Today I shall be Mainly...

[PanBiker]

Looks like very tidy job.

[Stanley]

I agree Wendy, I was thinking about them working in the rain. They'll be out on another job today, rather them than me!
I got all my jobs done yesterday, meds from Well, veggies from Gulam's, duvet covers washed and changed and so no need to go out on this typical November day! I shall be in the shed as normal working on the front lid of the cylinder and then, after second sleep, I shall cook veggies and that will keep me out of mischief until dinner time.....

[Sue]

Morning

We had a very good crossing and apart from a light shower about noon we had a good day getting much of the general normal tidy up done. Roses pruned, tomatoes cleared and sweet potatoes dug. Not a moment too soon as since 5 this morning we have had a horrendous storm. What a good job the crossing wasn’t last night. Its pitch dark outside even though it is 7.30 a.m.Otherwise a quiet night, our stone martens did not return in our absence

Plans today depend on the weather, even when it stops raining it will not be fit to go outside. I may start stripping the kitchen wall paper ready for a re decoration.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Good news about the crossings and the lodgers Sue. Looking at the forecast for the Channel for today and tomorrow weren't you lucky. They are talking about 100mph winds!



Today it was the turn of the front lid. I have spent an hour and a quarter getting it to size with a register that fits the cylinder and a piston rod gland housing that fits in the aperture in the target end of the bed. All these tasks are done, tomorrow I can decide where to go next from my numerous choices.....

[Stanley]

I am back up after a 2 hour sleep. I shall have a hot drink and then start cooking veggies....

[Stanley]

4 pans on the stove simmering on low heat. I can have a short rest!
Later at almost 14:00 I'm on the last lap.... All prep and most of the cooking done, nearly there now!
14:30. Always a good feeling, cooking veggies for the week is done. All the veggies in the fridge, the hob is cleaned and so is the sink. I have made chicken and fresh veggies for tea. Now I can relax....

[PanBiker]

Lest we forget.

Made a start on the remembrance cross distribution down at Ghyll. Managed to get the majority of the Cemetery done minus of course this years plots that can't be found. Not too many of those so happy with today's effort. I will of course write up a cross for all those that are not found this year and set them up in the relevant sections of the Cemetery and Churchyard.

[Big Kev]

Morning

We had a very good crossing and apart from a light shower about noon we had a good day getting much of the general normal tidy up done. Roses pruned, tomatoes cleared and sweet potatoes dug. Not a moment too soon as since 5 this morning we have had a horrendous storm. What a good job the crossing wasn’t last night. Its pitch dark outside even though it is 7.30 a.m.Otherwise a quiet night, our stone martens did not return in our absence

Plans today depend on the weather, even when it stops raining it will not be fit to go outside. I may start stripping the kitchen wall paper ready for a re decoration.

Have a good day all

My son is currently in Dol de Bretagne, Brittany and has just been evacuated from the caravan site. Eurocamp are arranging alternative accommodation somewhere. He sent me a photo and it's currently clear blue skies but the Met Office are forecasting a 100% chance of heavy rain and strong winds overnight.

** they are being moved from the caravan to a hotel on the site

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[Stanley]

From the way the glass has dropped during the night even up here in the North where we are not expecting to get much at all those in the South can expect a big one. I heard that the forecast for the wind speed round Jersey is now 105mph.
Well done Ian, Mick got me my poppy yesterday when he visited the lads from the British Legion who were down at Aldi I think and reporting a lot of people buying poppies....
I shall be in the shed as usual working on my castings, although I am tempted to have a look at the internals of my new starter switch which arrived yesterday. I suspect it will be too wet and windy to do anything like go for a walk at midday but we'll see.

[Sue]

Morning

What a night that was, such wind. We have lost our beautiful Mimosa tree and I daren’t even go and look in the orchard. The Mimosa has probably taken out some other trees too. Its not the weather for clearing it but we will have to do something .

We spent the day yesterday stripping wallpaper in the kitchen, one wall the easiest has been done but it will be on hold now.

Have a good day everyone

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[Sue]

Morning

We had a very good crossing and apart from a light shower about noon we had a good day getting much of the general normal tidy up done. Roses pruned, tomatoes cleared and sweet potatoes dug. Not a moment too soon as since 5 this morning we have had a horrendous storm. What a good job the crossing wasn’t last night. Its pitch dark outside even though it is 7.30 a.m.Otherwise a quiet night, our stone martens did not return in our absence

Plans today depend on the weather, even when it stops raining it will not be fit to go outside. I may start stripping the kitchen wall paper ready for a re decoration.

Have a good day all

My son is currently in Dol de Bretagne, Brittany and has just been evacuated from the caravan site. Eurocamp are arranging alternative accommodation somewhere. He sent me a photo and it's currently clear blue skies but the Met Office are forecasting a 100% chance of heavy rain and strong winds overnight.

** they are being moved from the caravan to a hotel on the site
Screenshot_2023-11-01-17-43-58-838_com.miui.gallery.jpg

We have had a warning telling us not to go out in cars until noon . It was very bad

[Stanley]

Morning Sue. Hard luck and yes much worse than is. We are escaping it so don't worry about the Rochdale house only normal wet windy weather. The forecasters say the depression that's causing all this trouble will move oy north eastwards across the North Sea tomorrow. My glass is reading 958mb. That is quite extraordinary.



