Apparently this was a lazy day too

Choosing to live in a three hundred year old cottage means that there is always something to do.  This can range from a half a day* spent rotorvating the vegetable patch to weeks of work sawing, splitting and stacking logs. With this in mind, I am coming to the conclusion that I really do need to make sure that I build some leisure time in to my week.

I have realised that I am constantly exposed to jobs that need to be done, and I have a tendency to get on with them, rather than, occasionally, stepping away and doing something else.  This became apparent this weekend. We normally take it easy over the weekend, but this one seemed as busy as the week that preceded it.

This morning started with a trip to Screwfix to pick up a bag of Postfix and a length of drainage pipe.  These are needed for a couple of jobs that have come to light over the past few days.**

Once we were home I spent a few minutes admiring  'Chelle's new car, and catching up one her news, before retiring to the workshop. There, I spent a happy hour planing the grime from the hardwood post, that I unearthed in the carport yesterday.  At the completion of my efforts, it looked rather good, and will certainly compliment our new gates, once installed.

The workshop was vacuumed free of sawdust, before I headed out to the carport and quickly daubed a coat of Danish Oil on the post. All I need now is get it concreted in to the ground, a cabin hook screwed to it, and the gate won't swing shut.

The afternoon started with a brief spell of tidying in the carport. On reflection, I felt that I actually put more things in there than I actually managed to throw out.  I am well aware that I need to have a proper clear out, as space is desperately needed for a huge pile of ash logs.

I then grabbed a spade, broom and shovel and continued grubbing out the grass and weeds from the brick edging in front of the garage.  It was bloody hard work, but I am now able to sweep up the sawdust that had become lodged between the many tufts of grass.

Once I had recovered from the exertions of weeding, I broke out the mower and gave the front lawn a long-overdue cut.

That was it for the day. We were both exhausted, but 30% had sagely suggested that this evening's dinner was courtesy of China Twon.

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* In my working life as an IT Technical Solutions Architect, I quickly learnt that even a "five minute job" will take half a day, by the time detailed design, scheduling, reporting, time recording etc, etc was accounted for!

** The Postfix is for the new post that is needed to hold the gate open. Have a look at yesterday's Journal entry, if you are remotely interested.  The length of drainage pipe is needed to replace a length of damaged drain, just outside the gateway.

A day off

It is the first Saturday of June, and, consequently, the day of Cotswold Shooting Ground's monthly shoot.  Bubbles had pinged me earlier in the week, to remind me, so I ordered some cartridges and put it in my diary.  

I must admit that I have become less keen on going clay shooting in recent months. I still enjoy the challenge, but the group dynamic has changed.  Little Miss Sunshine* is now a regular attendee, along with a variety of randoms. The larger group has a different vibe, and seems to lack the intimacy and leg-pulling that I enjoyed, along with the challenge of actually hitting a few clays.**

I've previously mentioned that our relationship with Bubbles and Bobbyn is nowhere near as close as it was, and that seemed apparent this afternoon.  It is not the easiest thing to maintain a conversation when you're clay shooting.  It is noisy, you're wearing ear defenders, and your attention is wholly focussed on hitting clays at regular intervals.  However, it is usually possible to have a chat between stands and find out the latest news.

During our round, I attempted to chat with B, B & B,*** and they happily responded to my conversational gambits, but I got nothing in return.  None of them enquired about what I had been up to, since I last saw them.**** I may be being over sensitive, but I came away with a definite sense that we are drifting further apart. 

The fishing season resumes in a couple of weeks, so let's see if an evening angling on the Avon has a different vibe.

So, that was my afternoon shooting, but I did achieve a few other things too.

In the morning 30% and I hitched the trailer to the car and headed down in to the village to collect a pallet that was going spare.

