Today I shall be Mainly...

[Sue]

And what a job they have on their hands, the site is so badly contaminated that nobody would touch it for years. The sums of cost versus benefit must add up better now. I know it well. John Ingoe based REW in one of the buildings for a long time.
I shall oil Mrs Harrison and find a piece of rusty steel in the scrap box that I can dig a crankshaft out of!
I'm still trying to find a man with a ladder.

Yes once cleared it is a huge site. We walked past yesterday on our quite short and very cold walk. It is already looking better where they have just cleared up general ground rubbish. Wether it will be housing as per the plan of 5 or so years ago or wether it will remain an industrial area only time will tell . Both will generate a lot of money for developers.

On and off during the remaining part of yesterday ie after pilates and after our walk I persevered with the machine and finally got the tension settings right. Of course I had had all tge tension screws out to clean so had no idea what the settings should be...modern machines have numerical settings, this of course has none. I had a lot of help from two or three people on the Facebook vintage sewing machine site. Anyway I did it, so today I shall put my cleaning stuff away, glue some felt pads on the bottom of the base and put it aside whilst we await a new locking mechanism for the case to arrive. It is now not possible to tell which is the topside and which is the underside of the sewing but now I must get on with the sewing of my toile for my new summer linen jacket.

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This evening is pilates and yoga. I am returning to the studio today as officially the online class has stopped, although it still exists for those already in the class but is not advertised in the new class programme. In the studio its a rather lively class and for those onlune it is difficult to hear what is going on, hence the change.

Its dull out there today and still cold I shall be happy to be in my sewing room today, it gets warm in there. Have a good day.

[Sue]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-60117313

I think this is the drug my brother is taking. We are still awaiting improvement

[Stanley]

I hope he is on it and it can work.
I've had a couple of hours in the shed. Once again, two pictures tell the story.I measured up and decided on the size of the stock. Then I went into the scrap box and picked two rusty candidates. Then I centred and cleaned both of them and cut one to size. The first pic shows the use of the steady rest to face the ends and get an accurate centre. The second is closing time, two pieces of clean stock, the front, shorter one is for the crankshaft, the larger one goes into stock cleaner than it came out! I cleaned up Mrs Harrison and cleaned the floor. I'm ready to oil the lathe and set up for crankshaft turning. A nice productive morning.

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed doing useful things but my head will be full of a meeting later this morning in London of all the lawyers involved in Jarndyce v. Jarndyce. I am told that this is the end game and we can expect the imminent end of the almost two years delay in resolution we have suffered. I hope this is true, it is a horrible burden.
The only trouble is that when I think of this the Nunc Dimittis comes to mind....
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
I am not ready to depart in peace!
(My teachers at Wycliffe Sunday School have a lot to answer for....)

[Sue]

Morning

Well I hope it gets sorted finally Stanley. We have progress on our estate issues. The mobility scooter has been paid for by the dealer and we expect collection shortly. Bob in Cardiff gave the best offer for the therapy chair ( a dealer offered £200, I ask you £200 for a 6 month old £4k plus all singing all dancing chair!) when Bob M ( brother) is better we shall take it down in the trailer, stay a day or so and drive back. It will be good to see my sister in law, I haven’t seen her for nearly three years) . Daves shares have been sold, not that they were worth much, so once all the money is banked probate can be applied for and bills can be paid , well as many as possible. The end is in sight although the tunnel is still long.

Today I shall sew my jacket toile this morning, I managed to get the pattern pieces sorted yesterday afternoon. This after noon our friends Joan and Eddie from Whitefield are popping up to see us. We haven’t seen them for 15 months. Like Bob M , Eddie too is high risk so he has hardly been anywhere in two years. I shall do a lateral flow test before they come. Talking of high risk Bob M reports that his covid has been like a heavy cold and he is beginning to feel better. It sounds like his 4th vaccination and the medication have done their job. It all sounds very promising.

This evening is pilates, but its a latish class, not my favourite time wise. Yesterdays class in the studio was good fun, it was nice chatting to everyone. A few did not recognise me sporting my new grey hair look, but several said I looked younger, hmmmmm it looks another grey day out there, oh to see some colour. I saw some snowdrops on our walk the other day, that was nice. Have a good day all.

[Stanley]

Allowing the grey to emerge always makes for a more natural and distinguished look Sue!
Yes, we are hoping that this is the end game. The moral of the story is never buy a leasehold flat in London near Parliament as part owner with the Metropolitan Property Management lawyers....
I've had two hours in the shed and here's where I ended up, starting to cut the excess metal out of the billet using the vertical mill.