The replacement switch for the mill arrived yesterday. I had a look at it and decided I could understand the wiring instructions and so this morning I started on that job. The first job was to decide where to mount the switch as it couldn't go where the old one was as it would foul the handle for lowering and raising the quill. Then I had to decide how to mount it and decided on self-tappers. It took me the rest of the hour and a quarter I was in the shed to drill through the cast iron and adjust the drill size to suit the screws I had. I have done that and the body is mounted securely if not dead straight! (You can't have everything) I have the terminal kit and now I need to connect the switch. I think I need some help, I am not good at fiddly work like this in an awkward position, it nearly put my lights out this morning. So I am appealing for some help....... I shall ask elsewhere on the site as well.

[Wendyf]

Col could give you a hand with that Stanley but not till tomorrow afternoon, would that be OK?

[Stanley]

Oh God Wendy, what a good offer and yes any time is OK. He would be so welcome! Tell him I've managed to do the fiddly bit and the body is securely mounted on the body of the mill. We are into straight rewiring and I have the necessary Ripault's terminal kit.
You have made me so happy Love. Thank Col, it was worrying me sick.......
If he could give me a call on 07929 486595 to keep me abreast that would be good. If for any reason I don't answer don't give up on me, I shall definitely be here....

[Stanley]

I said earlier this morning after seeing the weather forecast, that there would not be a midday walk. No rain as yet so I have been for a walk into Town Square for surgical spirits and methylated spirits, both in stock at Shambles. Then I called in at the Co-op on my way back and got my milk. That saves me going out tomorrow when it might indeed b e raining! Notice I didn't bother to have a sit, it's not that nice!

[Stanley]

Have a look at Shed Matters for an example of how the bleeding obvious can often escape us....

[Stanley]

After that blinding flash of enlightenment yesterday and a bit of overtime at midday the mill is easier to work o0n now and I shall spend an hour in the shed getting ready for Col this afternoon and doing things to make his life easier.
I did my little Co-op shop yesterday for milk and so don't need to go early doors.
What I do need to do is give Kath Brown my order for a chicken, I forgot to do it yesterday.

[Sue]

Morning

A calm night last night , though it did rain heavily early hours. The weather wasn’t too bad yesterday so whilst I got on with the kitchen decor Bob got on with the tree. Luckily we had bought a new chain saw and bought it over this visit but it is going to be a long job. I gather Mimosa burns well so its free logs for quite some time for whoever wants them. Though it will probably be just Laetitia and Yves. We popped round to see them last night taking an M&S baby outfit for their new grandson. We gather their wayward daughter is now living in a mother and baby unit and relations with Laetitia are not good. They go to see the baby, but when I asked how Elaura was I got a cold no reply. I shall not ask again. We did a bit of shopping in the afternoon and bought one tub of emulsion paint. Dulux at 49 euros for only a small tub. At least fresh veg are a bit cheaper than in the summer though still more expensive than home

Today is due to be an ok day( one of the few forecast) so we shall both be outside. I shall prune and tie in the climbing rose along the fence and finish clearing the veggie plot and covering it depending how wet it is. Then I shall help Bob as much as I can, but also carry on with the decorating.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Busy as usual Sue. What a shame about the wayward daughter, spoils things for everyone..... (Once3 again you remind me of how lucky I am!)

I started the morning by doing some work to save Col having to do it when he comes. I straightened the mount for the starter switch and threaded the cables through the grommets ready for wiring to the switch. Then I did some work on the castings, nothing serious, just getting ready for drilling hole patterns.

[Stanley]

Thanks to the kind attentions of Colin yesterday I shall take great delight in Milling the lid of my steam chest as the VM is fully operational again. (I went in for an hour just before bed time and put everything back in place.)
Not sure about anything else and certainly no certainty about my midday walk. We shall see!

[Sue]

Morning

Glad you managed to get that done with Col yesterday. It was an ok day here yesterday so I managed to clear and cover one veggie plot, and nearly cleared all the ground cover plastic on the fruit patch we are digging up and converting back to field. I spent the rest of the day helping Bob, clearing branches as he cut. We have made substantial progress on the tree, clearing much of one side and clearing it well away from our small Californian? Lilac.

I think today is a rainy day. We shall shop later, book Sunday lunch somewhere and decorate this afternoon. We must also phone our lovely grand daughter Briony (B) who is 12 today

Have a good day all

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[Stanley]

What a good thing you had the foresight to make sure you had a good chainsaw Sue, that's a serious hardwood tree!



A very happy morning because the VM is no longer poorly. I spent an Hour on the lid of the steam chest, first making it square and the correct thickness, 3/16". Then adjusting the size to fit the chest and finally putting witness marks on to make sure the correct orientation is kept to. The new switch performed perfectly. Thanks to Colin and his expertise, I could never have fathomed out how to wire it!

[Sue]

Stanley the last saw gave up when cutting up the other branch last year so we bought a new one and brought it over this trip. Far too expensive over here. Bob had to sharpen it 3 times yesterday

[Stanley]

Yes, It's tough wood!
I had my walk and a sit on traffic duty for about twenty minutes. Warm if you were wrapped up. With the wind chill it was about 2C..... But it scratched an itch and I shan't feel guilty because I haven't been out of the house.....

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed at 06:00 using the vertical mill and thanking my lucky stars that I know people like Colin Faulkner!
I don't need to do any shopping and have no social engagements so I shall take the rest of the day as it comes.....