Welcome to my new Blog



Welcome to my Blog.
My Blog is mostly about my hobbies, ie Model boats, Cross Stitch, Gardening, Days out and about, Lego Technics and Photography you might recognize the hat rather than me. My models and other hobbies can be found in the Tabs at the top below the header picture.
There will also be entries of days out with my camera, weather permitting of course.

Sunday 26 June 2011

Velda in Hospital

 Velda is in hospital, so just to put you in the picture, she was taken in on a 999 call Tuesday  morning and since then has been under going tests and scans, with more scans this morning (Saturday) including a camera down the throat  ( have asked her to get a copy for the blog video's , Only kidding )  and then perhaps they can start the road to recovery. 
Still they have to decide what the trouble is first don't they. At the moment its a toss up between appendicitis and /or gall bladder, she is always going for the two for one option at the supermarket or pub grub, but I think she could have given that a miss in this case.
Nothing happening over the weekend at the hospital and still waiting for all the test results to come in
Will keep you informed.
Though I won't be able to attend the weekend events at the club in the circumstances I hope the weather is kind to you if your going, got to be better than the conditions at Glastonbury !!
....................................................................................................

A minor operation is one performed on somebody else!.

A hospital is a place where people who are run down generally wind up.

Hospital is a place where they wake you at five o'clock in the morning to give you a sleeping pill.

Velda has a chart at the end of her bed with lots of complaints listed on it. All the nurses have written something on it.
.........................................................................................................................
Good job she doesn't read this blog hey!

Tuesday 21 June 2011

Walking the dog.wmv

Whilst not being able to get down to the lake at the moment I still have to take the dog for his walks in the local park at Debdale. So I thought I would put the time to good use and make a video of walking Pepe to keep my hand in with the shooting and then the editing at home. 
Don't want to make a mess of videoing Bob's big moment on the day with his Great Eastern adventure!

Anyway back to the dog, here he is ! its more for the filming and editing really!
Not too bad really I suppose seeing I did it one handed whilst holding the lead in the other hand 




Don't forget its club night on Wednesday (22nd) and Hyde Sports and Models guy will be there with a selection of his modelling wares.
...............................................................................................

"I think your dog likes me Gladys. He hasn't taken his eyes off me all night"
"That's because your eating off his plate.
ie  had this happen in real life when I was an Ambulance man, only it was the dogs cup!
...............................................................................................................
"I don't want you to bring your dog into the house. its full of fleas" she said.
"Fido, stay out of the house, its full of fleas he said.
..........................................................................................................
That's all folks

Thursday 16 June 2011

Roof light

Whilst Velda is poorly, I need to stay close to the house, though I can't do much in the way of helping with her problems, I can at least do a bit of housework !.
I wasn't able to attend Graham's funeral because of this, but there was representation from the club,so was happy about that, and my thoughts were with Lesley and Kirsty on the day.
After my housework, Velda was having a nap so  I did a bit on the roof light of the boat,


First marked and drilled a hole for the leads



Threaded the lead though 


And there is the light placed and connected up.

The battery box will be fixed under the roof in its own little slot, so won't be noticabell though the windows.


Did a bit of work on the control panel,  that just has to be painted to match the deck now.



Bob the Builder e-mailed me this picture of a chimney cone he has made for me, its for the living room fire I'm told, as the engine chimney has a hinged flap! good job Bob knows what he's doing isn't it!
What a nice man!

Sunday 12 June 2011

Rainy Sunday

Just got back from a long walk with Pepe, down the lane at the side of the park (Debdale Lane)  and then back in the park though the top gate, round the
golf course and back home via the bowling green !. Just got out of the gates and it started to rain, so timed it well really.


Summer planting


Central feature.

I was talking to the gardener who does these lovely displays every year and said " I thought that with the council cutbacks there wouldn't be any planting this year",  He said that fortunately the plants had already been ordered, but the spring planting for next year would be something else. That's the problem isn't it the cuts aren't showing up yet in a lot of places.
Isn't it funny that all the presenters on TV gardening programs call it Plarrnting, or is it my common background coming out!

I was watching a program on BBC the other night and it was showing people living on the canals, they thought it was cheaper than a permanent home, the point is I saw a person filling up with diesel and thought "I've not thought of that" for my boat" so I will have to have a diesel filler cap won't I ,  how to do it though , will have to check up with the master Bob! Help!
......................................................................................................
Lockjaw means never having to say sorry.

No woman has ever shot her husband while he was doing the dishes

One legged girls are a push over.

If I'd known she would take offence so easily I would have entered her in the Grand National.
..................................................................................................

