difflock

You worked with Prince Andrew?, I am impressed!

Saved the anguish of reading it that did, thanks Matty.

Thank you Doug, But NO, I am not well occupied, though with an unfinished house, oodles of woodwork to do, an unused sawmill(or 2) tractors needing attention, 4 "G" Wagens needing work, trees to fell, fences to fix, a garden to sort, etc etc etc. Plenty I could/should be doing. But I appreciate your supportive words. P.S I find I used to need to start something mindless, pressure washing, clearing round volunteer Oak and Beech up the Moss, for instance. But recently I cannot even summon the interest for that. Felling a lot better this evening, perhaps as a result of making my post this morning? Cheers all. Marcus

Thank you Doug, But NO, I am not well occupied, though with an unfinished house, oodles of woodwork to do, an unused sawmill(or 2) tractors needing attention, 4 "G" Wagens needing work, trees to fell, fences to fix, a garden to sort, etc etc etc. Plenty I could/should be doing. But I appreciate your supportive words. P.S I find I used to need to start something mindless, pressure washing, clearing round volunteer Oak and Beech up the Moss, for instance. But recently I cannot even summon the interest for that. Felling a lot better this evening, perhaps as a result of making my post this morning? Cheers all. Marcus EDIT This evening I pumped the tyres on a bike of the sons that has been parked up, quite unused this 15 years, and for the first time in 20 years went for a cycle, 13.5 miles later my arse is numb and my wrists are proper aching. Lord God but some of the rural roads are shocking roughly surfaced. So I can now cycle instead of driving to the distillery the couple of days a week I work. But not tomorrow morning! Ouch!

I am just turned 63 and it is about time I revisited this topic. "Normally" I came out of my extended period of hibernation some random Spring morning, literally "BAM" I wake up ready to take on the World and its many challenges afresh. Which state of mind could last for as much as 3 months, until the mental mainspring unwound for another season. The positivity would have lasted longer when younger, but as I got older . . . not so much. I had learned to accept this. But, this past 3 or 4 years I no longer get that "BAM" in the Spring. I see that my depressive and dysfunctional state is being really hard on my long-suffering first-and-only wife. I have spoken to the MH Nurse and am seeing her again next week, but not sure that she can really fix anything. I admit to being really tempted by the magic mushrooms/psycobabin research? Any suggestions? Marcus P.S. Regarding the illogically of depression, we are financially secure, no debts, both retired so no employment worries, and in a very sound 40+ year old relationship, so WTF have I got to be depressed about? Answers on a postcard please.

We were at a garden party today, and some bloke was recalling being pissed off at paying 11p/l for kero, when a neighbour had filled a shed full of IBU's at 9p/l! Bastards!

To revisit this post. The cousin is looking to build a garden room, and since he does steel fabrication, we were in the notion of a galvanised steel frame, with insulation and ply sheeted internally, and I offered to cut weatherboarding for the outside. I have a notion that I read somewhere that it did not really matter, or rather did not matter as much when conifer were felled? Is this correct?

Horrific as the Texas School shootings were, I can hardly believe that the police waited for 40 minutes for SWAT to arrive, FFS! Especially as this was actually contrary to their own Departments official policy, put into place after a previous school shooting. FFS!

Embrace the spillage! No fire or stove can ever be ash/embers/dust/spillage free. The box the sawdust was/is in catches most of it, and the dustpan gets most of the rest. mth

I am hoping to see some young ones, if not this year perhaps next year. The Moorhen appear to be well settled in and virtually ignore our presnce. Perhaps I will start feeding them.

I will heed Squaredy's advice and leave it be. Character it is Dan! Cheers. Msrcus

This hatstand was near "in bits" so I deconstructed it to refurbish it for the daughter. Except one of the 1.8m long by 30mm square corner pieces is very clearly bowed. Is there any reason to be leery of steaming very old oak? Does it need longer! I have seen suggestions to use a wall paper steamer to provide the steam, but what other "handy" ways are there, since I don't got a wallpaper steamer. Cheers, Marcus

We appear to have a couple of new residents in the pond. They also appear to like the present "weather for ducks!" we are experiencing. Image taken from inside the garden Room.

