Today I shall be Mainly...

[Stanley]

I've spent a lot of time talking to the kids and looking at pictures of a very nice traditional wedding yesterday complete with a peal of bells.
I have just finished cooking this week's tranche of veggies and as soon as the hob has cooled I shall clean it. Always nice when that job is out of the way!

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed at 06:00 doing useful things to my castings. Nothing pressing after that so an easy day.

[Sue]

Morning

Nice lunch out yesterday but no walk as there was on and off showers, again not forecast. The evning was very pleasant so we sat outside with a G nT but it was a cold wind. We popped round to see Laetitia and family for an hour or so and had a beer, with cider at lunchtime it was an alcoholic day . I tidied the freezer at one point to assess what we have in there, next visit I think it needs a defrost . I threw some very old frozen veg on the compost as it was suffering from freezer burn.

Today the last door painted will be rehung then I can hoover through. There is a lot of dust and scraps of old newspaper around, but first thing after breakfast it’s a bit of last minute shopping. There will be a meal balancing act as we seem to have more meals in the fridge than meals left to eat before our departure after lunch tomorrow. We were all sorted when Letitia's boys brought us a plate of pancakes round. We shall make those into savoury pancakes at lunch time today.

From about 11 it’s due to rain all day, not heavy but continuous . I see the seeds I planted in the veggie plot are up and my other veggies have trebled in size since we came apart from the sweet potatoes. So today is a good day for tidying up and packing. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

You are timing your return beautifully Sue, cold and wet here at the moment, the CH is on but the outlook is much better.



My aim this morning was to tap the holes I had already drilled in the valve face of the cylinder, fit the studs, drill the walls of the steam chest and fit the steam chest and lid to the cylinder. All accomplished without any adjustment to the studs or the clearance holes. A perfect fit and tomorrow I can address the matter of the valve and valve rod. Next job is breakfast!

[Sue]

Sadly our boiler packed in as we came. It intermittently comes on or should I say turns off. We have had electric fires on in the evening and thick jumpers and burning the paper etc from the painting and the cardboard that was for recycling. We want to keep the wood we have for the winter . Boiler service is our first day back in July

[Stanley]

I assume that's the French boiler Sue. Do you have a gas supply? If so how is the cost over there....

[Stanley]

I had a cabbage left over from veggie cooking yesterday so I went and found a recipe which included butter, olive oil, onions, garlic a full cabbage and a good slug of cyder apple vinegar. I added a spoonful of spice and some sea salt and fried it all in the pressure cooker. I finished it off by putting the lid on and giving it 20 minutes of full pressure. I think I'll have it on its own for dinner......
A bit later.....I wasn't wasting my time. The cabbage is lovely, a definite success.

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed at 06:00 working on my cylinder. It's coming together nicely! When I get up after second sleep I suspect I shall be watching flight tracker until my kids land in Perth at 11:30. At the moment they are approaching the southern tip of India and the Maldives. The world is such a small place these days.

[Sue]

Morning

House cleaned, garden stuff put away and all set to leave after lunchtime. The forecast is appalling like yesterday but we shall drive to St Malo via a couple of fabric places in Rennes, and if we have time to kill before boarding the ferry at 6.00 we can visit a shopping centre and browse an art shop there.

Yesterday we had some real deluges of rain. One was just as we arrived at the DIY warehouse. It was so bad no one could get out of their cars for 10 minutes, and in the short distance from car to door we were soaked. This morning is really dark and it is raining out there now.

So it’s an overnight ferry home which is quite unusual but it saves on having two hotel stays, one on either side of the channel. We dock at 8.30 am and will drive home via Coventry to drop off some french goodies. We should be home late afternoon. I see the forecast is good at home, but not here where rain is forecast till Friday then it hits a really hot spell of 24 to 27 degrees. My plants should be ok as the ground is absolutely sodden. I think in 3 weeks I have only had to water two or three times

We have had a successful 3 weeks decorating and completing various odd jobs which all need to be done before we have an estate agent round. However we are in no rush, and will just take our time, there are still some biggish tasks to complete before we do that. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Morning Sue. As usual you sound to be organised! Yes, the weather here is improving right through next week. You are timing your return well!



The focus this morning was the valve train and I started by cutting the stainless steel valve rod to size and threading it 4BA at both ends. Then I shifted my attention to the steam valve and started machining the faces to make it square. Once that was done I started on getting it to size. I was in the middle of that at knocking off time..... Now for Breakfast!

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed at 06:00 doing more work on the valve train of the latest engine. The steam valve is the heart of the engine and just as well to get it right! I don't think there is anything pressing in my social calendar so it will be an easier day than yesterday, no kids to track as they fly half way round the world!

[Stanley]

The first order of business this morning was to finish reducing the steam valve to size. Once that was done I cut the slot for the driver bar and fitted it. All that remains now is to cut the exhaust cavity in the base of the valve. I shall do that tomorrow. Now for breakfast.