That's all folk's



Friday 10 June 2011

Graham's funeral arrangements

Please find here the arrangement details for Graham Harling's funeral.
Wednesday 15th June 2011 at 12 noon.
Crewe Crematorium
Badger Avenue
CW1 3JQ

There was a request for no flowers, but any donations to St Luke's Hospice, Winsford.

The club will be sending a donation.

Wednesday 8 June 2011

Roof stuff and opera singer!

While shopping in Ashton on Monday called at the model shop and found these small gardening tools,  after a  drop of paint turned them into Narra Boat roof gardening implements.

And in case you thought that is the same watering can shown before, here they are all together


Notice the bottle of coke cooling in the larger left one, the rope is for on the tiller arm when its ready to go.

Don't know if you watched Britain's Got Talent Final  on Saturday , but the Guest singer was a 11 year old girl and here is her video when she auditioned the American show last year.


Wonderful hey, don't go much for opera, but this girl is going far I think. What a gift!.


Monday 6 June 2011

Chimneys again

On Saturday got an e-mail off Bob to say that the smaller chimney he had made was ready to be collected, can't complain about that service can you, 24hrs and already to pick up.
Bob said bring the large chimney round he had made earlier as he thought it would be better with the lower collar slightly raised so it could be set into the roof and make it firmer so it couldn't be knocked off so easily.



As this one clearly shows


Little and Large.

So here are both chimneys, finished and painted, had to re-paint the bigger one of course as soldering the flange on higher meant the paint had to be removed on that one, still no big deal and certainly worth it to get such a pair of beauties
On arriving home had an e-mail waiting that knocked the wind out of my sails a bit, one of our club members Graham Harling had passed away, and he was the nicest gentleman you could ever wish to meet, and a master craftsman.

That's his boat "The Lilly" from Windermere at the top of the club blog 

 Bet he was looking over our shoulders whilst Bob was soldering!


Friday 3 June 2011

Roof and rails

Aah ,after the smelly bog blog, we are out in the fresh air again and on the roof!, since the last blog I've been working on the roof section and have pre drilled the roof board to fit the rail stanchions and here is the effect.

The front light is only there it give the look of it and the rails are not fixed permanently will do that after the roof is painted, The brass balls are the excellent work of Bob the Abell again.

You've heard of Golden Balls Beckham, perhaps I should call the boat " Brass Balls Bob"or "BBB" or 7 B's for the 7 brass balls on the boat, funnily enough there are 7 B's (bees) on the Manchester Coat of Arms, and beeing a proud Mancunian seems to all fit together .There's a ship there as well!.



  • The Shield: red (Gules) with three gold (Or) bands drawn diagonally across to the right hand side.
  • The Chief (the white (Argent) top segment): shows a ship at sea in full sail. This is a reference to the city's trading base.
  • The Crest: On a multicoloured wreath stands a terrestrial globe, signifying Manchester's world trade, and covered by a swarm of flying bees. The bee was adopted in the 19th century as a symbol of industrial Manchester being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.
  • The Supporters: On the left, a heraldic antelope with a chain attached to a gold (Or) collar, representing engineering industries, and hanging at the shoulder, the red rose of Lancashire, in which county Manchester once was. On the right, a golden lion stands guardant (facing us), crowned with a red (Gules) castle (a reference to the Roman fort at Castlefield from which the city originated). The lion also wears the Red Rose of Lancashire.
  • Motto: "Concilio et Labore"--loosely translated "By wisdom and effort" (or "By counsel and hard work").

 But there I go again wandering off the subject ! 

The roof placed on the superstructure, to check out the looks 



At the rear end with the hatch open and chimney placed for looks
 I then varnished the inside of the roof and whilst that was drying went to the another part of the boat.

 I decided to look at the rear rail seating, didn't want to spoil the excellent work Bob had done on the rear rails so, as I had a few stanchions left, I cut some of the ring out so it would fit over the rails without disturbing them and then added the wooden seat, which will need staining and varnishing.

Needs fixing 


Checked also that the deck board to the electric's department would still open al-right, thats all we need a hatch that would not open at the end of the build. 

So all in all a good session  on the model again.

And for the ahhhhhhhhh factor here's one of Pepe

Don't tell him that's a cat basket!

...............................................................................................
" Mum, Dad's going out again.
"Well pour some more petrol on him!.
......................................................................................................
What do you call a man who has lost 90% of his brain ?
A widower!
.................................................................................................
I have always tried to pay my bills with a smile, But invariably they want money.
.............................................................................................
Paddy said that he once cleaned 500 fish in one day.
"Now that takes guts"

Well that's all folks