Early Risers.

[Jock67B]

Well, Lifeboatman will be pleased to hear that there is no driveway to the garage, it was built for the purpose of storing railways and motorcycles from the outset! As this is our last house it's not an issue for selling, although the access to make a driveway to it is there, provided you fill in the wildlife pond!

 

As for height, well it's already almost four foot six above datum so that motorbikes can squeeze underneath, and much higher would make it difficult to work on, especially as I do have some minor mobility restrictions after my hip surgery. Trouble is the space meant for the bikes underneath has become filled with live steamers in their carrying boxes, G scale stock, boxes of OO stock for my next layout, a chop saw, band saw...etc etc. I really need a BIG tidy out!

 

The garage is 16 feet-ish square so not small, with only a single up and over but the space where a second one would be is taken up by the workbench, compressor, pillar drill, tool cabinet.....you get the picture! It is also embarrassingly untidy, after more than a year of me not really doing much in there (see hip above). A spring plan is to do a major clear out before doing any more on the layout.

Neil,

Funny how the more I tidy mine, the more it seems to fill up! ( E.G. The recently failed washing machine and fridge are now stored awaiting a full load to the scrap man !)

Regards,

Jock67B.

PS I thought that car manufacturers galvanised the bodies to suit modellers!

Edited May 6, 2014 by Jock67B

[The Lurker]

Went to Hall Place yesterday (between Crayford and Bexley) and had a reminder of just how wet the winter was; there is an old flood channel mid way through the grounds that is now permanent running water and one of the ornamental sunken gardens is now a roped off lake - the ducklings looked like they were loving it.

[New Haven Neil]

My garden agrees with you.......    Living on an alluvial plain a few feet above sea level but three miles from it means wellies are still needed on one side of the garden!

[Coombe Barton]

Back from successful phone hunt - now off to day 2 of the caravan repair hunt

[DonBradley]

Hello, hello, and hello again.

The computer has been partially revived but still has undiagnosed problems.

I tried to post three times yesterday without success but eventually managed to post in "Word game"

A great deal of time in between has been filled with catching up with some, though not all, missed posts in the eleven days since "CRASH".

I did not post my absence, Tim logged in on my login to advise you about my absence. On returning yesterday I was at first puzzled by DD's comment until I worked out he meant "better than being dead!" Tim has strict instructions to advise you of that occurrence.

WINTER has suddenly put in an appearance. Not rain, clear blue skies (actually mostly blue with some high level white stuff) but BL00DY COLD, by our standards, like 10C at get up time. I'm currently dressed in five layers.

I hope to resume regular appearances but may disappear if I find someone to really fix the box.

Here goes hoping to post!

[Ian Abel]

Phew...lots to read through and definately NOT enough time to respond/reply successfully to it all, so congratulations/commiserations/sympathy/well done etc., for all those issues I've read.

 

We made it back from the Chicago trek and it was deemed a success by all parties - turns out the 99 yr. old is far less "one foot in the grave" than folks had thought/feared so the two sisters may well get at least one more chance to get together.

 

For me, it was VERY TIRING though and I'm glad I'm back working this morning - having driven more than 1300 miles in those 4 days, of which two were 8hrs. apiece in the car when you count stops to eat/pee etc! <arrghhh!!>

Even the side-trip to Michigan was more than 6 hours in the car - I now know why Mrs cousin says it's a 6+ hour trip - he's a nearly 70 yr. old throwback to yesteryear, drives a 80s-90s era Cadillac Fleetwood (this is a car the size of a decent boat!!) and since it uses so much gas he drives at 50-65 MAXIMUM even on freeways with a 70 limit, but prefers to take non-freeway roads where we often went for long periods at 25-30 on 55mph roads (give me STRENGTH!). It took us nearly FOUR F!@#$ING hours to drive 89 miles back when we followed him on the return! This included a variety of stops for gas (he didn't really NEED any, but he spotted a place where it was "quite a bit cheaper than normal"), to ponder antique (junk) shops, and other roadside detrius, oh and the occasional scenic overlook (at least THAT was pleasant)! He's a nice enough person but an anachronism and should have been born/alive in the 20s-30s more suitably!

