'ow much?

It was even colder overnight, but I can report that the new greenhouse heater has kept the temperature in the ornamental greenhouse above freezing.  My only questions are how long did it run for, to achieve this feat, and at what cost?*

I spent most of the morning out in the workshop reacquainting myself with my mortiser.  It really has been a long time. 

I realised that I purchased this piece of equipment back in 2012, to construct a cupboard in an alcove at our last house.  After making the cupboard doors and frame components, it has sat in the workshop gathering dust.**. I now need to use it to make the panelled doors for my carpenter's workbench. 

After a couple of hours of fiddling, interspersed with trial cuts in offcuts, I can report that I am just about ready to start marking out the mortice cuts on the door frame stiles. The observant will note that, at no point, have I used the word "confident" in the preceding statement!

I've already mentioned that the weather was bitterly cold, so I did my best to stay in the warm, whenever possible.

In the afternoon I filled the log basket and chopped kindling before reaching out to our Financial Advisor for some guidance reclaiming tax on a pension payment.  I have a feeling that certain documents should have been provided, but haven't, or that vital information should be available on a portal, but isn't. 

I appreciate that it could be me, but let's wait a few days and see how this pans out.

Now on to the title of today's Journal entry. I have already made reference to cost, with my comments on the greenhouse heater. I think a call later in the day pushes the price of things in to an entirely different realm.

Simon rang from the motorcycle workshop this afternoon. We had a lovely chat, BUT the key points are that my Honda needs a new set of tyres, they are waiting for a replacement petrol tap, and the bike is in lovely condition.

I am aware that new rubber is going to cost me in the region of £250, so I asked for an estimate of the bill so far.  I pictured Simon scratching his head, before advising that it was going to be around the seven or eight hundred pound mark.  He advised that much of the fuel system had had to be cleaned or replaced due to the ravages of fucking ethanol in modern petrol.

I do want to continue riding the bike, and I am aware that TP is incredibly keen too, so I bit the bullet and committed to new tyres.***

There is one final element in this "how much" narrative.  Clearly the Honda will need to run on fuel without ethanol, or this refurbishment will need to be repeated in a year or two.  I therefore tasked 30% with picking up ten litres of 99 RON, unleaded storage fuel when she is in Worcester tomorrow.

I checked on availability and asked about the price ... £46 for ten litres! That is over three times the price of E5 fuel in the UK.

It's a bloody good job I won't be doing that many miles on her each year.

One might think that that is enough news for one day, but there is one final event.

This evening we headed out with Mummy Sheila to see a performance of A Christmas Carol performed by Redditch Operatic Society at the Palace Theatre.  It was a very traditional production, reasonably competently performed by an amateur ensemble. There were a couple of stand out performances, particularity the lead role, but I have to say that the ghost of Christmas past was like Stevie Nicks with dementia ... she was bloody funny, but I'm not sure that it was intentional.

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* ... and, are the few plants in there really worth it?

** and a little rust, but I have conscientiously applied tool wax fairly regularly to keep the worst at bay.

*** I've not heard from Buzzer, so I am assuming he has let someone else have his VFR. That leaves me a couple of grand in pocket.