I also need to be able to fasten the right hand gate in its open position, so it isn't able swing in to the car, or motorcycle, when driving through the entrance.  The simplest solution is to install a short post at the edge of the drive, and use a hook and eye to hold the gate open. I had a wander around the carport and came across a 4' long post that was about 3" square.  I picked it up and it was very heavy. It was far too dense to be softwood, so was likely to be a nice hardwood post ... perfect for my needs.  I took it in to the workshop and cut a chamfer on the top, to shed the rain.  As the freshly sawn wood was exposed, I realised that I had found a lovely post. It is deep red and fine grained, and most likely an exotic hardwood.  It'll look superb, once it is cleaned up, planed and installed.

The only other news for today was that it was bloody chilly, and we actually lit the log burner for a few hours this evening.

Here endeth Saturday's Journal entry.

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* Bobbyn, Bubbles wife. Please note that her alias is liberally coated with sticky sarcasm 

** I actually shot reasonably well, for me, and finished on a score of 48/80 (60%)

*** Bubbles, Bobbyn and Ben

**** Back at the beginning of April, as I was unable to attend the May shoot

Sawing, Splitting & Sweeping

Sawing, splitting and sweeping neatly, and alliteratively, sums up my Friday endeavours.

In the morning I broke out the chainsaw and cut up logs until the petrol tank ran dry.  My endeavours included the fragmentation of three of the large slices of trunk, and the pile of wood now looks significantly smaller.

I then hauled the log splitter from the carport and spent the next few hours splitting the sections of wood into log burner-sized logs. 30% was a huge help, ferrying them up to the log pile in the orchard.

Once the logs had been split, I grabbed a rake, shovel, broom and barrow and cleared up the sawdust.* This was barrowed up to the orchard and will be used as the brown constituent of 30%'s composting experiment.**

By the end of the day we were both exhausted and did very little. Fortunately 30% had the foresight to prepare a Chilli, earlier in the day. We barely needed to chew!

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* That was produced by todays chainsawing, AND that was exposed by the removal of more wood from in front of the garage.

** One third grass clippings and two thirds sawdust, with a liberal dousing of nettle tea.

Well stacked?

Most of my time today was spent stacking ash logs in Rose Cottage.

There is still an enormous heap of logs, piled high, outside, but I am a little nervous of stacking too many in the log shed.  The reasoning behind this apprehension, is that a pile of logs is nothing like a pile of bricks.  They are not a regular shape, and any log pile will always have an inherent tendency to collapse without warning.

Since, later in the year, I will need to skirt past the stacked ash to collect dry logs, I really don't want to be the victim of a log pile collapse. Being trapped under a ton of logs is not going to be a pleasant experience!

I am therefore erring on the side of caution, and plan to stack the majority of the logs in the carport. As I mentioned last week, "There is no such thing as an empty carport." It is a space waiting to be filled.

In the afternoon I thought I might mow the front lawn, but 30% reminded me that I would first need to deal with the old gates.  These had been abandoned on the lawn, and looked even more pathetic than they did when they were hung across our driveway.

The gates needed to be taken up to the orchard, where they will be cremated on the bonfire.  I decided to strip away as much metalwork as possible, so I picked up my impact wrench and unbolted the hinges, ironwork and other fixings.* I then employed my reciprocating saw, cut them in to manageable chunks, before we hauled them away.

While using the reciprocating saw, I probably gave it too much thought. It is a cheap  middle of Lidl item, and it rarely sees the light of day. When deployed it is a crude tool with no finesse, but its strength is that it will cut through timber and metal, using the same blade. Basically it is a tool for demolition, rather than construction and the user instructions really should state, " that it should be used like it belongs to someone else."

Basically, I abused the damned thing and it performed like a little demon. I may not use it often,** but I'm glad I have it in the workshop.

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* Including the original crudely carved house sign

** Its last outing was when I removed the timber partition from the space that became our potting shed.

New Gates

The big news for today is that Andrew and Mark would be installing the new gates. These, and their posts, have been cluttering up the carport since the New Year, and I seemed to have spent far too much time out there weatherproofing them, in preparation for today.  It will be fantastic to finally see them hanging at the entrance to the house ... and to have some free space in the carport too!