 

11 and partly sunny here heading for 18 - spring has finally arrived in Minnesota! Supposed to be 25+ and thunderstorms with upto 2 inches of rain Thursday...

 

Yawning and working, have a good day, HUMP day is tomorrow already

[AndyB]

My garden agrees with you.......    Living on an alluvial plain a few feet above sea level but three miles from it means wellies are still needed on one side of the garden!

Ahhhh, Neil. Based on your earlier garage description i was going to put an offer in. I'm not so sure now! 

 

Lovely and sunny here and have started to water the garden - albeit the newly planted lawn....before anyone lynches me. 

[southern42]

Morning all from a boring and damp borough. Dull, overcast, and drizzle. Managed to actually get around 25' of track painted and weathered yesterday. Wasn't in the mood to wield the branding soldering iron so the wiring can wait for another day. Most of the day was spent playing Sherpa in the garden again. I ache all over. I really dislike these Tuesdays that have the same feeling as a Monday. Blech!

 

The offspring starts his 5 day weeks and SWMBO is back to work, leaving me alone apart from the 4 psychotic cats. They will settle down and sleep most of the day so in about an hour I shall have blessed peace and quiet for several hour.

 

Apart from that all is quiet.

 

Dead jealous of those holiday snaps on the Ffestiniog. Keep meaning to go back there but haven't managed it for almost 7 years now.

 

Have a great day everyone.

 

edit: to correct crap grammer or grammar or granny, whatever.

 

We've "got into" the Ffestiniog since the Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) appeared in Caernarfon.  Our first trip then was when it reached Rhyd Ddu, followed by trips to Beddgelert - usually for lunch before the trip back.  When the WHR arrived at Porthmadog we were on one of the first trips which ran from Porthmadog to Pont Croesor.  Finally we did the return trip from Caernarfon to Porthmadog.

 

As yet, it doesn't seem possible to get from Caernarfon - Blaenau Ffestiniog and back in one day, so our next venture is to do the round trip this way:

Caernarfon - Porthmadog (WHR)

Porthmadog - Blaenau Ffestiniog (Ffestiniog Railway)

Blaenau Ffestiniog - Llandudno Junction (Conwy Valley Line via Betws-y-Coed)

Llandudno Junction - Caernarfon (Bus).

 

http://www.festrail.co.uk/route.htm

 

There and back in a day?  The Blaenau - Porthmadog 1505-1615 "misses" the last Porthmadog - Caernarfon 1600-1810 train by 15 minutes (Ff blue + WHR yellow timetable).  Now, if that could be sorted it'll be sunshine all the way. 

 

So, if you really want to come and see the Ffestiniog - it's a great time to do it.  With the new platform extension at Porthmadog, the WHR train doesn't have to mess around reversing into the station anymore and you get to see both trains in the station at the same time.  There's food and drink at Porthmadog and Tan-y-Bwlch stations and light refreshments on the train.

 

Lovely blue sky and sunshine this morning so managed to un-pot the straggly lavender and replant a few heads in the hope they will regrow.  I managed it once.... There were also some straggly bulby things in there so rescued and replanted those.  I live in hope.

 

So on that happy note I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

 

Polly

[Donw]

My garden agrees with you.......    Living on an alluvial plain a few feet above sea level but three miles from it means wellies are still needed on one side of the garden!

Ditto most of our garden is below the level of the stream which runs across the top  about 3 or 4 ft above the house level. Being clay  it is a bit mucky

Don

[NGT6 1315]

Afternoon all. Came away from today's lesson with mixed feelings, mainly due to a vocab section having taken far longer than expected and leading me to the conclusion that I should go about it differently next time. Oh well, such is teaching, I suppose...

