Today I shall be Mainly...

[PanBiker]

an I have just seen your mail. That's a good offer and can I take it? Let me know what time you will be calling in and I will come with you to do my veggie shopping.

It will probably be early afternoon. I have an appointment with a CT scanner in Asda Car Park in the morning. Lung health check being run by our surgery. That will only be a ten minute job but it's just before lunch. I will let you know and pick you up.

[Stanley]

Thanks Ian, I will be ready. Phone number is 07929 486595 and the phone will be switched on and at hand.
It's very kind of you and I appreciate it. I was totally helpless this morning once I was down, it was just one big slab of ice!

[PanBiker]

Aye, it's pretty treacherous out there. Staying at home with brew is the best call. Sally decided not to go for her Friday morning swim this morning although she is still keeping up her daily walks. It's reasonably OK when you get out into the fields and lanes. Ill give you a ring when I'm the right side of a bit of lunch. It should be a bit better by Sunday.

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed starting on my next Stuart No 9 engine. I gave yesterday's away to my friend Vicky Barritt because it was her birthday and she deserved it. After second sleep I shall probably go to Town Square for some shopping as the ice has gone. Before anyone starts hopping up and down in frustration at the stubborn old bugger, I shall still be taking advantage of Ian's kind offer on Sunday but can't abandon supporting the local shops just because of a bit of weather! Besides, it does me good to walk across there!
Mind you, having had a look at the weather, even this is up for change. Aldi may be veggies after all! (We are now feeling the first effects of Storm Isha!)

[Stanley]

To make one thing clear. Aldi with Ian tomorrow is for veggies. I may pop out to the Co-op after second sleep to get the peppers I need for roasting my chicken tomorrow. But that's all! So don't anybody launch into a knipchen.



One engine went out of the shed yesterday as a gift to a young friend of Mine, Vicky Barritt. As I am sure you remember I am convinced I cannot die while I am building an engine so immediate steps needed to be taken. I have already spent £633 on a fresh set of castings and so I unpacked them this morning after putting the detritus that is always left after a build into the various boxes I have waiting for them. As you can see I have everything out of its shrink wrapping and ready to be worked on, the smaller items being in their own plastic box. All the packing materials in the bin outside. I also spent a few minutes cleaning up and sharpening an old and very well worn US army knife which I have decided will be OK as a bench knife.
That was a good and productive hour. I am ready now on the starting blocks of another steam engine. And yes it's the same as the last but I know my limitations and there is less chance of cock-ups due to senior moments because I know the build so well.

[Sue]

Morning

Keep being positive like that Stanley, its the best way. I hope you don’t have any aches and pains this morning from your fall.

We ventured out to Hawkshead yesterday afternoon as there is a Hawkshead shop there that we always visit in January. Their January sales are brilliant. Bob wanted new walking trainers and I wanted water proof gloves, we got both plus some bottles of waterproofer and waterproof polish for shoes. It was all on offer at 3 for two. A short walk to the Coop for milk and bread was all we did as all th roads were wet on top of solid snow and ice, we even struggled to walk on the carpark. I was a bit nervous after my near miss of slipping down steps in the morning. There were no cafes open so we came back via Coniston, and stopped at the Bluebird cafe on the Lake. Amazingly there was next to no snow there except on the top of the mountain. In the morning we had a lovely swim at the leisure complex and a session in the jacuzzi and the solarium. The place was nearly empty as Friday is changeover day for many lodges.

Today it is raining the snow seemingly nearly gone. We may well put on our wet weather gear and go for some sort of walk. We have missed not being able to get out. We will not be going to see my university friend who lives in a village up near Sellafield as he is undergoing hospital tests and has an MRI scan today.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

I shall try to Sue..... It's the only way. It is wet and windy here but I shall chance the short walk to the Co-op as I need to get the peppers to go in with a roasting chicken tomorrow. I promise no further than that and No Sue, I don't have any aches and pains directly attributable to the fall, just the usual crop of age related ones....

[Stanley]

Back from getting my bits at the Co-op. I was surprised to see so much ice left about but at least you could see it and walk round it. Luckily it wasn't raining but that wind is cold.... I can cook my chicken first thing in the morning now....
That's it, no more going out today!

[Stanley]

Today I shall get my chicken in the oven and roasting before 06:00 when I shall go into the shed and carry on with the new build. After I've had my second sleep I shall brown the roast and get it put away in the Fridge and the gravy in a pan and then I can relax until after dinner when Ian will call in for me and we will go down to Aldi for a bit of shopping, mine will be mainly the week's veggies which I will cook tomorrow......