Obviously A&M would be working on the drive, so I would not be sawing or splitting logs today.  The weather wasn't particularly clement either, so I hid in the workshop and installed a new rip fence on the bandsaw.

The original rip fence would not sit square on the cast iron table, and an internet search located an inexpensive upgrade from Axminster tools.  It was priced at £16, which was ridiculously cheap, but received amazing reviews, including one from a chap who had the same model bandsaw as me.

The new fence arrived a couple of weeks ago, and has sat in the workshop collecting dust.  Today I finally had the time to get it fitted. It wasn't a particularly complicated job to install. I needed to cut out three slots in the aluminium extrusion, and then use the original fittings to secure it to the cast iron table.

It is a vast improvement on the original and was dead square, in relation to the table and blade.  I am truly amazed at the quality and value of this saw upgrade .... I can't wait to use it anger!

In the afternoon I headed up to the orchard and started stacking the ash logs in Rose Cottage.  I spent a good couple of hours up there and made a reasonable dent in the huge pile logs.  I now have a neat stack that is about one meter square and is, at least, as tall as I am.  I would guess that I now have more than half a ton of logs stored out of the weather.

I would have continued stacking the logs, but my blood sugar dropped, and I needed to stop, eat and have a recuperative nap.  I was rudely awakened, a good twenty minutes earlier than I would have liked, by 30%. She informed me that Andrew was just about finished and we wandered out to inspect his efforts.

Swanky!

The new gates are a complete transformation, and we are delighted with how good they look.  

The original softwood gates were well past their best before date.  Their posts were no longer upright* and the gates were slowly collapsing.  They looked bloody terrible, with a strip of scruffy chicken wire tacked to the bottom of them, presumably to deter rabbits or terriers from entering?  

The house now looks a little more cared for with its swanky new entrance. I just need to make sure I cut the hedges this Autumn.

My final activity was to head down the lane for this evening's Tai Chi class ... although I pretty sure I'm getting more than enough exercise at the moment.

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* One of them had been attached to the trunk of the ash tree with a steel cable, in an attempt to keep it standing straight ... that didn't work!

A definite change in the weather

The weather has definitely turned, and, with showers forecast, it is difficult to make a decision on how to fill my day.

This morning I decided to haul the log splitter from the carport and make a start, splitting the wood that was sawn on Sunday. I probably managed an hour, maybe a little more, before the rain started. Obviously water and electricity don't mix, so the log splitter was put away, and I looked for something else to occupy my time.

I headed up to Rose Cottage and spent some time re-stacking some logs. Basically I need to make as much space in there as possible, to accommodate the ash logs. The big BUT is that I need to stack the ash in such a way that I can still get access to the dry wood at the back of the shed. My plan is to stack the ash on the right hand side of the log shed, leaving a corridor down the left hand side. When Autumn comes, I should be able to sidle down the corridor, to gain access to the dry logs stored at the back of Rose Cottage.

Today I needed to shift a stack of softwood, that had been left near the front of Rose Cottage, since I left it there last February. These logs have now dried, so they were moved to the back, with the rest of the dry wood. I now have space for some* of the ash.

With space freed up in the log store, I returned to log splitting, and finished working my way through the wood I had sawn up on Sunday.

I then had a massive sleep, and it was two hours before I shifted my arse off the sofa.  When I eventually got my shit together, I headed outside and cleared up the sawdust and chunks of bark and wood from the grassy area in front of the garage doors. 

I'm getting there ... slowly

You can definitely see that some progress has now been made, and there is far less tree out there, than there was.

