Today I shall be Mainly...

[Sue]

Its torrential rain down here. No getting out of the car for me…wet feet. No Tescos won’t deliver but we should be Ok. Its normally 2.5 hours and we are allowing 4.5 from Julia so should be ok

[Stanley]

[Stanley]

Robin has just left after spending almost an hour on my feet. Lovely..... Now for dinner and a dadnap.

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed at 06:00 doing an hour on my engine. It's so good for me to work with my hands...... I don't think anything is demanding my attention after second sleep. The weather looks as though it might favour a walk later....
I notice that the new bar in the Majestic building is nearing completion..... A lot of money has been spent in there over the last few weeks......

[Stanley]

I cheated, only 40 minutes in the shed drilling and tapping the remaining four holes in the bed and fitting the bolts to hold the crosshead guides down. I used the holes in the guides for templates and so all of them are in exactly the right place. Now for breakfast.

[Sue]

Morning

We had an easy drive to Coventry with the rain beginning to subside at Oxford. By Warwick it was dry but very cloudy, at Coventry sunny. We left Julia at 1.00pm but due to motorway conditions we took the scenic route home via Derbyshire. It was a lovely if long drive arriving home at 5.15 pm, plenty of time to unpack before Tesco came just after 6.00 pm before we ate about 7.00pm I managed to get a couple of loads of washing on ie the bedding I stripped in France and the clothes worn over the last three days travelling.
I left most of it drying overnight on the clothes maiden in the conservatory. Amazingly we had both had repeat prescriptions delivered which we had not ordered. We have changed our pharmacist to a small local one and it seems they do the automatic 2 month repeats for us and deliver. We are very impressed

The garden is a mess, very untidy. And the veggies are over, a couple of hours should improve it terrifically though. There are lots of flowers and even, amazingly some healthy outdoor tomatoes ripening. Tidying is this afternoons job, this morning is a much needed haircut for us both and a visit to Bacup market for some nice meat, that is not chicken. The latter being about all we can afford in France. I am so looking forward to some old English sausage from the farmer/ butcher on the market.

Have a good day all

[Stanley]

Morning Sue. That sounds like a good transition back to Rochdale and I can understand your craving for good sausage. Nice that the toms might be better here than further south in France. Good luck with them.
I am just off back to bed....

[Stanley]

I've been to the Co-op for onions, garlic and cyder apple vinegar and had a sit on traffic duty at the end of Albert Road...... That's my exercise taken care of!

[Stanley]

Shed at 06:00, the crosshead could be the target this morning. Later after second sleep I will most likely load up the slow cooker with pork belly for a long, slow simmer. I used to cook it in cider but of late have found that apple cyder vinegar is better with a can of chopped tomatoes..... You get more apple taste that way.

[Stanley]

First job this morning was to sort the stock and castings I need for the next few days making the crosshead and the bearings for the crankshaft. The a careful measure up of the sizes for the crosshead referring to the castings and not the drawings.... That way it will fit. Then square up the stock for the crosshead and mark out the first two cutting sizes. Next I went into the T&C grinder to grind some rake and gullet into my cutter and then a new keen edge. I'm ready to start now but that took 45 minutes, I have to be careful. I know my limitations and I don't want any mistakes! Now for breakfast.

[Sue]

Morning

What a hectic morning yesterday followed by an afternoon of garden tidying before it started to rain heavily about 4.00 pm. There is still a lot left to do but I think it’s going to be a bit wet today. Bob is at the park this afternoon but I doubt it will be very busy with the forecast. We are meeting up with Claire, Adam and Erin for a curry at tea time and that is all I have planned. I may set up my sewing machine as I put it all away when I cleaned my sewing room before we went away. I have a couple of repairs and alterations to do but also need to review my sewing project with Maxine before I book another session with her.

English sausages for breakfast, I am looking forward to it. Have a good day all

[Stanley]

I shall treasure that image Sue, you and Bob wrapping yourselves round Sausages for breakfast. It's not looking very enticing in Barlick either. Not a lot of rain forecast but certainly plenty of gloom on offer. And if the outlook is correct we are in for some colder weather. All told, not a cheerful prospect.....
I shall go to Bed!

[Stanley]

I'm back up and facing the world.... I have a load of washing on a hot wash, I have started frying my sweet potato chips and when all this is done I shall cut up my pork belly and put it in the slow cooker for a long slow simmer.

[Stanley]

I have started the day by harvesting the gravy off the Pork Belly which has been simmering all night. It is in two bowls in the freezer now and later I'll lift the fat off the top. At 06:00 I shall be in the shed making my crosshead. No cooking and no walk either later as we are promised rain but I shall get my walk this afternoon when I go to Well Pharmacy to pick up my meds and get the winter flu jab. Early this year but good to get it done and dusted!

[Sue]

Morning

What a horrid day here yesterday it never stopped raining however Bob says over at Springfield park at the other side of Rochdale it didn’t start until after 3.00. . It wasn’t even raining down at the curry house where we met Claire but it was awful here. Thats the trouble with living up a hill.

