Today I shall be Mainly...

[Big Kev]

I have now got over 4 years of a daily diary on here. I have never been a diary keeper but it would be interesting if I could extract it all to read as a single document.I don't suppose it is possible. I should have been keeping a daily copy elsewhere

You can use the site search facility to find all your posts in the 'Today I Shall be Mainly' thread. Using the parameters in the screenshot below it returns over 6500 entries going back to 2012. You may be able to refine it further.

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[Sue]

Morning

Ok journey, very smooth crossing. There were not many onboard and the restaurant was nearly empty at lunch time. We both spent the day reading, I was finishing a Ken Follett historical novel about the religious wars in France and Europe in the 16 th and early 17 th century. We were first on the ferry, having arrived at the port early due to lack of traffic on the roads, however we were one of the last off and we were very slow going through customs.

The ferry was about 45 minutes late docking due to congestion at the port so it was 8.10 pm when we got to the Premier Inn at Petersfield and we had booked a meal next door at the Beefeater for 8.30 pm. At reception on booking in we upgraded our booking to a MEAL DEAL for evening meal and breakfast which is more economical but a reduced selection. We then went straight in to the restaurant actually arriving early. Service was poor, my prawn cocktail was almost thrown on the table. I had starters and a main, Bob was having mains and a dessert but when he tried to order his dessert the waitress told us the kitchen closed at 8.45 pm ie 15 minutes after our booking time. We complained at reception who was hugely apologetic and said she should have said when we upgraded. I pointed out it was not her fault there were 4 opportunities in the restaurant when we could have been told we only had 15 minutes to order and we were not. There was also no indication online when Bob booked 3 days ago. No wonder my prawn cocktail was thrown on the table . The reception is busy trying to get our money refunded as we did not have a full meal or indeed a full deal. If the ferry had been any later we would not have had a meal at all. Such a shame as this is one of our best stops after getting off the ferry.

We are leaving after a late breakfast and driving up to Coventry. Julia is working from home so we are planning on being there to have lunch with her and then home this afternoon. Have a good day all

[Sue]

I have now got over 4 years of a daily diary on here. I have never been a diary keeper but it would be interesting if I could extract it all to read as a single document.I don't suppose it is possible. I should have been keeping a daily copy elsewhere

You can use the site search facility to find all your posts in the 'Today I Shall be Mainly' thread. Using the parameters in the screenshot below it returns over 6500 entries going back to 2012. You may be able to refine it further.
Screenshot_2024-05-10-06-31-27-623_com.android.chrome.jpg

Thanks Kev, Ian also sorted something for me but I had no chance to respond here yesterday

[Stanley]

I would have thought the hospitality industry would be working a bit harder to get return visits from clients but it looks as through they have different ideas of running a business Sue. I hope you have a better experience for the rest of the day.....



I turned my attention to the piston rods and pistons this morning. I used silver steel for the rods and I can remember buying this bundle of assorted silver steel (but it was bigger then!) for £10 at K Steels. Never ever walk past a bargain like that. In the process of making the rods I reminded myself why I hate 7BA! The nits are not part of the engine, just 7BA nuts I was using to confirm I had good threads on the rods. I finished up by making the blank for two pistons, drilling it and threading it 7BA. I shall not be putting the groove in the pistons for packing. These wobblers are only toys and don't need refinements like that. They will be runners but nobody will ever be driving anything with them. (If they are they can cut the grooves and put packing in!) Now for breakfast.

[Stanley]

Back up and having a hot drink before going for a walk. Apples and milk would be good....

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed as usual working on the wobblers and at some point this morning I shall roast the pork belly which has been marinading all night....

[Stanley]

First job was to finish making the pistons and mounting them on their rods. Then I made the knurled knobs that control the pressure of the cylinder on the face of the standard. Tomorrow I shall make the top and bottom lids for the cylinders.... Now it's breakfast time.
On another matter, I put my pork belly in to slow roast before I went in the shed.....

[Sue]

Morning

I am pleased to say that a refund for the evening meal for both of us was activated before we left the hotel yesterday morning.

We drove on to Coventry arriving just as Julia finished her morning online meetings and we were able to spend a pleasant hour with her leaving just after one and because of the many hold ups and heavy traffic on the M6 we decided to come back the rural route through Ashbourne, Buxton and Glossop. It was a pleasant but very long drive with lots of slow drivers just enjoying the scenery. It took us nearly 5 hours instead of the usual 2.5 but although it was slow it was not as stressful.

We were home by 6 and whilst Bob unpacked what little we had in the car I watered the very dry veggies in the garden and the rather crisp geraniums in the greenhouse. I think the birds or squirrels had got annoyed with the empty bird feeders as many were off their hooks and lying on the ground. I put them in to soak in detergent over night to give them a good wash before I re fill them.

Today is Bacup market, then just a small bit of washing to do followed by making up the spare bed as my sister Jane is coming for tea and staying over till tomorrow.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

It's a nice morning for the market Sue.... I hope you have a pleasant shop.
I have just retrieved the belly pork and committed it to the next stage of the plan, being cut up into bite sized chunks and stewed slowly with diced fried potatoes..... It can do that without any supervision.

[Stanley]

That was nice! A short walk and a very pleasant sit in the sun on traffic duty. Now I shall have some hot dinner and yes, part of it will be the belly pork I cooked earlier.

[Stanley]

The pork belly made a good addition to the veggies!
I shall be in the shed at 06:00 and this morning will have to address the subject of drilling steam passages in the cylinder and the standard. It's not an easy process and much of it is guesswork. I shall be glad when it is finished!
Apart from that, what happens for the rest of the day depends on the weather. In the days when I had a dog I had to go out at certain times no matter what the weather. Now I don't go out unless the weather is fine!