This evening saw us head in to Redditch to see Jonny Cole at The Palace Theatre.  Jonny is a Black Country comedian, whose set is based around popular songs that have been re-written with comedic Black Country references.  One example is the Bill Withers hit Lovely Day, that has been transformed to become Dudley Day. Another was Bob Marley's No Woman, No Cry, that had become a tale of a departing girlfriend that took the TV remote control with her ... No Women, No Sky.

It was a very funny show and we thoroughly enjoyed it. I would definitely be keen to catch his next tour. Obviously it helped that we don't live a million miles from the Black Country, and are familiar with the accent and colloquialisms. Both 30% and I attended Wolverhampton Polytechnic, so have an appreciation of the culture, geography and Black Country sense of humour.

One chap in the audience was from London. We really hope that he had an interpreter, as I'm not sure that Jonny's comedy would travel particularly well. At this point I do need to stress, that we thought he was brilliant!

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* There is no way all of it will fit in there. I am considering stacking some on pallets and using tarpaulins to keep it dry.  I am also eyeing up the carport as a potential store too.

I would never have guessed!

There has been a change in the weather, and rain was forecast for this morning.

I really didn't fancy using an electric log splitter when there was a good chance of showers. It is bloody heavy and takes a while to lug it back to the shelter of the carport.

Instead, I decided to see if I could get some of the lawns mowed while it was still dry.  To achieve that, I first need to upturn the mower and re-fit the drive belt.  The mower's drive belt seems to slip off the drive pulleys fairly frequently, and I am now an expert in getting it back in working order.  The plastic belt cover has been damaged and grass clippings to accumulate around the belt and pulley.  I am wondering whether this is part of the problem?*

With the mower now fixed,** the rest of the morning was spent trimming the lawns at the back of the house. It now looks much tidier out there, but I now need to get the front sorted too.

A lengthy sleep followed lunch. At present I am completely shattered and could sleep for hours.  30% thinks it is as a result of the log splitting. She may well be right, but I am also wondering whether allergies may be part of the problem too?

If I am honest, I didn't feel any better after a lengthy kip, and it took a while before I felt compos mentis.  In the late afternoon I joined 30% and other member of of the local Women's Institute for a tour of a local factory.

I had been aware of this company in a vague sort of way. I knew that they did something to do with grass seed mixtures, but that was the sum of my knowledge. It was therefore fascinating to see what was happening inside, and around, the converted agricultural buildings. 

Our first stop was their exhibition field, where they had plots of their various grass and wildflower mixtures.  The plots featured a full sized tennis court, cricket wickets and a putting green. There was a mini pitch, complete with goal posts, demonstrating a seed mixture suitable for football and rugby grounds.

The tour then took us in to the factory, where we were shown the seed mixing machinery. They are have forty eight separate seed varieties and are able to produce a variety of mixtures, dependent on what the customer needs.  All of the mixtures have been field tested to ensure optimum performance. 

It was amazing to see one tonne boxes labelled "Wimbledon only," and orders for Premier League grounds would be coming in as soon as the football season ended. Other production lines were filling boxes for DIY store and Garden Centre chains, and we were informed that they will even prepare one-off orders for customers, in quantities as small as one kilogram.

It was very interesting to see a key component of an International Company,*** tucked away, out of sight in a converted farm in an obscure corner of the county.

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* A new cover has now been ordered

** Gaffer tape may have been used to cover the hole in the drive belt cover

*** Originally Danish, but, through acquisitions, now owns seed producers and suppliers around the world.

Experiments

It will come as no surprise that I spent a large chunk of Sunday morning chainsawing sections of branch and trunk in to more manageable, and moveable, pieces. These will be put through the log splitter in the next day or so.

Most of my efforts were focussed on clearing an area up by the gate post. The reason for this focussed effort is that Andrew will be with us later on in the week, to install the new posts and gates.  

The ash tree was growing only a few feet away from one of the gate posts, and, after the crown had been removed, the trunk was felled on to the ground in front of the garage. It was then cut in to eight inch thick slices, and ended up looking like a sliced banana, albeit one that was five feet in diameter.

