Early Risers.

[AndyID]

5 minutes ago, TheQ said:

This talk of Fiat 124s is, I think, not  the brick that I remember.

 

The 132 was a lot different.

 

[jamie92208]

8 hours ago, AndyID said:

 

Arrrggg! Further americanization of the Queen's English.  Here, a manual transmission is always referred as "a stick".

 

Strictly speaking you only need a clutch to get a vehicle moving from a standstill. I'm not sure if anyone has ever made such a thing (probably someone has) but it wouldn't be too difficult to give a driver a "bung it in gear now" indicator.

We used to have competitions on nights as to how far you could drive a Mk1 escort panda car without usung the clutch. The Viva's wouldn't playbthough their gearchanges were likecstirring porridge. However  an escort key would unlock most Vivas. Quicker than using a coat hanger.

 

Anyway, good moaning to all.  Builders are here, decorator due soon and framework for the pool to erect.

 

Regards to all.

 

Jamie

Edited June 10, 2020 by jamie92208

[iL Dottore]

35 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

"partly" improvised????

 

Onions, celery and bell peppers are literally the holy trinity of Cajun cooking. How can it be gumbo without celery and bell peppers? Swamp soup maybe. Hopefully you did at least have onions (un-yawns). 

 

Onions, celery and carrots are French mirepoix, from which the Cajun trinity is derived.

 

Yes, I do know that, but like the original what goes into the pot is what one has at hand.... But, yes I did have onions and okra - so about 50% improvised. I did make a nut brown roux to start off and I did add my (own, home made) Cajun spice mixture.

Besides, I never said it was "authentic"

 

I think what I'll need to do in future is make a large batch of finely chopped celery, onion and bell peppers and freeze the mix into appropriately sized portions. Then I'll always have the "Holy Trinity" available.

[TheQ]

31 minutes ago, AndyID said:

 

The 132 was a lot different.

 

That picture is a 124 of 1966-1974 vintage

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Dull and dismal out and we had a shower of rain a little while ago.  More rain forecast.

If it doesn't rain too much I may go for another walk today although I'm still aching after yesterday's effort.

Nothing else planned (by me) for today.  I believe The Boss has other ideas.  She keeps muttering abut something called "housework."

When I was first learning to drive my Dad taught me about gear changing without using the clutch, double declutching and heel and toeing.  The first two were certainly handy on my first car (a 1947 Morris Ten with an "interesting" gear box. ) The third was just good fun!

Have a good one,

N.U. Volari.

Edited June 10, 2020 by grandadbob

[Barry O]

Ey up!

 

More painting of walls to be undertaken today. PAH!

 

Some muddling should be achieved later..hurray!

 

The Chieftain TN12 gearbox was interesting. From a standing start a Chieftain (always underpowered) could out accelerate a Challenger. Challenger 1 has a TN37 David Brown box..it is semi automatic as is the TN54 fitted in Challenger 2. Basic driving is ..start engine , select forward, put foot hard down on accelerator and leave it there!

 

Time to drink my mugatea then get on with the painting!

Make best use of your time today!

 

Positive thoughts to all ERs. I hope our "missing" ones are OK.

 

Baz

 

 

[Tony_S]

39 minutes ago, TheQ said:

That picture is a 124 of 1966-1974 vintage

Dad went out one day to buy a Lada (new) and came back with a Fiat Mirafiori (used). 
Tony

[TheQ]

Mooring awl, Inner Temple Hare, 907/567.

 

4  3/4 hours + 2 hours sleep pretty good for me, but the deprivation is building up, i must be due a long night soon.

 

Macarthy and Stone development works near the Tes+co are just begining to show signs of life, having been dormant for about 8 weeks. When the lock down occured, some bits carried on for a couple of weeks, but I guess that was previously contracted work. It's been untouched till yesterday, when a van was in there and someone was wandering around..

I think Il Dottore's assembly could more properly be called a Potage / Pottage, though I hope it will not be kept going the same way as medievil pottages, ie something was added every day, normally just veg, but it was just the same meal reheated each morning..  Day after day after day after day after day after day after day after day After day after day after day after day.

 

Been working on how to get the keel ballast weight off of the work bench and onto a support stand. The stand still has to be built,  The keel ballast weight needs to be added to the fin first , but there is insufficient room above the bench to the garage roof for it to stand upright. 

The keel and ballast weight need to be fibreglassed together upside down, then the whole assembly lifted onto a trolley up the right way.. Total weight is going to be around 180Kg..

 

Barry O Said

"The Chieftain TN12 gearbox was interesting. From a standing start a Chieftain (always underpowered) could out accelerate a Challenger. Challenger 1 has a TN37 David Brown box..it is semi automatic as is the TN54 fitted in Challenger 2. Basic driving is ..start engine , select forward, put foot hard down on accelerator and leave it there!"

 

and leave huge clouds of black smoke behind...

