Today I shall be Mainly...

[Stanley]

I only did it part time in further education Sue but I agree, it's hard work and I have every sympathy for those who do it full time.
I shall be in the shed at 06:00 and depending on the result of some investigations later this morning I might be going out to buy myself a new TV! This is serious stuff.

[Stanley]

Still pursuing the boring of the cylinder. First I took the 1/4" slot drill out and put the normal cutter back in the mill. Then I did a bit of wood-bothering to make a plug I could drive into the cylinder and cut back to give me a surface I can measure and mark on. You can't make an accurate marking on an empty bore. I finished up with the cylinder marked and ready for boring and tomorrow I'll set it up in the mill.

[Sue]

I only did it part time in further education Sue but I agree, it's hard work and I have every sympathy for those who do it full time.
I shall be in the shed at 06:00 and depending on the result of some investigations later this morning I might be going out to buy myself a new TV! This is serious stuff.

Morning

I worked in hospital labs for a year as part of my degree, then three years in a research lab as a bacteriologist setting up and running the laboratory. Whilst doing the latter I taught evening classes at Oldham college. I left F/t work to have children but continued P/T lecturing in FE for another 10 years at both Rochdale and Oldham.

Oldham put me through the FE teachers certificate for free which was two evenings a week on top of the 20 plus hours a week I was teaching Part time, including evening classes. When my part time hours rose to 25 I looked for a full time job. Of course 25 hours was actually in the classroom there was at least another 20 on top of that in lesson prep and marking and being part time tis was unpaid hours.

I managed to get a job at Bury College where I stayed for about 23 hours. It was nice not to balance two colleges dashing from one to the other in what was technically my lunchtime. This transfer from one college to the other in the early days including transferring the girls from child minders to college creche to nursery. I made a lot of friends in those years, including my friend Wendy whose husband died last year.

I enjoyed the full time job. It was hardwork, it was fun. After about 15 years at Bury my holidays were cut class sizes doubled, teaching day extended by an hour, lunchtime cut, breaks cut, teaching week increased by 3 hours so less time for lesson prep and marking but far more to do. This was all a new contract (as colleges had become independant businesses) which I refused to sign for three years, like many of my colleagues , in return we had no pay rises till we did. All new employees were on the new contract, we existing employees were eventually forced to sign if we wanted our annual pay rises. We also had to do more and more admin to maintain the correctness of the data on the computer system and we lost any office back up for typing lesson/ lecture material so had to do it all ourselves.

When I started in FE my A level class was 10 students and I had 6.5 hours a week to teach it. When I left there were25 in a class and 4 .5 hours a week to teach the same syllabus. Most of my classes were adult returners on continuous assessment. The marking load was horrendous. The pay was abysmal. We had seen our jobs deteriorate and from being the best paid teaching sector we became the worse. Indeed many an ex nurse joined the Health and Social Care team I was in, only to leave and go back into nursing after only a year as pay and conditions were so much better. A school teacher earned far in excess of a college lecturer By 22 years I had had enough and took early retirement at 55 ( 19 years ago). For years I never read, too much like work. However , although exhausted I loved the teaching, made loads of longstanding friends, sadly many of whom have now died young! RANT OVER

Today is Saturday and Bacup market, I think we will follow it up with Burnley market and a walk at Townley Park. Yesterday we had a lovely brisk walk round Hollingworth Lake. This evening it is u3a wine group on zoom, the topic in New Zealand white wines.

Have a good day all

[Big Kev]

Going on a bus to Burnley.

It's that time of year when all 3 of my offspring have their birthday.
Went to Harrogate yesterday for the youngest, middle one is midweek but it's a double celebration tonight as his young lady is 40 today.
Eldest is next week and we're off to Prague for his. A busy couple of weeks.

[Big Kev]

Back home for tea and a slice of toast to soak up the beer. It was a very good night.

[Stanley]

That was a good way to be employed.....
Up to now I have done nothing but fight an email system that labels every mail I send as 'too many recipients'
I shall try to ignore it and leave it to heal up.... (I can receive mail OK)
I shall be in the shed as usual if I can get through my other jobs, I have lost an hour already. I shall brew some coffee and calm down. I seem to have done nothing but fight the technology for two days!