I needed to make as much space as possible near the gate post, in order that Andrew can replace the current post. I managed to clear the pieces closest to the gate post, and I think I have given Andrew sufficient space to work. I bloody hope so, because the remaining slices of tree trunk are piled one against another, and I would need to move all of them, to make any more space up by the hedge ... that would be days of effort!

After a morning with the chainsaw I lunched and then snoozed, before heading out to check on the bees.

I have decided that there is little hope of getting hives #2 and #3 queen right again, so my inspection concentrated on hives #1, #4, #5 and #6.  I worked my way through the queen-right hives (4, 5 and 6) and all are doing really well. I spotted all three queens, and hives #4 and #6 are already starting to store honey up in their supers. Hive #6 is a couple of weeks behind the other two, but is building up really nicely.

I then took a look at hive #1. I could see several queen cells that had hatched during the course of my inspection, but there was no sign of either queen or brood. I decided to transfer a frame of eggs from hive #4 in to this colony. Hopefully they will use this transplanted frame to raise a new queen.*

After finishing with the bees, I headed in to the potting shed to try another experiment.

Last year I planted parsnips, but did not have great success. Only a few seeds germinated and, more by luck than judgement, I managed to harvest half a dozen roots for our Christmas lunch.  The roots were large and tasty. The problem was that very few actually grew.

This time I have decided to sow the parsnip seeds in cardboard toilet roll tubes. I have placed three seeds in each compost filled tube. These have all been watered and are now sat in the greenhouse. Apparently parsnips can take a month to germinate and also like high temperatures. I am hoping that I will get better germination in the warmth of the greenhouse, and that I will be able to transplant the seedlings to the open soil without damaging the young parsnip roots.

So, it seems that I have initiated a couple of experiments, both of which will take about a month before I know whether I have been successful.

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* There is no difference between a worker egg and a queen egg. The only difference is the shape of cell that the young bee is nurtured in, and the food that is fed to the larva.  It is a common practice to get a queen-less colony to raise a new queen from a frame of eggs. The workers will choose a cell, containing an egg, and they will enlarge the cell to make a queen cell. They will then feed the larva copious amounts of royal jelly and, fingers crossed, a new queen will be produced.

Let's Split

I have a feeling that my Journal entries may become a little repetitive for the next few weeks, as a result of the need to process the felled ash tree. There will be days when I have other things to do, but my focus has to be on sawing, splitting and then stacking the huge pile of wood that is currently heaped in front of the garage.

So, what happened today?

Despite drinking a reasonable quantity of red wine last night, I woke horribly early and could not get back to sleep. I was up and about a little after five o'clock. 

I started the day by clearing away the barbecue, and then, it will come as no surprise, that I spent the day splitting and moving the logs that I sawed up yesterday.

A lengthy snooze was necessary midway through the afternoon to restore energy levels, but other than that my day was timber focussed. 

I haven't cooked on a barbecue in a very long time

Friday started with a Weber cleaning session. It seems that it had been put away with little or no cleaning,* and there was no way I was going to put foodstuffs on the grill without giving it some serious attention beforehand.

I started out with a wire brush, but it had little effect on  the accumulations of grease and soot. I therefore headed to the workshop and fitted a wire brush attachment to my angle grinder. Twenty minutes later I was inspecting a shiny set of grill bars, before replacing them in to the Weber.

The rest of the morning was spent sorting out barbecue essentials including charcoal, a foil drip tray and the charcoal lighting chimney.

We then took an early lunch, before I grabbed the chainsaw and spent an hour cutting some of the larger pieces of ash tree in to more manageable pieces i.e. small enough for me to be able to lift them up on to the bed of the log splitter.**

At the end of the hour of chainsawing I was very surprised at the size of the stack of wood, prepared for splitting. I am going to be very busy tomorrow.

It was now time for me to put my toys away and get myself cleaned up. B&H were joining us for dinner this evening, and I had decided to roast a loin of pork in the barbecue.  