No fuss, no mystery, as long as the stove is hot and there are still some reasonable chunks of embers left. Zero draft, and will burn out entirely if left. Also good if I really wanted to keep the fire in overnight, acts just like wetted slack on an open coal fire. I only burn the sawdust in the autumn and spring when the heat requirements are minimal. 2 nd image only a minute, perhaps two? after adding the sawdust and closing the door.

Thanks guys. I can only relate what I was told, and even Allan admitted that it was head scratching perplexing. I must however think to ask is there a difference in the dispensing nozzle. Like, could be the clear nozzle is longer, or cuts out sooner. So there is simply less diesel in the tank? Marcus

Per the cousin, the factory where he works(this 40+ years) runs a fleet of forklifts, mostly all Toyota on propane, but the 3 outside trucks were diesels, running on red, since whenever, they dutifully switched to clear and the 2 fills a week became insufficient, they were/are requiring a 3rd fill of clear(not a full fill, only a top-up) they then switched back to red, and went back to 2 fills "just like that". Theft was obviously suspected, but a high quality and well monitered CCTV system everywhere, and particularily at the diesel fill station. And the work load has not changed, nor the forklift drivers. They also run their own lorries so are used to monitering diesel consumption. Allan admits to being perplexed because it does not make sense. Thoughts? Marcus

Their declared inability to feed their children during the school hols is a rather larger giveaway in respect of their abysmal parenting capabilities.. However I strongly feel every child should be entitled to free school meals, regardless of income or benefits. So no "markers" for those on benefits, and better economies of scale in the catering. But only during term-time.

Btw. I saw, somewhere today, that there is now a glut of natural gas in the UK, and that wholesale prices are back to pre-cris levels!

Lifted from a thread on the AARSE site Pick the cat up and cradle in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth pop pill into it, allow cat to close mouth and swallow. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind the sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process. Retrieve cat from bedroom and throw soggy pill away. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call partner in from garden. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get partner to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from the foil wrap. Make note to buy a new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered 'Dolton' figurines from hearth and set to one side for gluing later. Wrap cat in large towel and get partner to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force cat's mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw. Check label to make sure pills not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply plaster to partners forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap. Retrieve cat from neighbours shed and get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon and flick pill down throat with elastic band. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus jab. Throw t-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom. Ring fire brigade to retrieve cat from tree across the road and apologise to neighbour who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid the cat. Take last pill from foil wrap. Tie cats front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed and pry cat's mouth open with a small spanner. Push pill into mouth followed by a large piece of fillet steak. Hold head vertically and pour a pint of water down throat to wash down pill. Get partner to drive you to the Emergency Room and sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearms and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call at furniture shop on way home to order new table. Arrange for RSPCA to collect cat. Ring local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters. Soldiers have not changed.

I still imagine a light coloured native wood(like Ash?) suitably laminated and engineered would have been a more appropiate choice, and guessing as stiff and yet as light. Or even carbon fibre? The "contemporaneous with the age of the timber" comment, to me, does not sit well with the very clearly modern design of the support structure, for this an elegant design in stainless steel or alumininium would have looked better. Probably the result of design by committee. Marcus

Tell me thats not a metal frame it sits on? Like my eyes tell me it is? Marcus. P.S. I wholly applaud this use of this wonderful tree btw.

Easy, should be in the Ivy thread, but which one?

Right outside the local PS. I was voting. So deer activity would be unlikely.

Judging by the massive protective tree guard.

What mortar mix do you use Andy? since I always fancied such an oven. I got a pallet of old red brick set aside to use for such a project. Hmmm? Any way to incorporate a barbecue grill in such a construction?