[Stanley]

I've lost one image but these two will do. This morning's bit of torture was to drill 12 5/64" holes in the right place and some of them at an angle. (The cylinder steam passages.) I have done it without any disasters but it's torture when you can't see properly! Enough complaining, I drilled all the holes and re-assembled the engines. Now I need to make the lids for the new wobblers and and two bases. We are getting close to having 3 engines!
I deserve my breakfast.

[Sue]

Morning

Lovely day yesterday, washing done and a bit of garden tidying. Very pleasant evening with Jane. We had BBQ steak with salad, veg and sweet potato wedges, followed by a good camping favourite bananas cooked in rum on the BBQ . We retreated inside about 9.

Today Bob will be at the park, Jane will probably go after breakfast, Claire, Adam and Erin are calling round on the way to Erin’s cousins first birthday party, a picnic in the park . I shall wash my tea stained bedding sometime during the day…..I am sure you remember the incident the morning we were leaving for france. No other plans.

Fine till about 4 then thunderstorms. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

I hope your tea stains come out nicely Sue.
We may be lucky today, the expected thundery weather looks to be a West Coast thing. Fingers crossed anyway. I hope you have a good day.

[Stanley]

I was wrong about the thunder, we got a two hour display but not a great deal of rain.....
I shall be in the shed this morning doing more tiny turning.......I am getting close to the end of this project thank God!
All I can see for the rest of the day is a walk and sit on traffic duty.....

[Stanley]

Only one image needed. I have spent over an hour making the top and bottom lids for one of my two cylinders. I have drilled the holes in the top lid but have yet to do the bottom. No way was I going to rush just to try to get a straight edge. I hate these small parts! I shall stop complaining and have my breakfast.

[Sue]

Morning

What a busy day. Jane left after breakfast, and I washed her bedding and ours. I think the tea stain came out but thankfully the colouring of the bedding will hide any stain that remains. Before Bob went to the park he fetched the cases out of the loft containing our summer clothes. I spent the rest of the day sorting those, ironing and pottering in the garden. I was in bed by 10 and asleep shortly afterwards. Two days travelling followed by two busy days at home and I was exhausted.

This morning I have pilates, this evening yoga. We have to go to the post office as Jane left her glasses. I won’t be doing much else apart from washing towels. Dry but cloudy today, have a good day

[Sue]

I was wrong about the thunder, we got a two hour display but not a great deal of rain.....
I shall be in the shed this morning doing more tiny turning.......I am getting close to the end of this project thank God!
All I can see for the rest of the day is a walk and sit on traffic duty.....

We had quite a storm around 7 till 8.30. The rain was very heavy at times but not continuously so

[Stanley]

Morning Sue.... Don't get too engrossed in washing. Make sure you have a rest.
I am following my own advice and am off to bed for second sleep.

[Stanley]

I have been for my midday walk and half an hour on traffic duty. Very pleasant out there.
I popped in the Co-op for a couple of items and noted one sneaky bit of inflation that had escaped me. My favourite coffee used to be packed 227g per pack. It is now 200g. Mr Sunak evidently hasn't noticed this.......

[Sue]

Morning Sue.... Don't get too engrossed in washing. Make sure you have a rest.
I am following my own advice and am off to bed for second sleep.

Towels are easy, wash, hang on line, take off line, fold and put in airing cupboard till next required. I have just been potting up in the greenhouse, some flowering plant seedlings and tomato seedlings that my neighbour gave me. We are now sat in the garden after lunch having a coffee then will take a stroll to the post office and the nearest money machine as I am out of cash for this weeks art lesson

[Big Kev]

Trying on my dinner suit ready to pack it. I am pleased to report that it still fits

[Stanley]

I gave my dinner suit to Susan for a fancy dress evening with instructions to take it to the charity shop afterwards. (It fitted her surprisingly well actually!)
Today I shall be in the shed making tiny parts and doing fiddly things. The sooner these small bits are over the better!

[Sue]

I gave my dinner suit to Susan for a fancy dress evening with instructions to take it to the charity shop afterwards. (It fitted her surprisingly well actually!)
Today I shall be in the shed making tiny parts and doing fiddly things. The sooner these small bits are over the better!

Morning

When Mum and Dad died I gave Mum’s fur coats to a charity shop to give away to a needy person as they were not allowed to sell them, I gave Dad’s dinner suit to the local drama society for props, my wedding dress and Clairés first wedding dress went to the same place.

All outstanding jobs are now finished here so its back to normal. I ache all over after my two pilates/yoga sessions, which is only to be expected after nearly 3 weeks. I think that shows how much the regular exercises have an effect. Normally I have no aches and pains after a session.

Today is wet but we shall walk into Rochdale to the bank this morning, do a little sewing this afternoon and this evening is pilates and yoga at the studio. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Morning Sue! I'm sorry to hear you ache but realise that it's a good sign. Today is looking like a damp gloomy one so far in Barlick. I doubt if I will be walking. I shall get some exercise tomorrow when I go for my Covid booster.



Again, only one image needed. I have spent an hour, first on finishing the top lid for the first engine I am working on. I fitted that, all that engine needs now is the bearing that goes on the piston rod. That can wait until the other engine is at the same stage. Then I made the top and bottom lids for the next engine, drilled the stud holes in the top lid and checked that they fitted. Tomorrow I shall do the bottom lid and take the engine to the same state as the other.
It's breakfast time now.