[Stanley]

The full hour in the shed was taken up by getting the mill set up for boring and then setting the cylinder up after taking the plug out without losing the accurate positioning. At closing time I have it ready for boring. Not my finest hour but everything has been done without error and we are set up for tomorrow. Now for breakfast!

[Sue]

Morning

I know the feeling about birthdays Kev, Julias and mine are done for the year. Bob and his aunt are next week ( my Dad, Grandpa and brother were the same week) give it a few weeks then its Claire and Erin and it will still only be the first week in March.

We too went to Burnley yesterday but not the shops. We went to Townley , had a coffee in the cafe and did a 4 mile circuit through the estate up into the hills around and back. Its a lovely spot. In the afternoon I planted up the rest of our potaotes crop we brought back from France as they were sprouting furiously. I put them in bags of new compost and will keep them in the greenhouse till the weather improves. I tidied up the greenhouse a bit, after the squirrel rampage a few weeks back.

Today we are driving down to a garden centre near Rotherham where we are meeting Bobs cousin for lunch. She helped Bob sort out my brothers estate ( now more or less closed ) but we have never met and she wanted to. I tell a lie, we met her when she was a few weeks old at Bob's Mums and Dads 25 th wedding anniversary party but I don’t think she will remember that

So that will be our day. Have a good one

[Stanley]

Morning Sue.... I'm sure you will enjoy a trip out to a garden centre near Rotherham! It's nice to hear that your potatoes are sprouting, always nice to hear of any growth in Winter. God knows we need proof that things will get better at this time of year.
I hope you have a good day, please give my best to Bob....

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed as usual at 06:00 boring my cylinder. After second sleep, come rain or shine I shall be veggie shopping in Town Square. Beyond that I don't know but I have no social engagements!

[Stanley]

Straight into boring the cylinder to 1.5". I reached that and check measured it, the bore is accurate and parallel inside the cylinder. So I broke the set up on the mill down, had a chip chase and reinstated the normal cutter. The boring head went back in its box and was put away. Next I found a piece of brass stock and made a piece of pipe 1/4" OD and 5/32" bore for the steam and exhaust pipes. That's ready for me to finish the individual pipes tomorrow and install them. That was a good morning and I like the results. Now for breakfast and second sleep.....

[Sue]

Morning

What a good day yesterday. We had a pleasant cross country drive over, arriving early to give us a chance to look round the garden centre. Its called Wentover garden centre in the village of the same name and constructed in the walled garden of a large house and gardens of the same name. We lunched in rather a nice restaurant there and spent nearly 3 hours chatting and getting to know Bobs cousin. We found we were just 8 miles from my Mums cousin , Toni, ( aged 84 going on 60 !) so called to see her too leaving about 6.30 and back home at 8.00 pm . It was a very interesting genealogical day.

Today is zoom pilates this morning, and zoom yoga at teatime. We have no other plans and will certainly not be walking as it is due to be heavy rain all day. Bob will probably potter in the workshop and I will sew, though I want to make a spread sheet of some french vocabulary I am learning from the DUOLINGO french course I am doing. Its all getting a bit complex and I am struggling to remember some of the more difficult phrases. If I am going to be spending a lot of time in hospital waiting rooms I thought it would be handy to have a list to learn I could quickly access on my phone .

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Morning Sue..... That really was a good day especially the bonus of time with Toni!
Why does it not surprise me that you are looking forwards with something structured to do while waiting around for Bob.... I doubt if I'd get Much further than a good book!
I'm hoping the rain might not be quite as bad as the forecast. I want to do veggie shopping today..... I shall go come rain or shine.

[Sue]

Morning Sue..... That really was a good day especially the bonus of time with Toni!
Why does it not surprise me that you are looking forwards with something structured to do while waiting around for Bob.... I doubt if I'd get Much further than a good book!
I'm hoping the rain might not be quite as bad as the forecast. I want to do veggie shopping today..... I shall go come rain or shine.

