All finished

That's it, all finished. Quite a nice job if I do say so myself. That's the instructors cane and pace stick all nicely varnished and put back together and now again safely residing in the umbrella stand for the next few years. Who knows, I might give them to a member of the armed forces, at least they will be put to good use.

The new tin of hammerite paint I ordered also came, (earlier than expected so I was also able to finish off the garden table and chairs. This will give them a new lease of life.


 

The next stage is to sand down and redo the wooden garden furniture. We bought this some good few years ago when we were living in Fareham so I suspect it's at least 15 years old. Mind you the wife reckons that we bought it before that when we lived in Weston Super Mare which would make it over 25 years old as we moved down here in 1995. We shall see. You get what you pay for my father always told me and this wasn't cheap. However it's stood the test of time and will look resplendent with it's new coat of preserving paint.
This is what it looks like at the moment. Unfortunately the weather has gone cloudy and damp so it will be a couple of days until I can get to it.

 This little bench was bought for our oldest grandson who is now 14 yrs old and a bit big to sit on it. However successive grandsons have all sat on it and we now have 7, The youngest is George but at only 4 months of age he's a bit young to sit on his own yet.

We shall see in a few days.

Half Way there

So, following on from my last post, I have stripped down and sanded both items. The first one, the instructors cane is all finished and looks pretty good. The sad thing is it will now be packed away in the umbrella stand for the next however long.

The second item is well on the way to being finished. This was it stripped down.

The brasses are now all cleaned 

and I have applied a coat of light oak wood stain to the wood. They are now in the garage drying and then I can apply a couple of coats of varnish and re-assemble it all. Should all be done by the end of the week.

Mind you I must be a glutton for punishment as I have also decided to repaint the garden furniture. Problem is I got halfway through and ran out of paint. More on order and should arrive today or tomorrow. Have to get it offline as of course no shops open and I can't go out anyway.

This is all going to be painted dark green. Then I need to start on the wooden table and chairs. The job is never finished, lol. However I do enjoy it.

Jobs to do

So, I'm not really a loner as the previous post might have suggested. I meant to portray the people staying at home, the posh word being "self-isolating". I actually have a very good support network around me, beautiful wife and family etc.

Mothering Sunday came (and went), no cards, no flowers other than those in the garden as we couldn't get to the shops to buy them and the wife said don't bother anyway. I made it up to her by being extra nice and cooking a lovely meal.Here's a pic from last year when we were both in Wrexham, North Wales attending a Falklands Veterans Rememberance.








The next project I have in mind to keep me busy is something that I have been meaning to do for a few years now. When I was an instructor at the Guards Depot in Pirbright, Surrey, I was presented by one platoon I took through training with a hand made pace stick. It's a tool used by Platoon Sergeant drill instructors to measure a soldiers pace, distance when standing at ease and so on.
It's been 39 years since I left the army and I've kept it in an umbrella stand most of the time. Always meaning to do it but never getting around to it. So, this is how it looks now, then I have to remove all the brass, sand it down and revarnish it. Not going to hurry so it will be a week or two.

This next item is a simple drill can, that junior NCO's etc would normally use. Never really understood why as we normally ended up throwing it down on the parade square if a senior rank with a pace stick came up. Hence it's rather battered look. When I left the army I gave it too my dad to use as a walking stick. He was an ex-miner with a gammy leg. He used it for about 10 years before he sadly passed. It's a kind of bamboo like wood, very strong and it has my regimental crest on it. Dad bent it a bit as it's not meant to be used in that way, but hey, it was useful and he was proud to show off his sons stick. A talking point over a pint of beer at the club. I suspect this will take a little lonegr to bring back to good condition but we'll try.


I'll let you know how I get on.

Week 1 for Loners

So, at the start of this self-isolation, one has to ask oneself, what am I going to do for the next however many weeks'

So, to start with I washed and polished the bike. Came up quite nicely as well. Nothing like a lovely sunny day to bring out the washing bucket. Couple of hours work and she's gleaming.