Today looks much the same. I have French Conversation at Haslingden this morning then its a quick turnaround as we are at Christies for Bobs 6 month MRI scan this afternoon . I wonder what the weather will be like there. I may of may not be back for Zoom yoga at 5.15 pm

Have a a good day all

[Stanley]

Morning Sue.... Good luck to Bob with the scan.... We look as though we are going to have a wet morning and a sunny afternoon. We'll see!



Today started with sawing the meat off the stock for the crosshead and then milling it to size including cutting the channels down each side which fit it to the crosshead slide. As you can see I finished up with it fitted, it's tight and needs easing but that's as it should be. Now for breakfast.....

[Stanley]

I shall be in the shed at 06:00 working on my crosshead. Nothing attracts my attention after that and the forecast is for a wet day at least until noon. A dadnap is indicated I think....

[Sue]

Morning

Awake early today , on French time. It takes some time to adjust after such a long stay over there. Yesterday was a busy day, in fact it’s been non stop since we came home. The french class was good followed by a quick turn around to Christies. We were early as traffic was light so time to have a coffee before the appointment time. The scan was long as it was a six month scan for both routine and the research programme. We didn’t get back in time for my zoom yoga but that did have time to finalise my car insurance due on the 11 th and as it was a pleasant evening I started getting some of my house plants back in from their summer holiday in the garden.

Today is a damp start but we hope to walk to the bank in Rochdale as Bob has 7 weeks takings to bank, from the weekly train rides at the park . This afternoon will be more plant and garden sorting, then its pilates and yoga at the studio at tea time. I so need it as I am incredibly stiff every morning and have lost a lot of flexibility over the last 7 weeks. It will take a couple of weeks to get back to it and loosen up

So thats today, have a good one

[Stanley]

Morning Sue. nice to see you being optimistic about the weather for a walk to the bank. I couldn't forecast that here, we are in for a wet and windy morning and I shan't be entertaining any walking. I wish you well, but the glass is dropping like a stone.....


This morning I first spent a lot of time with my diamond files refining the crosshead until it was a snug but smooth fit in the slides. Then I used the cylinder with the piston and rod mounted to mark the crosshead for drilling and tapping 2BA for the end of the piston rod. Once I had that location I marked the other end of the crosshead for the slot that will accommodate the end of the connecting rod when I make it. A good hour and a quarter's work and now I deserve my breakfast.

[Sue]

It was a heavy drizzle and wind there, coming back was windy and blue skies with occasional light drizzle. Now it is dry, cloudy and windy. I have brought the rest of my plants in so thats one tidy up job accomplished. No more rain forecast today

[Stanley]

A similar story here Sue....
I shall be in the shed at 06:00 for my engine hour and later, weather permitting, I shall go for some cupboard fillers to the Co-op. Apart from that nothing pressing in my social calendar!

[Sue]

Morning

It was a damp walk down into Rochdale but a dry one back followed by a sunny afternoon doing some gardening. The brown bin is now full of garden waste so there will be a temporary halt now to garden activities but at least progress is being made. I picked my beetroot, quite a good crop and started to clear my raspberry canes. They were over when we went away, as were the strawberries. Today I want to plant up some strawberry runners as the patio is full of them trailing across the surface from the pots.

As I opened the curtains at 6.15 this morning ( I am still on french time ) there was a heron sitting by the pond, it flew off immediately. I doubt it could get to the fish as the surface is covered in waterlilies at the moment, however so far I have only seen one fish since we came home. It is so cold though they have probably retreated to the bottom of the pond. The food I am putting out does seem to be disappearing.

Its 6 degrees this morning with a maximum of 11 forecast. We are off to Christies again this afternoon for the second of Bobs routine tests, hopefully we will be back in time for zoom pilates to try ease some of this stiffness. At 6.30, a friend of Joanne and Pauls (from France) are calling round for a pan they accidentally left in a gite this summer. We brought it back home with us as the couple only live in Bury and its easy for them to come and collect it.

Thats our day enjoy yours.

[Stanley]

And another useful day it is as well. Glad it looks as though the heron was disappointed but they are smart birds......
Good luck again to Bob at Christie's. I hated those appointments that's why, in the end, I declined any further treatment.



This morning started with small but essential matters like cleaning up, vacuuming chips off the VM, sharpening three milling cutters and then measuring up and deciding where to start cutting stock for the beds of the Crankshaft bearings. One final task was cutting the slot in the piston to enable me to tighten it securely in the crosshead when the time comes. I finished the morning with both pieces of stock the same size in one dimension. That's a start. Now I deserve breakfast!

[Big Kev]

.. turning the heating on. It was 17 degrees in my dining room when we got back from the Barlick Raj this evening. Not sure how long it'll be on for as it's warming up nicely
We were also the first customers to have our picture taken in front of the new 'selfie wall'

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[Gloria]

We’ve turned ours on as well