 

 

 

 

And I leave you with this thought on events ..

 

“... every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.”

George Orwell, 1984.

 

 

 

 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

It’s a dull start to the day and we’ve had some overnight rain, but it’s not raining now so I’ll crack on with the bench. Before I star5 it though I’m going to set up my 2 portable workbenches in the garden and stand the bench on them, that way I won’t need to kneel on wet ground and can do the painting stood up, which should help my back. Although lifting the benchnonto the workbenches, my back might not be too pleased. 

 

Stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the day, back later 

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

It was overcast earlier at the bin bag hour but is pouring now. I have had porridge for breakfast ready for the big trip out. Blood test on Canvey then collect new medication from our local pharmacy. Then no need to go out for anything in the foreseeable future. 
Aditi really liked Bill’s tale of JRT1 v tank. I told her about ChrisF’s plans for Nice and Monaco. We have only had daytrips to Nice, Antibes and Monaco but Aditi quite liked the idea of living in Nice. Just an idea of course not reality and Southend is not that different!

My nephew will be moving soon to take up employment in Switzerland. This is a proper job not an internship. We had a nice video call with him. He currently lives in Germany and it was interesting to hear about how the end of lockdown was progressing. 
Tony
 

[bbishop]

Continuing with the Belgian theme, the two most famous Belgians were Poirot and Tintin.  Of course, in our hobby we know of Alfred Belpaire and Egide Walschaerts.  Thereafter I'm aware of Mondrian and Cesar Franck, but that's all! 

Bill

[bbishop]

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 

What a complete A**e.  Jack Russell‘s are utterly wonderful dogs (although, at my age, they are perhaps too energetic for this old codger) and I am surprised at your Jack Russell‘s restraint, you must have trained him well.  Given half the chance, your Jack Russell would’ve done more than a little bit of ankle annoying (and more power to him, say I!).

iD

 

But a child could try to pull his ears off or a cat bop him across the nose and all they would get in return was a slobby lick across the face.  Bill

[grandadbob]

Bill, you're forgetting that other well known Belgian that I'm sure HH knows well..... Monsieur Bun.

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Woke up this morning all blocked up with hay fever. OK now though as its now pouring with rain. I do like some Belgian beers but to get the best ones you have to go to Belgium, my favourite is Chimay blonde, they export other varieties of Chimay but not that particular one. That of course is a 'Trappist' brew, the rocket fuel that Flavio mentioned, up to 15% AVB in some cases. There was nothing wrong with Rolls-Royce engines built by Austin as Rolls-Royce made sure that QC was in place. That is why Henry Ford turned down the chance to build Merlins and they were built by Packard instead. After all RR made diesel engines used in trucks and buses and even diesel shunters, though they inherited those when they took over Sentinel.

5 hours ago, TheQ said:

Didn't know,  but looking it up there was no record of a RR engine in the Westminster,  the BMC "C series" of straight six engines was used. 

Good old badge engineering+, it was the Vanden Plas Princess 4-litre R which was a tarted up Westminster with a change of engine.

15 minutes ago, bbishop said:

Continuing with the Belgian theme, the two most famous Belgians were Poirot and Tintin.  Of course, in our hobby we know of Alfred Belpaire and Egide Walschaerts.  Thereafter I'm aware of Mondrian and Cesar Franck, but that's all! 

Bill

 Georges Simenon?

EDIT Nearly forgot, at the bottom of my garden I have a composter about four feet high. When the lawn was cut last week it was filled with grass cuttings to the brim. I went to check on it yesterday afternoon and on top of the cuttings slow worms had made a nest and it was full of little slow worms so I replaced the lid and left them undisturbed.

Edited June 10, 2020 by PhilJ W

[Happy Hippo]

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

 

A Rolls-Royce engine built by Austin? Isn’t that a bit like Australian or Japanese beer being brewed in the UK under license? Inasmuch as it may look the same, it may come in the same packaging but it certainly doesn’t taste (or perform) the same.
 

 

The chap that used to live next door to my parents had been a naval air mechanic.  He had two complete Merlin engine tool kits.  One for the genuine RR version, and the other for a Packard Merlin.  Supposedly the same engine except the Packard variant had been made to use bolts nuts and screws of American nomenclature. 

[jamie92208]

Pool framing noe semi complete, now need to sweep and FOD the concrete raft before spreading the groundsheet. Muggacoffee time now.  Decorators in the hall, builders on the roof and clearing up.  Time for peace and quiet in the shed this afternoon possibly.

 

I have enjoyed the discussions about the origins of Belgium very much. I now sort of understand why their monarch is known as the King if The Belgians.  When I went over on a trainspotting trip in 1990 a Belgian Police Sgt I talked to explained the etiquette of language. Start in French or Dutch, if you can, depending on which area you are in. Then try English. Then as a last resort try French in Flanders or Dutch in Wollonia.  As I managed to get cab rides in both parts of the country I must have done something right.