Reading books sends me to sleep, associate reading with bed time. I may fall off the chair i the waiting room

[Stanley]

I doubt it Sue! But I see what you mean....
I shall be in the shed at 06:00 as usual for an hour on my engine. After second sleep I expect Robin my chiropodist to minister to my feet and some time this morning the installers will came to put my new TV in. That's why I did my veggie shopping yesterday even though it was in the heavy rain.
So it could be a busy but rewarding day.

[Stanley]

I started this morning by finishing making the small pipes that are the steam and exhaust pipes. Then I drilled and tapped the steam chest to accept the steam pipe and fitted them both. That's as far as I want to go with the cylinder and steam chest at the moment. I need to look at the other castings. I started with the bed, I mounted it in the vise and cleaned up the base and the ends. Then I started setting up for milling the target face on the bed. doing it now ensures that it is at right angles and perpendicular to the rest of the bed. That was knocking off time so I left it at that for tomorrow morning. Now for breakfast....

[Sue]

Morning

What a horrid day yesterday. Between my two zoom classes I spent a lot of time doing my french vocabulary spreadsheet. Today I have pilates and yoga in the studio but this morning we are walking in to Rochdale. Bob and his engineer friends have an appointment in the Mayors office at 11.00 am, where they are meeting the Mayor for a formal thank you for money raised for the Mayors charity with the train rides one Sunday last year. I shall take the opportunity to browse the shops and buy Bobs birthday card for next week, always a difficult task when we always go shopping together. His present via Amazon was smuggled into my sewing room last week under the pretext of ´sewing stuff’

We may pop round to see Wendy in Norden this afternoon, otherwise it will be nearly 6 weeks before we can get there.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

"What a horrid day yesterday."
I'll second that Sue, it was cold and wet but in spite of that I went out in it to do my veggie shopping!
It's my birthday soon and I have just thought of another excuse for spending a fortune on a new TV.... It can be my birthday present....
Today is better in Barlick, it's stopped raining. I hope you and Bob have a dry walk as well. All I have to do now is wait for Robin my chiropodist who will be here at 10:15 and then be here when James comes to instal my TV after 13:00.

[Sue]

Excellent idea a new TV. Enjoy.

[Stanley]

[Stanley]

Today is slightly less fraught by appointments than yesterday. I shall put my chicken in to cook before I go in the shed at 06:00. I was going to go to Well Pharmacy after second sleep but I'll leave that until Friday when I am going into Town Square anyway to meet Mo and the Great grandchildren for fish and chip lunch. I was considering cooking veggies but I shall do that tomorrow. It will be an easier day than yesterday and gives me more time to play with my new telly later!

[Sue]

Morning

We spent the morning in Rochdale yesterday. I bought my selection of birthday cards and other things needed over the next 5 weeks plus some GCSE French revision cards. I then went and sat in a new cafe that only opened on Monday and had a coffee whilst I waited for Bob. It was nearly 12.30 pm when he arrived so we had lunch and another drink there before we walked back up the hill to home. In the afternoon .I did a bit of ironing and sorting put my sewing project before it was time to go out to pilates. Before I went I noticed a niggling ache in my back. I thought the class would sort it but it did not and got progressively worse through out the evening. I have had a bad nights sleep as I was in pain whenever I turned over. I shall see how it goes today but doubt I will do pilates tonight as tomorrow I want to be fit enough to drive to Christies for a trial drive. I hate driving on the motorway but need to be able to do this.

Today we have no plans this morning but we are going to see Wendy P in Norden in the afternoon.

Have a good day all

[Sue]

This mornings sunrise over the hills at Saddleworth Moor

IMG_1333.jpeg

[Stanley]

Morning Sue, sorry to hear about your back ache. The way you described it developing reminded me of the bad old days when I was a martyr to the same thing. If it's any consolation, as you get older God sorts it out. That's what my Old Doc Arthur Morrison told me and in my case it was right. I hope it works for you as well.
I had my own adventure this morning,when my oven refused to fire up when I put my chicken in. It eventually relented and came on side again as mysteriously as it started. I lost an hour but thank god I am almost ready to take the chicken out now.
There's always something!

[Sue]

I think this is muscular not my back ache of old, pre pilates and yoga. It has eased after getting up, warm shower and moving around.