Silver Birch

Its been pretty much sub-zero around here all week and the forecast is for several days of snow as of tonight. So we out today for shopping and intend battening down the hatches until it all goes away.

I did have to stop the car and take this pic of a very silver birch. The cold is certainly harsh but it can have its rewards when it produces results like this.



Opus Machina

A couple of months back I made contact with a bloke who had made a model steam engine and had offered it for sale. Normally I would not buy such an item but it had a huge flywheel and I cannot machine anything that size.

The engine design owes a lot to Stan Brays "Opus Proximum" but my engine is different enough for me to rename it "Opus Machina" (because it took me a long time to remake it!)

To cut a long story short, I paid the man for his engine but made a big mistake by not taking my reading specs with me. It was only later that day I was able to closely examine the engine with my proper specs on that I realised what a hopeless mess I had bought. It looked like it had been made by a blind chimpanzee. Some of the best finishes had been achieved with a hacksaw or a blunt parting of tool - yes, it was that bad! The sharp edges on the flywheel would have sliced bacon.

So, over the last few months I have ripped it apart and re-machined parts that could be machined and made new parts that could not be re-machined.

The only thing I have not touched is the cylinder assembly - I hardly dare imagine what it looks like inside. Just to give you an idea though, the valve chest is secured with 4BA screws. Trouble is - he'd stripped the threads on one of the holes - his solution? He super glued a 6BA screw in its place.

I have heard some horror stories about chaps buying others "works of art" but I never thought I would end up being a sucker as well.

Never mind though, it's kept me occupied over the last few months and doesn't look half bad now sitting on my desk.

This is a good example of the original finish before I started work.

 

 

This is my refurbed job.

 

 

 

It runs here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SbI0sUSQh8&feature=youtu.be

 

Resolutions

End of another year and time for reflection. Every time my quack prescribes yet another drug to keep me shuffling along it reminds me of just how frail is the human body. So it is no surprise that my annual blood test for sugar is to be repeated - I'm not worried though as it's nice to know that if the second test proves positive it will confirm that I am a sweet old man! My lovely wife consoles me by predicting that I am suffering from "old mans diabetes". I love her dearly.

 As the New Year is rung in this eve I have a cunning plan to avoid my early "snuff".  When we buy our pre-packed meat from the supermarket you will have noticed that inside the pack is a small piece of padding. This is an anti bacterial pad to stop the meat from "going home" to soon. I have found a supplier and intend ordering a job lot. I reckon if I strap a couple to my carcass every morning they should give me another ten or twenty years. Also - and taking a leaf out of the undertakers manual (from the chapter titled "Embalming Fluid") I intend increasing my whisky consumption in order to enhance the overall ethos of preservation.

In the event that my cunning plan goes belly up I will not despair - I have just read in Wikipedia that a well tried method of preserving meat is by burying it in a hole in the ground. No worries then!

Happy New Year

Apocolypse?

The end of the world is due in just over two hours this morning -  so they say. Most  folk round here have taken sensible precautions by either going to work, going to the pub or like us, going to Morrisons for our Christmas shopping. In the event that a bloody great meteorite lands on my head at 11.11 am, thank you for being a reader and I hope we meet in the next world. Merry Christmas!

Post antediluvian

We are both grateful that we have the house back to normal since the flood in July. Since then we have been at serious risk of being flooded again on three separate occasions - today included. I have one of these long telescopic rods normally used for cleaning windows and the like. It came in very handy this morning following continuous rain over several days when I used it to hook free the rubbish that was obstructing the flow of the brook outside the house. The water level dropped immediately.

As I write this it is dark and early evening, the rain is still falling relentlessly and the big worry is that the house may flood again during the night. We'll just have to cross our fingers and hope it doesn't. I hate water, I have even taken to omitting the filthy stuff from my glass of scotch in the evening. Filthy? Think ducks and fish!

We always look forward to Christmas and this year is no exception - if you are reading this (of course they are reading it dope!) a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

HO-HO-HO

Grampy

150712

I have sometimes wondered if we would ever get an emergency call while we were away in our caravan. Well yesterday it happened. Our friend and home watcher rang us with the news that our home had been flooded. We vacated the caravan in record time and hit the road.

The flood had been as a result of an adjacent brook bursting its banks. The brook runs through a culvert under the road out front. Some years ago MK council had fixed a steel grille at the entrance to the culvert but had not bothered to keep it clear of obstructions. Torrential rain early yesterday morning could not flow through the blocked grille and the water began to rise.

We arrived home after the water level had dropped to find that we had been flooded up to the top of the skirting boards. What a mess and so much water damage to furniture, fabric and fittings.

Lots of work needed to put things right over the coming months but fortunately we are properly insured. However, sitting here typing this in the conservatory 24hrs later with sodden filthy smelly carpets etc.  waiting for the loss accessor to condemn is not my perfect way of spending a Sunday afternoon.

So I’d like to take this opportunity of imagining I could gather the individuals at MK council together who share collective responsibility for this happening and handcuff the lot to the grille just prior to the next heavy showers. That should dampen their spirits eh?

Many thanks to Christine and Doug who alerted us and mopped up whilst we travelled home. It’s nice to have good friends.

End of rant!!!

130712

I photographed this yesterday (between downpours). It had climbed up and was hanging over the top of a six foot fence. An unusual but pretty shrub with the stem of the flower growing out of the middle of the leaf. Posted here in case anyone knows what its name is.