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed working on my valve train at 06-00. After that nothing demands my attention so apart from a walk and traffic duty it will be a relaxing day. (I forgot to mention yesterday that I had my walk and sit and it was pleasant but short of sun.....

[Stanley]

I started the morning by assessing yesterday's work and deciding the driver needed to sit a bit lower in the steam valve so I mounted it in the mill again and cut more out until I was satisfied. Next I marked the base of the valve for the exhaust passage that has to be cut out of it. Once that was done I cleaned the valve up and mounted it in the valve chest. I marked it and drilled the clearance hole through it for the valve rod. Then I mounted it again and marked the driver bar before drilling and tapping it 4BA to accept the valve rod. Then I fitted the valve rod. This involved easing all the various fits until I was satisfied I had a viable valve. I then took the 1/4" cutter out of the mill. I shall remount my usual cutter tomorrow but will touch it up in the T&C grinder first. A good morning with accurate progress. Now for breakfast!

[Sue]

I assume that's the French boiler Sue. Do you have a gas supply? If so how is the cost over there....

Morning

We had a good trip back with a smooth crossing and an uneventful drive home. We had a sandwich and a cuppa for lunch at Julias though they were all at work/ school and were home here at 3.00.pm. We had a lot of mail to sort and a rather well grown garden and were pleased to see peas on my mangetout plants and a couple of small courgettes.

In answer to the above question, yes, Stanley a very very large french boiler (with hot water tank) which is oil fired is in the laundry room . We have an equally large oil tank in the storeroom which thankfully we don’t have to top up often as we don’t go there in the winter. The gas we use is bottled gas and needed for the kitchen hob only. Otherwise we have additional electric fires and a wood burning stove. The stand alone showers have their own electrically heated water storage cylinders . The shower over the bath uses hot water from the main boiler. The boiler legally has to be serviced every year and the chimney swept annually but try finding someone to do that especially the latter. We have now set up a service contract for the boiler with the company coming in July

Today is a trip to Christies for a blood test and a meeting with the consultant following the recent scans. We are keeping our fingers crossed. We shall then go and see our widowed friend Wendy on the way home as I have some sad news to tell her that our mutual ex boss and friend at Rochdale college died on Monday. I would rather tell her face to face than by phone. Clive was my age but had been ill with Parkinson's for some time.

Otherwise it’s a nice day and I have a little washing to do and a little garden tidying, but there is no rush for either. Have a good day

[Stanley]

Morning Sue, thanks for telling me about the boiler and how you manage in France.
You sound to have made a soft landing back home and like us you can look forward to far better weather. God knows we deserve it! Enjoy......

[Sue]

Just got back from Christies withe delightful news that the radiotherapy has worked for Bob, all that is left is scar tissue. There will be regular endoscopy to check that heals properly but no reason to suppose not. All breathe a sigh of relief

[Big Kev]

Just got back from Christies withe delightful news that the radiotherapy has worked for Bob, all that is left is scar tissue. There will be regular endoscopy to check that heals properly but no reason to suppose not. All breathe a sigh of relief

Excellent news

[Stanley]

That's great news Sue, Bob must be so relieved. Best of all you can get back to a normal life without regular appointments at the hospital. I don't know about you but I found they were the worst aspect of the whole affair.
I shall be in the shed as usual. My mind is swinging round to the fact that it could be painting time!
I'm expecting a visit fro Margaret and Mick this morning. I think fish and chips may be on the cards in the sun in Town Square!

[Stanley]

My first job was to breathe on the everyday cutter to make sure it had a good edge and then re-install it in the VM. Then I stripped my engine build down into the individual castings, took them outside on to the welding bench and painted them. They are now back in the shed under cover drying and tomorrow I shall refine them where necessary and mount them on the plinth that is ready for them. I shall then be ready to continue the build. Now for breakfast!

[Sue]

Morning

This morning is u3a art, with a sandwich lunch at the hall. Then Bob is off to a wine tasting social and I am at the hairdressers. We will meet up afterwards at the Italian restaurant at the Lake.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Sounds like a nice quiet day. We all need them!

[PanBiker]

Just got back from Christies withe delightful news that the radiotherapy has worked for Bob, all that is left is scar tissue. There will be regular endoscopy to check that heals properly but no reason to suppose not. All breathe a sigh of relief

That's really good news Sue, regards to Bob.

[Stanley]

A quieter day than yesterday. I shall be in the shed from 06:00 working on my engine. I never got round to frying my sweet potato chips so doing that and topping up milk after a short walk at midday are the only demands on my time.
Quite enough!

[Stanley]

I started the morning by Mounting the engine base on the wooden plinth that was waiting for it. Next I machined the bed of the crosshead guide and then set about converting the stock supplied to the profile needed for the crosshead guides. Some very careful milling needed to produce the correct profile. I finished the first side. One more matching profile to cut tomorrow. The next job is breakfast.