This is not as straightforward as throwing a couple of sausages on the griddle. It involved getting the barbecue up to temperature, adding the marinaded pork loin, and adding a few blocks of soaked apple wood to the coals, to give the pork a fabulous smoky flavour.  After about an hour of cooking, the pork needs to be wrapped in foil, and fresh coals need to be added to the charcoal baskets. The loin is cooked for another hour, and then rested for a few minutes before serving.

The weather had been lovely all day, and we had a leisurely evening sat out in the garden dining on gravlax, with cream cheese on rye bread, followed by smoky, garlicky pork loin with salad and new potatoes. Strawberries and ice cream were offered as desert, but I'm not sure any of us could manage much after the preceding courses.

There was nothing earth shattering to report from this evening, although it seems that I may be teaching B to ride a motorcycle at some point in the coming weeks.

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* Thanks TP!

** That'll be tomorrow's fun and games.

Barbecue prep, and more log splitting

There was an impressive thunderstorm last night. I woke to the sound of rolling thunder directly overhead, and flashes of lightning were visible through still closed eyelids. I got out of bed and watched for a while, as did 30%.  I saw terrific flashes of lightning arc across the sky, before realising that I really should try to get a some sleep.  It took a while to drift off, lulled by the rumbles of thunder, quieting as the storm moved on.

We have a barbecue planned for tomorrow evening, and most of this morning was spent in preparation.  I found a few small chunks of apple wood and put them to soak in a bucket of water. They will produce an aromatic smoke, when they are added to the hot charcoal. The barbecue was extricated from the depths of the car port and given a brief examination ... it'll need a damned good brushing before I consider putting foodstuffs on it!

I then wandered in to the kitchen and prepared a marinade based around rosemary, garlic, honey, mustard and seasonings.  This was applied to the inner surfaces of a loin of pork, which had been butterflied, with pockets cut in to each of the wings.  The loin was then rolled, and tied back in to its original form with string. It is now marinading in the bottom of the fridge, wrapped in clingfilm.

The afternoon saw us back in the garden dealing with the logs that resulted from yesterday's session with the chainsaw. I was mostly occupied with the log splitter and 30% shifted them up to the log pile in the orchard ... I must admit that I am concerned that following mathematical equation may well apply ...

Volume of split ash logs ＞available space in Rose Cottage

I am going to have to get that bloody car port cleared again.*

The final news item for today relates to the potatoes, that we planted a couple of weeks ago.  As I was wheeling a barrow up to the orchard, I noticed a few green leaves sprouting from the earth.  This seems quite impressive growth, as they were planted six inches deep and the soil was mounded into ridges along the length of each row. In ten days they have become established and put on growth. It must be the huge quantity of horse manure that was rotorvated in to the soil!

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* I'm not sure whether I have mentioned it before, but a truism has emerged since we moved here, "There is no such thing as an empty car port."  Every time I get the damned thing cleared, some vital piece of equipment needs to be temporarily stored in there.  It is currently home to the trailer, a wood turning lathe, two lawnmowers, a pair of gates, accompanying posts and a wormery!

Impressive!

The need to return the chainsaw blade to TFM at Bromsgrove gave me an excuse to wheel the Guzzi from the garage, and enjoy a ride out in the early morning sunshine.

By the time I got back home, 30% had disappeared for a coffee morning with a few members of her coven.  Consequently, I had the morning to myself.

I therefore decided to amuse myself with little jobs that were not too strenuous, as the weather is still absolutely roasting!

First I made a batch of sugar syrup, as I felt that hive #6 would benefit from further feeding, when I inspected it on Sunday.  The syrup was left to cool, and I headed out to the workshop.