[Donw]

Back sometime around 1980 we took a round trip (sold as one ticket) from Shrewsbury up to Chester then along to Llandudno Jcn up to Blaneau down the Ffestiniog, walk up Porthmadoc to the Cambrian station and get the train back to Shrewsbury via Mach. Took about twelve hoours I seem to remember it was £10 each. Last time we travelled on the Ffestiniog we were camped the other side of the river from the spiral. Walked along to Maentwrog and up through the woods to Tan y Bwlch and could hear the train somewhere down the line. We were surprised to get to Tan y Bwlch before the train but aparently there was some problem.  So ordered lunch at the station. After a bit Little Wonder (if my memory is right) came up minus the train to get water then back down to pick up the train which arrived just after we had finished lunch so got onto a now very crowded train for Blaneau. It seems Little Wonder was losing water and couldn't make enough steam. It was a grand stay walking the hills around with the trains on the Ffestiniog in the background and walking up a gorge with waterfalls to an aboandoned viaduct over the top fall.

Don

[Barry O]

new carpet fitted, first coat of emulsion on walls... furniture moved ... quick shower then I can cook tea then off to do a bit of engineering mentoring.... busy lark this being semi retired!

[Pete 75C]

Well, Lifeboatman will be pleased to hear that there is no driveway to the garage, it was built for the purpose of storing railways and motorcycles from the outset!  As this is our last house it's not an issue for selling, although the access to make a driveway to it is there, provided you fill in the wildlife pond!

 

My kind of garage! I have never felt the need to provide a house for any car I've owned, but my bikes have always had to have a roof. One of them even lived in the kitchen for 6 months because I mistakenly thought it was the sexiest thing ever to roll on wheels (I was young and stupid and eventually went off it after the eleventh breakdown).

[AndyB]

Today's life lesson: People only seem to value that which they pay for; free help seems to be abused. 

Technically I already knew this but sometimes you give folk a chance.... 

I'm dreaming of retirement!

Edited May 6, 2014 by AndyB

[Pete 75C]

Today's life lesson: People only seem to value that which they pay for; free help seems to be abused. 

Technically I already knew this but sometimes you give folk a chance.... 

I'm dreaming of retirement!

 

Two of the things I value most cost me nothing. Health and family. Actually, hang on... my kids have cost me thousands!!! They need to start paying me back!

[New Haven Neil]

Ahhhh, Neil. Based on your earlier garage description i was going to put an offer in. I'm not so sure now! 

 

Lovely and sunny here and have started to water the garden - albeit the newly planted lawn....before anyone lynches me. 

 

We have a little well in front of the garage with a float pump in it.....and a little generator for emergencies!  Experience taught us that one before the garage was completed, when the concrete base disappeared under several inches of water.  Unfortunately under about 18 inches of soil we have solid clay.  The old orchard over our back is a couple of feet lower but the water doesn't seem to drain into it easily.  The sod bank between our properties must be solid clay too!

[Tony_S]

 

I'm dreaming of retirement!

Aditi set off for work this morning feeling positive but by this evening she was wondering if it is worth it. It was suggested that she should stop doing her present job and just go and "do some teaching". This wasn't from her line manager just another head of a department who raised it with her in a public place who said he had been discussing it with her manager's boss. She likes teaching but would then be in a position being managed by the people she has been supporting and advising for years which could be problematic. I think she should take up the full time gardening post available here!

[Donw]

new carpet fitted, first coat of emulsion on walls... furniture moved ... quick shower then I can cook tea then off to do a bit of engineering mentoring.... busy lark this being semi retired!

Life often seems even busier when you are fully retired.

Don

[The Stationmaster]

Aditi set off for work this morning feeling positive but by this evening she was wondering if it is worth it. It was suggested that she should stop doing her present job and just go and "do some teaching". This wasn't from her line manager just another head of a department who raised it with her in a public place who said he had been discussing it with her manager's boss. She likes teaching but would then be in a position being managed by the people she has been supporting and advising for years which could be problematic. I think she should take up the full time gardening post available here!