I also finished cleaning and oiling Mrs Harrison....

[Wendyf]

It was 7.30pm before I got Col home from Airedale, they decided to give him an epidural rather than an anaesthetic which took a few hours to wear off after the bladder operation. It was a late decision to do it that way and he should really have been kept in overnight.

[plaques]

A few did not recognise me sporting my new grey hair look, but several said I looked younger, hmmmmm

Spooky We were commenting that one of the big changes that make women look a lot younger is hair colour and styles. There are of course exceptions where au naturel is perfectly acceptable. But being male what do I know??

[Big Kev]

It was 7.30pm before I got Col home from Airedale, they decided to give him an epidural rather than an anaesthetic which took a few hours to wear off after the bladder operation. It was a late decision to do it that way and he should really have been kept in overnight.

I hope he's had a good night's sleep and is feeling OK today.

[Wendyf]

It was 7.30pm before I got Col home from Airedale, they decided to give him an epidural rather than an anaesthetic which took a few hours to wear off after the bladder operation. It was a late decision to do it that way and he should really have been kept in overnight.

I hope he's had a good night's sleep and is feeling OK today.

Thanks Kev, it may be a few days before he feels ok!

[Sue]

A few did not recognise me sporting my new grey hair look, but several said I looked younger, hmmmmm

Spooky We were commenting that one of the big changes that make women look a lot younger is hair colour and styles. There are of course exceptions where au naturel is perfectly acceptable. But being male what do I know??

When I decided to grow grey I had a close look at styles and decided its the cut that makes grey look old. I have always kept my hair short with a fairly modern cut. I have been going to the same hairdresser for about 45 years and he knows exactly what is the best cut for my hair, what will work and what will not. He knows what I like and what I don’t. He also keeps on the ball with modern versions of standard cuts. After 15 months of a post lockdown style and cut ie a bit longer, I have reverted back to my shorter style for a change and as usual Steve has done a good job. He only does three days a week in his salon now, being well into his 60 s, but he is always busy cutting the hair of people he has known for years. We all stay with him and hope he keeps cutting for many a long year yet.

[Sue]

It was 7.30pm before I got Col home from Airedale, they decided to give him an epidural rather than an anaesthetic which took a few hours to wear off after the bladder operation. It was a late decision to do it that way and he should really have been kept in overnight.

Hope Col is recovering well Wendy. I have had a couple of operations with an epidural, but they also gave me a mild sedative. I remember talking garbage all the way through one operation. I do declare I was flirting with the anaesthetist much to my embarrassment later . Its a weird sensation as the epidural wears off, a bit like when the dentists anaesthetic wears off but in your legs. I do remember feeling very tired afterwards which I put down to the sedative ( or the embarrassment) . Hope all is well with Col .

[Stanley]

I didn't realise Col had been in again. Please give him my best wishes Wendy and I hope the after effects wear off quickly. (I also hope they solved whatever the problem was with the plumbing.....)
Re Jarndyce v. Jarndyce. Yesterdays meeting in London of a lot of highly paid lawyers (all taking a cut along the way.) resulted in completion and the way is now clear for the main lawyer to close the estate down. Not long until an almost two year problem goes away. Gott sei dank!
I shall continue with the crankshaft for the new engine which I shall order today.
Later an inspection of the Jubilee Fountain and bookie watch.

[Sue]

Morning

It was a busy day yesterday continuing with a very complicated toile for my summer jacket. It was also good to see our friends but sad to see their general health is deteriorating. Both have lost a serious amount of weight and to be honest they don’t eat enough. There is eating healthily and there is just not eating enough. Eddie is/was a wonderful cook but blindness in one eye and general decline of co ordination has limited his cooking ability. Joan is very weight and fashion conscious and is now probably responsible for most of the meals. I rest my case. As a teenager in the early 60s Joan was a fashion model, but later as a mature student gained a degree and Masters in Sociology. Like many of you on this site she is very politically minded, motivated and an active member of a political party but her interest in fashion etc has always remained. Looking at her now though, at possibly a skinny size 8 , I think she could do with a hearty plate of steak and chips ! They used to eat out a couple of times a week but because of Eddies general health issues, they have confined themselves to home for the last two years. I think the trips to restaurants used to help keep their weight at a healthy level , now they are both seriously underweight .