[Stanley]

The first job was to clean up my bench and oil the surface plates before putting a clean tablecloth on.
I intended to start work on the engine proper by hand fettling the castings with a big rough file but when I looked at the flywheel casting I saw I had my work cut out because it was far worse than usual with Stuart castings so I put the big 3 jaw SC chuck on, changed to the outside jaws and set the casting up as well as I could, then starting to turn it so that it became concentric and accurate. By knocking off time I had one side done and bored for the crankshaft. That's right! I am off to a flying start with this engine as the crankshaft is chopped out of the solid already. I have the oak plinth ready as well looking a long way forward. Tomorrow I shall reverse it in the chuck and turn the other side to match. Not a bad start so it was a good morning.

[Sue]

Morning

Its home time today. We will pack up and leave by 10 , then walk over the road to a little cafe to have a small breakfast of a bacon butty or poached egg.

We are lunching in Fence at 1.00 pm with a large group of distant cousins, Widdup descendants of a common many times great grandfather, John Widdup of Rochdale, born about 1764, possibly in Heptonstall. He married and lived in Rochdale in 1785, had his first child there in 1786(my direct line) and moved to Barnoldswick circa 1792. There were none in the area before he arrived. His wife was Martha Edmundson who I know was from Salterforth. ( confirmed by a will) From this couple there are many branches of Widdups in Barnoldswick, Barrowford, Nelson, Burnley, Canada, America and Australia, including this group I am meeting today.

We should be home about 5.30 pm. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Morning Sue. I am back up and dealing with my chicken on a grey unattractive morning here in Barlick. It's not raining so I suppose that's something to be grateful for. I hope you have a safe journey back to Fence and a good lunch.
My afternoon adventure will be shopping at Aldi with Ian....

[Stanley]

Cancel my remark about it not raining.... it has started again....

[Gloria]

It’s raining quite steadily here now, but no sign of any wind. We have half price electricity from 11am-4pm so will do something useful like putting washing in.

[Sue]

It is torrential rain here and occasionally half flooded roads. We got soaked loading the car. Just stopped in Settle for a coffee. Its tough driving

[Stanley]

According to the met office the wind is set to peak in the early hours of tomorrow morning with wall to wall rain all the way up to then.

[Big Kev]

Treating myself to a camera, got a Nikon D7200 from eBay. Should be here on Tuesday

[PanBiker]

Visiting the lung screening Cat Scanner in Asda Car Park. That went OK, picked Sally up in Asda, she managed to find a nice cherry pie for afters tonight. Home for lunch which was cheesy scrambled eggs in a newly baked dinner roll. Then a trip to Aldi with Stanley. Back home now to batten doewn the hatches.

[Big Kev]

It is getting a bit wild out. We've just been to a 'gender reveal', I will be getting a great granddaughter in June.
Seemed a strange event as the would be parents weren't even aware if it was a boy or girl. There was a 'gender guardian' (a family friend) who knew.
Not sure why they didn't just say 'we're having a girl' but what do I know?

[Stanley]

Holly was old fashioned about Evie, she didn't want to know and so we all got a surprise when she was born. (She's doing well and Holly says she is surprised how well she feels so a good do all round.
I shall be in the shed as usual from 06:00 onwards refining my flywheel.......
After second sleep I have veggies to cook. I shall finish the last of last week's batch today. (The chicken is cooked already, I did that yesterday...)

[Stanley]

This morning the job was to finish rescuing the flywheel casting which is one of the worst I've seen for a long time.... I reversed the casting in the chuck and finished the turning. When I was certain it was as central and concentric as I could get it I moved operations into the vise and used files and emery to get the flash off the parts the lathe couldn't reach and yes, the turning and the fettling used up an hour but it was time well spent.....I am a happy bunny.

[Sue]

Morning

We had a lovely lunch with my new found relatives. Apparently they meet about 4 times a year. I have promised to draw up a family tree for them back to the 1500s in Heptonstall. We got home about 4.30pm and unpacked the car still in the pouring rain and then put everything away. I managed to get all the washing done except for the towels here, which I shall do today.

We are off to Christies this morning for a repeat CT scan, as the last one was not clear enough for some reason. We shall lunch there then on the way back will call in at Wendy and Keiths as Keith left his phone charger in the lodge. I have zoom yoga at 5.15 pm.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Sorry to hear about the need for a repeat scan Sue. Bob has enough on his plate without complications like that. Please give him my best wishes, I haven't stopped thinking about him.

[Gloria]

Sue, they must think you are wonderful getting a tree for them back to 1500s, well done.

[Stanley]

That thought had occurred to me but as it isn't a field where I have expertise I refrained from Comment!
I am back up after two hours sleep and after a drink of tea will start veggie cooking.....