For the past few days I have been pondering the best way to introduce a frame of egg to my problem hives, and I felt that an extra crown board might come in handy. I therefore set to work and soon had one knocked together.*

While I was working I heard a vehicle turn up at the gates, accompanied by the dogs barking. I assumed that it was a honey sale, ignored it, and carried on with my crude effort. At a convenient point, I wandered out to check whether I had made a sale, and noticed a parcel just inside the gate.  I was amazed to find that my replacement chainsaw blade had been delivered in less than twenty four hours.**

A little while later I broke for lunch, but was keen to fit the new saw blade. Within a few minutes I was making a couple of test cuts on a convenient log. The saw now cuts beautifully and I was delighted with its performance.

I was keen to carry on, but the weather was roasting, and I was tired after not sleeping well because of the high overnight temperatures. I therefore decided that a siesta was in order,  and retired to the shade to snooze for an hour.

On waking I headed back outside and set up my Truncator sawhorse.  Then, with assistance from 30%, proceeded to spend an hour producing a large pile of logs ... I'm guessing we'll be splitting and barrowing tomorrow.

I even tried a tried a trial cut of a large branch. It is about six feet long and about thirty inches in diameter.  I have been eyeing it over the past few days and it looks very large compared to the eighteen inch bar on my chainsaw.  I carefully lined the saw up with the branch and started to cut. I was amazed at how well the saw cut through the log. I needed to cut from both sides, but the blade didn't deviate and a perfect slice fell away.  I'm feeling a lot more confident about dealing with the rest of the timber.

After an hour we decided to call it a day, and I retired indoors to cool down and clean up before this evening's Tai Chi class.***

I am hoping that I sleep well tonight, because I have a feeling that tomorrow will be busy too.

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* It's not perfect, but it will do to either keep bees in, or out, of a brood box during my planned manipulation.

** Delivery was stated to be "3-5 Business Days"

*** We were introduced to the Water sequence.

Not quite ALL of the necessary information

This morning started with a visit to the Vet's.  To allay any concerns, I will immediately clarify that it was only for Hobson and Traitorous Bastards' booster jabs.

We were back at home before ten o'clock, but it was already getting very warm.  The expectation is that Monday's temperature record will be broken today!  I therefore planned to avoid anything too strenuous.

I busied myself with the packaging of the BMW seat cowl, that had sold on eBay over the weekend.  I then headed in to Alcester and dropped it off at the Post Office.  It should be delivered in the next couple of days, which will initiate the transfer of funds from the buyer.

I then continued over to the Agricultural supply stores over at Bromsgrove to pick up a couple of bags of layers pellets and a new chainsaw blade. 

I knackered the blade when I was working on the tree stump out on the front lawn. I sharpened it and it would cut again, but the saw bar now pulls to the right.  Apparently this can be a symptom of hitting a stone and also uneven sharpening. Both of these are likely considering the previous use of the saw, and my limited chainsaw sharpening skills.

I was quite happy to invest in a new blade, as I have had the saw for many years and it is definitely time to treat the saw. I did my research and learnt that I needed to know three things to ensure I bought the right chain; the bar length, and the pitch and gauge of the drive links.* These were helpfully printed on the chainsaw bar, so a photo was taken, and off I went shopping.

I was soon back at home with a wickedly sharp new blade, and was keen to try it out. However, the temperatures were ridiculously high, so we had a light lunch and retired to snooze for a while.

Later in the afternoon, I headed out to the workshop and attempted to fit the new blade to the chainsaw.  It didn't take long for me to realise that it was too long.  

Apparently there is a fourth piece of information that is useful when buying a replacement chainsaw blade ... the number of chain links.**

This was definitely a "for fuck's sake" moment, which was swiftly followed by an internet search and purchase.

It looks like I'll be heading back to TFM to return the saw blades tomorrow.

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* 18", 0.325", and 1.6mm.

** 68 in the case of my saw blade, rather than the 72 link chain I was attempting to fit.

I saw the sea

... but that wasn't quite what I expected. Let me explain ...