So that was fine for day one, but what was I going to do for day two. Easy, let's not waste a good polishing and I can practise my Social Distancing at the same time. I also needed to try and get some fresh vegetables, sooooooo, let's use the bike. Found a good farmshop a couple of miles away and off I toddled (or rode).

Great farm shop, managed to get some chicken, mince-beef, diced lamb, 

sausages, carrots and onions.  The plus side of all this was that I was able to take a very circuitous route on the way home, about 30 miles in all. The roads were fairly quiet, although sad to say, quite a few of the usual biker places were full of bikers, all enjoying the sunny weather. I have to say I disagree with that, the congreating of bikers I mean, and so rode on by. When I did stop, it was over the top of Portsmouth with some stunning views and not a soul in sight for at least half a mile either way. 

All too soon it was time for me to make my way home to the wife, not that she was lonely, she had spent the afternoon in the garden getting it all ready. Looks like I know what I am doing tomorrow.

Family Visit

So, this weekend saw a lovely visit from son Steve, his wife Nic and the two boys Logan & Finn. Great Saturday evening spent with a home cooked Chilli (quite hot) for Steve and I and pizza's and garlic bread for the wives and the two boys. Couple of beers watching Wales play England at rugby, disappointed in the result but a good game of rugby. Pity England seem to be fielding a rather irty side thses days, even the captain. Then it was down to tv off and a lovely chat as it's been a little while since we saw them.

Sunday, Su, our youngest daughter arrived with new baby George and toddler Will as neither Nic or Steve have seen George. Lots of hugs and cooing over the baby then off to a local pub for Sunday lunch. David, Su's husband joined us for lunch and a great time was had by all.

Unfortunately, all too soon, it was time to say goodbye, Nic & Steve and the boys back home to Somerset and David was flying off to the Isle of Mann on a business trip.

Great weekend had by all and looking forward to our next get together.

Carrot & Coriander Soup

So, I love soup, in any flavour. Today, with it being a cold and wet day I decided that I would deviate from the normal standard vegatable soup made from the good stew pack and try something different.

So easy to make, bunch of fresh coriander, 6/8 large carrots, an onion and just over a pint of vegatable stock.

Just 21 minutes later and enough soup for 4 people, or rather two lunches for me and the wife. Soooooo delicious with a warm bread roll.

Weekend away

As it was getting late on into the year we (the wife and I) decided to try and get another weekend away in the campaervan. We decided on Lulworth Cove in Dorset as it's somewhere that I have been close to but never actually visited. It has a reputation as being a rather good beauty spot along the Jurassic coast with plenty of opportunity for photgraphy. So off we went.

We found a quite Camping & Caravanning Club site that offered showers and loos etc, and most important, it was still open.

The site was clean and tidy with plenty of room even with 5 other vans there. The only downside was that it was a grass site and it had rained heavily, so it was a case of changing shoes everytime you enetered or left the van.




We arrived late Thursday afternoon, set up camp and basically decided to rest, a good read, dinner and an early night. Slept like the proverbial log actually.



Friday morning saw a leisurely breakfast, sort ourselves out and as the weather took a turn for the better late morning we set out for a walk down to the Smugglers Inn, a couple of miles distance down along the coast. It was a pleasant walk but we forgot that when it's downhill all the way

there it uphill all the way back. Glad for a cup of coffee and a rest when we got back to the site

It brightened up for the rest of the afternoon which allowed a walk up the hill and on to the top, where I managed to get a good signal for the phone and able to talk to the brother in law who had become a grandfather again the previous day.

Another early night, with a rather severe storm overnight, all forecast and Saturday morning dawned pretty clear with a promise of decent weather. The only problem was, Saturday night was meant to be torrential rain and the same Sunday morning so we diecided to pack up, visit Lulworth Cove and head for home.

The cove lived up to all expectations and although on a clearer day I am sure the photography would have been spectacular, it was still decent enough.
 




 

 

There were some people indulging in that sport they call Coasteering. It certainly looked and sounded fun judging by the number of loud screams and laughter we heard. A pleasant couple of hours spent here, and of course we had to indulge in a Dorset Crream Tea, scrummy. Bought some home made fudge for the journey home and off we went. And lovely weekend spent doing what we love the most.