Today is my first day back at art at my Haslingden art class. We have a visiting professional watercolourist and we will be painting Spring crocuses. That should lighten the mood of what promises to be a windy damp day. Afterwards I shall continue with my jacket toile. I have no other plans, have a good day all

[Stanley]

Morning Sue... Funny you should mention eating and weight loss. I eat too well and am certain that if I lost two stone I'd have less trouble with my knees but would my general health improve? On the whole I think I have to continue to enjoy my cooking and be a bit overweight!



Here's where I finished up this morning, I have milled 60% of the meat out of the cut and I'm set up ready for eccentric turning tomorrow which will be a lot quicker and easier now I have done the milling.

[Sue]

Looking good there Stanley.

Just had a message from Julia, Briony has tested positive for covid today. Luckily Eve has been vaccinated and Julia and Ed have both had boosters, but they are now in for a few days of trying to work and child mind at home plus the possibility they too will get it, even if mildly

[Stanley]

There is so much Covid about and yet, for what I suspect is political purposes, all restrictions are dropped. They are telling us it's all over. I don't believe them!
I shall be in the shed for an hour with my shaft and then early doors shopping at the Co-op at 07:00. I shall be wearing my mask!

[Stanley]

I went in the shed early, found my crank pin after some high risk turning and than got the shaft supported with a 7/16" button in the gap to take the pressure of the centre without the stock distorting. Then I started muck-shifting.

[Sue]

There is so much Covid about and yet, for what I suspect is political purposes, all restrictions are dropped. They are telling us it's all over. I don't believe them!
I shall be in the shed for an hour with my shaft and then early doors shopping at the Co-op at 07:00. I shall be wearing my mask!

Morning

The numbers of covid are not important its the numbers of deaths and hospitalisations that are, as I have said before. In Greater Manchester these are down by 75% and are now actually lower than flu would be in a normal flu season. We don’t shut down for flu. The overall death rate this week was lower than the national 5 year average. I think we can say that Covid is now endemic. The largest number of cases seem to be amongst the under 12 s, as expected as they are unvaccinated and the largest number of severe cases are the unvaccinated. Its time for the UK to get back to normal. When I taught, at this time of year, in any class at least 50% had colds and were actually far worse than the people I have seen suffering from omicron. Covid is here to stay, we need to get on with life. I don’t follow Boris, I read the scientific reports, some are conflicting but the vast majority support what I have said. Most articles compare figures as they were ie pre vaccination or treatment rather than as they are now.

Its thick fog out there this morning, I gather it should rain by lunchtime and the temperatures are due to rise. I have dance exercise this morning, followed by lunch in Todmorden with our friends. I have a bag of clothes to sort out for the hospice shop this morning so we can drop it off on the way to Todmorden.

Have a good day

[Sue]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59970281

[Big Kev]

Morning

The numbers of covid are not important its the numbers of deaths and hospitalisations that are, as I have said before. In Greater Manchester these are down by 75% and are now actually lower than flu would be in a normal flu season. We don’t shut down for flu. The overall death rate this week was lower than the national 5 year average. I think we can say that Covid is now endemic. The largest number of cases seem to be amongst the under 12 s, as expected as they are unvaccinated and the largest number of severe cases are the unvaccinated. Its time for the UK to get back to normal. When I taught, at this time of year, in any class at least 50% had colds and were actually far worse than the people I have seen suffering from omicron. Covid is here to stay, we need to get on with life. I don’t follow Boris, I read the scientific reports, some are conflicting but the vast majority support what I have said. Most articles compare figures as they were ie pre vaccination or treatment rather than as they are now.

I've just posted a similar comment in the Coronavirus Corner thread. I don't feel any more at risk from covid as I do from a cold, flu or a stomach bug.

[Sue]

Neither do I Kev, though I would have done a year ago. Of course endemic does not mean not potentially serious, but so are many other things in life. I could get septicaemia from a wound or meningitis, or pneumonia, or be knocked down by a car. As with all of these things I assess a risk, do what I have to and get on with my life.

[Big Kev]

Spot on
It's definitely time.

[Big Kev]

Just to confirm our social responsibility is still there, today's LFTs are done and both negative
We're off to Colne Muni this evening for an Elvis tribute show.

[Tripps]

The headline from Sue's BBC link above is

"Endemic Covid: Is the pandemic entering its endgame?"

Experience shows that the answer to any question when it is posed in a media headline is almost invariably "No".

The argument being that if the answer was yes - then the headline would have been "Pandemic entering its end game "