At some point over the weekend, TP asked if I'd be interested in going out for ride on the Bank Holiday Monday.  I thought that was a great idea and agreed, with the proviso that he would need to help me split and shift some logs, so I could actually get one of the bikes out of the garage.

So, yesterday, we made a slight dent in the huge pile of timber, and a few more details came to light about the ride.  It seems that we will be joined by Dan and Charlie, and mid Wales was mentioned as a destination.

Now I am on record as not being a huge fan of Charlie's group riding etiquette.  TP's isn't perfect, but he is far better to ride with, if Charlie is elsewhere. So, today, I would be riding in a group with Charlie taking the lead ... kill me now, and Dan somewhere in the middle of the group.

At this point I should mention that Dan only passed his test a few weeks ago and has less than a thousand miles of riding experience.  I am of the opinion that the pace of the ride should be set to align with the skill level of the least experienced rider.  This avoids the situation where they are encouraged to ride beyond the limit of their abilities, potentially leading to a mishap.

I recall mentioning this to Charlie and TP, and they took no fucking notice at all!

So off we headed along the A44 towards Rhayader.  The weather was fantastic* and the roads were great, but it wasn't long before Charlie overtook a car and split our little group.  These were not great overtaking roads and, after a few miles, Dan took a risky manoeuvre at a junction, in an attempt to catch up with Charlie. Both TP and I winced and commented, over our intercom, that he really shouldn't have attempted that move.

That basically set the mood for the day. Charlie took the lead and rode like he was out on his own, with no thought for the rest of the group.  Fortunately the roads weren't too bad and he did occasionally pull in to the side for the group to reassemble. 

As lunchtime approached I saw a sign for Aberystwyth and realised that this had become a trip to the seaside.  We parked up and had a very pleasant al fresco lunch in a shady spot.

Over lunch, Charlie chuntered on about our return route. I took little notice for two reasons. One, I didn't have satellite navigation on the Guzzi, and two, I was already prepared to use my phone and place-name navigation** to find my own way home.  I have ridden with Charles enough times to know that he simply cannot be relied upon as a group leader.*** 

This became apparent within a few miles of leaving Aberystwyth.  Charlie and TP were riding in front of me. They overtook a car and pulled away in to the distance.  The road and traffic conditions didn't allow for me to pass the car and I soon lost sight.  I pushed on, hoping to catch up, but was now riding alone.  My intercom chirped to show that I had an incoming call. It was TP calling to let me know that he and Charlie had turned off, and I had sailed past them.

I retraced my steps and found them, using a place marker provided by TP. I was somewhat frustrated by yet another Charlie riding experience, but I did my best to not let it spoil my day. ****

Our return route took us down the A487 as far as Llanrhystud, where we turned off and went cross-country to Llandovery. there we joined the A40 and headed towards Brecon. TP left us in the region of Sennybridge, to head home to Cardiff.

We took an ice cream break, just before TP left us and I used this break to review our homeward route. I decided that I would follow the A40 through Abergavenny, Raglan and Monmouth and on to Ross-on-Wye, where I would take the M50 and M5 home.

I let Charlie and Dan know, and Charlie seemed surprised that a sixty two year old man might pick an efficient route home after more than six hours in the saddle riding twisty roads. We parted at Abergavenny and I gave them a friendly wave before riding the last sixty miles on my own.

I definitely prefer riding that way, and may do much of our France tour solo, linking up with the group in the evening.

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* A UK meteorological record was broken today; the hottest May Day, since records began

** In the old days, donkeys years before satellite navigation, I would simply make a sequential list of towns and road numbers and use that to navigate when riding.

*** I have already mentioned to TP that, during this year's tour of France, we will need to share the destination address and any stops at the start of each day. This is an absolute must, if we stand any chance of avoiding rider attrition.

***  I know that Charlie will never change, and that I need to manage both Charlie, and the situations that arise. Hence the need to demand destination details before we start, and to be happy to find my own way to wherever we're going!