 

As to the Packard Merlins, a guy I knew who flew Spits in Burma, said that he preferred the Packard engined ones.

 

Jamie

Edited June 10, 2020 by jamie92208

[Happy Hippo]

44 minutes ago, bbishop said:

Continuing with the Belgian theme, the two most famous Belgians were Poirot and Tintin.  Of course, in our hobby we know of Alfred Belpaire and Egide Walschaerts.  Thereafter I'm aware of Mondrian and Cesar Franck, but that's all! 

Bill

Remy Van Lierde DFC (+ 2 Bars)

 

Not forgetting the  two Belgian weight lifters.................

 

Hertz Van Rental and Truck Van Hire.

[PhilJ W]

This from Farcebook.

[Happy Hippo]

5 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

As to the Packard Merlins, a guy I knew who flew Spits in Burma, said that he preferred the Packard engined ones.

If you read LTC Rolt's autobiography, you will find  him less than complimentary about the Merlin engine production line and the quality of the finished product.

 

However, in defence of RR, they were banging these engines out in their thousands, and they were not being built for longevity.

Edited June 10, 2020 by Happy Hippo

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

One interesting fact about Belgium is that back in the 1990s in SNCB HQ staff restaurant in Brussel, there are scale instructional models of various valve gears including, obviously the one devised by M.Walschaerts.  Amusingly nobody I knew in SNCB could tell me which one it was so I had to tell them.  So there it would seem is one Belgian who isn't particularly known or recognised in his own country.  There was also a model of Mr Stephenson's valvegear as well. 

 

The weather is forecast to be heading towards heavy rain later today which is just as well because some of the water butts (we have five) are empty and free replenishment would be most welcome, as would a good natural soaking of the veg patch. Little else of note at present.  More runner beans have been sown by the gardens dept and a single bean from earlier planting has been picked. The binmen have also been.  No major for the rest of the day.

 

Have a good day one and all and stay safe.

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

Pool framing noe semi complete, now need to sweep and FOD the concrete raft before spreading the groundsheet.

 

Are you going to install some form of rubberised matting between the pool base and the concrete pad?  I was thinking of the stuff the use for the safety areas in a children's playground.

1 hour ago, jamie92208 said:

As to the Packard Merlins, a guy I knew who flew Spits in Burma, said that he preferred the Packard engined ones.

Not the most common example of Spitfire, as I believe the fitting of the Packard engine was restricted to late Mk IX and exclusively in the Mk XVI (which was a MK IX with a bubble canopy).

 

As far as the US market was concerned the Merlin's claim to fame was replacing the Allison engine in the P51 Mustang  and transforming it's performance at high altitude.

[Northroader]

4 hours ago, bbishop said:

Continuing with the Belgian theme, the two most famous Belgians were Poirot and Tintin.  Of course, in our hobby we know of Alfred Belpaire and Egide Walschaerts.  Thereafter I'm aware of Mondrian and Cesar Franck, but that's all! 

Bill

 

Paul Delvaux is worth a shout.

[Gwiwer]

14 hours ago, AndyID said:

a manual transmission is always referred as "a stick".

 

Strictly speaking you only need a clutch to get a vehicle moving from a standstill. I'm not sure if anyone has ever made such a thing (probably someone has) but it wouldn't be too difficult to give a driver a "bung it in gear now" indicator.

Afternoon all.  A flying visit as much has to be done away from the computer.  Not all of it altogether a breeze either since I am in the position of arranging official representation (and with myself probably the official representative) at the commemoration of the life of a long-serving volunteer.  As things are we cannot attend the funeral itself.  

 

"Stick shift" is an Americanism to my mind.  "Manual (transmission)" is the British term.  Cars have "gear levers" here though increasingly I hear "stick" used for the automatic transmission selector.  I am more than capable of driving without use of the clutch but prefer to make use of it just because it's there.  I was taught crash-box and I drove crash-box buses where if you made a noise changing gear you received a cheer from your passengers.  And the conductor who was due a muggertee at your expense if you grated the gears.  I once drove a bus all the way from Penzance to St. Ives without making use of the clutch once.  Road and engine speeds are not that hard to master; learning the change-up and change-down speeds takes a little more skill and practice.  

 

I'll try to read the rest of the past 48-hours worth as I get a chance.  Suffice to say today has been somewhat busier at the House of Fun which we put down to those who had sampled cycling returning to the train in wet weather.  Still only at about 15% of normal traffic levels but that's up from 5 - 10% last month.  

 

Best wishes to all.  

[Tony_S]

5 minutes ago, Northroader said:

 

Paul Delvaux is worth a shout.

Georges Simenon, Plastic Bertrand and the Smurfs. Aditi would always include Mercator as well. 

[Tony_S]

14 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

I hear "stick" used for the automatic transmission selector.

Pop up knob in my car...