With 'encouragement' like that from her colleagues etc my advice to her would be to stick a couple of fingers up to them and tell them that she will be retiring unless of course they are thinking about cutting out her post (why else stop doing her present job?) in which case she is entitled to full redundancy pay.  

 

What has been said to her coming from a senior manager could even be construed as grounds for making a claim for Constructive Dismissal and I would seriously suggest that she keeps contemporaneous notes, as full as possible and timed and dated as well as noting who etc, of all such 'talks and 'comments/suggestions' from now on including today's conversation.  I realise that sounds very nasty but equally their action and such 'little talks' sound to me as if they have possible overtnes of something else and can come over very helpfully in a tribunal hearing.

[AndyB]

We have a little well in front of the garage with a float pump in it.....and a little generator for emergencies!  Experience taught us that one before the garage was completed, when the concrete base disappeared under several inches of water.  Unfortunately under about 18 inches of soil we have solid clay.  The old orchard over our back is a couple of feet lower but the water doesn't seem to drain into it easily.  The sod bank between our properties must be solid clay too!

 

A friend of mine lives on sloping ground, so there's a lot of water run off that goes close to their home. When they bought the property they took the precaution of building a berm to protect the house. They also had some kind of reservoir for water run off and a generator to pump it out. This worked fine until Christmas eve when there was a combination of heavy rain and a 3 day power cut, and they happened to be away for Christmas. I think you can guess what's coming. Power to the generator was cut off, the reservoir overflowed and the house was flooded. They came home and spent Christmas moving furniture upstairs.

Having dried the place out and redecorated they then suffered a second inundation when there was a flash storm and the amount of rain that came down onto the roof overwhelmed it's ability to run off (it was an oast house with plenty of places for the water to accumulate). They are now having to dry and redecorate a second time in 3 months and have had to move out. Lesson: use a diesel generator?

[Donw]

A friend of mine lives on sloping ground, so there's a lot of water run off that goes close to their home. When they bought the property they took the precaution of building a berm to protect the house. They also had some kind of reservoir for water run off and a generator to pump it out. This worked fine until Christmas eve when there was a combination of heavy rain and a 3 day power cut, and they happened to be away for Christmas. I think you can guess what's coming. Power to the generator was cut off, the reservoir overflowed and the house was flooded. They came home and spent Christmas moving furniture upstairs.

Having dried the place out and redecorated they then suffered a second inundation when there was a flash storm and the amount of rain that came down onto the roof overwhelmed it's ability to run off (it was an oast house with plenty of places for the water to accumulate). They are now having to dry and redecorate a second time in 3 months and have had to move out. Lesson: use a diesel generator?

I presume you meant an electric pump which then failed due to the power cut. Ideally a self starting diesel generator with a battery would then take over if the power outage lasted say more than 15mins. Still not ideal as a pump inlet can get blocked. I have taken the precaution of ensuring that water is free to run either side of the house. The patio slopes away from the house to a gully which carries it to the lowest side. If it does get to the house and through the airbricks it should go under the floor and out the airbricks the other side. However I have no plans to test that.

Don

[Tony_S]

I think Dd has had experience of water moving in mysterious ways even though he is I believe half way up a mountain.

[New Haven Neil]

The garage in question!

 

No cars down this path!

 

In use.

[AndyB]

I presume you meant an electric pump which then failed due to the power cut. Ideally a self starting diesel generator with a battery would then take over if the power outage lasted say more than 15mins. Still not ideal as a pump inlet can get blocked. I have taken the precaution of ensuring that water is free to run either side of the house. The patio slopes away from the house to a gully which carries it to the lowest side. If it does get to the house and through the airbricks it should go under the floor and out the airbricks the other side. However I have no plans to test that.

Don

Sorry, Don. Yes, should have made it clearer that it was an electric pump.

One problem they've now found is that there is nowhere for them to pump the water to.  

Downhill is on to a lane and the council has objected to them pumping it out on to the public highway - even though when it rains the lane turns into a river. 

Andy

[The Stationmaster]

Application of 'red' paint to a dining room wall is underway as I write this!