OneGuyFromBarlick

The bed casting for this engine was particularly rough so I had to spend 30 minutes fettling it on the grinding wheel but I now have it ready for milling. I have prepared my chicken for roasting as well so I deserve my breakfast.

Morning

We have a low lying misty start to the day but above it the sun is already shining. A very sunny day is forecast at 16 degrees.

We have a few trips to do. We have to take our boxes of glasses and crockery and a few other things to the charity ware house. On returning home we will put the old gates in the trailer and take them to the tip. Then it’s a trip to the supermarket for two more bags of bark to put round the plants in the more ornamental part of the garden. Then Bob is going to trim a couple pf shrubs for me before he finishes mowing the lawn. I will spread the bark chippings and clear up the cuttings.

I think that little lot will take most of the day. However I do hope to hoover and dust the unused bedrooms as part of my big clean through before we leave. That won’t take long though. Yesterday I cleaned all the outside window and door frames, rather dirty after a very dirty winter here, and I cleaned all the windows inside and out. The latter is a long job but not a hard one as all the windows open inwards so both sides can be cleaned from inside. I alwas think it is a very good design feature.

Thats our day, have a good one

Sounds like a lot of work to me Sue. So you won't be there long? Do you get a longer stay in summer?

Stanley wrote: ↑21 Mar 2026, 07:13 Sounds like a lot of work to me Sue. So you won't be there long? Do you get a longer stay in summer?

Home on Tuesday, back for a week inApril to ensure everything stays tidy then here for a month in August. We may be here in June but I can’t remember. We have to keep on top of it if we want to sell. The agent put a picture on facebook the other day with some others. Ours is strikingly tidier. Ours is top right

You're right Sue, definitely looks the best presented of those four.....

I shall be in the shed early doors working on milling my engine bed..... I can't see anything demanding my attention later so I shall spend the day looking after myself!

This morning the task was to get the bed set up on the Vertical Mill ready for working on it. Remember when I made four crankshafts out of the solid bar? One of those came out to play as the casting will have to be milled out to allow the shaft to sit in the bearings when they are made. I am ready to start work on the casting now but I will leave that until tomorrow. Right now the next job is breakfast and bed!

Morning

Today is the start of the big clean. I shall change our bedding and clean the bedrooms ( I didn’t get them done yesterday) not an onerous task but a hoover and a polish will keep things fresh . We are out for lunch in La Gacilly plus a visit to Yves Rochers toiletries shop. We will probably have a walk somewhere. The forecast is 15 degrees and sunny. Have a good day all

I hope the day isn't all cleaning Sue!

Going to support our Finlay at Rugby.

Wharfedale 14's are in the YC Plate Final against Ilkley on the 1st team pitch. Should be a good match. We are booked for Sunday lunch in the clubhouse after the game.

Stanley wrote: ↑22 Mar 2026, 08:26 I hope the day isn't all cleaning Sue!

Not at all only this morning before lunch

I shall spend an hour working on the bed casting in the VM. I might get a short walk in in the sunshine later. I shall wait and see how I feel. There is no need for me to go out if I don't want to......

I started the milling operations under the VM this morning and cut the face of the crosshead slide, the inside of the bearing carriers until the crankshaft fitted with room for the cheeks of the bearings and finally for this morning, the face of the target end.That all took 45 minutes and now I am ready for my breakfast.

Morning

Another misty cool start to the day. I hope it turns out like yesterday, sunny with a cool breeze. I did my jobs in the morning and all the bedding dried outside really well. We had a good lunch but the service was rubbish. We have only eaten in this crêperie once before and it was much the same then but we decided to give it another try as we thought our usual one was closed as it has changed hands over the winter. Anyway we saw later that it was open so we will try it next visit. Afterwards we did a different walk in the town and walked down and round the protected wetlands, which turned out to be too wet to manage the whole walk round and had to retrace our steps. It was well after 4.00pm when we got back to the house.

This morning I shall clean the lounge and dining area in the kitchen, and start to sort the cases out for going home tomorrow. Usually easier on the return journey but this time we are bringing things destined for Rochdale hospice eg bedding and non fiction books. Between the two of us we hope to cut the lawns this afternoon. Bob will do the main lawn with the ride on and I will use the hover mower on two smaller patches, and I just remembered I shall wash down the new gate, dirty after all the handling and cement work around it. I shall rake over two patches of grass ready for reseeding just before we leave tomorrow. We have a grassy patch in front of the gates which has slowly changed to a dried up muddy patch over this visit with constant driving over it .

Have a good day all

You hardly seem to have arrived Sue and you're on your way back tomorrow. Best of luck for the crossing.....

Two full weeks here, plus three days travelling in total so left home on Sunday morning the 8 th and back Wednesday evening the 25 th. Time flies, March nearly over. March is always a busy stay as we tidy up after the winter. Now we hit the growing season…..

Could be a windy crossing Sue. I hope not for Bob's sake!
I shall be in the shed for my morning session of OT. I suspect I shall be cooking pork and orange today while watching rain outside. Robin my chiropodist is coming to pamper my feet this afternoon....

This morning I milled all the surfaces that needed it and cut the horns that will hold the crankshaft brasses to the sizes needed. I now have a bit of handwork to do on the bed to refine it ready for fitting to the base. The job now is breakfast.