tell the story, I have spent the two hours in the shed drilling and tapping the holes associated with fitting the lids on the cylinder. There are plenty left do do but that's for tomorrow.

[Sue]

Morning Sue. Yes, nothing to crow about with today's weather here, after allowing for the chill from the ENE wind we are in single figures, CH on and the threat of thunderstorms later. So enjoy what you have!

Bob has just commented about your weather ie this is the week we had our Lakes Timeshare, when the weather was always cool, windy and damp. The reason we sold it.The proceeds paid for our anniversary cruise in Portugal

[Tripps]

we have a trip to the Mini garage on Tuesday

That got me remembering that I bought a mini in about 1960, - (it was a van actually as you didn't pay any purchase tax), but had no side windows. I have a figure of about £360 in my mind. A saloon was about £600.

I just looked up the current price - ouch !

Is yours electric?

[Wendyf]

Stanley, I've been having a little natter with your Susan this afternoon. When I introduced myself she said "Oh! Are you my Dad's Wendy?"

[Sue]

we have a trip to the Mini garage on Tuesday

That got me remembering that I bought a mini in about 1960, - (it was a van actually as you didn't pay any purchase tax), but had no side windows. I have a figure of about £360 in my mind. A saloon was about £600.

I just looked up the current price - ouch !

Is yours electric?

Its a plug in electric, with a 30 mile range on the electric charge which suits me as I do a lot of short journeys . It switches automatically from electric to petrol if needed.Our daughter Claire has an all electric car and has to think where she is travelling in distance due to the current shortage in charge points. She charges at home normally using her solar panel energy, which we will do too. I learnt to drive on an old mini in 1967. It was a nightmare. The registration was KCN which the chemists amongst you may know is the chemical formula for potassium cyanide. It lived up to its reputation. My present car is also a mini countryman, like my new one. A lovely, reliable, comfy car . We have been given an excellent deal to trade it in otherwise we would have kept it . We will not be paying monthly much more than we already were

[Stanley]

Wendy.... Nice! Does that mean you met Kahara and Lilly? At the affair on the Green at Earby?
Today will be shed, drilling and tapping on the cylinder, Not a favourite job.....
A walk might be on but no sun promised!

[Sue]

Morning

All locked up And on our way to the ferry. Just passed a young deer on the road. It ran into a field of wheat, stopped and stared at us. We should be home just after midnight, stopping at Julias on the way

Have a good day"

[Stanley]

Ah.... I wondered what had got you out early! I hope you have a good journey... Now I go into the shed....

[Wendyf]

Wendy.... Nice! Does that mean you met Kahara and Lilly? At the affair on the Green at Earby?
Today will be shed, drilling and tapping on the cylinder, Not a favourite job.....
A walk might be on but no sun promised!

The events on the green were moved to the New Road Centre because of the threatened rain yesterday. I was manning a history society exhibition upstairs in the Old Grammar School and Susan & family were enjoying refreshments in the cafe when I packed up at 3pm. Kahara and Lilly were fast asleep in a covered, double stacked pram so I didn't get to meet them!

[Stanley]

Never mind, at least you know they exist!



It took me half an hour to get the bed and cylinder set up to my satisfaction. Here is the result.





Then I marked the lid and transferred that hole pattern to the steam chest and the cylinder. The steam chest has been drilled as has the cylinder. I have left the tapping of the holes for the studs until tomorrow. This took longer than you might expect because the hole pattern had to be adjusted so as not to interfere with the steam and exhaust passages. I think I have got it right!